Scandalous Pledge

Scandalous Pledge Vi Carter Copyright Copyright © 2023 by Vi Carter All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher or author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law. Contents Blurb Other Books by VI CARTER 1. CHAPTER ONE 2. CHAPTER TWO 3. CHAPTER THREE 4. CHAPTER FOUR 5. CHAPTER FIVE 6. CHAPTER SIX 7. CHAPTER SEVEN 8. CHAPTER EIGHT 9. CHAPTER NINE 10. CHAPTER TEN 11. CHAPTER ELEVEN 12. CHAPTER TWELVE 13. CHAPTER THIRTEEN 14. CHAPTER FOURTEEN 15. CHAPTER FIFTEEN 16. CHAPTER SIXTEEN 17. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN 18. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN 19. CHAPTER NINETEEN 20. CHAPTER TWENTY 21. CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE 22. CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO 23. CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE 24. CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR 25. CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE 26. CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX 27. CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN 28. CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT 29. CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE 30. CHAPTER THIRTY 31. CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE 32. EPILOGUE About Vi Carter Blurb A lex My father controlled every move I made, even who I loved. I've wanted Nadia since we were children, but a maid's daughter isn't fit for a Mafia king. For nine years, I've protected her from the shadows, secretly dictating her every move--until now. My father's death has set me free, and I will claim what is mine, even if it costs me an empire. Nadia I've loved him my whole life and have hated him for nearly a decade. I would have given anything for Alex Murphy to make me his, but the day he pushed me aside changed everything. Now he claims to want me for his wife, but he harbors secrets that could destroy everything. Secrets that could cost me my life and his. Will our love set us free or will his secrets keeps us apart? Other Books by VI CARTER WILD IRISH SERIES FATHER (NOVELLA) RECKLESS # 0.5 VICIOUS #1 RUTHLESS #2 FEARLESS #3 HEARTLESS #4 THE BOYNE CLUB DARK #1 DARKER # 2 DARKEST #3 PITCH BLACK #4 THE OBSESSED DUET A DEADLY OBSESSION #1 A CRUEL CONFESSION #2 YOUNG IRISH REBELS MAFIA PRINCE #1 MAFIA KING #2 MAFIA GAMES #3 MAFIA BOSS #4 MURPHY'S MAFIA MADE MEN SINNER'S VOW #1 SAVAGE MARRIAGE #2 SCANDALOUS PLEDGE #3 CHAPTER ONE NADIA The rain is sharp. As the sheets of water blow sideways, they hit the asphalt before bouncing back up. I should feel the cold. I should feel the heaviness of the rain. I should be running for cover. But I don’t. I’m smiling; he’s smiling, and at thirteen, I know this feeling I have for Alex Murphy is unstoppable. He’s what makes me tick. He’s like my batteries. Without him, nothing seems as bright, nothing seems possible, and nothing seems real.His laughter dances around me, and as he advances closer, I see the shift in his gaze even before his laughter dies down, and he pushes his dark hair out of his eyes.“You are a very bad influence on me.” His height dwarfs everything around us. My heart does that funny dance that often shifts into when Alex looks at me differently than he normally does. It’s at these moments when I’m at my freest that he looks at me differently. I want to tell him I only do these things, like running out into the rain, for his reaction. I’d jump off a cliff for his reaction.His hand captures mine, and his warmth alerts the rest of my body to the drop in temperature. I slide closer, seeking his heat. “If I jumped off a cliff, would you follow me?” I joke. My mother always said that about me. ‘If Alex Murphy jumped off a cliff, you would jump too.’ I’d roll my eyes and tell her she was wrong.She wasn’t. “How high of a cliff are we talking about?” Alex’s dark eyes dance with mischief, and without words, I know he would. He would follow me across the cliff’s edge and into whatever dark abyss lay below, and I know if we did jump into the unknown, we would be okay.Alex dips his head, and I pucker my lips. I’m ready to taste the wolf. That’s what I call him in my head. The lone wolf. He has brothers, but none of them are like Alex. No one is like Alex. He’s one of a kind. “Nadia Greenwood.” My name being called smashes the memory. I nod at the man who holds the wooden door open for me. A pen is placed behind both his ears, and several fill his short-sleeved shirt’s breast pocket.The glossy magazine that had kept me occupied for a few minutes nearly slipped from my knee. I had forgotten about it as my brain decided we needed to revisit a ten-year-old memory over and over and over again.I place the magazine on the mahogany table and do a quick sweep across the other three female candidates who are applying for the same job as me. I have the skills to be a receptionist, but if I was to base the outcome on all my other job interviews, I wasn’t hopeful.“Thank you.” I take the door, relieving the man, who starts walking down a narrow hallway. On either side, phones ring in the large call center. Maybe I could work here in the office if I don’t get the front desk. I mean, I’m a quick learner.If I don't get the job—I want to pause that thought, but there is no pausing it—I would have to return to working for Alex Murphy.God, I hate him. My feelings for him may still be unstoppable, but they have flipped on their head. Once, I loved him. I loved him so much and he fucking shattered my heart into a million pieces, and at the time, I would have allowed him to do it over and over again just to have a small piece of him.At first, when he stopped hanging out with me, I couldn’t function. I had a constant darkness that hung over me. It never left, but I found ways to deal