6. Dante
Chapter 6
Dante
After a shower and a change of clothes, I rush to Angels and Sinners to meet Romeo Conti. The moment I step inside, the club’s atmosphere envelops me—a hazy, smoke-filled space where the darkness covers so many sins. The air is thick with the scent of cigarettes, cologne, and arousal.
On stage, an auction is in full swing. Scantily clad dancers, their bodies glistening under the spotlights, parade across the platform. The auctioneer’s rapid-fire chatter booms over the pulsating bass of the dance floor as men in expensive suits and women dripping in jewels raise their paddles, their eyes gleaming with lust.
Before approaching Romeo, I make a calculated move. I spot Rafe near the bar, giving him a wave before I meet Cade by the VIP section. We engage in a brief but animated conversation, ensuring my face is clearly visible to the security cameras.
“I need to be here an hour ago,” I whisper in Cade’s ear before I depart.
He knows what that means.
A carefully crafted interaction will serve as my alibi, placing me in the club, and at the specific time.
With my digital footprint established, I slide onto a bar stool next to Romeo Conti. He’s nursing a whiskey, his gaze distant, mirroring the melancholy in his hunched shoulders.
“Romeo,” I greet him, signaling the bartender for my usual.
He looks up, his eyes reflecting the neon lights. “Dante. How are you? What’s going on?”
“Thanks for coming.”
“You said it was important. Spill.”
“The Syndicate is weak. It’s time we made a run on the leadership. With Bianchi and Rossi dead, we only have Gallo and our fathers to topple.”
“I’m sure Ricardo won’t agree that he's weak.” Romeo takes a sip of his whiskey. “But nobody knows who is taking over for Giuseppe Rossi yet. His only child died years ago.”
“Which makes it easier for us to make our case. Ricardo will vote in our favor, Rossi has no vote. We vote for each other. And the old guys are out.”
“I suppose.” He swirls his drink, watching the amber liquid dance on the sides of the glass.
“What’s your problem?”
He sighs. “I ended things with Milly.”
The news catches me off guard. They’d been together for months, a rarity in Romeo’s world. “Why? I thought you two were good together.”
Romeo’s laugh is hollow. “That’s the problem. We were too good. She’s... she’s everything I never knew I wanted. Kind, smart, wicked funny, and sees the good in everyone. Even in me.”
“And that’s a bad thing?”
“For her, yes.” He downs his whiskey. “I know who I am, Dante. What I do. One day, maybe soon, I’ll break her heart. Even if she agrees to be my mistress after I get married, I know I’ll break her heart one day. Maybe by getting arrested, maybe by dying in some alley. Hell, maybe just by being me. And I can’t—” His voice cracks. “I can’t handle being the one to dim that light in her eyes.”
His raw honesty strikes a chord. In our world of darkness and sin, genuine feelings are as rare as they are dangerous. “Because you love her,” I ask, already knowing the answer.
Romeo meets my gaze, his eyes a storm of pain and acceptance. “I do. And that’s why I have to let her go. She deserves better than a half-life. She can never be number one and that hurts me more than I ever thought it would. We know this life won’t give her that. I can’t do it to her.”
The audience roars as the gavel goes down in the background.
Beneath the pulsing lights, I see a side of Romeo Conti few ever witness—a man choosing sacrifice over selfishness, knowing the cost to his own heart.
Unfortunately, I can’t do that.
I spent two hours in the club, making sure my alibi was tight before I left Romeo to nurse more alcohol. Then I left with a plan to see Lia and tell her how I planned to protect her and our babies, but she had to trust me. Which was going to be hard, considering how I last saw her.
At seven in the morning, my cell chimes in the middle of my shower. I grab a towel, hastily wiping water from my face and hands before reaching for the phone.
“Yeah.” My voice comes out as a gruff grunt.
“Dante.”
“Yep.”
“Lia is missing,” Rafe tells me, sending a shock wave through my body. Numbness washes over me for a few seconds. The mere mention of her name with the word ‘missing’ elicits such a visceral reaction. “Did you hear me?”
My response is terse, barely holding back the anger that threatens to consume me. “Yes, I heard. And what do you mean, missing?” I demand, my voice laced with a mix of anger but also concern. “How can she be missing? She’s staying with you.”
“I checked on her this morning and she’s gone. Left without a trace, vanished...”
“Have you checked her apartment?”
“Of course we have. The camera doesn’t show any sign of her,” Rafe replies, the urgency in his tone mirroring my mounting panic. He groans and I wait for more bad news. “And her phone. She left it behind.”
“She forgot it?” I rub the towel over my hair before I rush from the bathroom. I open my closet and pull out a shirt and pants.
“No, she purposely hid it underneath the mattress.”
“When was the last time you saw her?” I push, pulling the shirt over my shoulder and dressing as fast as I can.
There’s an audible gulp before Rafe says, “Yesterday, before we left for work.”
Yesterday.
“Do you think she’s been kidnapped?” My voice breaks as I think about all the people who want her dead.
“No.” I hear a deep sigh from Rafe before he says, “Cade just showed me the apartment camera. She left with a backpack.”
“She left on purpose. What the hell is she thinking?” I yell. Fury bubbles up within me, threatening to overflow. “She’s still recovering from being shot.”
“Fuck!” Rafe hisses. “Cade is going to go over the street cameras to find out which way she went.”
“You were supposed to be looking after her.” I utter through gritted teeth. My voice is bitter as my mind races, trying to comprehend the gravity of the situation.
Rafe sighs.
“Fucking hell!” I explode. Anger consumes me like a massive wave of fury. “You claimed you’d look after her.”
“You went fucking underground. Don’t you dare put this on me,” Rafe retorts, pushing back against my accusation.
I take a deep breath, struggling to rein in my emotions. Blaming each other won’t bring her back. Lia is missing, and I have to act. “Where was she last seen?” My voice is much quieter but still laced with urgency.
“We don’t know yet. Cade is still looking through the cameras. He’s checking her apartment again,” Rafe replies.
“I’ll be there in ten minutes,” I state firmly. “We have to find her, no matter what it takes.”
“Hopefully.” Rafe sighs.
“Get Cade looking over the street cameras around her apartment.” Just in case she realizes she’s got cameras in her home and done something about it. “And also check the garage at her apartment. We know she has a motorbike hidden there.”
“He’s already doing it,” he replies.
Cade being on the task brings a glimmer of hope. If anyone can find her, he can.
“Good,” I respond, my voice strong. “We can’t waste any more time.”
Silence hangs heavily for a moment. The situation is dire.
“I’m heading over now.” I grab my car keys and leave my apartment. “Keep me updated with any leads.”
Fifteen minutes later, I'm watching Cade as he sits at the computer. His finger scrolls down the touch pad.
“She left this in plain sight,” Rafe says, holding up the tiny bugging device we left in her cell. “But hid her phone.”
"Fuck! How the hell did she know?" I hiss as we watch the footage of her in her bedroom before she leaves the apartment.
She wipes tears away before she places her hand on her belly. “It’s just us now. I’m not letting you grow up among people who only wanted you born for their selfish reasons.”
I squeeze my eyes together. Opening them wide. “We need to fucking find her before she gets herself killed.”
"She's just going to hide," Rafe says. "She's scared and vulnerable right now. She was shot, for fuck's sake. I get it. She wants to protect her babies."
“She was better protected here. There must be another reason she left.” I try to keep an accusation out of my tone.
“She’s going to kill Antonio, Eduardo, and your father,” Cade says as he watches me closely.
His words take the air from my lungs.
I suddenly exhale. “How the hell do you know that?” I say through gritted teeth.
“Because she’s already killed Leonardo and Giuseppe,” Cade says. "I probably should have mentioned it, but I promised her."
"You fucking promised her!" I yell. "She's going around killing Syndicate leaders and you think that's something you should've kept to yourself? What the hell, Cade. What's she fucking doing to you?"
"She threatened to kill me."
"She did?"
He shrugs his shoulders. "Well, she implied…"
I nod. I don't even question him. It makes so much sense.
And I hate the jolt of lust zipping through my veins, causing my dick to come alive at the thought of my wife being a fucking badass and getting rid of her enemies.
“Have you found her?” I ask half an hour later.
Rafe paces back and forth, his brow furrows, his worry clear as Cade diligently works on his computer, trying to track Lia’s movements.
Cade’s fingers fly across the keyboard. “She went to a hotel before she called a cab to her apartment. She took the stairs where she wouldn’t be watched.” He sighs. “She was there for around ten minutes before she came out with a backpack and...”
Cade points at the camera. “That’s her. On a motorbike. She rode to Dominic’s house but changed her mind and then went to Antonio Conti’s home.”
My eyebrows furrow as I absorb the information. The pieces of the puzzle slowly come together, painting a picture of Lia’s intentions.
“And where is she now?” Rafe prompts, eager for any leads.
“I can’t find her. I’ve checked all the cameras around Antonio’s estate,” Cade says with a sigh.
“Nothing,” I mutter as a sense of unease settles in. My mind races, contemplating the possibilities of what might have transpired inside Antonio’s residence. “She’s inside Antonio’s house.”
Worry is visible on Rafe’s face. “She must be in the house. She went to kill him,” he states as the gravity of the situation sinks in.
“Hack into Antonio’s home security. We need to find her,” I say.
“I’ll try, but this is Antonio. His security is more unconventional than the other leaders.”
“Just try,” I say, and I watch his fingers navigate through the digital landscape as he attempts to breach the security measures protecting Antonio Conti’s domain.
I glance from Rafe to Cade, noting the worry etched across Rafe’s face. It’s clear that he’s deeply concerned with Lia’s well-being. But I’d be more worried if she had gone to Eduardo Gallo’s home first.
“She’ll be fine,” I say to Rafe, my voice filled with confidence.
“She will,” Cade replies. “I know her. She’s strong and clever.”
Rafe releases a frustrated sigh.
“Cade, she’s been shot, and she’s pregnant. She’s far from strong,” I say.
“Fuck, that’s Dad’s car leaving Antonio’s house,” Rafe says, pointing at the screen. “What time was that?”
Cade checks the time on a side panel. “One thirty, this morning.”
Rafe groans. “We need access to the cameras inside the house. We need to get her out of there.”
“Shit!” Cade responds, as he scans through every trick he’s got to get camera entry inside Antonio’s house. “I’m in. I’ve got access to Antonio’s internal security system so we can work out exactly where she is before we rescue her.”
He clicks through hundreds of screens and goes back in time until he stops at one and we watch Lia as she slides along a wall, gun in hand.
“Fuck!” I hiss.
We continue as she waits outside a room with her gun ready to take aim.
“And now we know she killed Giuseppe Rossi and probably Leonardo Bianchi,” I say. "We know what her plan was tonight."
“So she was at Antonio’s finishing the job,” Cade says. “But we just saw Dad leave a few hours later.”
My stomach drops.
“Fuck,” Rafe hisses, watching the screen as Antonio knocks the gun from her hand and beckons her into his office. “He took her.”
I swallow. “We have to help her.”
“Fuck!” I grunt.
“What if he’s killed her?” Rafe mutters.
“He won’t,” I exclaim.
“How the fuck do you know? She went there to kill him. Why wouldn’t he kill her before she got the chance?” Rafe hisses back at me. “And Dad is well and truly still alive and left after then.” He points his finger at the time on the screen.
I chew on the inside of my cheek for a moment. I know if Lia is inside Antonio’s home, she’ll know soon exactly who she is.
I turn to Cade and Rafe and say, “Because he’s her father.”
I don’t know who is more shocked. Cade or Rafe.
“Why didn’t I know this information about Lia?” Rafe asks. There’s a noticeable hint of irritation in his tone. “And how do you know?”
“Mom told me,” I reply.
“She told you... but not me.” Rafe narrows his eyes, like he’s not sure it’s the truth.
“It never affected you,” I retort.
“But it did you?” Rafe hisses.
“Yes—”
“Yes? Just yes? Why?”
“Because I was the one who was asked to look out for her since she was sixteen years old. Because I was the one who saved her from being raped and killed by Nicolai Bianchi.” I pause and take a sigh. “And because I killed Nicolai for her. And then her father took her from me after the killing and whisked her away. He's the reason we never knew where she was for years.” I sigh. “Because Antonio refused to tell me where she was.”
“You admit you killed Nico?” Cade asks as he turns to Rafe for confirmation.
“And I will kill her father, my father, anyone who hurts her,” I say. "First, I'm going to see Antonio."