2. Dante
Chapter 2
Dante
N ever let anyone off the hook without facing the consequences of their actions. Liars, cheaters, murderers—no one is exempt from accountability. But that doesn’t mean they can’t earn a chance at redemption. Each and every person deserves the opportunity to prove their worthiness, even if it means crawling through a pit of fire and brimstone first.
Tommaso Martinelli got his chance and spit in my face. Literally, if you count the fact that he has a hint of a stutter, and every time he says a word starting with P, you can see droplets of spittle flying out of his mouth.
I could have forgiven him if that were all that had happened. But once he had his guards physically remove me from his premises, I realized that someone needed to teach him a lesson in respect. Tommaso might be a couple of decades older than me, but that is not an excuse for disrespect.
You can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but you can strip away his prized possessions and leave him whimpering at your feet.
T he second I see Adalina Martinelli, my heart stops. I slap Salvatore on the chest to get his attention, and he hits me right back.
“What the fuck!” He glares. “I got a situation over here.”
I’ve got a situation, too, and it’s how tight my pants are getting staring at the dark-haired beauty across the room. Out of respect, I glance in Salvatore’s direction and see a hot young blonde standing next to him. “Miss,” I lean over, “do you plan to sleep with my brother?”
Her jaw drops, and I think I’ve caught her off guard. She shakes her head no before slowly backing away.
“Fucking cockblocker,” Salvatore mumbles.
“I’m sure you’ll find another one of her if you look hard enough,” I announce with a roll of my eyes.
Salvatore sips on his beer and asks what I need. “Since you so rudely interrupted what should have been a sure thing.”
I don’t have time to counsel Salvatore on what a sure thing looks like, but I know it wasn’t her, or else she wouldn’t have been so easily deterred. “Look at that girl by the bar taking shots. Is that her?”
He squints to get a better look. Someone should tell him to get glasses. “Looks like her. Why?”
She tosses back a shot and doesn’t even wince. I watch her perfect red lips open as she says something to the guy beside her, and he takes her in his arms. I’m like a bull that just saw a red flag; I want to charge forward and impale the stranger. “Who the fuck is that?”
Salvatore looks at the man before shrugging. “I don’t know. Her boyfriend?”
Adalina is single. If she had a boyfriend, her father would be furious. “No the fuck it’s not.”
She’s on the move. Salvatore and I watch her walk arm in arm with some girl to the dance floor. Where did all these friends come from? When I was digging into Adalina’s past, the only person I could connect to her was her sick fuck of a father. Now she has a boyfriend and a best friend that I have to worry about. Fucking perfect. This situation is unfolding before my eyes like a nightmare.
Under the neon glow of the dance floor, she looks ethereal. She should be standing above everyone with a spotlight shining down on her. She should be on display like the God damn Mona Lisa. Instead, she’s squished between scantily clad women and meathead college boys.
Thank God for fate. Just as I’m trying to figure out how to get on the dance floor without ruining my $3,000 suit, she comes off it. She storms into the women’s bathroom without any regard for the line, and a little smirk pops up on my face.
“What a bitch,” Salvatore mumbles.
I shoot him a glare. “She takes what she wants. I like that in a woman.” Usually, I like it in the middle of sex when they’re grinding their hips harder into yours because they need more friction, and they don’t give a fuck if you get off, just as long as they do. There is something incredibly attractive about a woman who knows exactly what she wants and pursues it without hesitation or apology.
Salvatore raises a bored eyebrow. “You’re going to fuck her, aren’t you?”
That wasn’t in the original plan. I was going to snatch her from the dance floor, lock her in my dungeon, and ransom her back to Tommaso—easy, simple, low effort. But I didn’t know she looked like that in a silky red dress. “Plans change, Sal.”
“If you’re gonna get laid, I reserve the right to abort the mission and find my own action.”
His response unnerves me because it isn’t necessary. I don’t care what he does. He can fuck everyone in the bar for all I care. “Do what you want. I got this.”
Salvatore sighs heavily before patting me on the shoulder. “You’re going to ruin this with your dick, Dante.”
I stop watching the bathroom door and turn to my brother. “When have I ever ruined something with my dick, Sal? I’m a professional.”
“Professionally attracted to that girl,” Salvatore snorts. “Whatever. Call me if you need me.” He disappears into the crowd, and just like that, I forget all about him.
Then fate intervenes and sends my future crashing into me. I turn around to find Adalina Martinelli standing behind me, looking confused. “Hey, gorgeous,” I smile at her. “Care for a dance?”
Her face lights up with a smile for a long second before she says, “Fuck off, Suit and Tie.” Then she pushes past me with the strength of ten men, or maybe I’m just weak in the knees from the scent of her. Either way, she blows by me like I’m a paper in the wind, and I mean nothing to her.
God, it’s going to be fun breaking her.