54. Dante
Chapter 54
Dante
T he mere thought of her face causes my resolve to crumble, and I know that if I were to see Adalina in person, I would give in to all her demands. I must stay strong and avoid direct contact until I have a plan in place for dealing with Lucrezia.
“This is crazy, Dante.”
This is love and war. “You know what to do if she starts to fight, right?” My hand glides over my stomach and chest, but I feel no movement from the bulletproof vest tightly hugging my body.
Enzo paces nervously, his feet carrying him from one end of the office to the other and back again. His hands are tightly clasped together, the skin turning a deep shade of crimson as he anxiously wrings them. “I should be there. Leave Sal or Luc to deal with this.”
Enzo is not just my bodyguard; he is my confidant and my most loyal friend. When Niccolo made the decision to turn his back on the family, Enzo stepped forward without hesitation to fill his shoes. He is my voice of reason and the only person I trust implicitly. That’s why he has to stay behind. “If something happens to me, Sal would be next in line, but Luc is a better choice,” I explain, hoping he can interpret my wishes.
Salvatore jokes too much. With his luck, he’ll tell a joke to the wrong person and wind up dead. Luciano is too young to take over the Terlizzi family, but he’s serious enough that he won’t accidentally offend someone. Between the two of them, they’ll make a fine leader, but separately, they’ll tear this family apart.
“You said Castiglione wouldn’t kill you,” Enzo glares. “This is bullshit, and you know it.”
“I’m preparing for every eventuality.” Saverio won’t kill me. Probably. Maybe…
Enzo wears out a track on the carpet. Note to self: invest in marble flooring. “I can’t work for your brothers. I like them, but they aren’t you. Respectfully,” he pauses for a minute, “you’re the only Terlizzi I like.”
A small smile tugs at the corners of my lips. Once upon a time, my brothers told me I was too severe. I have made the family business my life, and Salvatore likes to bust my balls about it. He says I never have any fun. But the joke’s on him: my best friend thinks I’m the best of the Terlizzis. “And you’re the only person I can trust with Adalina. If something happens to me?—”
“You said nothing would happen,” Enzo cuts me off before returning to pacing.
“But if it does,” my voice rises as I interrupt him, “I don’t know what Salvatore or Luciano would do with Adalina. They may let her go; they may kill her. I need someone to look after her best interests.”
It’s tough to argue with logic, but Enzo does the best he can. “Your brothers aren’t going to listen to me. Besides, if I were with you, the likelihood of something happening would dramatically reduce.”
That’s a possibility. I can’t say that Saverio would be less likely to put a bullet between my eyes if Enzo were there, but it’s more probable than if Enzo isn’t there. “I can’t take that chance with Adalina’s safety. You know where I keep a stash of ransom money. If Sal and Luc decide they want to kill Adalina, give it all to her.”
The ransom stash has been growing for years, since before it belonged to me. My father instilled in me the importance of always having cash on hand in case I am ever kidnapped by a rival family. The money won’t stop someone who’s determined to see me dead, but if there’s any hesitation, it might keep me alive long enough for help to arrive.
“Your brothers will be pissed if I give Adalina the ransom cash.”
I twist away from the mirror in the corner of the room and pin Enzo with a glare. “I don’t care. Take some for yourself, and get the hell out of here, too. This isn’t up for debate, En. I can’t risk Adalina’s life on the hope that my brothers will be kind, decent human beings. They are those things,” I sigh, “but I can’t hang my hat on it. I have to prepare for the worst, that Salvatore and Luciano will slit Adalina’s throat in the middle of the night because it’ll be easier than dealing with her.” Just saying those words aloud makes my heart contract with fear.
Enzo’s shoulders slump as he reluctantly accepts his role as Adalina’s caretaker in the event of my death. It isn’t what he would have chosen for himself, but it’s a necessary evil. He knows how to get into the dungeon; he can save Adalina if he has to.
“Silas will be by shortly.”
“I know,” Enzo grumbles. “Make sure he looks at Adalina’s arm,” he repeats the only item on his to-do list.
My expression softens as I turn to face Enzo. We’ve stood side by side for years, entering fights and combat arm-in-arm. This is the first time I’ve chosen someone else over him, and it’s my brothers. Enzo can’t be angry because our culture values family and blood over friendship. But he is more to me than a bodyguard or someone I’ve stayed up drinking with until two a.m. Enzo Castelli is my best friend. He’s seen me through bad times and good. Deep down, he knows who I am, and my darkness doesn’t scare him. “When I come back, because I am coming back, I want to make you my consigliere.”
Enzo’s steps come to a sudden halt in the middle of the room, shock frozen on his face. “Dante, I couldn’t?—”
I raise my hand, palm out, signaling for him to stop talking. “You can , and you will . I can get another bodyguard, but I can’t replace you. You are my level head. You’re the person that keeps me sane.”
“I can’t even get you to rethink this meeting with Castiglione,” he snorts.
“That’s because it has to happen,” I reply with a wistful smile. It’s a bittersweet truth that hangs heavily between us: no matter what I want to do, I have to sit down with Saverio and hash out the future he’s planned for his sister and me. “I wish you could talk me out of it, but it has to happen. I have to rid myself of Lucrezia. I can’t marry her.”
Enzo’s perceptive ears catch the depth of my worries, but he doesn’t offer empty reassurances. He knows his place in my life better than anyone I’ve ever met; he knows when to speak and when to keep his mouth shut. “You go do what you need to do, and I’ll hold down the fort. But God help you if you die.” He shakes his head, weariness appearing in the lines of his face. “If I have to come to hell to kill you all over again because you left me with your dumbass brothers, I will.”
He’s the only one who could ever get away with insulting my brothers, and it’s because he’s practically one of them himself. Maybe not by blood, but in all the ways that truly count.