Chapter 30 Dante #2
I kiss her until our hearts seem to beat as one.
When I pull away, she whines in soft protest.
“I want nothing more than to keep kissing you, but I have to get this over with,” I say, peeling her off me and placing her back in her own seat.
I take a moment to compose myself. Her heavy breathing doesn’t help one bit.
“Are you certain you want to come with me?” I ask.
“Yes.” She nods. “And you were right. I can’t stay afraid forever.”
“If you change your mind, just say the word,” I say. “We’ll leave immediately.”
“Why isn’t Enzo here?” she asks.
“He can’t come.” When I feel her staring at me, I add, “He couldn’t. He’s looking into the address we were given earlier today.”
“Right,” she says.
We get out of the car. She takes a deep breath as she looks up at the house. I squeeze her hand before we begin walking.
The chateau rises from the dark countryside in Gothic lines and creeping ivy. The windows glow softly in the night. There’s heavy security everywhere, but I don't let my guard down. As we enter through the double doors, a hostess welcomes us to the party.
As soon as I give her my name, she glances at one of the black-clad men. He strides toward us purposely.
"This way, please," he says.
Without turning to check if we're following him, he takes the grand staircase. I wrap my arm around Grace’s waist as we follow him up the staircase.
The sounds of live music and laughter drift up to us. I take a deep breath. I'm used to working under pressure, but there's a fear that has rooted itself deep inside me since I met Grace. I don't ever want to see her in harm's way, but I exist in a world filled with snakes and scorpions.
I squeeze her waist to reassure myself. She glances up at me.
"Are you okay?" I whisper.
"Yes, are you?" she replies.
I relax as I look into her brown eyes. I give her a small nod.
When we reach the landing, the guard takes us down a vaulted corridor. He stops before one of the doors and pushes it open. He steps aside to let us enter.
I pause at the threshold.
One thing becomes very clear to me.
This was a mistake.
"Don't even think about running." An albino man stands and pushes his hands into his pockets. "There's nowhere for you to go."
It's Damian Innocenti, Ivy Blackwood's husband. Only he's not alone. Two men stand beside him, one of whom is Nico Monte, the man I spoke with earlier this afternoon. Only he can’t bring himself to look me in the eye right now.
“You set a trap for me?” I ask him.
"Only a man with something to hide would run," Damian answers instead. "Do you have something to hide, Dante?"
"What do you want?" I ask, tightening my hold on Grace. I swear to God, if they try to take her from me, I’ll murder every person here.
"We're just here to talk." Damian raises his hands.
The third man steps forward. It’s Max Montgomery from the 'Ndrangheta. He’s also married to Grace’s eldest sister, Chloe.
And by the look on Grace’s face, she knows exactly who he is.
"I'll get straight to the point," Max says. "This is about Grace. You took her from a human auction, and you’re keeping her captive. Did you really think you would get away with it?”
"Are my sisters here?" Grace whispers from beside me.
Max's eyes soften when he looks at her. "No, sweetheart. But they're also in Paris. You’ll be reunited with them soon.”
Grace looks up at me. I genuinely don't know what she's going to do.
“Dante didn't take me captive," she says, looking straight at me. "He saved me from my mother. The two of us are together, and I choose to be with him."
Nico Monte finally speaks up.
“See?” he exclaims. “I told you they were in love. And who are we to get in the way of true love?”
"Nico, sit down," Max says. "This man has clearly brainwashed her and made her believe that she wants to be with him."
"No offense, but I don't think he's capable of all that," Nico says. "Look at his eyes. He’s a lover boy.”
"They literally call him the Reaper," Damian says. "He's capable of more than you think."
"Nah," Nico says. "He's soft. A literal teddy bear. He loves her."
The words land inside me like a grenade.
It's true.
I love her.
I turn to look at Grace. She keeps her eyes averted.
"Aw, and would you look at that? She's fond of him, too," Nico says. "Case dismissed. He can keep her."
Damian pinches the bridge of his nose. "Why are you even here, Nico?"
I feel a movement behind me.
I turn around to look at the man who’s blocking the way out.
He's dressed like a member of the security team, but I recognize his face. Dimitri Drakonov, the Pakhan of the Drakonov Bratva. Married to Grace’s middle sister, he’s also Grace's brother-in-law.
Spectacular.
It's a fucking family reunion.
This is what I get for venturing outside my comfort zone and trying to do things differently. I asked people for help only to be fucking ambushed.
"My pregnant wife has been stressed out because of you," Dimitri growls, his Russian accent thick. “Grace doesn’t belong to you. Not anymore.”
“I would beg to differ,” I grit out.
“You’re outnumbered right now,” Dimitri says. “Leave before we do something that can’t be undone.”
“Are you fucking threatening me right now?” I’m filled with blind, unadulterated rage at the very thought of someone separating Grace from me.
Dimitri steps toward me. We're face-to-face, both of us ready to strike.
"Oh my God, calm your tits," Nico says. “How about all of us take a deep breath and hear him out first? I can’t believe I'm the peacemaker among you guys. I'm so proud of myself."
I don’t take my eyes off the Russian man.
“Fine,” Damian says from across the room. “If you have something to say to defend yourself, now is the time. Because all we know about you is that you bought that girl from a human auction and then told her family that you were going to marry her.”
I don’t want to deal with this. Not right now. Not when everything is on the line.
I don’t have the patience to deal with this. But then Grace wraps her hand around my bicep. And I remember that this is bigger than my pride.
“I came to Paris seeking help,” I say. “If I didn’t want to be found, you would never have found me. But I’m here, and it’s for a reason.”
The only man who’s not suspicious of me is Nico Monte. I’m going to have to earn their trust.
“Nico said that you came here to speak to us about trafficking,” Damian says. “Why would we trust the word of someone who goes to human auctions? We've kept tabs on you. We know about all the places you frequent.”
I’m about to share my deepest secrets with a bunch of strangers.
Even though I know that every person here is publicly against the trafficking of human beings, it still feels like a leap of faith.
"I like to keep my enemies close," I say. "And the best way to do that is by studying them while they're in their own habitat. But before I say anything more, I need your word that the things I’m about to share will not leave this room.”
"Done, let's make a blood pact," Nico suggests.
"Nico, please," Max says. "Nobody wants to slice their palms open right now."
"You guys are boring," Nico grumbles.
"Why are you here again?" Max sounds like he's done with Nico.
"Before you say anything, I want to hear from Grace first.” Max crosses his arms as he looks at the two of us. "Grace, is it okay if we ask you some questions?"
She nods. "Yeah."
"Dante claims that he's not keeping you against your will," he says. "Is that true?"
"Yes," she says.
"Is that what he wants you to say, or is that the truth?" he asks. "Because you're safe with us. There's nothing he can do right now to hurt you. You can be honest with us."
“He didn’t just help me get away from my mother,” Grace says. “He offered me protection. He gave me hope when I was in a dark place. But he's more than the man who saved me. He's also been a friend to me. Someone I know I can lean on. Always.”
A warmth spreads across my chest as she speaks.
“Are you saying that you choose to be with him?” Max asks.
"He's my husband," Grace says, glancing up at me.
A hush falls over the room.
“Since when?” Dimitri growls.
This Russian man is starting to get on my last nerve. I'm about to give him a piece of my mind when Grace speaks up.
"We got married this morning," she says.
"Chloe isn't going to be happy about this," Max mutters. "I promised her I would rescue you before it was too late.”
"It's still not too late," Dimitri says.
"Is that a fucking threat?" I say to him. "Because I will burn this fucking house down before I let you take her from me."
"Oh, this is torture," Nico says, squeezing his eyes shut. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think we're all capable of being adults here. Even though I really, really love the idea of burning this place down.”
"Don't even think about it," Damian warns him. “We put down a hefty safety deposit.”
"What's going on?" Grace says.
"Nico here can't go a year without setting something on fire," Damian says. "But...he's right. We—"
"Wait, say that again, please," Nico says.
Damian ignores him. "We need to give Dante the benefit of the doubt."
"I don't trust him," Dimitri speaks up.
"The feeling's mutual," I say to him.
"Fine, if you want to talk, let's talk," Max says, walking toward me. "Start with why you made Grace cut off contact with her sisters."
I have Max standing before me and Dimitri behind me. Both of these men are involved with Grace's sisters, and they've made it clear that they hate my guts.
The tension between us feels like an explosive that's seconds away from detonating.
"Um, can I say something?" Nico asks.
"No," Max says.
"Luna and I went to a mindfulness retreat in Bali last month," Nico continues.
"And one of the things they kept emphasizing was how important it is to live in the present moment.
You guys are just making assumptions about each other without knowing any of the facts.
You're hearing, but you're not listening. "
Nico taps his ear to emphasize his point. Max looks at him like he wants to rip his ear off.
I clear my throat. "To answer your question, I didn't allow Grace to contact anyone because I wanted her to keep a low profile. As we all know, her mother is someone who can’t be underestimated.”
And then I tell them the reason I’m in Paris in the first place.
“I have spent years studying the people at the top,” I say. “All of us already know about Malorie Thorne’s involvement, but I know the others, too.”
Malorie Thorne, Grace’s mother, has been causing havoc in our world for the past decade. She’s been funding dark business models and taking them to new heights. She’s not alone in the venture, though. She’s only a single piece of the puzzle.
I look at Damian now.
“There’s a reason I wanted to speak with you,” I say. “I suspect that you might know one of the people associated with Malorie Thorne.”
“Who?” Damian asks.
"I don't know his name, but I know he's an Innocenti," I say.
Damian, Ivy’s husband, was once a part of the Innocenti family. They’re a family of albinos who have been ruling over Europe’s drug trade for decades.
"Oh God, not them again," Nico groans. "They've been quiet for so long. I had a feeling they were going to start some shit now.”
Damian is quiet as he stares at me.
“You have my word,” he says. “Everything discussed in this room will remain between us.”
“You have my word, too,” Nico says. “Obvi.”
I look at the two other men in the room. They’re more hesitant, but they eventually give their vows of silence.
Damian suggests that we all sit down.
I already know I can trust these men.
I know the history of their business dealings.
Enzo keeps me up to date on what all the major crime families are up to.
You can tell a lot about a person by what they absolutely refuse to do.
And all of the men here today have directly refused to do business with families that have been linked to trafficking rackets.
It still feels uncomfortable for me to open up. It’s hard for me to share the things that Enzo and I have kept private for all these years.
But I do.
And the more I open up, the less heavy the world feels.
I tell them everything I know, leaving out the part about why this is personal for me.
When I’m done speaking, they give me input. They strategize with me on how to shut down this evil practice once and for all.
As I listen to them brainstorm, something glows to life inside my chest.
Hope.
For the first time in years, hope burns inside me.
There's a knock on the door. Ivy Blackwood peeks inside.
"There's a situation," she says.
Damian Innocenti stands up immediately. "What's wrong, Ivy?"
"There's a visitor," she says. "For Dante."
I really hope it's not who I think it is. I thought I would have at least a few more days before he showed up.
"It's Don Savastano," she says.