Chapter 39
DANTE
It's been six weeks since we returned from Bali.
More raids were conducted worldwide. We had to execute them sooner than planned, but we managed to pull it off.
There's still a lot more progress to be made, but I was surprised by how many other families stepped up to help.
As per our estimate, we have been able to destroy forty percent of those kinds of establishments.
My sister still doesn’t love that I’m in the mafia, but she came around after Grace had a talk with her. I don't know what Grace said to her, but Ida stopped looking at me with disgust in her eyes.
My sister is smiling again, laughing again. And for now, that's enough.
But I haven't been able to sleep since the night we rescued her.
I stay up all night, staring at the ceiling as her words play in my head. I can't stop thinking about everything Ida went through. I can't stop thinking about the six-year-olds who were rescued from some of these clubs. I can't stop thinking about the weight of my Don's expectations.
Now that I have everything I ever desired, all I can think about is how much I have to lose.
“Dante.” A soft voice breaks me out of my spell. “You couldn’t sleep again?”
I turn to face my beautiful wife.
"Don't worry about me," I say, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
"I'll make you hot chocolate," she says, sitting up in bed. "The milk and chocolate will help you sleep."
"It's the middle of the night, little bird," I say. "Go back to sleep."
"Come on." She gets off the bed and tugs on my hand.
Some of my heaviness dissipates as I follow her to the kitchen. My girl has this magic about her. Just being around her makes me feel like everything will be okay.
I wrap an arm around her waist as she stirs cocoa powder into the hot milk.
"I would use the regular chocolate bars, but the sugar might keep you up," she says.
I don't have the heart to tell her that refined sugar isn't my problem. I remain quiet as she turns off the stove and pours the hot chocolate into two mugs. She even adds mini marshmallows that float on top.
She sets it aside to cool and then turns to face me.
"Do you want to talk about it?" she asks.
I shake my head. Talking about it only makes the thoughts worse.
"Is it about your sister?" she asks.
"It's everything," I say. "All of it. I like being in control. And lately, it feels like too many things are out of my control."
"Well, it's no wonder you feel that way," she says. "I think you're forgetting that you're also human, Dante. You've been working so hard lately. Do you even remember the last time you took a day off?”
"There's no time for that," I say.
"Spend tomorrow with me," she says, smiling up at me. "We'll do all of your favorite things together."
"You're my favorite thing to do," I say, pulling her closer.
She rests her palms on my chest.
"Not that," she says. "I was thinking something outdoorsy."
"I can also do you on a picnic blanket," I say, letting my hands trail down her curves. I squeeze her hips in my hands and revel in the way she blushes for me.
"Dante, I'm being serious," she says. “Let’s spend the day at the beach. Some Vitamin D will do you wonders. We’ll have pastries and iced coffee for breakfast, then follow up with a long lunch. It’ll be good for you.”
"There's so much left to do, Grace," I say.
"And it will all be there at the end of the day," she says.
She's looking at me with big, hopeful eyes. I can never say no to her.
"Okay," I say.
"Yay." She twists and picks up the mug of hot chocolate. "Now drink this. It'll help you sleep."
I take it from her hands.
Whatever's happening inside me feels like grief. I'm grieving my sister's childhood. I'm grieving all the years we lost. I'm grieving the innocence that was snatched from us.
I thought I would feel better once I found my sister. But I feel worse.
I take a sip of the hot chocolate. It's rich and decadent.
"You're right," I say. "It is comforting."
"I'm glad," she says, drinking from her mug.
She has a hot chocolate mustache that I wipe with my thumb. And then I lean down to kiss her.
"It tastes sweeter on your lips," I murmur, sweeping my tongue across the seam of her lips, seeking permission.
And like always, this is the only thing that can ever calm me down. This is the only reprieve I have in this world. I kiss her until my heart feels alive again. When I pull away, her cheeks are rosy.
I place our hot chocolates aside and grab the back of her thighs. She's obedient as she wraps her legs around me.
I hold her flush against me as I deepen the kiss.
"I'm so addicted to you, little bird," I say, loving the way she starts grinding against my cock. "I love how horny you get when I'm kissing you. You get so restless until I fill you with my cock."
She moans as I reach between her thighs to squeeze her pussy. I can feel how wet she is for me.
"My good girl," I say, pushing her panties aside to drag my knuckles up her wet slit. "It's like you were made just for me."
I can feel the heat radiating off her body. She inhales softly as I push two fingers inside her. I trap her bottom lip between my teeth as I start fucking her with my thick fingers.
Just watching her is enough.
I see the color deepen on her cheeks. I see the way her lips part as I take her crudely. I watch the heavy bounce of her tits.
"You're so pretty that I can't help myself around you," I say, kissing the shell of her ear as I palm her breast. "You call to me like a siren. The only time I'm at peace is when I'm buried deep inside you."
I capture her pretty mouth, kissing her until she turns even more pliant for me. I pull my fingers out of her slick entrance and glance down between us.
"Hold these thighs open for me," I say. "Show Daddy what a little slut you are."
She hesitates, but only for a split second.
She's comfortable in her sexuality now. She does as she's told, holding her thighs open so I can look at her wet little cunt.
"Now play with yourself, piccola," I say. "Make yourself feel good."
She reaches between her thighs and brushes her fingers against her clit. I take the mug filled with hot chocolate and take a long sip as I watch her. She gets so wet as she watches me watch her.
"Do you want me to take over now, little bird?" I ask.
She nods fervently.
"Say it," I say, putting the mug back on the countertop.
"Please, Daddy," she whispers. "I need you."
I grab the back of her knees and pull her closer. I turn her over so her heart-shaped ass is facing me. And then I enter her with a rough thrust that makes her cry out my name.
"It's a good thing you're so fucking wet for me because this would have hurt otherwise," I say, filling her with another rough thrust of my hips.
"But something tells me you would have liked that.
You look so good bent over the kitchen counter.
You look so good taking my cock inside your tight little fuck hole. "
Her face is flat against the counter as I punch into her slick pussy.
She starts to scream, but I cover her mouth with my hand.
"You're forgetting to be quiet, little girl," I say. "We can't have anyone finding us like this."
I bottom out inside her with every hard thrust. Her walls clench around me, telling me that she's ready to come. I lean over her, pressing our bodies together as I wrap my hand around her throat. I hold her head up as I grind my cock deep inside her womb.
"Be quiet and take my come now, princess," I say, holding her in place as I fill her with shallow thrusts of my hips. "That's my girl. Such a good girl for Daddy. Keep these thighs open and let me empty inside you now."
She comes undone right as I start to fill her with my seed.
And then she turns boneless in my arms. I kiss her neck and take her back to our bed. I hold her close to my chest, keeping my arms wrapped around her as she drifts back to sleep.
"There's something else I need to tell you," I whisper.
Just when I think she's asleep, she mumbles, "Tell me."
“In exchange for the names of my parents’ killers, the Don wanted me to find someone,” I say.
I tell her about Eleonora Cavallari, the Cosa Nostra princess.
“And last week, Enzo found her,” I say. “I gave her location to the Don. And as promised, he gave me the names of my parents’ killers.”
If Grace is disgusted by me giving up the location of an innocent girl who wanted to stay hidden, she doesn’t show it.
“Did you find the two men?” Grace whispers.
“I did,” I say. “I took their lives.”
Grace looks at me with wide eyes. I don't know what she's thinking, but she's my wife. She deserves to know the truth about everything, even the ugly side of me.
"I made it slow and painful," I say. "But I didn't feel any better, Grace. I always thought that this feeling inside me would go away once I killed them. But if anything, the restlessness has only become more potent. Maybe I'm just broken."
"You're not broken," she whispers. "You're just someone who has been through too much.”
"I thought it would bring me peace," I say. "But there was no satisfaction. I didn't feel any better after watching the light fade from their eyes."
She's quiet for a moment. And then she takes my hand in hers and kisses the inside of my palm.
"That's because you're not like them, Dante," she says.
"Violence isn't supposed to soothe your soul, even if you thought it would.
You had a singular goal since you were a child.
Instead of grieving what you lost, you funneled that energy into becoming who you are today.
Maybe you just need something else to focus on. "
I turn her words over in my head.
"And maybe...you should just let yourself grieve," she says. "It was a long time ago, but it's important to let yourself feel. And I promise you that it will pass."
I don't think this will ever leave me. Perhaps it's just what I was destined for.
But it will be okay.
I have this beautiful, sweet woman in my life.
And for the first time in weeks, I feel the weight lift off my chest. My heart slows to a gentler rhythm.
I hold my wife close as my body finally allows me to rest.