Chapter 29
Dante
The silence stretches for maybe three seconds before Rina moves.
"Both of you. Now." She points toward the small bedroom off the main living area, her voice carrying the kind of authority that makes grown men obey without question. "In there. Before I lose what's left of my patience."
Vito opens his mouth to protest, but one look at his wife's face shuts him up. I've seen Rina angry before, but this is different. This is the fury of a woman who's just realized the man she loves has been keeping secrets that put her family in danger.
"Rina—" Vito starts.
"Don't." She cuts him off with a sharp gesture. "Move. Both of you. Now."
We file into the bedroom like scolded children. The space is cramped, barely big enough for the single bed and dresser, which means we're standing uncomfortably close. Perfect for the kind of conversation Rina clearly has in mind.
She closes the door behind us and leans against it, arms crossed, dark eyes blazing. "What the fuck, Vito?"
"Language, cara mia."
"Don't you dare 'cara mia' me right now." Her voice is low, dangerous. "You made a deal involving my sister without telling me?"
Vito's jaw tightens. "It was business."
"Sofia is not business. She's my family." Rina pushes off from the door, stepping closer to her husband. "How long? How long have you been planning to hand her over to Kieran Costello?"
"It's all very recent—"
"Don't try and skirt my question, Vito!"
I watch the exchange with growing fascination. This is the only person in the world who can make Vito Rosso look genuinely uncomfortable. He shifts his weight, runs a hand through his dark hair, avoids her gaze.
"You wouldn't have understood the necessity—"
"Try me."
"The Costellos are pushing for war. They're demanding a replacement for you. An alliance through marriage was the cleanest solution."
"For who?" Rina's voice climbs. "Clean for you, maybe. What about Sofia? What about what she wants?"
"What she wants is irrelevant when it comes to family survival."
The casual dismissal in his tone makes something snap inside me. A laugh bubbles up from my chest, dark and bitter. Both of them turn to stare at me.
"Something funny, Dante?" Rina asks.
"Yeah, actually." I can't stop the laughter now, even though there's nothing remotely amusing about any of this. "Family survival. That's rich, coming from the man who was ready to throw his wife's sister to the wolves."
"Dante," Vito warns.
"No, he's right." Rina turns back to her husband. "You talk about family, but you were willing to sacrifice Sofia without a second thought. Without even asking me."
"Because I knew you'd react exactly like this."
"Like someone who gives a damn about her sister? Yeah, Vito. That's exactly how I'd react."
The fight goes out of me as suddenly as it came, replaced by something deeper, more honest. "I love her, Rina."
Both of them stop arguing and look at me. Rina's expression softens slightly.
"I know you do," she says quietly.
"I'd do anything for her." The words feel like a confession, like something I'm admitting to myself as much as to them. "I'd burn this whole fucking world down if it meant keeping her safe."
Vito makes a disgusted sound. "This is infatuation, not love."
"Don't." I step closer to him, my voice dropping to a growl. "Don't you dare tell me what I feel. I've spent fifteen years of my life following your orders, doing your dirty work, being your perfect little soldier. But this? This is mine. She's mine."
"She's my family," Vito counters.
"And now she's mine too." I meet his stare without flinching. "The difference is, I'd actually die for her instead of trading her away for a peace treaty."
Rina watches this exchange with calculating eyes, and I can practically see the wheels turning in her head.
Finally, she turns to her husband. "You're going to let him go after her."
"Absolutely not—"
"Vito." Her voice carries a warning that makes him stop mid-sentence.
"You kept this from me. You made decisions about my family without consulting me.
You've put Sofia in danger because of your pride and your politics.
" She steps closer to him, her voice dropping to something deadly quiet.
"So now you're going to fix it. You're going to let Dante do whatever it takes to bring her home. "
"Rina, you don't understand the implications—"
"I understand perfectly. You've been treating Sofia like a chess piece instead of a person. Well, congratulations. You've lost the game." She crosses her arms again. "The question is, are you going to help us win it back, or are you going to keep playing politics while my sister suffers?"
Vito looks between us, his jaw working silently. I can see the internal battle playing out across his face—the Don who's used to absolute control warring with the husband who's just been called out by the woman he loves.
Before he can answer, there's a sharp knock on the door.
"Boss?" Marco's voice carries through the wood. "Sorry to interrupt, but we've got a situation."
Rina opens the door, and Marco's face is grim as he looks between the three of us.
"What is it?" Vito demands.
"Message from Kieran Costello." Marco holds up his phone. "He's got her."
The world goes very still and very quiet. That cold, deadly calm I've felt in the field before settles over me like a familiar coat. No more panic, no more desperate fear. Just crystalline focus and the kind of rage that could level buildings.
"What does he want?" My voice sounds strange to my own ears, flat and emotionless.
"To invite us to his wedding."
I look at Rina, then at Vito. "I'm going."
"Like hell you are," Vito starts, but Rina cuts him off with a hand on his arm.
"Let him go." She looks at me with something that might be pride. "Go get my sister, Dante."
The permission hits me like a benediction. I turn toward the door, already planning, already calculating odds and angles and ways to make Kieran Costello bleed.
Before I can take a step, Elena and Gianna appear in the doorway behind Marco, both of them wearing expressions that spell trouble.
"We're helping," Elena announces, crossing her arms.
"Like hell you are," Vito says immediately.
Gianna nods firmly. "Sofia's family. We're not sitting this one out."
"Absolutely not. You'll stay here where it's safe—"
Rina gives her husband a look that could melt steel. Vito catches it, stops mid-sentence, and runs both hands through his hair.
"I've clearly just lost complete control of my family," he mutters.
"You never had control of us, honey," Elena says sweetly. "You just thought you did." She turns to me, and I catch a glimpse of the woman who runs with some of the most dangerous crews in the city. "It's been a long time since I've done any real shooting, Dante. Let's go get some guns."
Despite everything—Sofia captured, the Costellos holding her, the clusterfuck this has all become—I feel something like hope unfurl in my chest. Maybe it's the way Rina's standing shoulder to shoulder with me against Vito's protests. Maybe it's Elena's predatory smile or Gianna's determined nod.
Or maybe it's just knowing that Sofia's got this whole family ready to go to war for her, whether she realizes it or not.
"And Dante?" Rina calls after me.
I pause in the doorway.
"Bring her home."