Chapter 34
34
DANTE
I watched Celia from the shadows of the garden. She sat at the fountain’s edge, her puppy bouncing around her feet, trying to catch the water droplets she splashed at her. The late afternoon sun caught in her hair, turning it to liquid gold. Even after everything, she still took my breath away.
Her laugh rang out as the puppy pounced on her, tumbling over herself in excitement. She hadn’t named the dog yet, but I could see how much she loved her already in the gentle way she scooped her up, pressing kisses to her little head.
Movement in the house caught my eye. Andrews, one of Mal’s old guards, was lurking through the halls. He didn’t have any reason to linger after she’d met with several of the men earlier. Everyone else had left.
My instincts hummed. Andrews had been too quiet since Mal’s death, too acquiescent.
I slipped through the garden paths I knew so well. I hated them as well, but maybe it would be different now that this was Celia’s home.
I wish I’d burned those damn bunk beds like Celia had burned her cage, but still, I missed the mansion Gabriel had built.
I thought Celia did too, because I often watched her pace her room in the middle of the night. She was still anxious in this house.
And I was still her stalker, of course.
The puppy’s excited yips covered any sound my feet might have made. Andrews didn’t hear me following him into the house. He was focused entirely on his target, moving steadily closer to where Celia would enter.
Just before he reached the corner that would give him a clear line of sight to the entrance, I grabbed him from behind. I slapped one hand over his mouth, the other twisting his arm behind his back. I dragged him into an empty office.
“Show me your hands,” I growled, shoving him face-first into the wall.
He tried to fight back, but I slammed his head against the wood paneling. The knife he’d been concealing clattered to the floor.
“You really think you could get close enough to use that on her?”
“I wasn’t going to use it on her.”
“How stupid do I look to you?”
I had to break a finger to get him to answer.
“She doesn’t deserve to lead us,” he finally whined. “She’s just a girl, playing at being?—”
I drove my knee into his kidney, cutting off his words. “Who else isn’t happy with her leadership?”
He stayed silent.
That was fine. He had nine more fingers.
Then eight.
“Antonetti,” he gasped. “The Coletti brothers. They’re planning…”
“Thank you.” I got all the details before I snapped his neck.
Celia was cooing at her puppy as I dragged out Andrews’ body, wrapped in the office’s rug. “Who’s the sweetest girl? Are you trying to catch the water? Silly thing.”
I texted our cleanup crew, then returned to my position in the shadows of the garden. Celia had the puppy in her lap now, both of them bathed in the sunset’s golden light. The little dog had worn herself out and was dozing against her chest while she stroked his fur.
“Anything interesting happen while I was gone?” Luca’s voice came from behind me.
“Just taking out the trash,” I said, not taking my eyes off Celia. “We need to look into Antonetti and his friends.”
“I’ll handle it.” Luca moved to stand beside me. “She looks peaceful.”
“She does.”
We watched in comfortable silence as the shadows lengthened. The puppy stirred and licked Celia’s chin, making her smile that bright, unguarded smile we so rarely got to see.
Whatever threats came, we would handle them.
“How long do you think you can handle this before you break and kidnap her?” I asked Luca.
He let out a groan, sagging against the wall. His arms crossed over his chest. “I don’t know. She’s supposed to be ours, Dante. We’re meant to be together.”
“She’s supposed to be her own first.” I knew I was the only reason Luca hadn’t lost his mind and just taken her yet. He was managing his energy by killing for her, but it was a struggle.
Gabriel, too, wanted us to wait. To let her choose us.
But all of us were dying as we waited.