Chapter 15
DANTE
We didn’t waste any time going to work. After a meeting with our crew a few hours later, we stopped by the lawyer’s office, but he was on an “extended vacation” according to his secretary, which basically means Faro ordered him to disappear.
That was all we needed to know. The bastard knows something.
But we weren’t about to give up. We took Jared, the Palermos’ accountant, and Victor, one of their associates.
They’re currently on their knees in our van.
A woven sack traps each of their blindfolded and gagged faces.
Their hands are tightly bound behind their backs with our weapons pointing in their direction.
“One slight move, and I’ll take a leg,” I warn both of them.
We can’t kill them just yet, not until we get what we need.
We decide to bring them to my place instead of Enzo’s.
He didn’t want Joelle to see them. Many of these men were not only her clients at the strip joint, but also her clients outside of it.
She told Enzo how they violated her, beat her, raped her at that private sex club.
If she refused the work, the Bianchis threatened to hurt her son.
So my place, it is. I have a nice basement just for these special occasions. Practically empty, no carpets or rugs, easy to clean, and—most importantly—soundproof.
Not that it matters. All the houses in my area are acres apart. The closest homes are Dom’s across from me and Enzo to the left. I don’t know what the hell I’m gonna tell Raquel, though.
The van stops harshly, lurching the two men forward and making them fall on their faces.
“Stand up,” I demand, shoving the barrel of my gun into the back of the accountant’s head while Enzo does the same to Victor.
They grumble, but make no attempt to obey. When they’re not fast enough, we help them, grabbing them by the back of their shirts and dragging them out.
The darkness is everywhere at first, the daylight long gone. The only brightness is coming from inside my house. A few of our men hop out of the van, following us. The assholes fight against the gags, screaming as their legs twist over the rocky driveway.
“You should thank us that it ain’t your face on that ground,” Enzo says on a laugh. “This is us in a good mood. Can’t tell you what’ll happen if one of you doesn’t start talking, though.”
The door clicks open after I shove my keys into it. Dread punches me in the gut at the knowledge that Raquel will have more questions than I’m ready to give her answers for.
I considered ordering one of my men to keep her locked away in her room, but decided against it. She’ll find out who I am and what I am eventually. Better start somewhere.
She should see all the parts of me: the ugly, and the parts uglier than that. Only then will she really know if I’m someone she wants to be with. If there’ll even be an us after everything’s said and done. Lying to her the way I did to get her to marry me is probably unforgivable.
I wouldn’t blame her, though. She was always too good for me, even with the Bianchi blood spilling through her veins.
As I push the door open with my foot, Enzo and I lift the men up onto their feet and move them inside.
That’s when I see her walking up the stairs with her back to me, probably heading to her room.
But once she hears us, she sharply turns around.
And as soon as she does—as soon as her eyes dart from the men with hoods over their heads over to me—her gaze widens, mouth parted.
A million thoughts are probably swimming in her head.
“Raquel, go upstairs,” I bite out.
“What is this?” Her stare shifts to me and stays there.
“Hey!” My brother gives a wave with a smile, as though this is some damn party.
“I’m Enzo, Dante’s much-better-looking brother.
I've heard a lot about you.” He glances at me with a knowing expression I want to wipe off his face.
“I would stay and chat, but we have some business to take care of. I promise we’ll get a chance to meet properly, though, and then maybe you can tell me what you see in him. ”
He winks while she gapes at him, her eyes still unrecovered from the shock. Then she turns her fearful eyes to me.
“Leave us,” I tell him and my men, not looking away from her. “Take these two down. I’ll be there in a minute.”
Enzo shoves our prisoners forward while I continue staring at her, wanting more than anything to calm the impending storm overcasting her features.
When the basement door creaks and the sound of it closing fills the room, I slowly approach her, climbing up the first step of the stairs she’s still on.
But instead of waiting for me, she backs up with every deep and hasty breath.
“Don’t be scared of me,” I whisper, hoping the calmness in my tone will make her stop moving away.
She shakes her head violently, her unflinching gaze telling me that fear is her only friend. “Who are those men? What are you going to do to them?”
“Nothing they don’t deserve.”
“Are…are you going to kill them?” Her voice jolts.
“What do you want me to say, Raquel?”
“The fucking truth!” she cries. “Who are you really? Because you sure as hell aren’t some regular old businessman.”
I want to spill my heart and tell her what she’s begging for, but I know I can’t. Not yet. Not until her father and uncles are dead, along with that fiancé of hers.
If I say anything now, she won’t want to stay. And if she goes, who knows if I’d ever see her alive again? Keeping the truth from her is the only way to keep her safe.
“The truth is…” I hesitate for a moment. “Those two men are not good people. They hurt some kids really fucking badly, and my brother and I are going to do everything we can to find out where those children are.”
I tread another step closer, and this time she doesn’t back away.
“Can you understand that? Can you live with that?”
My heart pounds as she continues to silently stare, uncertainty muddling her eyes, her brows tensing. Seconds might as well be minutes as I wait for her to tell me she understands why I’m doing this.
“Those men really hurt kids? You’re not bullshitting me?”
“I’m not, Raquel. I swear, baby. They’re stealing them and hurting them in the worst way. Or at least they know who is.”
“Oh, God!” A hand clamps over her mouth.
I take another step up, needing to be close to her, to kiss those lips again. I’m finally in front of her, my hands tentatively reaching toward her face, my thumbs softly swiping over the tops of her cheeks.
“Don’t be scared of me, okay? I’d never hurt you. I hope you know that.” I cup her face in my palms, lowering my lips to her forehead. “I’ll be up to see you when I’m done, but only if you want me to.”
“I…I don’t know what I want.” The words stumble out.
I suck in a quick breath, dropping my hands away. She doesn’t want me, not anymore, and she hasn’t even seen me at my worst. She hasn’t seen what I’m capable of.
“I understand.” Disappointment etches itself in my heart, stamping next to self-hatred.
Of course she doesn’t want me.
“Go to bed, Raquel.” I make my way down the stairs. “We can talk more tomorrow if you want.”
I grit my teeth with my back to her, hating that the woman I’m falling for no longer looks at me the way she used to. I’m no longer her savior. I’m the darkness finding her dreams and turning them into nightmares.
“Wait,” she calls, her feet prodding down the steps.
I spin toward her, hopeful she can accept me for who I’ve become.
She stands before me, her lips forming a thin line.
“From the moment I stepped into your home, I knew there was something more to you. Something dangerous.” She peers down at her feet before her eyes are back on me.
“But I also saw the good in your eyes. The kindness.” She slowly, hesitantly pulls out a hand to mine, forging them together. “I still see it.”
I curl my fingers around hers, waiting for every single word she has left to say.
“I know you wouldn’t hurt me, but I also know you’re not being honest with me about who you are. I deserve to know who I’m involved with, Dante, no matter the length of time we’re together. No matter how real we may or may not be.”
“You’re right.” I pick up her hand and bring her knuckles to my lips, fastening our gazes so tightly, I never want them undone.
She grips the very essence of my soul. Whatever’s left of it is hers. At least that’s what it feels like when she looks at me that way and when I gaze at her the same.
It’s the way my father would stare at my mom: as though his day ended and began with her smile. As though she meant everything to him. And that’s because she did. I want that with Raquel someday.
“I’m sorry for pushing you away,” I confess, placing her hand against my beating heart. “I was fucking scared, baby. Because the way I feel about you…I never wanted to, never deserved it. I still don’t. But I want you for more than three months. I want you for as long as you’ll let me have you.”
My other hand wraps around the small of her back, pulling her hard against my body as I lean my forehead over hers, my eyes closing.
“You’re an idiot,” she teases, a tearful smile piercing through her words.
“So you tell me.” I inhale her scent, wanting to commit it to my subconscious.
“Just when I thought I wouldn’t forgive you for being an ass…” Her tone slices with raw emotion, yanking at my heart. “You go and say something stupid like that.”
“I’m always doing something to disappoint you,” I whisper, leaning my mouth against hers, brushing past the softness of her lips.
“Mmm.” She nuzzles into me. “Still nowhere near as bad as my getting drunk.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right.” I smile over her mouth.
“Hey!” She yanks back, narrowing her eyes. “You’re not supposed to agree with me.”
“I’m sorry, wife. There’s still so much I have to learn about being a good husband.”
“Dante…”
“I know.” I nod, an ache forming in my throat. “You’re not my wife, and you’re still leaving in less than three months.”