Chapter 27 Angelica
ANGELICA
When I heard the engines, I raced downstairs from my warm spot on Dante's bed to intercept them, but they never came in the house.
Now, I hover outside the garage door, my hand pressed against the cold metal.
Inside, I hear Dante giving orders.
The sharp edge in his tone means things have gone wrong, which makes me feel gut sick.
Everything’s been riding on this night, and if something went wrong, then it means things aren't over the way Dante told me they would be.
I should go back to bed and just wait for him but I'm too ramped up, too anxious about what may have happened, that there's no way I'll sleep, anyway.
I haven't been able to get a wink since he left this morning, even though Sofia went to bed early.
Marta even made me a nightcap and I drank the whole thing, but I'm wired.
So antsy, in fact, that I don't even use common sense.
When I hear him demanding a call to Silvio, who I know damn well is a doctor, I fear the worst, that Dante has been injured and he's bleeding out.
So I push the door open, not caring that I'm only wearing a night gown, and step into the cold garage.
Dante stops short of what he was doing and rushes right over to me, his hands coming up to grip my arms.
His fingers dig into my flesh as he backs me through the door and into the hallway, then slams the door shut behind us.
"What are you doing out here?" he growls, and he's angry, but I can see already as his expression actively shifts while he's yet speaking, that he's also relieved to see me as much as I am to see him.
I search his face.
There's blood on his hands but none on his body and a sob heaves its way up into my chest as I wrap my arms around him.
"I heard the SUV pull in. I wanted to make sure everyone was okay."
"Everyone's fine." He releases my arms and pulls me into his chest hard for a moment.
His heart is pounding so hard, I can hear every individual pulse beneath his ribs. "You should go back upstairs."
"Don't lie to me." I plant my feet, pulling back to look up at him. "There's blood on your hands, Dante. What happened?"
"It's none of your concern, Angelica," he growls, and he plants his hand firmly on my back as he guides me toward the back staircase.
"Like hell!" I dig in my feet and turn toward him, but he's acting selfish and self-righteous.
As if he's the only one in this family with any rights.
As if I should just obey like a good little girl, and after everything I've had to process to get to the point we're at right now.
He sighs hard and glances at the door.
"You want to know what's in there?" he asks quietly.
"Yes."
"One of my men is dead. Another's bleeding through a makeshift bandage. The doctor's on his way, but it's gonna be messy. And I have to tell one of my courier's wives he didn't make it."
He steps closer again and when he pulls me in this time, I feel the difference. He's weighed down by something.
"That's what's in there. And you don't need to see it."
The way he wraps his arms around me protectively and rests his chin on top of my head undoes me.
I've never seen him like this, and I'm not sure what to think about it.
"Was it the tunnel?" I ask, my voice barely audible. "Did I get something wrong?"
"No." His answer is immediate and firm. "The tunnel was perfect. They made it through without any trouble."
"Then what—"
"Antonelli was waiting at the exit." His hands come up to grip my arms again and he looks me in the eye. "He had men positioned topside. They ambushed my crew when they surfaced."
I swallow hard. "How did he know?"
"I don't know yet." Dante's eyes bore into mine. "But it wasn't your fault. Do you understand me? This isn't on you."
"I'm sorry," I whisper because even though I believe him that it's not my fault, it's still not easy knowing he's lost someone.
And that outburst of anger was just his way of protecting me too, keeping me back from something that's dangerous the way you shout at a child who’s too close to the street—fear, and nothing more.
It makes me appreciate his gentler side a bit more.
Dante's grip on my arms tightens.
"Don't apologize. You didn't pull the trigger."
"But I—"
"Angelica." He waits until I open my eyes and look at him. "If you want to be with me, you have to trust me. And you need to let me handle these ugly parts, okay?" He pinches my chin and makes me look him in the eye.
His words are blunt, almost brutal. But there's something underneath them—a plea, maybe. Or a warning.
He's asking me to let him shoulder this burden alone.
To step back and let him be the wall between us and the violence that fills his world.
"Okay," I say finally. "I trust you."
His shoulders relax slightly, not much, but enough for me to notice.
He releases my arms and steps back, putting space between us.
"Go upstairs," he says, gentler this time. "Check on Sofia. I'll come find you when the doctor's finished."
I nod and turn toward the staircase.
But I only make it three steps before I stop and look back at him.
"Dante?"
He's already halfway to his den, but he pauses. "Yeah?"
"What's going to happen?" I ask him, feeling really afraid. I don't know what this attack means or how bad it is, but I can assume things.
Dante seems very upset by it, and that might mean the war isn't over yet.
"Well," he says thoughtfully, coming to join me at the bottom of the steps again, "I’m going to answer Antonelli Gerard for the scum he is and I'm going to put him in his place, and then we're going to celebrate Christmas as a family."
I swallow around the lump forming in my throat.
I don't like the idea that killing is the only way that Dante can end this, but if he's right and Gerard was there at the end of the tunnel and attacked his men, then it might mean it’s his only choice.
"You think that’s even possible? I mean, to murder a man one day and then have a happy family moment the next day?"
I study his face for a moment and see him rush through half a dozen emotions before settling on resolve.
"I don't have a choice, Bella."
He kisses me softly, so gently I believe him when he says he can murder Antonelli one day and then celebrate with me and Sofia the next.
After the violence he just witnessed and the way he's tender with me, I'm a believer.
"You’re my family now," he says softly, "and I want to be the best partner and lover and father that this world has ever seen. You and Sofia deserve that from me, for everything you've been through, and I'm not going to stop trying until you have it. Do you understand now?"
I nod my head, suddenly beginning to feel tired.
Knowing he's safe for the night is all I needed.
I let a yawn escape and he asks me, "Would you like me to see you to bed?"
Smiling, I say, "Does that mean you can stay with me too?"
"Unfortunately, no. I have more work to do and a pot of coffee to make." He lingers, not walking away until I answer him.
"I'll be fine. Just be safe…"
I watch him walk away before I begin climbing the stairs again.
Loving a man who puts himself in such dangerous positions isn’t easy, but you can't ever decide who your heart will fall in love with.
It just happens.
And when it does, you either fall apart or you hold on for the ride.
I just hope this ride is over soon. I'm getting motion sickness.