30. Dante
Dante
The next week passes in a blur. I train with Sara once a day before dinner.
Those late sessions are the only times I can relax after fruitless days spent hunting down the traitor among my ranks and trying to unravel Enzo’s cryptic clue.
We achieve no progress on any front, so by Friday morning, I decide to switch up the pace.
I leave SilverTech early and find Sara in the clinic organizing stock. She’s clad in the standard-issue baby blue scrubs while stacking a row of gauze in the supply closet when I rap on the open office door. “Let’s go.”
Her initial bewilderment at my unexpected appearance melts into raw, unfiltered happiness, and a knot loosens in my chest. Is this how it would be?
To come home to her every day, to that bright white smile and those sparkling eyes?
To know that, when everything else in my life is in shambles, Sara is my rock, my constant?
I’m so swept up in the vision that I miss her question. “We’re going to work on a different kind of lesson today.” I hold out my hand, which she doesn’t hesitate to take.
After she changes into some jeans and a flowery blouse, we head to the car, and for the next forty-five minutes, I field question after question.
“Where are we going? Are you kidnapping me again, because I’m not even sure what that would be called? How many more lessons do you plan on teaching me, anyway?”
“As many as it takes.” At my solemn reply to her teasing, Sara falls quiet. I hate bursting her bubble, but I need her to remember why we’re training in the first place.
I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if something happened to her because I failed to properly prepare her for what’s coming.
We park in front of a crowded plaza on the far side of Staten Island, a part of town she wouldn’t normally have reason to visit. It’s nowhere near her subway stop, and as a bonus, ongoing construction scrim effectively obliterates any recognizable landmarks.
Not exactly Survivor, but it’ll do for today. “We’re going to play hide-and-seek.”
Sara frowns. “Hide-and-seek? You’re serious?”
“Dead serious.” I pull my pair of Persol 649s out of the center console and settle them over my eyes. “If someone is targeting you, you need to learn how to lose them.”
Ever since the siege, I stopped treating Sara like a prisoner.
Funny how a near death or abduction can completely alter one’s perspective.
In this case, Sara could have died or been stolen from me, and that reality finally knocked sense into my hard skull.
The idea of never seeing Sara again almost ripped me in two.
At some point soon, we need to discuss the events that transpired five years ago, but even if Sara did betray me, my craving for retribution is gone. Regardless of her previous actions, I’ll do whatever it takes to keep her alive and in my life.
A few days ago, I surprised her by returning her cell phone, so I text her an address and time.
Her excitement over the gesture made me feel like both the best man in the world and the worst for depriving her of it in the first place.
Dread and guilt constantly balloon in my chest as I continue questioning Sara’s involvement in my captivity.
It seems like every passing hour leads me closer to the conclusion that I may have made a terrible mistake.
I’d hoped that giving her the phone might ease some of the pressure, but unfortunately, the token gesture barely had an impact.
The ache in my chest grows as I wonder not for the first time what my life would be like now if I’d been allowed to date Sara openly.
If the Council hadn’t found out about my Code-breaking and made my life a living hell.
What went through Sara’s head when she thought I’d died?
How did my supposed death—and the way I treated her when I found her again—affect her?
I shove those thoughts aside for now. “We’re heading there today.
No matter the discipline, two core elements necessary to become a successful fighter are body awareness and the ability to think on your feet.
You need to be able to improvise and leverage your strengths whenever possible.
Evading detection is just as much about planning and adaptability as sparring. ”
I set a timer on my phone and angle it so she can see the screen for herself. “I’ll give you a five-minute head start. Make it to our destination without being caught, and we’ll see what you’ve learned so far.”
“Okay.” Sara grabs the door handle before pausing to playfully trail her eyes over my body. “By the way, what do I get if I win?”
I answer with a flat stare. “Time starts now.”
She practically launches herself out of the car.
I know she’s eager to prove herself, to please me.
What she probably doesn’t realize is how her efforts fill me with a sense of pride.
Watching her adapt and transform into someone who could survive this world instills hope for that future I envisioned in the gym.
Through the rearview mirror, she disappears into a crowd waiting on a street corner for the light to change.
During our lessons this week, I also instructed her on how to avoid cameras and how to become invisible.
She doesn’t have enough experience to take down anyone right now, but she can outsmart them.
When her five minutes run out, I get out of the car and stalk after her.
Since this is her first time, I expect to catch up to her with relative ease, but to my surprise, Sara has effectively vanished.
I can’t spend very long trying to track her since I need to beat her to where we’re going, but I keep an eye peeled for hints of her as I walk.
When I arrive at our destination, I spot her right away lounging on a bench outside of the building.
An orange Staten Island FerryHawks jersey has replaced the floral top she left the house in.
She has her hair tucked up under a New York Rangers cap, and when she spies me, she pops up from the bench and strides over, her gait unrecognizable.
She fucking did it. From head to toe, she made Sara Elizabeth Boyd a ghost.
“How was that?” She preens while brushing invisible dirt off one shoulder and then the other.
“Not bad.” The grin I attempt to hide breaks through.
I had low expectations for her to succeed.
Now that she has, I’m conflicted. When we started dating, I fell for her because she was so different from the world I live in.
Now I’ve conditioned her to play the game. What the hell am I doing to her?
Over her shoulder, the sleek, mirrored Silvertech building gleams like liquid mercury in the sunlight. This is Sara’s first visit. I know without asking because I programmed our security system’s facial-recognition technology to alert me the moment she stepped foot in the door.
Right on time, the automatic doors leading to the street slide open. A young man strolls out, absorbed in his phone. When he glances up to avoid plowing into another pedestrian, his gaze lands unerringly on his sister. “Sara?”
I don’t think I’ve ever seen her move so fast, and I squash a surge of jealousy as she bolts toward her brother and throws her arms around him.
Dragging him down to her height, she plants a big kiss on his cheek, fussing over him like a mother hen.
“They did put you on days! Have you lost weight? Are you eating vegetables? When was the last time you shaved? Did you remember to pay the internet bill?”
Jeremy wriggles free of her grasp. “Sara. Body boundaries. We talked about this. Also…what the hell are you wearing?”
The two of them stare at each other with matching goofy smiles until I clear my throat.
“You were on your way to lunch, weren’t you, Jeremy? How about we join you for a bit?”
Jeremy’s eyes nearly bug out of his head. He obviously wasn’t expecting his sister to show up with the president and founder of the company he works for.
Finally, he recovers enough to speak. “Oh, um, yeah. Yes, of course. Sounds great.”
Hooking her brother’s arm, Sara starts chatting his ear off as they stroll toward a deli down the block. The unobtrusive guards on duty trail us from a short distance while constantly scanning the environment for threats. We should be safe, but after that townhouse attack, I refuse to take chances.
I hold the door open for Jeremy but catch Sara’s arm before she can follow. “I brought you here as a reminder of what’s at stake if things go south. Choosing to help me puts him at risk, and it always will.”
When her face falls, guilt twinges in my chest. I’m not trying to scare her away. I want her by my side, but I know better than anyone what her brother means to her. She needs to understand this life comes with liabilities.
Lunch with Sara and Jeremy is vastly different from meals with my own family. The effortless affection they share is evident even as Jeremy grills his sister about her absence while she tactfully deflects with ready-made explanations.
Witnessing them reconnect kindles an odd yearning.
As the lunch hour winds down, I feel Jeremy studying me from across the sticky laminate table. “It’s an honor to have lunch with you today, Mr. Argento. I just…how do you two know each other, exactly?”
Despite his bland tone, I can read between the lines.
Before I get a chance to perform damage control, Sara pipes up. “Dante is a…close friend of mine.”
“Friend.” I echo her word with a scoff that likely inspires more questions than answers.
Sara whips her head around, her irritation over me not taking the bait palpable. “Yes. My very good friend.” She speaks through gritted teeth, and Jeremy’s eyes narrow.
I fold my arms over my chest and lounge back in my seat. “I’m her ex.”
With his mouth agape, Jeremy appears flabbergasted. “I see. So your ex just happens to be the president of the company I work for, and you never thought to mention that?”
I can almost see those steam lines, the ones that float above the heads of angry cartoon characters, radiating off Sara’s skin as she struggles to invent another excuse. “I…he…”
As she stumbles over her words, I bite back a chuckle. Laughing right now will win me no favors. Especially since I’m the one who manipulated our dates in the past so that Jeremy and I never met.
“I didn’t know he was the president of SilverTech until recently. We’ve only just become…reacquainted.”
While true enough, those words cause my gut to twist.
Picking up his paper cup, Jeremy downs the last of his water like it’s a tequila shot. “You’re so weird, Sara.”
“You’re one to talk.” She snorts, and they pick up the thread of the last conversation like nothing happened.
I let them prattle away, lost in my own thoughts. What would he have said if I told him what she really was to me? Would he be outraged? Happy for us both? Since Marco and I don’t share a typical sibling relationship, Jeremy’s response is impossible to judge.
With only a few minutes left before Jeremy’s break ends, we abandon our table at the deli and head back.
He and Sara stroll ahead of me, their voices low as we cruise to a stop not far from our earlier meeting spot.
“I’m glad you made it today, Sis.” Jeremy sighs and scrubs a hand down his face.
“I may not remember her very well, but it’s still difficult to believe she’s been gone so long.
” He glances my way and winces. “Sorry. Today’s the anniversary of our mom’s death, and it always hits hard. ”
My throat tightens because I can relate to the feeling all too well. Sara was in her late teens when her mother died in a car crash. I remember browsing photos online once, marveling over the resemblance between Leslie Boyd and her daughter.
Marco and I were never able to celebrate or talk about Dulce. We were the most affected by her death, and yet our grief always took a back seat to Gio’s. Papà’s pain had a way of eclipsing everything else, including us.
“I’m guessing you’ll be at home later since you’re back in town?
” Jeremy carefully avoids looking in my direction, but the hopeful note in his voice almost persuades me to release her and let her return to her old life.
I can’t, though. Not only due to my own selfish reasons, but because Sara’s in danger.
The mole, the Ghost, possibly even the Council…
they’re all potential enemies right now, and Sara is cannon fodder for their games.
“Sorry. I volunteered for a few more shifts. I just came through because it’s my day off and I wanted to see you, widget.” Sara reaches out and ruffles his hair affectionately. This time, he lets her.
Although Jeremy’s shoulders sag with disappointment, he rallies quickly. “Right.” He turns to me with a straight spine and extends his hand in a very proper and professional manner. “It was nice meeting you today, Mr. Argento. We should do it again sometime and discuss…business.”
Ambitious. I like it.
I shake his hand firmly, assuring him that I’ll be in contact again soon.
Before Jeremy can head toward the building, Sara grabs his forearm. “Please be careful. If anything spooks you, call me ASAP.”
His brow pinches. “Is everything okay?”
Sara bites her lip and hesitates, so I jump in. “Just a ramp up in threats lately…corporate espionage that could get ugly. Keep your eyes and ears peeled, okay?” I distract him by giving him my personal cell number. “Like your sister said, call if you notice anything that concerns you.”
“Yes, sir!”
Jeremy practically bounces his way back inside.
As we watch him go, my shoulder brushes Sara’s. “You want to stop at Dino’s before we head back?”
Sara brightens. “Really?”
“Why not? You won the game, didn’t you?”
Dino’s sells the best cannolis I’ve ever tasted. Sara and I used to eat there all the time. I tell myself the dessert is merely a reward for her efforts today, but for whatever reason, I can’t erase the memory of her devastated yet guilty expression after Jeremy mentioned their mom.
I want to drag the story out of her, but instead, I buy her a box of cannolis and hope that the sweets manage to temporarily combat a sadness that never really subsides.