40. Dante
Dante
Giovanni Argento is the last person I expect to find waiting for us, but after this disaster of a morning, I can’t say I’m surprised.
I immediately burst into action, shoving Sara behind me and drawing my gun.
A distressed Pistol whines from her spot at Papà’s feet while gnawing on the bone trapped between her paws. Most likely a gift from my father.
I glare at the dog. “Traitor.”
Gio studies me. “The woman…Angela…escaped while you two were gone.”
Beside me, Sara makes an unhappy noise.
The old man’s been avoiding my calls since before the museum benefit. According to the men I ordered to check on him, he hasn’t been home in weeks. Since he has no discernable reason to be here, my mind starts to work overtime. “Did Zanni send you?”
Scanning the foyer, I search for signs of Council soldiers lying in wait. Between Angela and the entirety of my staff at SilverTech, I can no longer trust anyone. When Gio steps toward us, I lift my gun. “Don’t.”
The flash of hurt in Papà’s eyes almost weakens my resolve. His tone softens into a whisper. “Are you really going to shoot me?”
The gun wavers for just a split second before I steady it again. I shrug as if the decision is an easy one. “I don’t think I have it in me to kill you, but if it means getting Sara out of here safely, I’m pretty sure I can, at the very least, put a bullet in your good knee.”
Instead of taking offense, my father chuckles. “You’ve always been stronger than that brother of yours. It’s been an honor to watch you grow into your role in this family. Though I’m certain you didn’t appreciate being forced to make all the decisions most days.”
Cautiously, I lower my gun, but I can’t bring myself to holster it just yet. “What game are you playing?”
“No game, boy.” Gio’s cane clacks as he hobbles over to us. From the table by the entry, he picks up a thick manila envelope and offers it to me. “Just an old man trying to do the right thing for once before he dies.”
His words stop me, and my grip on the gun falters again. I pass the envelope to Sara, and she unclasps the metal prongs. “Forged IDs, passports, birth certificates.” Sara glances up at me, her pretty eyes bright and wide with wonder and relief. “Even for Jeremy.”
I clear my suddenly clogged throat before gesturing at the door. “Grab our stuff and then get to the car.” When Sara hesitates, I squeeze her shoulder. “Hurry. Jeremy’s probably worried.”
After a brief hesitation, Sara caves and hurries away.
Gio watches her go, tapping his cane thoughtfully, before leveling me with a stern stare.
One look, and it’s like I’m seven again and he just caught me sneaking biscotti out of the pantry.
“You love her.” It’s a statement rather than a question, as if the old man can see it with his grief-strained eyes better than me.
“I do.” My soft affirmation surprises me almost as much as it surprises my father, but his face only shows the heartache of his understanding.
He nods, scrubbing at his patchy stubble before turning away, limping toward the stairs, and lowering himself down with a groan.
“It might be selfish, but I hope this is enough to buy me your forgiveness.”
I tuck my gun back in its holster. “Forgiveness for what?”
Nothing could have prepared me for his slumped shoulders and drooping mouth. “I’m the reason the Council hired Enzo to come after you.”
At first, I think I’ve misheard him. My father is the reason I was kidnapped and tortured for months? No, that can’t be right. “Papà? I-I don’t understand.” My broken whisper echoes in the entryway.
Gio releases a belabored sigh before settling his cane against the banister.
“When the Contis first petitioned to join the Council, I was the one who argued they should be denied. I had certain…leverage in my possession that gave us an edge over their family, and I couldn’t afford to let that leverage go.
It’s how I initially got around Council approval for marrying Dulce. ”
I shift on my feet, frowning. “How did the Contis find out it was you who opposed them?”
He waves a dismissive hand. “Best guess? Someone under the Council’s protection told them. They probably thought the Argentos and the Contis would destroy one another, which would make way for a new family to rise through the ranks and attain favor.”
Papà sneers. “Unfortunately for them, once your mother was killed, I wasn’t especially interested in the feud anymore. Instead of focusing on the Contis, I set my sights on the real threat. The Council.”
I’ve spent most of my life convinced Giovanni was little more than a coward after Mamma died, and now my chest aches with regret. It never occurred to me that he was fighting an invisible battle.
“When your mother stopped working for Enzo, one of her last art pieces was bought by a Councilman, Il Capitano. It took four long years, but I eventually learned his real name was Claudio Bianchi. It was easy enough to arrange his death. The plan was to pick through each of the Councilmen one by one after that, but you and your brother were getting older, and I didn’t want to risk either of you by getting caught. ”
He hesitates, so I provide a nudge. “And?”
“I thought if I laid low for a few years, I could put it all behind me.” Gio laughs and rakes a hand through his hair.
“But the Council decided to replace Bianchi with Niccolo, my old right-hand man. We’d been friends since we were kids, and he was still loyal to me.
Wanted to tell me what had been offered to him before he agreed to adopt the mask.
He figured it would give me a certain amount of protection.
If the other Councilmen ever accused me of having anything to do with Bianchi, I could use Niccolo’s identity as leverage. ”
Gio gazes out the front window, where Sara and Jeremy wait in my car.
“As you know, the Council will only extend their protection to families they can control via blackmail. Bianchi was our family’s dirt, but Niccolo is the only one who knows what I did, and I used that fact to catapult the Argento name into greatness. ”
My mind reels as I struggle to comprehend this information. Though I’ve often prided myself on my contributions to our family’s success, I had no idea about the true cost.
“So what? Blood for blood? Is that why the Council wants me dead? Because they found out what you did to Bianchi all those years ago?” My voice drips venom.
I’ve never spoken to my father like this before, not even after Dulce’s murder, when a part of me hated him for not doing more to find the bastard responsible. But I’m starting to put two and two together, and I don’t like the picture taking shape.
“No. Niccolo is the only one who knows, remember? The Council came after you because they found out about the ring you bought from that jeweler. …Robbie? He’s a Council plant, Dante.
He squealed like a pig.” Papà keeps staring out the window as if lost in memory.
“They knew about your plan to leave for good. I didn’t want what happened to your mother and me to happen to you and Sara. So, I intervened.”
He releases a deep, shaky breath. “I thought I could play the game and buy your freedom. I requested a private audience with Niccolo, asked him to speak to the others and grant you clemency, but he shot me down. Said he’d done enough to repay our years of friendship, and he couldn’t risk any additional favors. That left me with only one choice.”
Gio finally meets my eyes again, his own tortured.
“They were determined to discipline you one way or another. I used my knowledge of Niccolo’s identity to leverage the Council for a less severe punishment.
My last card to play. I thought…” He exhales long and slow.
“I thought private retaliation would be enough to spare your life and salvage our family’s reputation. ”
The world shifts beneath my feet, and I sway where I stand. “But instead, they tortured me to within an inch of my life, all while planning on killing me anyway.”
Giovanni flinches but doesn’t deny it.
Though difficult to believe, my father’s story proves that I can’t shoot my way out of such a tangled web, and I’m done trying. For the first time in my life, I don’t view my father’s love for my mother as a weakness.
Love granted him strength, and losing my mother meant him learning to survive with a handicap. It’s a battle I recognize all too well.
Never again.
It’s time to live my life my way rather than bowing to the Council’s rule. I’m finished playing the game.
“The jet is waiting for you at the airfield.” Gio smiles. “Once you leave, we won’t see one another again.”
I want to hate him. To scrub him from my life so completely, I could pretend he never existed at all. But my hatred died with Enzo, and there are no more flames within me to stoke the old rage back to reluctant life.
Instead, the insurmountable weight of grief settles around my shoulders, especially when I consider Marco. As Papà rises on unsteady legs, I eliminate the distance between us and embrace my father one last time while agony buries itself deep in my bones.
A moment later, I release him, whistle for Pistol, and head out to join Sara and Jeremy without looking back.
At least I got to say goodbye this time.
The airfield is an empty stretch of land in upstate New York that my family has owned for decades. In just a few hours, should the need arise, we can be a continent away, and right now, the need has risen.
The sun is high in a crystal clear sky by the time we arrive at the hangar.
Perfect flying weather. Luca waits for us on the tarmac with folded arms and a satisfied smirk.
He claps me on the shoulder and drops a small silver object into my palm.
This unassuming piece of hardware holds our entire future.
Eight figures of liquid assets distilled into a virtually untraceable encrypted ledger.
“Good job back there with Zanni.” I pat Luca on the back and pivot to watch Sara, Pistol, and Jeremy board.
Luca shrugs. “I’m always happy to help. Though you should be thanking Marco. Last I heard, he’s the reason we’re not being gunned down this very second.”
My chest warms. “How much of a head start did he buy us?”
“Twenty-four hours.” Luca looks at me from the corner of his eye, his expression neutral even as his voice drips with amusement and no small amount of pride.
Marco. Leave it to that pain in the ass to charm the Council. Fuck, I’m going to miss my brother. Despite the day’s turmoil, I manage to smile. “Then we’d better make the most of it.” I sigh through my nose and meet my second’s icy gray eyes for the last time. “Thanks, Luca. For everything.”
Luca yanks me into a quick, rough embrace. “You deserve peace, my friend. Go find it.” He jerks his chin at the cockpit, where our reserve pilot’s beginning pre-flight checks.
My throat burns, but I manage a nod. Without looking back, I trot up the stairs into the plane’s spacious cabin and buckle into the seat next to Sara.
Jeremy chooses a spot near the rear galley, and Pistol jumps up on his legs like she’s a tiny lapdog instead of sixty-five-pounds of retired police canine.
The sight of their growing bond eases my weary heart.
I raise my voice over the engines’ rumble as they power up. “Are you nervous?”
Sara shakes her head. “I’ve done much scarier things today.” Despite her words, she exhales a long-held breath, and a tear slips down her cheek.
“Damn right, tesoro.” I lean in and press a kiss to her lips.
My world is responsible for what happened to me.
Sara was only ever a civilian. An innocent I once loved and attempted to protect by separating her from the horrors of my daily life.
That’s why, as I hunted my tormentors, I always intended to save her for last. A part of me always hoped that by the time I finished killing the others, I wouldn’t have enough hatred leftover for her.
In the end, I blew up my entire universe for her, and I’d do it again in a heartbeat.
I used to believe I was too mired in sin to offer anyone salvation, but if she plans to stay by my side, I’ll be whatever she needs.
The plane lifts into the sky, and just past her shoulder, I watch the ground fall away. As we climb higher, a sea of white clouds replace the greenery of upstate New York.
She braves a glance out the window, and I feel her next words like she carved them into my bones. “You’re the first thing I ever really wanted for myself.”
How do I tell her that she’s the only thing that makes my life worth living?
I want to give her life meaning too. I’ve never been good at romantic declarations, so instead, I tug her hands to my lips and kiss her knuckles.
“We have the rest of our lives to find what else is out there for us. Together.”