19. Dante
It’s only after Rocco has tortured me for an hour that he and his brothers realize Gabriella is missing.
Massimo comes running into the small basement, his phone to his ear. “Gabriella never showed up to meet Ophelia and the others.”
Rocco pauses in punching me. Bruises cover my face and stomach. I haven’t seen myself in a mirror—I just know because I can feel them. Rocco kept repeating over and over that I would pay for hurting his sister. I could only laugh. I never hurt Gabriella. She wanted to be with me, but Rocco will never understand that.
“What do you mean?” Rocco asks. Emilio stands up straighter from where he’d been leaning against the wall. Unlike Rocco, Emilio hadn’t touched me at all, but he did provide Rocco with the tools to hurt me.
“I called Ophelia to check in with Gabi, and Ophelia told me she never showed.”
“You let her go off alone?” Rocco growls.
“No. Antonio went with her.”
As if on cue, Antonio walks down the stairs. “What’s going on?”
Rocco growls again, grabs Antonio, and slams him against the wall. “Where’s my sister? Where’s Gabriella?”
“She told me not to follow her. That she needed a break from men.”
“Damn it.” Rocco lets Antonio go, and Antonio slumps to the floor. “Damn it! So, Gabriella was left to her own devices, and now she’s gone?” He turns to me. “Did your men kidnap her again?”
“No. I swear.”
“Like your word means anything.”
I shrug my shoulders as best I can even though my hands are bound behind the chair I’m strapped to. “You don’t have to believe me, Rocco. But your sister is gone again; this time, she left right under your nose. I don’t know where she is.”
Rocco stares at me hard before looking at Massimo. “Start looking everywhere for her.”
“Got it,” he says, nodding.
A thought passes through my mind—the conversation Gabriella and I shared about our parents. The one connection we shared. “I think I might know where she is.”
Rocco pauses. “Where?”
“You have to take me with you.”
“Oh, no.” He chuckles darkly. “You’re not going anywhere.”
“Do you want to see your sister again or not? Because the one major thing she wanted in life was freedom. She never wanted to be married to that doofus.” I nod at Antonio, who blinks in surprise. “She just wants to be free. And you would know that if you’d just talked to her.”
“Says the man who stole her.”
“I did,” I agree. “But Gabriella was happy with me. You can ask her yourself when you find her. But you’ll find her a lot faster if you take me with you.”
“I’m going to regret this,” Rocco mutters. “Massimo, go grab some clothes.”
“Why me?” Massimo asks.
“Because I’m tired of staring at Dante’s cock. Give him some clothes so we can go find Gabriella.”
Massimo grumbles under his breath, but he runs upstairs. Within a few minutes, he returns with a shirt and pants.
Rocco unties my hands, but he holds my arms back as he tells his brothers to put the clothes on me. “I’m not taking any chances.”
Once I’m dressed, we leave.
“Where is she?” Rocco asks. I’m stuck in the back between Massimo and Emilio again.
“I’ll give you directions as we go.”
Rocco sighs. “Fine.”
As we get closer to our destination, Rocco speeds up. He recognizes it, too. Of course, he does.
It’s where his mother is buried.
We reach the cemetery, and all four of us leave the car. Neither Massimo nor Emilio let me go. Antonio isn’t with us because Rocco told him to stay back in case Gabriella showed up.
We find Gabriella kneeling before her mother’s grave.
She stands up when she sees us. “Dante?” she whispers. “You’re alive.”
“For the moment,” I say.
She turns to Rocco. “Don’t kill him.”
“You keep saying that. Gabriella.” He grabs her arms. “Why did you run off? You knew it would worry me.”
“Honestly, Rocco. I’m done caring what you think.”
He steps back, blinking in surprise. “But I’m your big brother. I protect you.”
“You’ve always protected me, and that’s the problem. You’re too protective. I don’t want you to kill Dante and marry me off to Antonio. I hate Antonio. I love Dante.”
Everyone looks at her in surprise, including myself. She … loves me?
After a beat, Rocco speaks. “You love him? How? He’s brainwashed you.”
“You can’t brainwash someone in a week.”
“You can’t fall in love with someone in a week either,” he snaps back.
“You can because that’s how I feel. Dante might have taken me away against my will, but I quickly learned he’s what I’ve always been looking for. With him, life is fun. It’s exciting. And I want to experience more of life with him, assuming you don’t kill him. I know you don’t understand, and you probably never will. But if you kill him, Rocco, I‘ll keep running away. I’ll run and run until you never see me again. I’m not going to marry Antonio. I’m already married to Dante and intend to keep it that way.” She takes in a shaky breath. “I know he tried to kill you, but you’re the Mafia. Everyone is trying to kill you. I’m making my choice, and you will respect it. Dante is a powerful enemy or a powerful ally. You can make him your ally and put all this shit behind you. Or you can kill him and lose me forever. You can lock me up, but I’ll never forgive you for it, and I think you care enough about me to not want to lose me again.”
Rocco stares at her for a long, tense time. “So, this is your decision? You’re sure about it?”
“Yes. I’m sure.”
“I need to think,” he mutters. “You’re coming back home. And no, I won’t make you marry Antonio. I won’t kill Dante for the time being. But I need to think.”
He turns away and stalks toward the car.
Gabriella runs up to me. “I’m glad you’re alive.”
“Me, too.”
“Come on,” Emilio growls, pushing me in the direction of the car. Gabriella follows, keeping her eyes on me the whole time.
I know this because I never look away from her once.