Chapter 29 Dante
Dante
Icouldn’t breathe. Couldn’t process what I’d just heard. The courtroom erupted into chaos around me. Reporters shouted, people stood, cameras flashed, but all I could do was sit there, my hands still cuffed, trying to comprehend that I was free.
Sullivan was saying something to me, his hand on my shoulder, but I couldn’t hear him over the roaring in my ears. A bailiff came over to remove my cuffs, and the metal fell away from my wrists with a click that felt like the most beautiful sound I’d ever heard.
I stood on shaky legs and turned toward the gallery. Nick was already pushing through the crowd, his face streaked with tears, and then he was there, his arms around me, holding me so tight I could barely breathe.
“You’re okay,” he gasped against my neck. “You’re okay, you’re coming home.”
I wrapped my arms around him, burying my face in his shoulder as the cameras continued to flash, and let myself fall apart. All the fear and anger and desperation I’d been holding in for the past two days came pouring out, and I held onto Nick like he was the only solid thing in the world.
“I’ve got you,” he murmured. “I’ve got you, Dante. You’re safe.”
Someone cleared their throat behind us, and I reluctantly pulled back to find my father standing there. Enzo’s expression was still unreadable, but his eyes were softer than I’d ever seen them.
“We need to talk,” he said quietly. “But not here. Let’s go home.”
Home. The word hit me hard. Did he mean Jersey? Or was he talking about Montana? About the ranch and the tiny house and the life I’d built with Nick?
As if reading my mind, Enzo’s lips quirked into something that might have been a smile. “Montana,” he clarified. “Your home. With your husband.”
I felt Nick’s hand tighten in mine, and I nodded, not trusting my voice.
We pushed through the crowd, Sullivan and the bodyguard clearing a path.
Reporters shouted questions that we ignored, cameras flashed, and I kept my head down, focused only on getting out of there.
Behind us, I could hear Caruso arguing with someone, his voice rising in desperation, but I didn’t look back.
Outside, the morning sun was too bright after the dim courtroom. A massive black SUV waited at the curb, and we piled in, everyone fitting comfortably. The bodyguard took the driver’s seat, and we pulled away from the courthouse as more reporters ran after us.
Nobody spoke for the first few minutes. I sat pressed against Nick’s side, his hand still gripping mine like he was afraid I’d disappear if he let go.
My father stared out the window, his jaw tight.
Angelo looked like he might throw up from relief.
And Heather... Heather was watching me with an expression I couldn’t quite read.
“Thank you,” I said finally, my voice rough. “All of you. For coming. For bringing the Bensons back.”
“Marco and Angelo did most of the heavy lifting,” my father said. “Convincing the Bensons to testify wasn’t easy. They were terrified of coming back, afraid you’d changed your mind about letting them live.”
“I would never—” I started.
“I know.” Enzo finally looked at me. “That’s what Marco told them. That my son, despite everything I taught him, has a conscience.” He paused. “I’m disappointed in you.”
I swallowed hard. “Yes, sir.”
“But.” His expression softened slightly.
“Today, your soft heart saved your life. If the Bensons were actually dead, I don’t know if we could’ve saved you from prison time.
” He pointed a finger at me, still looking annoyed.
“But I need a full list of everyone I told you to take care of so I can check up on them. Angelo said there might be thirty or more and we need to make sure they aren’t going to talk. ”
Nick’s hand tightened in mine again, and I saw Heather’s eyebrows shoot up.
“Thirty?” she repeated.
“Give or take,” Angelo muttered.
The drive to the airport felt surreal. I kept expecting someone to stop us, to tell me this was all a mistake, that I was still facing charges.
But nobody did. We boarded a private plane at the airport, my father included.
Within an hour we were in the air and out of reach of anyone and everyone in New Jersey.
“Now,” Enzo said, the moment we were all alone. “Here’s how this is going to go.”
I sat up straight, waiting for him to berate me in front of everyone. Nick was pressed to my side, his fingers still laced through mine. My father, it seemed, didn’t scare him at all. Maybe Nick was a lot tougher than I thought.
“First off, Caruso will never work in law enforcement again. I’ll make sure of that. And I’ll also make sure that his evidence against the Valentis goes missing.” He pointed a finger at me. “You are banished from New Jersey. Permanently. Hell, I don’t even want to see you on the east coast.”
I felt the words hit me like a physical blow. Banished. From my home, my family, everything I’d ever known. I opened my mouth to protest, but Enzo held up a hand.
“You made your choices, Dante. You undermined my authority for years. You put the family at risk with your mercy.” His eyes were hard now, all that earlier softness gone.
“But you also protected us in ways I didn’t see coming.
So, you get to live. You get to keep your husband and your ranch.
But you do it far away from me and from the business. ”
My throat tightened. I’d known there would be consequences, but hearing it said out loud made it real. I’d never see Jersey again. Never walk the streets I grew up on, never eat at my favorite spots, never visit my mother’s grave.
But then I felt Nick’s thumb stroke across my knuckles, grounding me, reminding me what I had now. What I’d chosen when I helped those families escape instead of killing them.
“I understand,” I said quietly.
“Do you?” Enzo leaned forward. “Because I’m not done. Angelo stays with you. Marco too. All three of you are out. You’re no longer part of my organization.”
Angelo made a strangled sound beside me. “Boss, please—”
“You helped him deceive me for years,” Enzo snapped. “You’re lucky I’m letting you live at all. Montana is your home now. Make the most of it.”
I glanced at Angelo and saw the devastation on his face. He’d given up everything for me, followed me out here, helped me save all those people. And now he was paying the price.
“What about Marco?” I asked.
“Marco’s already on his way back to Montana,” my father said. “He’ll meet you at the ranch tomorrow. The three of you can play gay cowboys for the rest of your lives for all I care. Just stay the hell out of New Jersey.”
The finality in his voice left no room for argument. I nodded, feeling the weight of it settle over me. Banished. Exiled. Cut off from the only family I’d ever known.
But Nick’s hand was still in mine, warm and steady. And when I looked at him, I saw no judgment in his eyes. Just relief that I was safe, that I was coming home with him.
“There’s one more thing,” Enzo said, and something in his tone made me nervous. “Your mother would’ve been proud of you today.”
I froze. My father never talked about my mother. She’d died when I was twelve, and he’d locked away every memory of her like it hurt too much to remember.
“She always said you had too much heart for this life,” he continued, his voice softer now.
“That you’d never be happy doing what I do.
I didn’t want to believe her. Thought I could mold you into the perfect heir.
” He shook his head. “But she was right. You were never meant to be a killer, Dante. You were meant to be something… else.”
Tears burned behind my eyes, and I had to look away. Nick’s arm came around my shoulders, pulling me close.
“Thank you,” I managed.
Enzo stood, straightening his suit jacket. “Don’t thank me. Just... be happy out there. Build something good with your husband. Make a life worth living.” He paused at the cabin door. “And Dante? Don’t make me regret letting you live.”
Then he was gone, disappearing into the front of the plane, leaving the rest of us in stunned silence.
Heather was the first to speak. “Well,” she said, “that was intense.”
I let out a shaky laugh that was half sob. “Yeah. That’s one word for it.”
“You okay?” Nick asked quietly, his hand rubbing circles on my back.
Was I okay? I’d just been banished from my home, cut off from my family’s business, told I could never return to the only life I’d ever known. But I was alive. I was free. And I had Nick.
“I will be,” I said, leaning into him. “As long as I have you.”
He pressed a kiss to my temple. “Always.”
Angelo cleared his throat. “So, uh, I guess we’re all ranchers now?”
I looked at him, saw the fear and uncertainty in his eyes. He’d just lost everything too. His position, his status, his possible future in the family. All because he’d helped me do the right thing.
“Yeah,” I said. “Guess we are.”
“Could be worse,” Angelo said, trying for his usual cheerful tone but falling short. “At least Montana’s pretty. And Heather’s there.”
Heather rolled her eyes, but I caught the faintest hint of a smile. “Don’t push your luck, Angelo. I also know how to use a gun. Don’t forget that.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” he replied, and this time his grin was more genuine.
I settled back against Nick, feeling the exhaustion of the past two days finally catching up with me. My wrists still ached where the cuffs had been, and my body felt like I’d been through a war. But I was free. I was going home. To Montana, to the ranch, to the life I’d built with Nick.
It wasn’t the life I’d expected. Wasn’t the life I’d been raised for. But maybe, just maybe, it was the life I was always meant to have.
“Get some sleep,” Nick murmured against my hair. “It’s a long flight.”
I closed my eyes, letting the steady rhythm of his heartbeat lull me. For the first time in days, I felt safe. Protected. Loved.
And as I drifted off, I realized something. My father had said I was banished, that I could never come back to New Jersey. But he was wrong about one thing.
Hell Creek wasn’t banishment. It was home.