15. Emilio
Rocco texts me with a lead on Dante for me to check out. He was spotted by the docks again, but like the slimy fucker he is, he hasn’t been caught yet.
“Caterina, I’m leaving,” I call out. I wait for her to come say goodbye, but there’s only silence throughout the house. “Caterina. Caterina?” I figure she’s just in a mood and being petty, so I shrug and leave the house.
I head down to the docks and meet with Massimo, who nods as I approach. “Let’s catch this fucker,” he says.
“I couldn’t have said it better myself.”
We scour the area, but Dante is nowhere to be seen.
“How does he keep slipping through our fingers?” I ask.
“He’s hiding. I can feel it. Let’s keep looking.”
As we turn around one of the large shipping containers, we’re met with a slew of bullets. I manage to dodge out of the way and pull Massimo behind a container before we’re hit.
We exchange a look. “Dante,” we say in unison.
Once the bullets stop, we run out from behind the container and give chase. I spy the tail end of Dante before he sprints away.
“Not this time,” I growl. He doesn’t just get to run away—not after what he did to our family.
Dante is a fast runner; I’ll give him that. But I have him in my crosshairs. I pull the trigger and manage to land a hit to his arm. He stumbles but stays upright.
“Damn it.” I sprint after him, Massimo right beside me. Dante is leaving behind a trail of blood.
We run up to an old warehouse, but the door is locked. Massimo kicks in the door, and we scramble inside. A click beside my head makes me stop.
Looking to the left, I see that Dante is right there with his gun pointed right at my head.
“Shit,” Massimo mutters.
“Drop your guns,” Dante orders. “Both of you.”
Massimo lets his go, but I hold onto mine. I’m not letting Dante get away again. My pride won’t allow it.
Dante presses his gun against my head. “I said drop your gun. Or I’ll blow your fucking brains out.”
“If you’d wanted to, you would have done it already,” I say.
“No. Because I don’t want De Luca blood on my hands. I just want to be left in peace. I’m tired of being on the run.”
Massimo scoffs. “You tried that shit on me, and it didn’t work. You don’t just want to retire, Dante. You want power.”
“Not anymore. I did at one point. Because my father wanted it, so I wanted it, too. But I’m done. I’m done with Rocco chasing me. I won’t kill either of you, but I will if you come after me. So, let me go. I’ll leave New York. No one else needs to die.”
“I don’t believe you,” I say as I turn my body and grab his arm, angling the gun away from me. A shot goes off, and a bullet lands in the wall.
Dante growls and shoves me back, aiming his gun at me. He pulls the trigger and lands a shot near my feet. I quickly back up.
“I’m leaving,” he says. “Don’t follow me.” He backs out of the warehouse, then takes off running.
“Come on,” I say and start sprinting. I stop when I see that Massimo is just standing there. “What’s wrong?”
“What if he has a point?”
“What?”
Massimo shrugs. “What if Dante has a point? Enough blood has been spilled. I say we let him go. He wants to leave. He doesn’t have the manpower to hurt us. And you could have died just a moment ago. Both of us could have. I want to go home to my wife. Not chase some asshole I don’t give a damn about.”
“Well, I want to go after him,” I argue.
“That’s because you’re not living for anyone other than yourself. But, Emilio, you have a wife now, too. Go home to her. Dante isn’t worth this shit.”
“Rocco will be mad at us.”
“So?” He chuckles and claps me on the back. “I’m not afraid of our big brother, and neither should you be. I’m heading home. Don’t get yourself killed.”
I watch Massimo walk out of the warehouse. After a moment, I run out, intent on going after Dante, but he’s long gone.
I have no choice but to go home with my tail tucked between my legs. Maybe Caterina will be in the mood to make me forget about how I failed to catch Dante.
But when I go to our room, she’s not there. I check everywhere in the house. It’s empty.
“Caterina!” No answer.
I check my phone. Nothing.
Where the hell did she go?
I call Gabriella and ask her, but she has no idea. After calling Lara and Ophelia, neither of whom knows where she is, I start to panic. Dante couldn’t have gotten to Caterina.
So, where was she?
Then I remember—she was angry with me for ignoring her after coming back from our honeymoon. Caterina likes to act out.
And there’s one place I know she likes to go when she wants trouble.
I head to the club where we first met, and to no surprise, there’s Caterina on the dance floor … dancing with another man.
All I see is red.
I storm over to them, grab the man by the shoulder, and shove him to the side. Caterina gasps and stumbles back.
“Watch it,” the man grumbles.
“Don’t tell me to ‘watch it’,” I say. “You’re dancing with my wife.”
The man looks between Caterina and me before shaking his head and walking away.
When I turn to Caterina, I see she’s already walking away from me. I follow. “Where do you think you’re going?” I ask, grabbing her arm.
“Oh, so, you know I exist now?”
“What’s the supposed to be mean? You don’t have the right to be angry with me. You’re the one at a club dancing with another man.”
She looks around at all the other people looking at us. “Are you sure you want to argue in front of all these people? Will your precious reputation be able to handle that?”
“Come on.” I walk us out of the club. Caterina, fortunately, doesn’t put up much of a fight. “Why did you go to the club when you promised me you wouldn’t?”
She shrugs. “Because I’m mad at you.”
“What did I do now?”
“You ignored me.”
“I had work to do,” I snap.
“I know!” she shouts so loud; it makes me take a step back. “I know,” she adds in a softer voice. “But I asked you when you’d be free, and you couldn’t give me an answer. You didn’t even realize I was gone. I thought we’d made progress on our marriage while on the honeymoon, but then we went right back to square one the second we got home. You acted like you didn’t want anything to do with me. How do you think that makes me feel?”
“I’m not sure, but I’m sure you’ll tell me.”
She rolls her eyes. “You’re impossible. I can’t talk to you.”
“Good. Because I don’t want to hear what you have to say. I’m fucking pissed, Caterina. You could have been hurt. Do you think I want you dead?”
“I don’t know. Maybe.”
I stare at her, feeling hurt. “Do you honestly think I want you to die?”
She looks between me and her feet. “I guess not. I was just angry, ok? I know I shouldn’t have gone to the club. But all I did was dance with that guy. Nothing else. I didn’t cheat. I just wanted … attention because you weren’t giving me anyway.”
“Unbelievable.” I run my hand down my face. “I can’t always give you attention twenty-four-seven, Caterina.”
“I know that.”
“But …”
She meets my gaze. “But?”
“I could have tried harder. I’ll admit. I did ignore you. But I don’t know how to do this. How to live my normal life with a wife.”
“That’s ok. We can learn together.”
“Just come on. We’re going home.”
We don’t say anything on the car ride back home, which is a surprise. Normally, it takes a lot to shut Caterina up.
When we pull up to the house, I spot Francesco standing outside. He waves at us.
“Dad?” Caterina asks, getting out of the car and walking over to him. He wraps her in a hug. “It’s good to see you.”
“You, too,” he says, pulling back. “I wanted to see my daughter after getting back from her honeymoon. But I knocked, and no one was home, so I was about to leave when you guys pulled up. How are things?”
“Your daughter was a club,” I blurt out before I can help myself. I’m still angry with her for doing something so stupid. I’m also a little angry with myself for not knowing Caterina would do something stupid.
Caterina tenses. “What he means is?—”
“She was at a club,” I repeat. “She loved doing it before we even married if you want to know. She’d sneak out of your house and flirt with men at clubs.”
Francesca looks between Caterina and me, a frown on his face. “Is this true, pumpkin?”
“No, Daddy,” she says. “You know it’s not. I’m your good girl.” She shoots me a glare.
“I’m telling the truth, Francesco. Your daughter loves getting into trouble, and she got into more trouble tonight. I’m telling you because I’m tired of it.”
Francesco steps away from Caterina. “How could you do that, pumpkin?”
“Daddy, please.”
He shakes his head. “No. You lied to me. You never told me you were going off to clubs while living under my roof. I’m … disappointed in you.” She flinches. “I’m hurt by you.” He walks away.
“Where are you going?” she calls out.
“I’m going home before I say anything I might regret.” He gives Caterina a pained expression before getting into his car.
Caterina whirls onto me. “How could you tell him?”
“If it gets you to stop doing stupid things, then I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”
She opens her mouth to speak, but nothing comes out before she storms into the house. I follow. “My dad was never supposed to know.”
“Well, now, he does. And it’s time you’re held accountable for your actions. Clearly, spanking you hasn’t worked. You like it too much. So, I told your father, and I don’t regret it. You need to learn your lesson, Caterina. I am your husband. You will listen to me. You will do as I say.”
“You can’t come back from this; you know that, right?”
I don’t know how to respond to that.
Caterina gives me one more glare before running upstairs.
I’m left standing in the foyer. I lied about one thing. I said I didn’t regret telling Francesco. At the moment, it felt good.
But now, I hate how I feel. Did I just ruin the little bit of hope Caterina and I had in our marriage?
I think I did.
And I feel … sad about it. Sad in a way I never thought I’d feel when it came to Caterina. She’s taken hold of me in ways I never expected. I can’t shake her off.
But what is done is done. Francesco now knows his precious daughter was lying to him. Hopefully, Caterina will wake up and become the wife I want.
I refuse to bend or break. That’s not the kind of man I am. It’s not the kind of man I’ll ever be.