A small sound of amusement slips from Dante’s mouth as he holds out his hand to Cat. “Together, then,tentazione?”
I let her go as she slips her hand into his. She glances at me over her shoulder, her eyes soft.
“Together.”
6 – Caterina
My legs begin to tremble as I take a step. Another.
Behind me, Luc stays still. I look back at him and then to Dante. He still grips my hand – to settle his own nerves as much as to steady me, perhaps, but he offers Luc a nod. “After you, Morelli.”
Luc straightens in surprise, and I offer him a small smile. “Lead the way.”
Together.
Luc’s hand dances across my back before he steps forward and ducks into the hall. I force my shaking legs to move after him, Dante close behind me as we step through into the cool shade.
Luc twists, a low curse escaping him. “She’s fast.”
Dante steps up beside him as I hang back. “She was here? Where did she go?”
And just like that… two of the strongest men I know dissolve intopanic.
They both spin, searching the empty room before Luc sprints for the stairs and Dante heads down one of the corridors leading from the hallway. Their voices bounce back at me as they call for Alessia.
Turning in place slowly, I scan the floor. And my heart stumbles inside my chest as I catch sight of a pair of tiny bare toes, tucked away behind the door. A low giggle slips out, and the toes curl before disappearing from my sight.
I take one, single step. Another.
And I drop to my knees, gently pulling the door away from the wall as my heart swoops into my stomach. And my voice – it shakes as I whisper the words around the lump growing in my throat. “Hello, Alessia.”
My daughter smiles at me. A big grin, showing off the several teeth growing there. Her hands slap against the floor as she looks at me, those emerald-green eyes making my own suspiciously misty as she opens her mouth.
A long, unintelligible babble of words spill out. She stares at me, as if waiting for a response.
I can’t speak.
I can’t do anything but take in the sight of my daughter, dusty and happy and dressed in a little green sundress with bare feet. Her bronze, untamed curls bounce around her head as she awkwardly pushes onto her knees and thenup, gripping the door.
She takes a single, wobbling step. Another, until she’s right in front of me, and she lets go of the door in order to grab my outstretched arm instead.
I choke out something that might be a laugh as she pulls herself closer, examining my face. Chubby little fingers poke at my cheek before she turns her attention to my tangled hair. And I half-laugh, half-sob as a delighted squeal sounds before she wraps her hands around a section of hair andpulls.
She climbs right onto my lap in her determination, her entire focus on the hair in her grip, and I watch her through the tears that slip down my face as her own scrunches in pure concentration.
She’s so… carefree. Unharmed. Safe.Happy.
Carefully, I lift my left hand and stroke it over her head, my fingers playing with her soft curls. Drinking her in.
We both pause at the sound of footsteps, and Alessia’s hand moves to my shoulder as she looks around me, and I twist.
Dante. He’s out of breath, his eyes settling on us as he comes to a stop on the other side of the hall. “I couldn’t find—,”
His voice cuts off. And he doesn’t move - doesn’t even look like he’s breathing as Alessia slides off my lap, her own gaze now pinned on the man who watches her with devastation clear to see on his face.
And as our daughter scoots across the hallway, Dante V’Arezzo falls to his knees.
I press my fist against my chest as if I can stop the stabbing pain that appears as Alessia crawls right up to her father with no fear in those green eyes. As if sheknows.
