I scoffed.“That’s bullshit.”
“He had contingency plans,” Dante explained.“Judges.Friends.Leverage.He would’ve delayed, appealed, stalled until something broke.”
“Like my case?”I challenged.
“Like you,” he stated firmly.
That stopped me cold.“They would’ve come for you,” Dante whispered gently.“And I wasn’t going to let that happen.”
Anger flared hot and bright.“So instead make him a missing man and a pissed-off federal agency?”
“I ended the threat,” he stated simply.
I stared at him, chest heaving.“You crossed a line,” I said.
He didn’t deny it.
“You think justice is whatever hurts less for you,” I continued.“But justice is about accountability.About letting the system work.”
“The system fails,” Dante calmly shared the obvious.
Silence swallowed the room.I rubbed a hand over my face, suddenly exhausted.“You don’t get to rewrite the rules because you’re angry.”
“I wasn’t angry,” he stated nonchalantly.
I looked up sharply.“I was done,” he corrected.“It was simple.He had to pay for Pop Squally’s blood on his hands and he had to do it so I knew without a shadow of a doubt that none of this touched you.”
The weight of that settled in my bones.
“You’ve put me in an impossible position,” I explained quietly.
“I’ll take whatever heat comes,” Dante replied.
I laughed softly.“You always think you can carry it all.”
“It’s my job.”
“No,” I challenged.“It’s your habit.And it costs everyone around you.Because they lose you every single time.”
His gaze softened just a fraction.“I never meant to cost you anything, Nita.”
“Intent doesn’t erase impact,” I said.“You should know that by now.”
We stood there—years of history pressing in.Love.Loss.Choices neither of us could undo.
“I came back here because I had to see you and see for myself if you would tell me the truth,” I said.“But this?This is the end of the road for us.No more.I don’t owe you a damn thing.”
“I figured,” Dante explained gently.
I turned for the door.
“Nita,” he called out softly.
I paused, my hand on the handle.
“You deserved better than this.I should have told you.”he added.
I looked back at him, anger still burning—but underneath it, something old and painful twisted.“You deserved a better everything, Dante.”I gave him the honest truth.Because the man would do everything to keep me safe, I knew that to my very bones.
