“I haven’t spoken with Luca alone, but I suspect he loves her, and it’s obvious she cares deeply for him.You heard the two of them last night?—”
Dante chuckles.“Who didn’t?But sex is just that—you and I were fucking long before we fell in love.He will find another girl if I choose to call the order.”
“You make that command, and you’ll be choosing a new wife,” I threaten.
Dante’s gaze tightens, and he steps closer to me once again.“Are you threatening me, kitten?”
“I’m reminding you that you almost lost your son once.You order the hit, and you will lose him forever.”
He lets out a soft sigh and turns away.He’s considering his words, or perhaps his actions.
“Do you honestly believe that Harper can be trusted?”He stalks to his desk and opens a folder waiting for him on his desk.
“Did you trust me when we first met?”I ask, turning the tables on him.
He smirks, staring down at the pages, examining each one closely while speaking to me.“I knew who you were the first moment I laid eyes on you, kitten.Why do you think I chose the name Daniel?”
Approaching his desk, I smack his arm and roll my eyes.“You fucked me to get to my father.”I always suspected that was the case, but I never heard him verbalize the truth.I want to be angry with him, but I honestly can’t hate the man I’m married to.
He saved my life, protected me, and helped me raise our son.
Luca might not forgive Dante for all he’s done, but he is a decent father.Gino, my old man, was far worse to me.
“I'll admit, as much as you hate Harper, she did try to save that little boy, Rylan.”There’s quite a bit of tenacity in her, and Dante can’t deny they are on the same side, even if Harper and Luca don’t realize it.
“I don’t hate her—” Dante says but lets the words linger in the air.“I just don’t trust her.She could destroy everything, get us killed, or worse, betray us.”
It’s impossible to know how she’ll react when she returns to campus.We can’t keep her holed up in our home indefinitely.As tempting as it might be, her friends, family, they would all grow suspicious.
“Do you trust my judgment?”
“Implicitly,” Dante says and glances up from the file, his fingers tangling in my hair as he brings my lips to his.“I’ve always trusted you; it’s you who hasn’t always trusted me,” he reminds me.
“That was a long time ago,” I say, “when we first met.”I smile against his lips and pull away.“What you’re doing with Rylan—it’s noble but misguided.”
“I didn’t ask for your advice—” he says, glaring at me, but he’s not angry.I’ve seen his angry glare, and it’s nothing like what he’s doing.His gaze is heated with lust more than anger.
“You brought him into our home, under our roof.You swore you’d never be involved in hurting children or trafficking them.”
“I’m not!”He looks exasperated.“Do you think I have another option?I ordered a hit on his father, the man whoistrafficking children, responsible for raping dozens of underage girls—children.I’m sorry if his son got mixed up in this, but his family and his home is going to be razed, and the only way to guarantee the child was safe was to bring him here.”
I press my lips together, saddened that this was the only option.“That boy will grow up one day to be a man, and he’s going to hate us,” I say, warning Dante of the danger he puts our family in, whether he intends to or not.
He pulls back from me, his eyes burning.He barely slept last night.
He’s not the only one robbed of sleep.After Moreno stormed into the room, awakening us and catching Dante up to speed while he got dressed, I couldn’t sleep.
I worried for my son, that Luca would get himself killed.
Dante doesn’t always have a level head, and while Moreno tries to keep shit from blowing up in both of their faces, this time was far worse for all involved.
“What am I supposed to do?The hit is scheduled for tomorrow night.I can’t just return the boy to his home.He’ll be killed with them.”
“And what’s your plan after his family is dead?”I ask.Sometimes I wonder if Dante fully thinks through the logistics of his actions.I love him, but sometimes his stubbornness gets in the way of protecting his family.
“I was going to have him find his way to the police.”
“Right, so he could identify you, our men, our home?”I’m not buying his story.“Dante, what the hell were you planning on doing with Rylan?”
