I wipe a hand over my brow. “I know.”
“You can’t just move in there with him. It will be the same as having your face rubbed in what he’s done.” She bites off each word. “Every single day.”
A sudden bout of tiredness overwhelms me, the past as well as the unknown future weighing heavy on my shoulders. “Do I have a choice?”
“He can’t be that unfeeling. You’re the mother of his child, for crying out loud. Surely, he must care about what the memories will do to you.”
“Maybe that’s the whole point. Maybe he wants me to suffer.”
“For what?” she exclaims in a soft voice. “For saving yourself?”
“For not telling him about Noah.”
“He can hardly blame you for that.”
“I don’t think he sees it the same way.”
“He killed your fucking family,” she says under her breath.
My ribcage shrinks, squeezing like a fist around my heart. “And not a day goes by that I don’t think about that.”
“I’m sorry.” She takes my hands. “I didn’t mean to hurt you by bringing up those horrible memories. I’m just worried about this whole freaky situation.” She steals a glance over her shoulder before continuing in a whisper. “What are our chances of escaping?”
I hate to admit, “For the moment? Zero. Dante’s men aren’t here for our protection.” The truth hardens my voice. “They’re here to make sure we don’t get away.”
“Yeah.” She scoffs before muttering, “It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to figure that out.”
“Hey.” I give her hands a squeeze before letting them go. “I’ll get you out of this, Jazz. I promise.”
“Don’t worry.” Her grin is aimed at making light of a serious situation, but she doesn’t quite succeed. “It’s not as if I have anywhere else to be.”
“I’ll speak to Dante about letting you go.”
“Don’t,” she says quickly. “I’m not leaving you and Noah on your own with him. Let’s just take it one day at a time and see exactly what he wants from you. We’ll figure something out.”
She doesn’t sound convinced about the last part. Frankly, neither am I. I’ve always prided myself on my escape plans, but Dante isn’t your average criminal. He has an army of loyal and well-trained men as well as powerful alliances. One of those allies is Saverio De Luca, a crime boss no one is dumb enough to mess with.
When Dante came back into my life after his disappearance, he was working for Saverio, who happened to be one of my father’s rivals. Together, Saverio and Dante manage the biggest territories in their state. Of course, they’re only the biggest now since Dante added my father’s territory to his own.
“Tiana.”
Jazz’s serious tone pulls me from my thoughts.
She searches my eyes. “He’s never hurt you—in the past, I mean—has he?”
“No.” But that doesn’t mean he won’t.
When Ulysses passes the doorway with a box of junk in his arms, she takes my hand and pulls me deeper into the room before asking under her breath, “What happened last night?”
“Nothing.” I don’t want to tell her I fucked him. I’m too ashamed of my demented behavior. The lingering effect of what I did does hurt, but not in the way she means. “He’s not going to kill me as long as he needs me.”
How much am I worth to Dante? How badly does he want to ruin Leander? Could the necklace change his mind? Would he accept a stolen piece of jewelry as payment for our freedom?
No.
Dante isn’t the kind of man who can be bought. He might’ve been untruthful about a lot of things when he wooed me with false promises, but those kinds of values, the strong ones that are set in stone, can’t be faked. Besides, he’s not going to let Noah or his vengeance go. He may not have said it outright, but he’s made that clear.
I turn around, and then my heart stops. Noah is no longer in his makeshift tent, pretending the sticks he gathered from the garden this morning are sausages grilling over a fire.
