I pull my knees to my chest.
Wrap my arms around them.
Try to make myself smaller.
"Then why are you giving me this choice?" I ask. "If both options end with me being hunted, why does it matter where I am?"
Dante is quiet.
Too quiet.
"Because in Chicago," he finally says, "you'd be surrounded by people who can protect you. Lorenzo. Nico. Bruno. The entire family. You'd have resources. Security. A fortress."
"And here?"
"Here you'd have me."
I look at him.
Really look at him.
The man who tracked me for two years. The man who showed up bleeding on my doorstep. The man who kissed me like I was oxygen and held me while I cried and told me things he's never told anyone.
The man who is offering to let me go.
"You're asking me to choose," I say slowly. "Between the safety of numbers and the safety of you."
"I'm asking you to choose what's best for you."
"Why did you propose this?" I cut him off. "Why give me the option to go to Chicago if you know they might follow me there? Why put your family at risk?"
He doesn't answer.
"Dante."
"Because I needed to ask." His voice cracks. Just slightly. Just enough for me to hear. "Because I needed to give you the choice. Because if something happens to you and I never gave you the option to leave, I'll never forgive myself."
Dante
Marina's eyes search my face.
Looking for something.
I don't know what she finds.
"What happened?" she asks. "After I fell asleep. What did Lorenzo tell you?"
I should lie.
Should protect her from this.
But I'm tired of lies. Tired of half-truths and careful omissions. She deserves to know what she's caught in the middle of.
"The man who killed my family," I say. "His name is Alejandro Mendoza."
Marina goes still.
"The cartel leader?"
