I wasn't raised in their world. I don't know the rules of cartels and crime families and blood debts. But I know Dante. I know when he's lying.
"It's not that simple," I say quietly.
Dante's arm stiffens around me.
"Marina—"
"Don't." I turn to face him fully. "Don't lie to me. Not after everything. Not after I sat here for nearly three hours thinking you were dead."
Something flickers in his eyes. Pain. Exhaustion. A darkness I've never seen before.
"I'm buying time," he says finally. "That's the truth. Alejandro wants things from me, and I agreed to give them. Money. Jobs. Whatever he asks."
"Why?"
"Because it keeps everyone alive while we figure out how to kill him."
The words hang in the air between us. Cold. Final.
"Lorenzo knows?"
"Not yet." Dante shakes his head. "I made a deal, Marina. A deal that requires silence. If Alejandro finds out I'm working against him, he'll kill your parents. Vittoria. Aria. Everyone he has under surveillance."
My stomach drops.
"So we can't tell anyone."
"Not yet. Not until we have a plan. Not until we can move against him without getting people killed."
I search his face for something—reassurance, maybe. Hope. But all I see is exhaustion and that terrible darkness lurking behind his eyes.
"Is this deal going to get anyone hurt?"
Dante takes my face in his hands. His palms are warm against my cheeks.
"I won't let anyone face a single moment of pain," he says.
"Including yourself?"
He doesn't answer.
"Dante."
"I'll do what needs to be done." His thumb brushes away a tear I didn't know had fallen. "That's all I can promise."
I close my eyes. The weight of everything presses down on me—the attack on my apartment, the surveillance photos, the warehouse meeting, and now this. A deal with the devil that Dante won't fully explain.
I don't want any part of this.
I don't want to know what jobs Alejandro demanded. Don't want to know what Dante agreed to do. Don't want to carry secrets that could get people killed.
But I want to be safe. I want my parents safe. I want this nightmare to end.
"Okay," I whisper.
Dante's hands still on my face. "Okay?"
"If this keeps everyone safe..." I open my eyes and meet his gaze. "Then do whatever the hell you have to do. Just don't lie to me."
