Page 37 of Beneath the Dawn

She lifted a brow. “But how can I not go to the police, Dante? That guy failed, but Malcolm will only have someone try again. He hates me that much.”

Dante took her hand in his. “I told you I’ll handle this, and I meant it.”

“But what can you do? I don’t want you to get hurt.” She sighed. “It’s probably best for you not to get involved.”

“I’m already involved, Marti.”

He stood and began pacing. When he stopped, he met her gaze. “And to answer your question as to what I can do, there’s a lot about me that you don’t know. Considering what happened today, I think it’s time I told you.”

CHAPTER 14

“Well, there you have it, Marti. Now you know everything about my family, my company, and me.”

Marti sat there staring at him. Yes, he had told her everything, but she couldn’t quite wrap her head around it. Part of her wanted to believe he’d made it all up, but inside, she knew he’d told her the truth. She had seen, firsthand, the way he’d taken care of the guy who’d tried to kill her. At the time, she’d figured he had acquired his fighting skills the same way she had acquired her dancing skills. Girls took dancing, and boys usually took karate lessons.

What he’d shared about his Italian family’s ties to the Mafia was also believable. Had she been paying more attention to things other than his gorgeous body, she would have noticed his high level of competence in almost everything he did. Even his regulated morning swim was an indication of what kind of man he was—a total badass.

She thought back to the way he’d looked when he’d arrived at her place for beach date night, with his hair in a ponytail and his clothing impeccable. He was a very likable guy, yet he always seemed cool, calm, and emotionally controlled. The only place she’d seen him let himself go was in the bedroom. And she’d definitely enjoyed every moment of that.

But when he told her about his role as Director of Security for Skylar Kingston and all his companies, she was blown away. When he had first mentioned Skylar to her, she hadn’t made the connection. But the name Skylar Kingston was synonymous with wealth and power. He was one of the richest men on the West Coast, possibly even in the United States. And it was that same Skylar who was Dante’s godbrother. The one he’d grown up protecting.

“In my experience, Marti, there’s usually a more effective way of eliminating a threat than going to the police. Because I’ve been an FBI agent, I know how much red tape is involved. Too often, the perpetrator ends up walking. Personally, I believe there are times and situations that warrant my own form of justice. I handle things in my own way, without involving law enforcement… As a fixer and enforcer. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

Marti figured that was one benefit of having read all those thriller adventure novels. Granted, they’d been for entertainment purposes only, and what she and Dante were dealing with now was a real-life scenario. Still, desperate times called for desperate measures.

And now she knew that men very much like the heroes she read about actually existed. Men who often worked outside the strict boundaries of the law to achieve justice. Men who kicked asses and took no prisoners. Men who followed a personal code of ethics rather than institutional law. In thriller novels, the hero was not always the good guy, but he was the type of man who got things done. A man like Dante.

She nodded. “Yes, I do, Dante.”

“And are you willing to let me handle this? In a way that those men will pay for what they did? And so you will never have to worry about this again?”

She knew what he was asking of her. Could she trust him explicitly? But then, wasn’t he trusting her that way as well? She would know what he was doing, and he trusted her to take that knowledge to her grave. And she would.

“Yes.”

He nodded and then pulled her into his arms and kissed her. It was a long kiss, the kind she needed. He stood, scooped her into his arms, and headed toward the stairs. “I need to make love to you, to assure myself both mentally and physically that you are okay. Then we’ll get dressed and go grab something to eat.”

“What about that guy who tried to kill me?”

“He’s not going anywhere. Besides, I have to get answers from him.”

“You think he’ll talk?” she asked.

“Baby, he won’t have a choice.”

***

Dante heard the man’s loud groan and glanced over in his direction. When he had gone to the shed after he and Marti had returned from dinner, the man had shot him daggered looks. When he had removed the cloth gag and the bastard tried spitting on him, Dante had knocked him unconscious again. Luckily, he had remained unconscious hours later while Dante had done what he needed to do. The asshole would not have been able to bear the pain of all that movement with a dislocated shoulder.

However, now that he was conscious, it was obvious he was in a lot of pain. Dante didn’t give a damn about that. All he wanted were answers, and he intended to get them. Earlier, he had done some digging. He had called his team and provided information he’d taken from the man’s driver’s license. It had turned out to be fake. However, the man’s cell phone provided another lead. His team had worked through several aliases before they confirmed the man’s true identity. Now Dante knew everything he needed to know about the man from the time he was born.

The man groaned louder, as if trying to get his attention. Dante moved toward him and snatched the tape from the man’s mouth, not caring that the action caused the man more pain. Too bad. He should have appreciated the cloth gag the last time.

“Ouch! You bastard!” the man shouted. “That shit hurt. I need medical treatment. I’m in pain.”

“You should be glad to be alive,” was Dante’s quick comeback.

“Look man, you made a mistake. I took a wrong turn off the road. I wasn’t trying to hurt anybody.”