by Unknown
"You're right," I said. "It's been a long day. Let's go to bed."
He smiled and picked me up, cradling me in his arms. As he carried me to the bedroom, I leaned my head against his chest and listened to his heartbeat. It was at that moment that I knew I was in love.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Dante
Weeks had passed, and every day my highlight was seeing Gia's smiling face each morning. The joy it brought me was only rivaled at night when I held her as she slept. But I never shared these things with her.
I wanted her so badly that feeling her warm body against mine was almost torture. A torture I withstood by remaining dressed in bed while I mentally undressed her. She wasn't ready though. Or maybe I was just making excuses for myself.
Sitting in the living room, I nursed my coffee as the TV in the background recounted the day's events. Gia came down the hall and into the living room. Her expression was serious.
It didn't matter how often I saw her, each time was like seeing that angel rising up from the subway once more. Her beauty, both inside and out, consumed me.
With a worried yet determined expression, she stood at the edge of the living room in a conservative black dress that showed just enough skin to make a man go crazy. There wasn't a thing about her I didn't desire. But was it love?
A man like me didn't feel emotions, good or bad. It was how I was able to do my job so well. I spent a lifetime avoiding personal relationships, but each day my attachment to her grew. Maybe love was the one thing that could rescue me from this miserable life.
"You look stunning, my angel," I said with a grin that was too lustful. My cock responded by pushing against my pants, which made me grateful for her distance so she couldn't see the effect she had on me. "Did you want to go somewhere?"
"Yes, I'm going to my mother's gravesite," she said as she looked at her cell phone then fumbled to put it in her purse. "I haven't been there in so long, and I miss her."
She was lying. It was my business to know when people weren't telling the truth. The nervous twitches, the shifty eyes that wouldn't meet mine, the way she kept looking at her phone were all tells.
"I can take you," I said, feeling even more protective of her. "We can leave in a few minutes."
"No. I have to go alone, Dante."
I became more suspicious. While I understood her desire for some time away, she was well aware of her situation, just as I was aware of how frightened those men still made her from their graves.
"You can't," I said firmly. "You know the danger you're in."
"I need time to myself," she said. "I need to see Momma's grave, and I need to finally grieve."
"You don't need to be alone for any of that."
She sighed and turned towards the hall then stopped. Her eyes narrowed at me and her fists clenched. "How long will this last? How long do I have to be here?"
"I thought you liked being here. With me," I said, confused as to why she was attacking me.
Did something happen? Did she realize a woman like her could do better than a killer like me?
"That has nothing to do with it. I feel trapped. I need to get out. I spent my life wrapped in a fog, following what I believed I wanted. Now I'm in another fog. How long can you keep me here?"
"As long as you're in danger, you'll be here under my protection. Do you understand that?"
She was quiet for a moment, and I wondered if she knew what my orders were. Did she know I didn't want her to leave? That I disregarded my orders and pushed off my search for her brother just to keep her close?
"I feel like a prisoner, Dante. I can't stay here forever in hiding. I need to go out. I need to meet other people and have a life. How much longer do I have to stay?"
"Do you have any idea what you're asking me?" I said, trying to keep my voice calm. "Do you know what has to happen for you to be safe? Trust me, you don't want to hear it."
"Tell me. Do you have to kill Terry? Is that it? Is that the only thing that will settle this war with that damned gang? His life?" she asked angrily.
"As long as he's alive, you're in danger," I said quietly. "I'll do anything to make sure you're safe. I'll do anything to protect you."
"Including killing my brother?" she said, her voice rising hysterically. "You destroyed my home, and now you want to kill my brother, too? You really have no heart, do you? I thought I saw something in you. Something deep down, past your cold stare and hard expression. Obviously I was wrong. I thought I loved you! But how can I love someone who is a killer?"
She stormed out of the living room in tears and repeatedly pressed the elevator button. I let her go. She was right, I was nothing more than a killer. My wanting her here was selfish. I wasn't thinking of her, only myself.
As she rode the elevator down, my cell phone buzzed on the cocktail table in front of me. I picked it up quickly, expecting her.
"Gia?" I said.
The voice on the other end of the call cleared his throat. "A friend of ours is gone," he said.
As I tried to recognize the voice, I opened up my laptop and began tracing the call. Within seconds, my foolproof software pinged cell towers as it looked for his phone's signature. It turned up blank.
"Who is this?" I demanded.
"Just a friend of the family. You should've listened to your orders when you got them. I hope she's worth it," he said before the line went dead.
Quickly changing the code, I bounced my unidentifiable signal from cell tower to cell tower, trying in vain to nab the last pulses of his call and trace where it originated.
But as I stared at the laptop screen, I realized it didn't matter who called or where he was. It wasn't going to change his message—Robert, my mentor and Capo, was dead.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Gia
Storming out of Dante's penthouse wasn't as satisfying since I had to wait for the elevator to arrive. I couldn't believe he didn't try to stop me. Why didn't he come after me?
I was being foolish. He did try to stop me. He reminded me of the danger I was in, he offered to take me wherever I needed to go. Dante had done nothing but try to protect me, so why was I running away from him now?
Riding the elevator down, I checked my phone for a signal and sighed when I didn't have one. Terry had called fifteen minutes ago. He said he needed my help; nothing could stop me from helping him. Dante wouldn't understand. He would probably think it was a set up, but Terry was my brother. He wouldn't do something like that to me.
Since he disappeared after the funeral, I had been expecting to hear that Terry was either dead or in jail. It seemed the only logical outcome for someone who had messed up his life so badly. Hearing his voice on the other end of the phone and knowing he was okay caught me off guard, but I was relieved he was okay.
Exiting the building onto the wide sidewalk along Central Park West, I blended in with the crowd. Terry said he would meet me at the subway, which was only a block away.
As I walked down the steps to reach the subway, the humid, musty steam from the trains engulfed me, reminding me of fog. When I reached the main platform, I saw Terry and I knew he saw me too, but he ignored me and boarded the waiting train.
Racing down the cement platform to catch up with him, I barely made it onto the train before it left. Once the doors closed behind me, I looked around for Terry, but couldn't find him. I moved further back through the cars, looking at every man to see if he was my brother in disguise, but no luck.
After a few stops, someone knocked on the window near my seat. As I turned to look I saw Terry again, but once he had my attention, he ran away. Leave it to Terry to play games.
Just as I was ready to give up and head back to Dante's penthouse, I spotted Terry in a group of people just ahead of me. I followed him out of the subway and into the fresh air, but I lost him again.
"This is ridiculous," I muttered under my breath. "I should've listened to Dante. I should've told him the truth."
Clenching my fists, I thought abo
ut how badly I wanted to hit Terry. My brother was playing me. He was luring me somewhere, but where? I had enough of his bullshit. Just as I was ready to return to the depths of the subway, I spotted him about twenty feet away.
"Terry!" I called out.
He turned towards me and smiled before disappearing into a building. Asshole, I thought. Even though every part of me said to turn around and head home to Dante, the piece of me that missed my family won and I followed my brother.
The neighborhood quickly changed. Closer to the subway stop, it was just like any other area in the city with its tall, well-kept high rises and bustling with people. Only a block away and the sidewalk was broken and uneven, the buildings looked abandoned and tired, and I was alone.
Every instinct in my body told me to turn back and get to where I knew I was safer, but I convinced myself my brother wouldn't put me in harm's way. He just needed some help.
Hands reached out and grabbed me. As I screamed, a hand covered my mouth and I was dragged into a nearby alleyway. It was Terry. He let me go and I shoved him hard, making him trip over torn garbage bags.
"You fucking jerk!" I said, surprised by my language. "You drag me out here to the slums?"
"Excuse me," he said. "I didn't realize the princess would mind."
"What are you talking about? Princess? What's your problem?"
"Look at you. If Momma could only see her sweet innocent girl now. A whore for the Gambinos."
I slapped him hard. "Don't you dare! You have no idea what I've been through."
"I don't? I don't know about your knight in shining armor who rescued you? Or how he destroyed our home?"
"The home you tricked Momma into refinancing? The one you didn't make payments on? You really have some nerve, Terry. No wonder no one wants to help you. Lord only knows what would've happened if Dante didn't save me that night. You left me! You knew they'd show up at the house looking for you."
"Then if I'm so bad, why are you here?"
"Because despite how many stupid things you do, you're still my brother. Nothing will change that. We're family. And family needs to support each other. Especially when someone is down."
Terry was quiet as he turned away from me and leaned against a filthy brick wall. He was thinner than the last time I saw him and his eyes were sunken. He was also in desperate need of a shower.
"I need money, Gia. I have to get away from here," he said quietly, his body beginning to shake.
"That's why you called me? I've been worried sick about you, expecting to hear you got killed by that gang--"
"I'm more afraid your boyfriend is going to do me in," he mumbled.
"You're so selfish. You really only care about yourself," I said, finally done with his antics. "Is money all you want? Here!" I yanked out the few dollar bills I had in my purse and threw them at him.
He dropped to his knees and grabbed at the money before they could blow away. "Thank you, Gia. You have no idea how desperate I am." Clutching the money in his hands, he ran out of the alley towards the street. "I'm sorry, Gia. I did what I had to do."
Wiping some tears from my eyes, I took a deep breath and tried to pull myself together. I was so disappointed in Terry. It hurt to see how bad things had gotten for him and I wished there was something I could do, but he needed to figure this out on his own.
Carefully stepping through the alley back to the street, I looked back and forth trying to remember which direction the subway was. A group of large men appeared out of nowhere and headed towards me. They wore the same leather and denim vests as the men who attacked me. I had no doubt they were the Lords of Vengeance. Remembering Terry's apology as he left, I knew why they were there.
My instinct was to run. Turning around, I was ready to bolt when four other intimidating men in the same vests came from the other direction. I was surrounded.
I looked around for an escape as the men closed in on me, but there was none. I was trapped. And there was no one who could save me. I was horrible to Dante before I left and even if he forgave me, he didn't know where I was.
A long black car screeched around the corner, making some of the men turn. I took it as my chance to run. As I turned, I saw my hero. Walking determinedly towards us was Dante.
He was dressed all in black - black button-down shirt, black slacks. His eyes darkened and his face held no expression. I was glad he was protecting me because I wouldn't want to be on the wrong end of that angel of death.
Two of the men closest to Dante pulled guns out of their shoulder holsters. Dante raised his right hand, the gun I saw that first night an extension of his hand. Faster than I could blink, two shots went off and the men collapsed to the ground.
A loud sound came from behind me and I ducked before quickly moving closer to a building. My legs shook underneath me as I tried to melt into the rough brick wall for safety.
I was too scared to watch, but fear wouldn't let me close my eyes. I covered my ears and stared down at the sidewalk, hoping it would end soon and Dante would be okay.
I gasped in fear as a strong hand lifted me up by my upper arm. Pushing against him, I realized it was Dante and wrapped my arms tightly around his shoulders.
"Come," he said.
Moving quickly, I followed the pace he set as we ran across the wide sidewalk. Numerous gang members streamed out of the building Terry entered earlier. Each one looked more frightening than the next. Dante positioned us between two cars, rose up, and fired a couple of shots. I didn't need to look to know they hit their target.
A car squealed around the corner. Dante directed me towards the street as the long, black car from before slammed its brakes and stopped.
"Get in," Dante said.
He didn't have to tell me twice. Dante slid into the back of the car as he fired a few more shots. As the car sped away, the back door slammed shut. I ducked down into the smooth leather seat as several shots hit the back window.
My heart raced and my mind spun as I thought again about my brother. I wanted to cry, but I was too numb. Dante pulled me close against him and I squeezed him tight, happy to feel safe again.
"Thank you," I whispered, thinking about how much trouble Dante had been in since we met.
"You don't need to thank me. I vowed to protect you."
"But I was an idiot. I didn't tell you the truth and I said really horrible things."
As I spoke, my voice trembled and cracked. It was too much to deal with at once. Losing my mom, losing the home I grew up in, and losing my brother. It all weighed in on me at once and the numbness fell away. Suddenly the tears came in full force.
"I'm so sorry!" I said. "I didn't mean what I said. Terry called me, and I knew you wouldn't let me see him by myself."
"What's done is done, my angel. It's in the past."
"It just happened! I feel horrible about what I said and about leaving. And despite all of that, you still found me. You saved me again."
"Gia, just because you get angry or leave doesn't mean I'm going to stop loving you."
I stared at him, but his gaze was directed at the window towards the traffic. He had never told me his feelings before. As the light turned green, he looked at me and I got lost in his calm blue eyes.
"I do, you know," he said softly. "I love you more than life itself."
"I love you too, Dante."
His lips grazed mine and I felt safe once more. I rested my head against his chest and listened to his heartbeat as I forced myself to forget about Terry and all the trouble he got us in.
The window separating us from the driver lowered and Sonny looked at us from the rear view mirror.
"Sir? The family asked for you to join them," Sonny said.
"Not now," Dante said. "I'll deal with them another time. Take us home."
***
Later that evening, I decided to go to bed early. I took the frame of my picture of Momma and I and placed it closer to me, on the nightstand. I needed her strength right now.
After p
utting on a dark green satin nightie from the things Dante had bought me, I lay in bed watching the lights from the city dance across the ceiling. I was exhausted, but I couldn't sleep. My brain was too busy thinking about Terry and what would happen to him. He might think he was safe for handing me over to that gang like chattel, but even if Dante hadn't come, I knew they weren't done with him.
I didn't know how long I was lying there before Dante came into the bedroom. Every night he came to bed and held me. And every night, I wanted more. He never undressed, he lay on top of the bed linens in his clothing on, but it didn't matter. When I was lying with him, our bodies molded perfectly together like that, and nothing wrong could happen.
"I thought you'd be asleep by now," he said.
"I can't sleep," I said as I sat up. "I can't stop thinking about everything."
He nodded and bent down to kiss my lips. Reaching up, I held him close and he pulled me close to him, pressing my body against his. As his tongue met mine, I let out a happy sigh, but then he pulled away.
I expected him to leave or pretend nothing had happened, but instead he unbuttoned his shirt. The scar on his chest seemed to glow in the moonlight. As he continued undressing, I held my breath, not wanting the moment to end. Dante was the first man I saw naked, and I knew what I was seeing wouldn't compare to anyone else.
The lights from the street highlighted each muscle on his chest, moving along his squared abs and down further as if caressing his perfect body. Like a lion, he moved gracefully. Effortlessly, each of his muscles flexed as he removed all of his clothing. My breath caught just from looking at him.
Without a word he was on the bed, his lips roughly parting mine as I arched my body into him. While I was soft, his body was firm. As his legs slipped between mine, every worry and thought slipped away. Nothing else mattered except for being with him. And he was all I wanted.
As he pulled my nightie up and revealed my breasts, his tongue moved over my stiff nipples. My hand moved down to touch his rock hard manhood and as I stroked him, he grinned and claimed my mouth again. Reaching over to the nightstand, I turned the photo of Momma around. I needed my privacy.