Stolen: Dante’s Vow by Natasha Knight
Dante
She sleeps the rest of the night. When I slip my arm from beneath her the next morning, her eyes flutter open for an instant, a smile just barely playing on her lips before she’s out again.
I tuck her back into the bed, have a quick shower and head downstairs where my brother and Charlie are already in his study when I arrive.
Cristiano checks his watch. “Since when do you sleep much less sleep in?”
“Jet lag,” I lie as I pour myself a cup of coffee from the silver carafe Lenore left for us. Knowing when they find out, when Cristiano hears that I took Mara to my bed, he will lose his shit.
“What happened last night? I heard Cerberus bark but when I got downstairs, you’d taken him out.”
“Not exactly. I went to check on Mara around two in the morning. Just had a weird feeling.”
“Mara?”
“She’d gone up to the cliffs.”
There’s a moment of stunned silence, although can any of us be stunned considering?
“Fuck,” Charlie finally says, running a hand through his hair and shaking his head.
Cristiano’s face is stone. “You got to her in time.”
“Yeah,” I say even though it wasn’t a question. I sip my coffee. “Just barely.” I can’t think about what would have happened if I’d been just a minute later.
We sit in silence for a long moment.
“Will she do it again?” Cristiano finally asks.
“I don’t think so.”
He studies me, eyes so much like our mothers it’s eerie. He nods. “Okay.” He takes a seat on one of the armchairs and I join Charlie on the couch. “Let’s talk through what’s going on. Make a plan.”
I nod and start. “We have a few players. Jericho St. James.”
“Still digging into him. He’s a fucking ghost,” Charlie says.
“This IVI secret society or some shit. He supposedly is working for this organization. Claimed to have ties to it when I asked if he was a member. It’s the same card David had in his luggage.”
“I remember,” Cristiano says.
“Says there was a meeting Felix recorded and it’s why he’s after the son of a bitch.”
“What meeting?”
“Not sure but apparently there could be implications for our family. Although I’m not sure he wasn’t feeding me a line of bullshit to enlist my help.”
“What implications?”
I swallow too hot coffee before answering. “What David did to our mother for one.”
Cristiano’s eyes narrow and I see how he clenches and unclenches his fist. I wonder if he’s even conscious of it. “That’s on him. What else?”
“I don’t know if he was involved in human trafficking himself, I’d guess yes, but somehow you and me, our family, even Scarlet, were allegedly named during that meeting.”
“Allegedly.” Cristiano doesn’t seem worried, and I get it. I’m not worried about this recording either because chances are Jericho is full of shit.
“But it’s not going to matter anyway if I talk to St. James and learn he had anything to do with the attack on the warehouse. I’ll kill him myself,” I say. “And then there’s Felix Pérez and some new buyer. Which I don’t get.”
“What new buyer?” Charlie asks.
“I don’t know. If St. James knows, he’s not letting on. But apparently money has changed hands and this person wants Mara specifically. Not Elizabeth as far as I can tell since word is out that she isn’t Elizabeth. I’m guessing this deal’s been in place for about a year. It’s when Pérez infiltrated Petrov’s home via a guard who befriended Mara. He gave her the bracelet with the tracking device hidden inside. It’s how they found the warehouse and her.”
“A year?” Cristiano asks as confused as I am. He turns to Charlie. “Any idea how we can figure out who the buyer is?”
Charlie’s forehead is furrowed. “I can see about money having changed hands. I’ll start there if I can get access to Pérez’s account. See if we can work it backward.”
“It’s a start,” I say. “And when I meet with St. James, I’ll see what I can get out of him. It may have to do with this IVI.”
“They’re like a vault.”
“And I’ll be dealing with Petrov’s sons.”
“Forgot about them,” Cristiano says. “From what I hear you did the older one a favor taking dad out.”
“Still, I doubt he’ll send me a thank you card unless it comes with a bullet.”
“What do you want to do about them?”
“Kill them.”
“Are they important enough?”
I look at my brother. “He shared her.”
Cristiano’s jaw tightens.
“He shared her with at least one of his sons. He wouldn’t tell me which, so I figured I’d take them both out.”
My brother mutters a curse. “I should be there with you.”
“You’ve got Scarlett and the baby coming, not to mention Alessandro.”
“I can—”
“No, Cris. Just no,” I tell him.
“We can provide support from here,” Charlie offers.
I nod.
“I don’t like this,” Cristiano says.
“I’ve already arranged more men and a house,” Charlie adds. “A property in Todt Hill.”
“Staten Island?”
He nods. “It has quite some acreage and is surrounded by a twelve-foot stone wall. Our men are already there setting up and the previous owner had decent security in place.”
“Perfect.”
“When are you going back?” Cristiano asks. I know he doesn’t want me going back without him at all, but this is mine. It always has been.
“Tomorrow.”
“Does she know?”
Just then the door slams open, and we all turn. Cristiano and I both on our feet instantly, hands on our weapons before we see Noah.
He doesn’t even scan the room. His eyes land instantly on me.
“You fucking asshole!” He stalks toward me, slaps his hands against my chest to shove me. He doesn’t budge me, but I take a step forward to get in his face.
“What the fuck is your problem?” I ask.
“Noah?” Cristiano says, trying to come between us.
“What the fuck is my problem?” Noah starts. He’s foaming at the mouth. Like a rabid dog. “What’s your problem?”
“What’s going on?” Charlie asks as Cristiano steps between us.
“He hasn’t told you?” Noah asks almost spitting the words, gaze burning between me and my brother. “Hasn’t mentioned where Mara slept last night?” He tries to shove past Cristiano again, but Cristiano blocks him. “I saw her, you fucking asshole. Saw her coming out of your room!”
Cristiano’s gaze shifts to me. I’m looking at Noah, but I see him in my periphery. Periphery is a thing I took for granted before I lost my eye. Now I’m much more aware of where I am in a room, positioning myself to see.
“Get out of the way,” I tell my brother.
“I’m sure there’s an explanation,” Cristiano says tightly. I see the ‘there better be a fucking explanation’ look on his face. “Sit down,” he tells Noah and shoves him into a seat. “You too,” he tells me and closes the door. But before we even hear the click of it, Noah’s on his feet, hands gripping the collar of my shirt.
“You don’t want to start this with me, kid,” I tell him. I still haven’t touched him. I will, though. If I have to.
“How could you do that to her? After everything she’s been through?” Noah asks.
“Relax,” Cristiano tells him, yanking his hands from my collar. “She went up to the cliffs last night. Dante brought her back.”
Noah looks at him and there’s a moment of heavy silence while he processes her intention. “Fuck.”
My brother turns to me. “She slept in your room?”
I don’t owe him an explanation. He doesn’t know this version of Mara. The rescued woman. He still sees her as a little girl. Lenore’s granddaughter. Lizzie’s best friend.
She’s not those things anymore, or not only those things.
“She did.”
He must see something on my face that gives me away then. Something that has him turning on me like Noah just did. He comes to stand nose to nose. “In your bed?”
I suck in a breath.
“Brother?” he presses.
When I don’t answer, he fists my collar. “Everyone out,” he tells the others without turning away from me.
“I’m not—” Noah starts.
“Out!” he commands, and I hear Charlie talking to Noah. See them walk out of the room. Hear the click of the door closing behind them.
Cristiano slams me against the wall the instant it does. “What. The. Fuck. Did. You. Do?”
I shove off the wall and get in his face. “You think I’d hurt her?”
He grips my collar and we’re nose-to-nose. “I think you’d better have kept your dick in your pants.”
He must see on my face that I did not because he shoves me again and I knock a lamp to the floor.
I glance at it, hear the crunching of glass under my boot when I step toward my brother. “Do I need to remind you what you did with Scarlett?” I ask, shoving him back. “Forcing her into your bed.”
He draws his arm back, hand fisted. “I didn’t do what you’re thinking.” He swings but I block him and push him away. This time it’s him who sends his desk lamp crashing. “And this is very different.” He straightens, steps toward me so we’re toe-to-toe. “This is Mara we’re talking about. Lenore’s granddaughter for fuck’s sake. You’d better not have forced her into your fucking bed.” As if the thought burns through him, he swings again, this time at my gut.
I twist my body, take the brunt at my side. I straighten, shove him against the wall and press my forearm to his throat.
“You really think I’d take a woman by force? You think I’m like him? Like my fucking father?” Cristiano opens his mouth to say something, but I’m too far gone. Because isn’t this what he’s thinking? What they all must be thinking? “Fuck you for thinking it, asshole.”
I swing.