I repeatedly turned the vial over in my hands.
By now the tears had dried and my face was hot and sticky from crying, but my decision was made. There was only one thing I could do. Dante’s footsteps resounded in the hallway and I quickly pocketed the poison. The door opened and Dante entered, then paused with a surprised expression when he saw me standing in front of the window.
“Valentina, what are you doing here?” His gaze traveled across my tear-streaked face. “Did something happen? Are you okay?”
“We need to talk.”
Dante slowly closed the door, every movement deliberate and calculated. He knew something was going on. I didn’t need to see my face to know that he was betraying everything, not just because of my swollen eyes. I had never been so shaken in my life as I was today. He approached me cautiously, then stopped out of reach. I searched his face for something, some sort of kindness, but he was only watchful. This was the man who had accused me of betraying him, who had rejected our unborn child because he thought it was not his. A man who never let me have closure. Would he ever love me? Would I ever find in this marriage what I so desperately wanted?
Dante’s cold examination was a marked change from Antonio’s tenderness and casual smiles. Antonio had promised to give me what I wanted, to be the husband I deserved. Three years ago I would have done anything to hear those words from him, even slipping poison into the glass of someone who wanted Antonio dead. But somehow in the last months of my marriage to Dante something had changed. My heart had gone from one unattainable man to another. Despite everything Dante had done and said, he was my husband and I had come to love him, no matter how stupid that made me. He was the father of my child, even if he didn’t want to believe it.
“Valentina?” A hint of impatience crept into Dante’s voice.
“I saw Antonio today.”
Dante frowned. “Did you go to his grave?”
“No,” I said with a hysterical note. “I saw him in person. He’s not dead.”
Dante froze. I could tell he wasn’t sure he should believe me. He probably thought I was losing control.
“What do you mean?”
Tears welled up. “What I said. He’s not dead.”
Dante’s face hardened but he remained silent.
“That’s why Frank contacted me. Antonio was there that night at the warehouse. He shot at us to save Frank. It wasn’t the Russians.”
“Why did you meet him without telling me after he had already tried to kill you?”
“I didn’t! He followed me to the pharmacy today.”
Suspicion was sharp in Dante’s face. “Why didn’t you call Enzo? Where was he?” He didn’t look like a husband, he looked like he was my boss and I was one of his soldiers.
“I don’t know. I was shocked. I thought Antonio was dead and then suddenly I was staring at his face. I wanted to listen to him . He told me he faked his death to escape the Outfit and live with Frank.
“And now he’s back. Do you want my forgiveness? I don’t have any to give. I hope he doesn’t expect me to give him a warm welcome. The only thing he can have is a quick death.”
I wrapped my arms around my waist. “He doesn’t want to ask your forgiveness.”
Dante scrutinized my face.
“He wants you dead. He and a few others want you and your father to leave and take over.”
Dante’s jaw clenched. “Do they do that now? And how do they plan to do it?”
“Antonio asked me to poison you.”
Dante’s eyes stared into mine. “Why would he think you would agree?”
“Because he is sure I still love him. Because he trusts me.
Because it’s probably obvious to everyone how unhappy I am.” My hand unconsciously moved to my still almost flat belly . When I was naked there was only the slightest visible bulge . Dante’s eyes followed the movement and some of the hardness around his eyes diminished . “And what did you tell him?”
I made an exasperated sound. “Would I talk to you about all this if I wanted to kill you? It was bad enough that you accused me of betrayal and didn’t believe me when I told you I was pregnant with your child, even though you’re the ‘only man I’ve ever been with. But this? To think that I would agree to kill you, this is too much, even for me.”
Dante walked over to me and lightly touched my upper arms.
“I didn’t ask you what you decided. I didn’t think you would kill me.
I asked what you said to Antony. There is a difference.”
“I pretended to agree with his plan. I was afraid he would find another way to kill you.”
“Probably. And I bet he would have tried to kill you, too.”
I caught my breath. “Antonio would never hurt me.”
“Are you sure? This is a man who will do anything to get what he wants from what I know.
“I don’t know. I don’t know anything anymore.”
Dante kept his hands on my arms. “Did he tell you who else is involved?”
I nodded numbly. “He mentioned Raphael, but he wouldn’t tell me the other names.”
“All right,” Dante said kindly. “Do you have a way to get in touch with him?”
“You’re going to kill him.”
“I will kill them all, Valentina. I have to.”
I stared into his determined blue eyes. No hesitation, no pity, no mercy. “I have his number.”
“You’ll send him a message saying you gave me the poison and now you’re panicking because you don’t know what to do with my dead body. Ask him to meet you again at the warehouse.
A tear slid down my cheek. Dante wiped it away with his thumb. “You know what’s strange,” I whispered in a weak voice. “At one point, I thought I could never love someone the way I loved Antonio, no matter how unrequited that love was. And today I condemn him to death for another man who will never love me.”
Dante’s fingers froze on my face. His gaze wavered, and a small part of me hoped he would say he loved me.
It would have made things easier. He cleared his throat.
“We shouldn’t wait too long. Maybe he’ll realize it was stupid to contact you and decide to go back into hiding. We have to reach him first.”
I pulled away from her touch and nodded. I reached into my bag for the phone and my fingers brushed the vial with poison. I should tell Dante. I pulled out my phone and opened a message. I quickly wrote down what Dante had told me and sent it. Afterwards, I stared anxiously at the screen. Less than a minute later, I received a reply.
See you in 30 minutes. Bring the body. I will take care of everything.
“How do I get your body into my car?”
“I suppose dragging would work,” Dante said dryly.
I laughed, then choked. “What now? You’ll need reinforcements.”
Dante shook his head. “I don’t know who to trust right now.
Not until I talk to Antony.
I knew he wouldn’t simply talk to him, and the thought gave me a stab in the heart. “But what if Antonio is not alone?
Isn’t it too risky for you to go alone? Maybe you should ask one of the guards. They have access to this house. If they wanted you dead, they probably would have found a way to kill you by now.”
“I’d rather get the lay of the land before involving anyone else. It is crucial not to look vulnerable in front of my men. I need to be in control at all times. I will take care of it myself. When I know more, I will call my soldiers. They will still have to see what I do with traitors.”
I swallowed. “Can you kill Antony quickly? You can get the information you want from Raphael.”
“Raphael might get suspicious and disappear, or he might not know everything Antonio does. I’ll have to make sure I find out exactly who is involved in this.”
I touched his arm. “What if you get shot?”
“I can handle myself. I have fought many battles in my life. I wouldn’t be Chief if I hadn’t.
“I should go with you.”
“No,” Dante said immediately.
“What if Antonio doesn’t come out until he sees me in the car? If they have binoculars they will see it’s you behind the wheel. They will run away and we will never find out who is behind this coup.”
Dante looked at me respectfully. “I will not risk your life.”
“I won’t get out of the car. It’s bulletproof, remember? I will be perfectly safe.”
“Do you want to be there when I take care of Antonio?”
I hesitated. That was the last thing I wanted. “No,” I said honestly. “But there is no other way. Once the situation is under control and you’ve called in your men, I’ll leave.”
For a long time Dante and I stared at each other. “You shouldn’t risk your life for me. And it’s not just your life at stake.”
“Nothing will happen to me or our child. I know you will protect us.”
Dante said nothing. I wished he would say that he believed it was his baby, I wished he would take back the hurtful things he had said. “Let’s go then.”
Dante hid in the back seat of the car as I drove. Just past the gate Enzo gave me a strange look but did not try to stop me. Dante had two guns secured in the gun rack and another in his hand. There were also knives in the leg space and I had a gun in the glove compartment.
Not that it would do me much good. I had never handled a gun in my life.
My pulse quickened as I drove the car toward the deserted parking lot in front of the abandoned warehouse . “We’re almost there,” I said.
“When you’re in sight of Antonio, try not to talk to me unless it’s absolutely necessary. He cannot know that you are not alone.
The meeting point came into view. Antonio stood by his car. From what I could tell, Frank was not with him, but he was not alone. My heart quickened its pace and my hands became sweaty as I gripped the steering wheel tighter . There was a second car. Inside were Raphael and two men I did not know.
“Antonio is not alone,” I whispered, barely moving my lips.