Mercedes. He opened the passenger door for me, his gaze scanning our surroundings as I slipped inside. When he closed the door, I inhaled shakily . My heart beat frantically in my chest. We were at war. War.
And I was the Chief’s wife, and I had been caught up in the Outfit. Don’t panic. Chicago was my home once. Dante had known me all my life. Dante wasn’t known for hurting women, but what would happen if he used me as leverage? A wave of nausea swept over me and it took all my willpower to hold it back. Dante got behind the wheel and placed the car on the road.
“I guess you’re on your own.” He was focused on the traffic, but I knew he was aware of my every move. “I am,” I said. “You shouldn’t have come to Chicago,” he said as he checked his rearview mirror as if he expected someone to follow us. I was afraid he was right. Luca was right. I was acting without thinking when my brothers were worried. Finally, Dante swerved to the side, startling me , and applied the brakes. We were in a deserted area near the tracks. He said nothing. I closed my eyes. This was a place where no one would hear me scream, a place where corpses could be disposed of. My fingers on my knees tightened as I remembered the knife, which I had bought that afternoon, in my bag. A bag I had between my feet in the leg space. But to get to it I would have had to bend down and unzip the zipper of the bag. And to get out of this car alive after pulling a knife on Dante, I was going to need a miracle. I opened my eyes, looking at my bag. Luca and I had practiced self-defense for years, and against an inexperienced man I could have defended myself, but Dante was the boss. He knew how to kill without breaking a sweat. And then Dante leaned over me, tall and terrifying, and his arm grazed my thigh and I recoiled from him, my head hitting the window. “No,” I gasped. Dante’s blue eyes met mine, understanding reflected on his face but he did not immediately retreat, still too close as if waiting for something. Then he straightened, holding my bag in his hand. He had taken it between my legs. I let go a breath and quickly wiped a traitorous tear from my face, hoping that my emotional reaction was not due to my pregnancy.
What if I was risking that baby? God, what had I done? Dante opened my bag, pulled out the knife and put it in the side compartment, then put the bag back in the leg space. I was still pressed against the window, my pulse quickening. “Air,” Dante said firmly, drawing my gaze to his eyes. They were not exactly soft, but at least they had lost some of their menace. “You are Luca’s wife; a war will not change that. And even if you were not his wife, you should not fear him from me, or anyone else in Chicago. I swear.” “Thank you, Dante,” I whispered. I straightened in my seat, embarrassed by my actions. “No need to thank me for respecting your body,” he said. “What will you do with me then?” He looked at me without a glimmer of emotion. “That’s the problem, I suppose. I should use you to punish Luke and the Family.” I shuddered. “Or at least use you as leverage to blackmail him .” That was what I feared. “Luca is the Chief. He will not put the Family at risk.” Dante smiled coldly. “But you’re his wife, and I’ve seen the way he looks at you.
There is only one thing Luca would jeopardize his position as Chief for, and that is you.” Oh God, if Luke lost his territory or the trust of his men because of me, he would never forgive me. “I think you are overestimating my value. Luca’s first choice will always be the Family.” Dante tilted his head, looking at me as an asset. “And I think you are underestimating your value for a good reason.” “I’m not. Luca will not put his territory at risk. You don’t know him as well as I do.” “And that’s the problem,” he said. “If Luca would not agree to our demands, I would have to try to convince him.” “By hurting me,” I said. He nodded, “By hurting you. I don’t really like inflicting pain on women.” But he would have to. “Still, my concern is the Outfit.” He said it as if he had made his choice. “There is still Matteo and the rest of the Family. Luca has to consider their wishes.” “Luca knows how to make people see things the way he wants them to see them. Luca is the strongest Chief New York has seen in a long time. His people admire him, but they don’t know his weakness.” I was his weakness. Tears burned my eyes. I had never intended to make Luke weak, and I had to make sure he did not appear that way in front of his enemies, because this was Dante. I took a deep breath. “Luca will do anything to stay Chief. It’s in his blood. In the end, if he has to choose between me and power, he will choose power, believe me.” I met Dante’s cold gaze and hoped he did not realize that my words were a lie.
Dante said nothing for a while, just stared at me. “Maybe. But maybe you are just trying to save yourself and Luca. Maybe you realize that your presence here could mean the end of the Family.” “No matter what you do to me, Luca will not give up his territory. Luca will bow to no one.” “But he won’t back down and make you torture him.” I fidgeted in my seat, shock making my eyes go wide before I could mask it, and Dante’s lips curved into a knowing smile. To hell with the mob. To hell with Dante and his manipulation. I repressed my panic and said firmly, “He won’t do it. He will attack Chicago and kill every man. He will show strength, not weakness. Luke is the most ruthless man I know, Dante, and I grew up knowing you. Do not confuse his possessiveness with anything else. I am his property and he will destroy your city and your home to get it back.” I had to force every word past the knot in my throat, through my fear. I had to be strong for Luca; I could not allow Dante to use me against him. I would have done anything for Luca. Dante leaned forward, his eyes were hard. “And I will do the same for New York. You grew up seeing my civilized mask, Aria. Don’t confuse it with my true nature. Luke takes his monster outside; I keep mine buried until I need it.” I had no doubt about it. Luca would attack and Dante would react. People would have died. Maybe my sisters, maybe Fabi. Maybe Luca. And I couldn’t let that happen. I weighed my options. I could have tried to kill myself, but then Luca would surely have burned Chicago. I could have tried to beg Dante to spare me because I was a woman, but his implacable expression gave me little hope. Trying to seduce him was completely out of the question, not that he struck me as a man who would let his base instincts override logic, and then there was Val. Not that I would ever kiss anyone but Luca. God, I was starting to lose my mind. My stomach twisted and nausea hit me so hard that I reached for the door to get out, but it was locked, of course. “Air,” Dante said to warn me. “I’m going to throw up,” I gasped, and all it took was one look at my face and he opened the car. I staggered out and ran to the back of the car, then bent down and threw up the tea and muffin I had eaten in the afternoon. I leaned against the trunk of the Mercedes, trying to catch my breath. Dante’s gray pant legs appeared in my peripheral vision, but I wasn’t even embarrassed. I was beyond that point. Tears slid down my cheeks as I clung to the car. “Here,” Dante said softly, handing me a handkerchief. I accepted it with a mumbled “thank you,” then wiped my mouth. Preparing myself, I raised my head and met Dante’s gaze. He was frowning. “Is it fear or something else?” he asked. I stared into his blue eyes. Dante was a father and Val was pregnant again. I had to trust that he would save me. I decided to go all the way for the truth without blinking. “Both of them. I have never been so afraid of you as I was today.” Dante’s expression did not change, but that did not mean that my words had not had a small effect on him. I had to hope that they did. “But that’s not it,” I said, then hesitated. Admitting I was pregnant would either save Luke and me, or doom him and the Family. “I am pregnant.” Dante’s eyes flew down to my stomach. “You are pregnant with Luca’s child?” I wasn’t sure, but everything indicated that I was. I straightened up despite my nausea and dizziness. “Yes.” “I hope you understand that I cannot trust your word on the matter,” Dante said in a harsh voice.
I blinked. “What do you mean?””I want proof.” “Proof?” I echoed. “What if my words turn out to be true?” “Then it’s up to me to decide.” Dante’s face was an impenetrable mask. “Get back in the car, Aria.” Dante took me to the pharmacy, but I had to stay in the locked car while he bought a pregnancy test. I was beginning to think I had made a big mistake telling Dante that I was pregnant. If the test showed that I was pregnant, he would have even more power against Luke, and if the test showed that I had lied, he would be less likely to spare me in any way. Sometimes I thought I could play these power games because I had seen them played to Luca and Matteo, but our men had years more experience than we did. I closed my eyes and pressed my palm against my still flat belly, not quite knowing what to hope for. I opened my eyes as the door opened and Dante entered. His eyes lowered to my hand on my stomach and I pulled it away. He handed me the package and closed the door. “Where should I take the test?””I can’t take you to a public place. I would hate to meet someone who recognizes you.” Because it would force his hand. He pulled away from the curb and led us back to an abandoned parking lot near the water. “Here?” I asked. “Here. I can’t take your modesty at face value.” He got out of the car and I followed him. I looked around, shivering. “Hide behind the trunk;
I will wait here. If you do anything to arouse my suspicions, I will keep an eye on you, understand?” Dante squinted at me and I nodded sharply , then went to the back and unfastened my jeans. Dante turned his back to me and I pulled my jeans and panties down before squatting down and clumsily holding the test stick between my legs. It took a while before I was able to relax enough to let go, but Dante said nothing. I straightened up and set the test down on the trunk, then got dressed. “Done,” I said. Dante turned around, stuck his hand in his car, then walked over to me and handed me the wipes. “You’re ready,” I said with a bitter laugh. “It’s usually the blood I clean with them.”
I scanned his face. Was he trying to intimidate me or was he just being honest? I couldn’t tell; I didn’t know him well enough for that.
We waited the remaining time in silence until Dante nodded. He reached out his hand toward the test with trembling fingers and opened the cap. I looked down at the test and began to cry. Pregnant. Dante looked at me in silence. I showed him the test, but he knew. More silence followed. “Luca doesn’t know,” Dante said. I nodded to confirm. I grabbed the edge of the car. I was pregnant with Luca’s child. A baby boy. I looked down and a terror such as I had never known before gripped me. I had come to Chicago, into enemy territory, with Luca’s baby inside me. I was so stupid, so very stupid. “Aria.” Dante’s voice was softer than it had been all night, and I looked at him again, and for several moments neither of us moved. I wasn’t sure what to do. “I know you have to think about the Outfit,” I whispered, but he silenced me with a raised palm. “I will let you go. Luca is my enemy. I don’t think he will change anytime soon, but you are an innocent woman carrying his baby. I hope he would do the same if Valentina ever falls into his hands, which she won’t.” Ferocity flashed in his eyes. Protective like Luca. Valentina was Dante’s weakness as I was Luca’s. I wasn’t sure what Luca would do if he found himself in Dante’s position. I wanted to believe that he would have made the same choice. “But Aria don’t be mistaken: if I ever run into Luca, I will kill him, and it won’t be quickly.” I shuddered because I believed him. “Don’t tell Luca,” he said, an order. “I won’t, believe me.” If Luca had found out, he would have lost his mind. He gave an abrupt nod of assent. I took a small step toward him. “Thank you, Dante. Thank you very much.” Another abrupt nod of assent. “Do you have a plane ticket?” “Yes, my plane leaves in three hours.” “I’ll drive you to the airport.” We climbed back into the car and again my hand found my stomach, still unable to believe that there was a tiny human being growing inside me. The result of my and Luca’s love . Dante was tense beside me as he guided me toward the ‘airport. He stopped in front of the departure terminal, then turned to me and a predatory expression took over his face. “Don’t ever come back to Chicago, Aria. I will this time, but next time I will do what is necessary to ensure that the Outfit wins this war.” “Can’t there be peace again? For your children and ours. For Fabi and all the others who will suffer in this war.” Dante smiled coldly. “If Luca hands over Romero and Liliana, and if Luca apologizes, then maybe there can be peace.” Luca would do neither, and we both knew it. Two men who hated each other and other men eager to tear each other apart dragged us all into darkness, children and women, and my son would be born into this dark world.
Born in blood. Sworn in blood. I go in alive and leave dead. “Go,” Dante said, and I did. I never looked back as I headed for the airport. I would never see Chicago again, never see Fabi again. I pressed my palm to my stomach, seeking consolation. I had to trust that Fabi was strong enough to survive in the Outfit. I couldn’t risk anything again, not with a child growing inside me, not if I wanted to protect Luca and our family.
As I boarded the plane, I wondered again if Luca would have done the same. Would he have let Val leave?