“Probably. And I bet he would have tried to kill you too.”
I sucked in a breath. “Antonio would never harm me.”
“Are you sure? This is a man who goes to great lengths to get his way, 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 Raffaele, but he didn’t want to tell me the other names.”
“Okay,” Dante said gently. “Do you have a way to get in contact with him?”
“You are going to kill him.”
“I’m going to 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 will send him a text 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 at the warehouse again.”
A tear slid down my cheek. Dante wiped it away with his thumb. “You know what’s strange?” I whispered thickly. “At one point, I thought I could never love someone as I loved Antonio, no matter how unrequited that love was. And today I’m condemning him to his death for another man who will never love me back.”
Dante’s fingers froze against my face. His gaze flickered, and some tiny part of me hoped he’d say that 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 he’ll decide to go back into hiding. We need to reach him before that.”
I drew away from his touch, and nodded. I reached into my bag for my phone, my fingers brushing the vial with the poison. I should tell Dante about it. I pulled out my phone and opened a text. I quickly typed what Dante had told me and sent it off. Afterward, I anxiously stared down at the screen. Less than a minute later, I got a reply.
Meet me in 30 minutes. Bring the body. I’ll take care of everything.
“How am I supposed to get your body into my car?”
“I suppose dragging would work,” Dante said dryly.
I laughed, then choked up. “What now? You will need reinforcements.”
Dante shook his head. “I don’t know who to trust right now. Not until I’ve talked to Antonio.”
I knew he wouldn’t just talk to him, and the thought sent a stab through my heart. “But what if Antonio isn’t alone? Isn’t it too risky for you to go by yourself? Maybe you should ask one of the guards. They have access to this house. If they wanted you dead, they’d probably have figured out a way to kill you by now.”
“I’d rather get a picture of the situation before I involve anyone else. It’s crucial that I don’t look vulnerable in front of my men. I need to be in control at all times. I will handle this alone. Once I know more, I’ll call my soldiers. They’ll need to see what I do with traitors anyway.”
I swallowed. “Can you kill Antonio quickly? You can get the information you want from Raffaele.”
“Raffaele might get suspicious and disappear, or he might not know everything Antonio does. I’ll have to make sure I find out exactly who’s involved in this.”
I touched his arm. “What if you get shot?”
“I can handle myself. I’ve fought many battles in my life. I wouldn’t be Capo if I hadn’t.”
“I should come with you.”
“No,” Dante said immediately.
“What if Antonio doesn’t come out until he sees me in my car? If they have binoculars they’ll see it’s you behind the steering wheel. They’ll run off and we’ll never find out who’s behind this coup.”
Dante regarded me with respect. “I won’t risk your life.”
“I won’t get out of the car. It’s bulletproof, remember? I’ll be perfectly safe.”
“You want to be there when I handle Antonio?”
I hesitated. That was the last thing I wanted. “No,” I said honestly. “But there’s no other way. Once the situation is under control and you call 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 only your life on the line.”
“Nothing will happen to me or our baby. I know you will protect us.”
Dante didn’t say anything. I wished he’d say he believed it was his baby, wished he’d take back the hurtful things he’d said. “Let’s go then.”
Dante hid under the backseat of the car while I drove. As we passed the gate, Enzo gave me a strange look but didn’t try to stop me. Dante had two guns strapped into his gun holder and another one in his hand. There were also knives in the legroom, and I had a gun in the glove compartment. Not that it would do me much good. I’d never handled a gun in my life.
My pulse picked up when I steered the car toward the deserted parking lot in front of the abandoned storage facility. “We’re almost there,” I said.
“When you’re in sight of Antonio, try not to speak to me unless it’s absolutely necessary. He can’t know you’re not alone.”
The meeting point came into sight. Antonio stood beside his car. From what I could make out, Frank wasn’t with him, but he wasn’t alone. My heart picked up its pace and my hands became clammy as I clutched the steering wheel tighter. There was a second car. Raffaele and two men I didn’t know were inside.
“Antonio isn’t alone,” I whispered, barely moving my lips.
“How many?”
“Three others. Raffaele, and two men I don’t recognize.”
Dante pulled out his phone and brought it to his ear. “Enzo, prepare the crew. I need to dispose of some rats. Take only the inner circle with you.” He quickly gave Enzo the address, then he hung up.
I slowed the car and forced a shaky smile onto my face when I came to a stop a few feet from where Antonio stood. He looked anxious and kept glancing toward Raffaele, who was getting out the car, followed by the man from the backseat. Why had Antonio brought Raffaele to a meeting with me? Raffaele hated me. He’d rather see me dead than see me at Antonio’s side.
What if Dante was right, and Antonio wanted to get rid of me too? I didn’t want to believe it. I turned off the engine. After another look toward Raffaele, Antonio headed toward my car. I tensed but forced my face to give nothing away. When he’d almost reached me, his eyes settled on the backseat and he jerked to a stop. His gaze darted to me for the briefest moment before his lips opened, probably to shout a warning. It was too late.
Dante pushed open the door and pointed his gun at Antonio. My stomach shriveled with sadness and guilt when the first bullet hit Antonio in the stomach. The second went straight through his right hand, which had been about to pull his gun. Antonio dropped to the ground, clutching his middle, face contorted with pain.
I clawed at the steering wheel with all my might. Part of my brain screamed at me to grab the gun from the glove compartment to have some kind of protection, but the other, the louder part was just screaming. Screaming in anguish and horror and guilt.
Dante was shielded by the bulletproof car door as he fired his next shot. The bullet tore through the throat of the man who’d gotten out of the car after Raffaele.