Chapter 5 - THE DEVIL'S BARGAIN"You aren't going," Dante said. His tone left zero room for negotiation.
"He threatened Matteo!" I yelled, stepping forward. "He said he would go after your son's school!"
"My son's school is guarded by twelve armed men disguised as faculty!" Dante thundered, slamming his fist onto the mahogany desk, making the wooden box rattle. "Matteo is safe! You, on the other hand, are walking straight into a slaughterhouse if you set foot on those docks!"
"I have to!" I cried out, my voice cracking. "Dante, please! Michael is a coward, yes! He broke my heart, yes! But he doesn't deserve to be tortured to death because of me!"
Dante turned his back to me, pacing the length of the study like a caged predator. His mind was working at lightning speed, calculating angles, body counts, risks. Finally, he stopped and looked at Marco.
"Call the strike team," Dante ordered smoothly. "Heavy armor. Thermal scopes. Suppressed weapons. We move in twenty minutes."
"Wait," I interjected, stepping between Dante and the door. "Victor said I had to go alone. If he sees your men, he'll kill Michael immediately."
Dante looked down at me, his eyes dark with a mixture of irritation and dangerous intrigue. "And what do you propose, Clara? You walk in there with a smile and ask them nicely to let him go?"
"I go in as the bait," I said, the words slipping out of my mouth before I could fully digest the horror of what I was suggesting. "I walk up to Victor. I draw his attention. You and your men take positions in the shadows. When Victor releases Michael, you take the shot."
Dante stared at me in disbelief. "You want to act as a Trojan horse? You don't know how to handle a situation like this. You're a waitress who got hurt by falling glass!"
"I survived that glass!" I shouted back, stepping right into his personal space. "And I survived six weeks in this house with you! I am stronger than you think, Dante Moretti. Use me to get Victor, or I swear to God, I'll steal a car and drive there myself."
Dante stared at me for a long, breathless moment. The sheer audacity of my threat seemed to shock him. Slowly, a low, dark laugh escaped his chest—a sound so rich and dangerous it sent a thrill through my veins.
"You really are insane," Dante murmured, stepping closer until his chest brushed mine. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a small, sleek silver object. It was a compact, ultra-lightweight 9mm pistol.
He took my right hand and pressed the cold steel frame into my palm, folding my fingers over the grip.
"If you're going to play soldier, you learn how to shoot," Dante whispered, wrapping his hand over mine. He guided my hand up, aiming the unloaded gun toward the wall. "Safety is off. Index finger on the frame, not the trigger, until you are ready to kill. Squeeze slowly. Don't pull."
His breath was warm against my ear, his broad chest pressed against my back, guiding my posture. For a second, the terror vanished, replaced by a hyper-awareness of his touch, his scent, his overwhelming presence.
"If anyone touches you," Dante breathed into my hair, "you shoot them. If you can't shoot them... you hold on until I get to you. Understand?"
"I understand," I whispered.
"Good," Dante said, stepping back and pulling a sleek black bulletproof vest from a concealed cabinet. "Put this on under your jacket. We have a war to win."
An hour later, the black SUV rolled to a stop two blocks away from the abandoned shipping container yard at the docks. The rain was falling hard now, drumming a relentless rhythm against the roof.
Dante turned to me in the dark interior of the car. He reached out, cupping my cheek in his hand. His touch was shockingly gentle for a man whose hands carried so much death.
"Look at me, Clara," he commanded softly.
I looked into his dark, fierce eyes.
"You bring yourself back to me," Dante said, his voice laced with a raw intensity that made my breath catch. "That's an order."
May you like
"Yes, Boss," I whispered back.
I opened the car door and stepped out into the pouring rain, walking toward the shadows of the docks, armed with a hidden gun, a bulletproof vest, and a heart that was rapidly falling for the devil himself.
