CAMILLA’S POV.
Dante strode across the room, pulling it open just far enough to speak to whoever was on the other side.
His voice was low and controlled, but even I could hear the stress underlying it.
“What is it?
To his right stood Alex, who I was well familiar with when I used to work at Dante’s mansion; his face was straight as he said, “John’s men tear through the city asking questions, boss, but they are clueless about anything, and nobody has an idea it is you behind this.”
Relief washed over me for a moment but for just that.
My father still might not know yet who’d taken me, but I knew just how relentless he could get, he’d never stop until he found us.
Dante nodded at him.
His voice was smooth but threaded with an underlay of metal.
“Good. Let’s keep it that way. Make no slips and stay two steps ahead. I want full updates on their movements.”
“Yes, sir.” Alex inclined his head sharply, cast me one quick reassuring look, and then vanished back outside to leave us with silence at the safe house.
He’d shut the door behind him and turned to me, his face smoothed, his eyes cut from me to Jasper.
I drew our son close, my heart sprinting behind my ribs.
“John’s people might be looking, but they’ll never find us,” Dante said, sure, like the surety in his voice could choke some of the fear stirring inside me.
I nodded, but the lump remained there, stuck deep inside my chest.
“But he won’t stop, Dante. He’ll keep hunting me till he finds me.”
Dante leaned forward, his presence as commanding as always.
“I know. But he doesn’t know it’s me, and that’s to our advantage. We’ve got time.”
I let myself fall onto the edge of the bed, hugging Jasper tightly in my arms.
“Time to do what? Time to keep running? Because I really don’t know how much longer I can live like this.”
Dante’s eyes flashed dark and he sat down beside me, being careful not to jiggle Jasper.
“We are not running, Camilla. We are planning.”
I turned to him, the weight of his words already settled.
“Planning? Planning what? My father… He does not care about me, Dante. He’s going to be after Jasper now. He’s going to use him to make me bend to his will.”
Dante straightened, eyes narrowing.
“What do you mean?
I looked down at Jasper, stroking my fingers through his hair as soft as silk.
To lose him… tore me apart.
“John… he wants Jasper. He knows Jasper’s my weakness. He’ll threaten to take him, hurt him if I don’t do what he says. That’s always been his way. I was never anything to him, just a tool. And now Jasper… another pawn.” Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
Dante’s jaw worked, his fists clenching at his sides.
“So now he is willing to use his own grandson in order to manipulate you?”
I nodded, my voice catching.
“Yes, he doesn’t care; he wants power and Jasper’s leverage. He was going to marry me off to Tom just to seal some business partnership, and I would have no choice. Later on, if I disobeyed him, he would take Jasper, and I would never see him again”
I watched Dante’s face harden as he digested what I’d just said.
Storm clouds gathered in his breast, protectiveness flaring to life with quiet intensity that shook me-a shiver coursing down my spine.
“He’s not going to take Jasper,” Dante said with soft, deadly menace.
“He’s not going anywhere near either of you.”
My eyes welled, and I blinked them away.
“But what if he finds us? What if he finds out it was you who helped me escape?”
The proximity to him, the gentle support my face found in his hand-my heartbeat quickened as his eyes-in an unwavering resolve-settled on mine.
“I won’t let that happen. Not to you, and not to Jasper. I’ll protect you both, no matter what.”
His voice was cold, but I knew he did.
Yet, it nibbled my heels.
“And if he finds us?” I whispered.
Though my voice was strong outside, inside it shook.
Dante’s face turned serious.
“When he finds us, we will be prepared. But I’m going to make it so that day will never arrive.”
The next thing I knew, he was jumping out of bed and sprinting for the little cabinet that stood beside the wall.
In one smooth motion, he flung it open and yanked out a gun, so in that instant, there he was, in front of me with his firearm in his hands, and my heart racing.
My eyes brimmed over with tears, and I shook my head.
“Dante, I don’t know how to-
“I’m going to show you how to use it,” Dante said softly, his eyes not leaving mine.
“But until then, just keep it close. If anything happens, you don’t hesitate. You protect yourself and Jasper.”
I swallowed hard and nodded.
“Okay.”
My eyes were glued to the gun, it was as if the beat of my heart had been locked there.
I had never taken a gun in my hands before.
The very idea itself sent shivers down my spine, yet somewhere inside I knew that he was right; it was not an option just to sit and pray it would be all right, one had to get ready to fight.
Cold metal weighed heavy in my hands, the brutal honesty of what we were dealing with slapped me right in the face.
Dante’s hand fell on my shoulder, the touch settling.
“I’m going to put more men on guard around the house. No one comes in or out without my permission. This place is secure, but I’m not taking any chances.”
I nodded once more, the weight of it all pulling down on me as my brain went to thoughts of the future, of the danger that seemed to be closing in from every direction.
“What about you?” I asked low.
“What are you going to do?”
By then, he’d gone deadpan.
“I’m gonna make sure that your father knows not to try to control you. And I’m gonna make sure he regrets what he ever thought he could.”
There was a threat in the very tone of his voice, and my heart fluttered uneasily.
Dante wasn’t promising protection; he promised a takedown, a takeout of anyone that would even dare imagine laying harm on me or Jasper.
And I knew that well enough.
“Camilla,” he whispered, the whole time his hand slipped from my shoulder down my arm, the touch lingers there.
“This isn’t going to be easy. But I need you to trust me. Can you do that?”
I looked up to find his intense gaze, and something in the way he stared into me, the seriousness of his tone implored me to believe him.
Implored me to trust him.
And trust was just not that easy to hand over to people.
But I sat on the cold gray floor, holding Jasper in my arms, knowing what hung in the balance, and didn’t have a choice.
“I trust you, ” I whispered.
Dante nodded, his features softening by a fraction.
“Good.”
There was urgency hanging in the air between us, thick and near choking.
Running right alongside it, though, was a silent acceptance, an unspoken understanding now between the two of us: we were in this, for better or worse.
Just as it was about to dissipate entirely, the door opened once more, and in bursts Alex, pale-faced.
They’re nowhere near our location, boss,” he puffed.
“But John’s people are mobilizing. It won’t be long before they connect the dots.”
Dante’s eyes seemed to darken a shade; his grip on the back of the chair tightened.
“Then we get ready.”