Two
Kaela paced the confines of Dante's office, her heels clicking sharply against the polished floor. The air was suffocating, thick with tension and the faint trace of Dante's cologne that clung to the leather chair he’d vacated. She paused to glance at the heavy steel door, which Marcus had locked behind him. There was no escaping, not unless she wanted to risk whatever wrath Dante had waiting for her.
Her thoughts raced. How had her life come to this? A spilled drink, a bruised ego, and suddenly she was held hostage by the most dangerous man in the city. Kaela clenched her fists, biting back tears. She wasn’t weak. She wouldn’t let him see her break.
The faint echo of gunfire reached her ears, sending a shiver down her spine. She tried to convince herself it was nothing, just some late-night fireworks or a car backfiring. But deep down, she knew better.
This was Dante’s world, and in Dante’s world, people didn’t play with firecrackers.
Across the city, Dante stood at the edge of the dock, his pristine white suit now discarded for a black trench coat. The cold night air whipped against his face, but he paid it no mind. His focus was on the men gathered ahead, unloading crates from unmarked vans.
“Petrova’s dogs,” Marcus muttered, stepping up beside him.
Dante’s lips curled into a smirk. “Dogs that need to be put down.”
Without another word, he raised his hand, signaling his men. A dozen figures emerged from the shadows, armed and ready. Chaos erupted as gunfire cracked through the night, bullets ricocheting off metal containers and cutting through flesh.
Dante didn’t flinch as a man lunged toward him, knife in hand. With calculated precision, he disarmed the attacker and drove the blade into his gut, letting the body crumple to the ground.
“Make sure they send a message back to Petrova,” Dante ordered coldly. “This city belongs to me.”
Kaela’s pacing stopped when the door to the office creaked open. She spun around, her heart leaping into her throat. It wasn’t Marcus or one of Dante’s goons, it was Dante himself, his dark hair damp from the misty air outside, his shirt splattered with blood.
Kaela took a step back, her pulse racing.
“Relax,” he said, his tone devoid of emotion. “It’s not my blood.”
“Great,” she snapped, her sarcasm masking the fear crawling up her spine. “Should I be relieved?”
Dante closed the door behind him and walked to the desk, pouring himself a glass of whiskey. “You should be grateful I’m here at all. Petrova’s men don’t ask questions when they find pretty little things like you.”
Kaela’s skin crawled at his words, but she refused to show weakness. “Why am I here? If you’re so powerful, why waste your time babysitting me?”
Dante took a long sip of his drink, studying her over the rim of the glass. “You intrigue me, Kaela. You’ve got fire. Most people would’ve been on their knees by now, begging for mercy.”
“I’m not most people,” she shot back.
His lips twitched into something resembling a smirk. “That much is clear.”
Kaela crossed her arms, determined to hold her ground. “What do you want from me? You’ve made your point, you’re dangerous, terrifying, and I’m completely at your mercy. Now let me go.”
Dante set his glass down with a deliberate clink, his eyes darkening. “You think this is about a spilled drink? You insulted me, Kaela. In my world, that’s not something I let slide.”
Her stomach twisted. “It was an accident!”
“Doesn’t matter,” he said coldly. “You crossed a line, and now you’re mine to deal with.”
Kaela’s heart raced. “You can’t just claim people like they’re property.”
“In my world,” Dante said, stepping closer, “I can do whatever I want.”
Kaela’s breath hitched as he invaded her space, his towering frame making her feel small and vulnerable. She hated how her body betrayed her, her pulse quickening not just from fear but from the electric charge in the air between them.
“You’re a monster,” she whispered.
Dante’s expression didn’t waver. “Monsters get things done.”
Kaela’s defiance flickered as she saw something in his eyes, something raw and unguarded, just for a split second. But it was gone as quickly as it appeared, replaced by the mask of the ruthless Mafia Don.
“Sit,” he commanded, gesturing to the leather chair by the desk.
Kaela hesitated but complied, her legs trembling as she sank into the chair.
Dante leaned against the desk, crossing his arms. “Tell me about yourself.”
She blinked. “What?”
“You heard me,” he said. “Who are you? What’s your story?”
Kaela clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms. “Why do you care?”
“Humor me,” he said, his tone leaving no room for argument.
She glared at him, her jaw tightening. “I’m nobody. Just a girl trying to survive in a city that doesn’t give a damn about people like me.”
Dante tilted his head, his gaze probing. “No family? No friends?”
Her throat tightened, but she refused to let him see her pain. “No one who matters.”
“Liar,” he said softly, his voice like a blade. “You’ve got that look in your eyes, the kind that comes from losing people you care about.”
Kaela’s walls cracked, the weight of his words pressing down on her. “Why do you care?” she asked, her voice trembling.
“I don’t,” he said simply. “But I can’t have someone under my roof if I don’t know what I’m dealing with.”
Her laugh was bitter. “Under your roof? Is that what this is? Some twisted kind of charity?”
Dante’s expression hardened. “Call it whatever you want, but you’re here because I allow it. Don’t forget that.”
Kaela’s anger flared, eclipsing her fear. “I don’t want to be here! I didn’t ask for this!”
“No one asks for anything in this life,” Dante said coldly. “We take what we can and survive the rest.”
Silence stretched between them, heavy and suffocating. Kaela’s chest ached from the weight of her emotions, but she refused to let the tears fall.
Dante studied her for a moment, his gaze unreadable. “You’re not as strong as you think,” he said finally.
“And you’re not as heartless as you pretend to be,” she fired back.
His jaw tightened, but he said nothing. Instead, he turned and walked to the door.
“You’ll stay here till I come pick you up by midnight,” he said without looking back. “Don’t bother trying to escape. You won’t get far.”
With that, he left, the door clicking shut behind him.
Kaela exhaled shakily, the tension in her body finally releasing. She leaned back in the chair, her mind racing. She didn’t know what game Dante was playing, but she knew one thing, she wouldn’t let him break her.
As she sat in the oppressive silence, a single thought burned in her mind.
I’ll find a way out of this. No matter what it takes.
But somewhere deep inside, she couldn’t ignore the part of her that wondered if Dante was as untouchable as he seemed or if there was more to the man behind the monster.