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“There’s more, though.” Tyler interjected, and my blood ran cold as I lowered my eyes on him. “We confirmed he’s related to the Mussolini family.”
A wave of dizziness crashed over me as I gulped, my mind struggling to comprehend the words that had just been spoken. Surely, I heard him wrong. My heart pounded in my chest and my legs felt weak, as if they were about to give out on me.
Was Roman and Jenna’s situation somehow my fault? And Amber and Alejandro’s too? It was like a twisted ending to all the Final Destination movies, all circling back to me. But no, it couldn’t be that simple. The world wasn’t that small, was it?
I met Dante in New York, not Massachusetts! Panic set in as I scraped the depths of my consciousness, searching for any semblance of comfort or reassurance I could offer Jenna or Amber. My lips parted to speak, but no words would come out. My skin prickled with sweat and my heart raced even faster. This couldn’t be happening. This couldn’t be real.
Jenna must’ve read my mind. She stood, striding over, wrapping her arms around me. “I know exactly what you’re thinking and there’s no way it’s possible.”
“Actually, I think it is,” I groaned. “Damnit!” I barked, ripping out of Luke and Jenna’s embrace, tearing up at the grave mistake I’d made.
“What?” Ian and Luke asked at the same time.
I lifted my gaze to Ian. “Do you remember that job site ad that came up when we were looking for new dancers?”
Gnawing at the inside of his bottom lip, he nodded. “Luke told you not to use it, but I said to go for it.”
“Yeahhh,” I sighed, glancing at Luke before Ian and Jenna. “So, I did. And Jenna was the only applicant.” I lifted my hand. “Mind you, I’m so happy you came to work for us, and I don’t regret it at all, but I think someone carefully planned it out.”
Jenna leaned a little closer to Ian’s side. “Roman found me pretty easily, even though he acted shocked.”
“And Bernardo started hanging out there a lot more, right before she was hired,” Luke added.
“And Charity,” Tyler interjected.
“Who’s Charity?” Giovanna asked with wide eyes.
A unified groan erupted from everyone except Mila.
Amber was the first to reply, “Ty fake dated her, and she worked at the club too and was a big headache. That’s the short answer. She was related to all of them.”
“Was?” Giovanna arched a brow.
“Yeah,” Ian shook his head, “Killed her, killed Bernardo, killed Roman, killed Alejandro, we killed them all… we thought.”
“But the bloodline wasn’t dead.” Luke ran his fingers through his hair. “those fuckers at the warehouse did try to warn us. Ty was right.”
“I wasn’t going to trust guys who had one of my girls on the ground bleeding to death,” Ian spat.
“So, wait, how’s Dante related in all this?” Amber asked.
“We just got confirmation an hour ago from Jake,” Tyler said, “and he’s Bernardo’s nephew.”
Suddenly, I thought about Maddie and the reality that he’d be coming for her. “I have to get Maddie and get out of here before he finds us.” I turned to Luke. “Can you get us to New?—”
“We’re not letting him near either of you,” Ian countered.
I turned swiftly to meet his gaze, preparing to argue, but quickly realized it was pointless. Ian and Luke were always fiercely protective of those they cared about. It was in their nature, and deep down, I knew that. However, a sense of anxiety still lingered within me. The urge to hide my daughter from any potential harm was overpowering.
“Where’s Dante now?” Amber crossed her arms.
The guys exchanged a troubled look.
I took a step back, clasping my hands over my chest. “Wait! You guys don’t even know where the fuck he is?!” I marched toward the stairs in the back hallway between the kitchen and den. “We’ve got to get Maddie out of here. I have to leav?—”
Luke grabbed my arm, yanking me back into his body. “We have a plan.”
“What is it?” I asked, my eyes welling with tears.
