Page 102 of My Favorite Kidnapper

“I could help. Please. Call him.”

He shook his head. “He won’t allow me to come, so he certainly won’t allow you.” He looked at Carolina. “I told you what was happening in confidence. You shouldn’t have told her.”

She tossed her hair, unrepentant. “She loves him, Dad. I think he loves her. She should be there for him.”

For a moment, Paolo was quiet. “My brother kidnapped you, Brianna,” he began.

“That doesn’t matter anymore. He—”

Paolo cut me off. “Let me finish. Dante is level-headed, responsible. For him to do something so unpredictable shocked me. But I saw a change in him while you were there. You made him laugh. He smiled and joked with me when we spoke. He changed when he talked about you. I believe he truly did care.”

I felt my chest tighten.

“But?”

“My brother has always insisted he was built for speed, not longevity. None of his relationships lasted. I had thought you might be the one to change him. Despite how you started, he seemed happier.”

“He was. We were,” I insisted.

“I asked him last night. Directly. I offered to bring you back now that Winters was dead and couldn’t hurt you. I suspected that was why he sent you away.”

I nodded eagerly. The more I thought about it, the more that made sense. I knew Dante had feelings for me. I knew it as surely as I knew I needed to breathe to live.

“He said no. Without hesitation. That his equilibrium had returned, and he realized he’d been acting foolishly.” He met my eyes, his filled with pity. “I’m sorry, but he said it was over. He felt badly for disrupting your life and instructed me to give you whatever you wanted. Purchase a bakery for you. Move you in to whatever condo you wanted. But you are to move forward, the way he plans to once this is over.”

I stared at him, his words sinking in.

“He was very blunt, Brianna. I know my brother and when he is telling the truth.” He gentled his voice. “You need to do as he plans to. Think of it as a nice distraction for a while and get on with your life. He has left you in a better place than he found you.”

Anger tore through me. “Why? Because now I can live in a nicer apartment? Open a bakery because I was paid like a whore for my time? I was better off in my dingy apartment with my low-paying, nasty boss. At least that was honest. You can tell your brother he can stick his condo and his money up his butt. And he can—” I sucked in a deep breath. “Feck off.”

I stormed out of Paolo’s office and headed up to my room, Carolina hot on my heels.

She shut the door, staring at me. “Did you mean that?”

“That he can eff off? Yes. I am angry. But not for the reasons your dad thinks.”

“Do you believe you meant nothing to him but a whim?”

“No. I meant something. He is still trying to protect me. He always tried to protect me from everything but him.” I sat down. “And he was what I needed the most protection from. He stole my heart while barely trying.”

Carolina sat beside me. “And broke it.”

I turned my head, meeting her eyes. “He dented it and he made me angry, but it’s not broken. Dante is unapologetic in his ways. He does what he wants, how he wants, and when he wants. He offers no reasons and seeks no one’s permission. For him to be falling all over himself to apologize is total horse pucky. He’s the one with the broken heart, not me.” I stood and paced. “He’s messed with the wrong girl, and I’m going to prove it to him.” I stopped in front of her. “I need your help. And your money.”

She stood. “You got it.”

“Okay, we need to plan this carefully.”

* * *

DANTE

I paced the condo on an endless loop. I was beginning to go stir-crazy. From the moment I had seen the serious looks on the faces of the police at my door, I’d known I was in deep trouble. I had gone willingly to the station, making sure to contact my lawyer before leaving. The questioning had been endless, and finally, I refused to speak anymore. The new police chief was young, eager, and had a very low opinion of his wealthier citizens. He and his department managed to hold me for three days before I got out, and since then, I had been stuck in this condo.

I had my lawyers on the case. Investigators. On the surface, it didn’t look good. There were all the witnesses who saw our fight the night before he disappeared. Heard me threaten him. I had no alibi for when he supposedly went missing later. My hands were a wreck from the fight, as well as the fact that I had the black eye I’d gotten when I’d stumbled around drunk the night I sent Brianna away. According to the police, it showed Winters got in a swing or two before I made good on my threats and beat him to death. What they had was circumstantial, but others had been convicted with less. And all I could do was hope we caught a break in the case.

Thanks to the internet, I could run my businesses easily with Zoom and email, which I did to stay busy when I wasn’t on the phone with my team. But I was going out of my mind being stuck in here.