Page 57 of Roses are Royal

“That’s crazy. The only person who had open access other than you is me. You don’t think I had something to do with this, do you? Maybe it was one of the delivery people?” My voice is sounding panicked now. If Dante thinks, for some reason, I am involved, then I don’t know what he would do to me. And we are here alone, and I have no way of contacting anyone for help. I don’t even know who I would contact at this point. I feel like we might be past the skill set of the regular police. And I have no clue how to get in touch with the FBI.

“No, of course I don’t think you had anything to do with it. For one, they were after you, and two, as I’ve mentioned, I’ve been watching you for quite some time and would know if you had any connections to other organizations that would concern me. And I vetted every single delivery person prior to their arrival.”

“You don’t know everything. Maybe I only communicate through email or some dark web portal.” I don’t even know what the dark web is, and why on earth am I being combative and giving him reasons to think I could be involved? I’m just annoyed he seems so sure of himself and smug that I wouldn't be able to get something past him. Not everything shows up on camera, you know? And why is he smirking at me like I’ve told some kind of joke? This is serious! Maybe I’m actually some criminal mastermind and have been playing him this whole time? Wouldn’t that be something? I mean, apparently criminal activity runs in my genes if Angelo is actually related to me.

“Belladonna, while I would be very impressed if you knew anything about the dark web, let alone how to access it, I know you haven’t been in contact with anyone with criminal ties or connections.”

“Just because you can watch me on camera and follow me on some little GPS tracking dot doesn’t mean you know everything I do. And I thought I told you not to call me that!”

“Fine. Rose.” Dante corrects himself, still smirking like there is a joke only he is privy to. “I know all of this because I have access to everything about you. Not just cameras, but your email, bank information, shopping habits, and more importantly, web browsing history.” He adds the last item with a raise of his eyebrow like he knows something I don’t.

Oh no…does that mean he knows everything I’ve searched for online? As if this nightmare couldn’t get worse, now Dante knows everything. Kill me now because I’m going to die of embarrassment anyway. I’m a single, adult woman with needs, and I live alone, okay…so sue me if I like to partake in some solo adult time. Like he has never…handled his own…needs. I will not let him embarrass me, not after everything. And I’m supposed to be mad at him for this. Why am I not more upset and only embarrassed? Is this what Stockholm syndrome feels like?

Focus, Ro, be mad, or at minimum, act mad. You need to figure out a plan out of this crazy situation.

72

DANTE

It’s cute how flustered she is getting. But I don’t think now is the time to tell her how adorable she is when she is trying to act mad at me. What we actually need to focus on is what we are going to do. Yes we. Whatever decision she makes about her future, I will follow.

If she wants to run and never look back, then I’ll be the first one to pack a bag for her and I. If she wants to go back to Angelo’s and tell him off, then I will strongly recommend against that decision but will act as her human shield if that is what she wants to do. And if she wants to take over the organization that is hers by blood, then I will stand beside her and be loyal to her until my dying breath. But first we need to get past all of her questions and confirm who is behind all of this. Rose breaks the silence first.

“Stop trying to distract me, Dante. You never answered my question.” I haven’t answered a lot of her questions, so she’ll need to be a bit more specific.

“What question, Rose?”

“You said there was an explanation for how someone knew about your security. And if it wasn’t you, and it wasn’t me, and it wasn’t any of the delivery drivers, then who?”

She is not going to like this answer, but there is just no other explanation. “Luca.”

73

ROSE

Luckily, the doctor Dante had called arrived just after he dropped that bomb because I don’t think I could’ve held in my anger or frustration with him any longer. Luca, my Luc, would never do that, especially if it put me in danger.

I stormed off after the doctor checked me out, gave me a sling for my shoulder, which I won’t be wearing, and some painkillers. But other than some superficial cuts and bruises outside of my shoulder, I’m okay, physically that is. I’m supposed to “rest and take it easy” or whatever. Like that is going to happen. Apparently, I’m being hunted, and I’m also the heir to some criminal empire. If you gave me unlimited guesses, I would not have ever picked Mafia princess as my family legacy.

I am fuming at Dante right now. I can’t believe he thinks Luca could be at fault. I don’t have any other theories to offer, but I just can’t accept Dante’s. If that was the case, then why would Luc put himself in harm’s way if he knew something like that was going to happen? Why would he risk his own life to come to the house?

Standing under the spray from the shower, there is only one answer that makes sense. He came to warn me, to protect me. Somehow, he knew I was in danger and chose to risk his life to save me. It’s my fault he’s gone. No, I don’t know if he’s gone for sure yet. I need to figure out a way to go back to the house and see for myself. Surely, the local cops have already been there, or the fire department at minimum. Maybe I can check nearby hospitals too?

There is no way someone in town didn’t hear the explosion or see the smoke billowing from the trees. Even with how remote his property is from everything else, someone had to have seen something. I’m sure the locals are all buzzing about wondering what is going on. SHIRLEY! I need to find a way to contact her and let her know I’m okay. Well, okay as in alive, I guess. I don’t know if I’ll ever be okay again. I doubt she is even worried, honestly. No one has ever cared about my safety and well-being before, so why would someone start now? Well, not no one because Dante cares in his own warped, possessive way.

First, I need to get a new phone, and then I’m going to rent a car and go back to the house to see if I can piece together what the hell is going on. And I need to figure out a way to lose Dante. Luckily, with a new phone and rental car, his tracking options will be limited to CCTV cameras in the city. He might be known as a shadow, but growing up in foster care, I learned a thing or two about being invisible. I will play Dante’s game for now, but I think it’s time I take control of this situation.

After getting out of the shower, I quickly dress in some comfortable black leggings, a loose black crop top, and some old Converse sneakers. I need to blend in, and my designer clothes won’t do for this mission. Throwing my hair up into a messy bun, I grab a small crossbody bag to use as my purse. I’d prefer to take a backpack so I can carry more supplies, but I don’t want Dante to get suspicious, so this will have to do.

“Dante, I’m starving. Let’s go grab some food, and then we can chat with Angelo. I have a lot of questions for him and was a bit caught off guard last night to process everything.”

If Dante is surprised by my change of demeanor, he doesn’t show it. With a nod, he follows me out the door and to the elevator. I am hungry, so this little side quest will accomplish two things: feeding me and facilitating my escape from Dante.

Luckily, the little bodega on the corner has amazing bagel sandwiches. They also happen to offer prepaid cell phones and have a back exit that leads into the alleyway next to it that only the owner's favorite customers know about. That’s how I usually go in after his shop is closed for the evening but need a bag of chips or a late-night snack.

I just leave cash for him behind the counter and a note of what I took. I always make sure to leave extra money to cover the cost of the items I’ve stolen from there over the years when I was a kid and didn’t have any money for food. The owner looked the other way for all those years, and this is my way of paying him back for his generosity. Lucky for me, Dante shouldn’t know about the secret exit because I haven’t used it in over a year, so he would have never seen me coming or going from that alley.

“Great, did you have a place in mind?” Dante responds casually as we walk out of the front doors of my building and onto the busy sidewalks of New York City.