AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter Twenty-One
-Noemi-
NOT, “THE NIGHT YOURparents died,” or “the night you lost your parents.” Dante’s specific words echoed in my mind like a train in a tunnel.
“I know what happened the night your parents were killed.”
They were very deliberate words chosen by a man who made his living taking the life of others. A man who, until now, had been someone I trusted, even if he was a ruthless bastard. But did I believe what he told me?
I searched Dante’s face, looking for signs of the truth. There were many things that I didn’t know about Dante Calegari, but I did know that his lack of emotion meant that showing feelings was nearly impossible for him to do.
I couldn’t read the expression on his face or the look in his eyes because I wasn’t used to seeing so many emotions there. I couldn’t decipher them all. Pain. Fear. Warmth. Strength. Each one of those emotions warred with the other, and Dante did nothing to suppress them. I saw every piece of him, and I knew what I saw was the truth, not wishful thinking on my part. Not a fantasy or a dream. It was as real as the anguish that tore through me.
“It wasn’t an accident. Someone killed my parents. It was deliberate?”
Dante shook his head again and stretched his hand out to me. “It was... and it wasn’t. This is a long story, Noemi, that needs to be told from the beginning.”
“Okay. Then start at the beginning,” I sniffed, not sure I was ready to hear what he had to say. “But... could you say it again? Tell me that you didn’t kill my parents.”
This time, I reached out to take his hand and watched a wave of relief wash over him as he clasped my hand in his. Dark eyes rife with pain held my gaze steadily.
“I did not kill your parents.”
I waited for him to make a comment, to say he was insulted that I could even think he could do such a horrible thing, but he let the clarity of his words speak for him. He was capable of murder, but was he capable of taking away the lives of two of the people I loved most in the world?
Those thoughts brought up a new wave of panic. I grew nauseous and the room got a little fuzzy. “Why?” I gasped. “Why would anyone want to kill my parents?”
He tugged me toward him, and I went easily, much too tired to try to do this on my own. I wanted his arms to hold me, wanted his body to give me the strength that had been depleted in my own.
“Sometimes,” he answered huskily as he rested his chin on the top of my head and folded me in his arms, “as children, we don’t know everything about our parents’ lives. Remember, Noemi? No man is just one thing.”
I sagged against him, letting his body take my weight. “I’m not in the mood for your riddles tonight, Dante.” I tipped my head up to look at him. “If you know what happened that night, I want you to tell me. All of it.”
He frowned and gave a barely perceptible nod. “If you’re absolutely certain you want to hear it, I’ll tell you everything I can.”
“I want to know,” I whispered, tucking my head against his chest again.
His arms tightened. “Then I’ll tell you,” he said in my ear, “but not here. Pack a bag for the night.”
Oh, God. I wasn’t in the mood for any more of Dante’s mysterious travel plans. I started to shake my head, but he interrupted me.
“Please, Noemi,” he asked softly. “It will be hard for you to hear this in your family home. I think it would be better if we leave.”
“I don’t want to go to your house either,” I protested. “I don’t want to see any one right now. Not Gabriel, not Lilly. Not any of those men Gabriel employs. I just...” I looked up at him. “I just want to be with you right now. No one else.”
“I understand. I wasn’t suggesting we go to my home. I have somewhere else we can go where we’ll be alone. No one else. I think it will make it easier for you to hear what I have to say.”
“Is it far?” I was so tired. I didn’t want plane rides and blindfolds and cryptic words. I just wanted answers.
“No. Just across town.”
He was quiet and comforting as he waited for my response. Deep down, I think he was right. And there was still the issue of someone having been in my house! I hadn’t even mentioned that to him.
“Alright. Yes, I’ll go. It’s okay if I pack a few things?”
“Of course,” he answered quickly as he pushed a lock of hair out of my eye. “If you don’t mind, I’ll come with you.”
It was a relief to not have to ask him.
