Page 48 of Brutal Royals


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“Or something else.” I didn’t like the tone of her voice.

Whipping around, I scowled. “What are you talking about?”

Gemma shrugged. “If he’s not here being comforted by you, where do you think he’s getting it from?”

“I don’t care where he’s getting anything from,” I snarled. But I did care. Just the thought of him touching anyone else, fucking anyone else, made me mad as hell. “This was just a marriage of convenience.”

“Oh, really.” She didn’t sound convinced in the slightest.

“Yes, really. I don’t care what the hell Dante is doing unless it puts our family in danger. And, so far, I haven’t heard anything about him doing something stupid. So I’m letting him be.”

“Or maybe he’s doing something stupid, and you just haven’t heard about it.” From her tone, I knew she wasn’t talking about simply going out and finding who killed his mother—there was more to it than that.

Cold jealousy coiled in the pit of my stomach, but I wouldn’t let it get the best of me. I wasn’t sure why Gemma was pushing me like this. She’d never expressed warm feelings towards Dante. She’d always been indifferent. But now?

“Why do you care so much?” I asked, head tilting to the side.

“Because,” she huffed. “You’re my best friend. And I know this isn’t you.”

I turned away, feeling guilty. Lately, I’d been too busy to hang out with Gemma and our friends. Since the Snake had popped up, there hadn’t been much time for anything but dealing with that. I was changing, and my best friends didn’t even know it.

“Things change, Gem.”

“Not you.”

I sighed, glancing up at the ceiling and praying for patience. “Fine. I’ll go out and see what I can find. But I’m not promising that it will solve the problem.”

“The problem is that you don’t even know where your husband is, the Scarano heir, and you’re not showing any concern for what he might be doing.”

I frowned. “Has someone said anything?”

Her arms crossed against her chest. “Whispers only. Some of the Rosanias are worried that Dante is out doing something against us and that you won’t even know if he was or not.”

“Dante wouldn’t betray us.”

“You don’t know that.”

My mug slammed into the countertop. “Yes. I do know that. And you’re confusing me. Either Dante is too busy sleeping with other women, or he’s out betraying our family. Which is it, Gemma?”

Lips thinning, she sat at one of the chairs. “Look, my father told me to come and talk to you. He’s the one who’s mainly worried about what Dante might be up to. But I am worried he’s out cheating on you.”

“Which would be nothing new to a mafia marriage,” I pointed out.

“No, but that doesn’t mean I want him disrespecting you like that,” she replied darkly. “My father and I both have good points. Dante could be doing either of those things, and you wouldn’t know about it. If you can’t bring him back here, then at least keep tabs on him. My father will.”

“Is that a threat?” I stared at her, slightly shocked. Gemma had never sounded so menacing in her life, and she’d never been involved in our business.

“No, I’m just warning you. I don’t know what my father will do, but we can both guess. If Dante has gone rogue and abandoned you in any way, it will make you look weak. And that’s not something you can afford right now.”

She had a point. Dante going off on his own did make it seem like I couldn’t even control one man, let alone an entire family of them. I thought I was doing the right thing by giving him space, but now I realized that not only had it caused my best friend to question me, but my own men as well. And, even if Dante wasn’t doing anything but taking time away from all of this, I at least had to keep track of him. That’s what a Don did. That’s what a wife did.

I really hated it when she was right.

“Fine,” I snapped. “I’ll head out tonight and see if I can track down some people who might know where he is.”

“His brother might be a good start,” Gemma said casually.

I glanced at her sharply. “What do you know about Killian?”

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