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“I got it the day you walked in and out of Valentino’s house. I spent the afternoon finding this. I don’t plan on living another day without you by my side,” he said, looking between the ring and me. “And I don’t plan on accepting ‘no’ as an answer.”
I couldn’t say anything as I stared at the ring, then at my blood-stained, damaged left wrist and arm. “I’m going to have to put this on after surgery,” I told him with a small smile.
He leaned over the chair, putting his weight on his good leg as he rested a kiss on my temple.
From the doorway, another man spoke. “I’ll accept this as long as it makes Dante happy, but you have a lot of explaining to do after all the shit you pulled.” Gabriel stood there, leaning into the doorway. He looked skeptical with his tired eyes and day-old scruff, but the smile on his face was genuine. “But I’m happy if all of you are okay.”
38
Dante
In between surgeries and OB visits over the next few days, I told Gabriel all the intricate parts of my story with Sienna. Who she was, how we came together—everything. The high-risk pregnancy doctor guided Sienna through two separate surgeries, pleased with the results of each. The baby, miraculously, had been unaffected by the trauma her body had taken. The other injuries…well, they’d heal, as would mine.
“You’re one crazy mother fucker for trusting a woman who outright tried to end your life,” Gabriel said, shaking his head and leaning back into the leather armchair in the corner of my office. “You’re aware of that, right?”
“Everyone has to pick their version of crazy.”
He scoffed. “Yeah. Most men choose between a woman who is a bitch on her period or an obsessive nutcase. Not anassassin.”
I shrugged. “I don’t think any other type of woman would fit into this lifestyle.”
He had nothing to say as he pursed his lips and considered that. Our father couldn’t hold onto a happy relationship. Gabriel had tried, but…it had ended poorly in a lot of unpreventable ways. I’d never had luck beyond a one-night stand. Our jobs weren’t compatible with relationships, and we both knew it.
But with someone like Sienna? We may have stood a chance.
“I don’t plan on following through with my previous plans,” Sienna said as she strode into the room and shot a glare at Gabriel. I had a feeling it would take a while for them to accept one another, especially given the animosity I sensed between them. “Do you take me as stupid, Gabe? I don’t want to raise a kid alone.”
I looked her up and down. The yellow cast caught my attention first. Then, the darkening bruises that covered most of her face and neck had my nostrils flaring.
“You didn’t successfully kill him.”
She narrowed her eyes, her tone turning cold. “If I wanted it to be done, it would have been done.”
Gabriel took a deep breath and shook his head. “Noted.”
“I accept gratitude in any form,” she said with a slight, growing smirk. “Monetarily is my preferred method.”
“After all this shit, I’m not trusting you anywhere around my food, especially not with a shellfish allergy,” he said with a huff. “But if Dante is happy, I’ll keep out of it.”
I paused, considering his allergy. My eyes trailed down to where she stood, biting her lip in front of me. I hadn’t put the pieces together—hadn’t even considered how sesame had gotten into my usually contaminant-free house a couple of weeks ago. But as Sienna looked up at me, her expression turning apologetic, I nearly barked a laugh. It hadn’t been an accident.
I wondered why she hadn’t gone through with it back then, but I didn’t bother asking. It didn’t matter anymore.
“Gabriel, could you leave Sienna and me alone to talk?” I asked.
He pointed to the space between us. “I still don’t trust this. Not even a little bit.” He shook his head. Sienna strode toward me, not bothering to say anything, as she placed herself beneath my arm. I leaned over and placed a small kiss on the side of her head. “I’ll go and take Bria to lunch, but I’ll be back shortly.”
“Okay,” Sienna chirped, not backing down.
Gabriel looked entirely uncertain as he backed out of the room and closed the door behind him. I glared down at where she smiled at the door. “Stop giving him such a hard time,” I told her.
“It’s too easy. He’s softer than you.”
“We’re not the same person,” I reminded her, grabbing a hip and turning her so that her back pressed into the desk in front ofme. She leaned back, arching her back slightly as she quirked her head predatorily. “And he’s not softer.”
“He seems like it.”
“He’s lost more,” I told her. “So, he’s more careful in his decisions, and someone like you…someone like you would be a risk to him and the people he loves.”
