Page 41 of Bound in Promise
Slowly, I inhale and look at his steely expression.
“Angelo finally reached out. We’re to join him for dinner tomorrow.” He knows I don’t want to go, there’s no need for me to say it aloud. But I haven’t been getting much of anything I wish for lately—might as well keep with the trend. “I need you to do something for me.”
The man doesn’t have to ask. Whatever he needs, it’s already done as far as I’m concerned.
“Sure, what is it?”
“If shit goes down…I need you to run. I’m giving you the address to a safe house and a phone number to get in contact with Enzo. He’ll get you out of the country?—”
“What are you talking about, Dante?” My voice quivers and almost breaks. This can’t be goodbye. I’m not sure what he thinks will happen, but I’m walking out of Angelo Lombardi’s house with him at my side, no matter what.
“If we don’t go to dinner, Angelo is going to be insulted. No one says no to him. He’s a short man with a tall ego and he takes offense very easily. I’ve dealt with men like him before. However, I have no idea what he’s going to try while you’re present, and that’s concerning.”
“What could he possibly be planning?” I roll my eyes at Dante’s tight jaw and shuttered expression. “I need you to be straight with me. I don’t want to walk in there and be surprised.”
“I told you the other day he wanted you, princess. I meant it. There’s a chance he may use the dinner to…”
To take me away from Dante?
“We can’t go,” I retort firmly. “I can’t do this without you. I’m not leaving?—”
“It’s what I need you to do. For me,” he returns. “It’s what I’m asking you to do. There are no second chances, princess. If shit goes down, you need to know what to do next. You need to look for the exits on your way in, memorize the hallways you go down and how many men there are and where. Everything has to be locked in your head with your escape route front and center. You can’t hesitate.”
“I won’t leave you.”
Dante slowly stands, towering over me as if he can intimidate me into obedience. If he got me in the right position, maybe he’d have a chance at convincing me. Thankfully, his lips aren’t on my skin, so I still have a shot at arguing my point.
“I know this is hard,” he admits, his voice gentle. “I never wanted you to have to do anything like this, but Liam had a knack for heaping endless trouble on us. You have to do this to ensure that everything I’ve done isn’t for nothing. I’ll find a way out. But I won’t be able to if I’m worrying about you while I figure out my own exit strategy.”
I take a step back, distancing myself from him. “You say this as if you already know what’s going to go down. As if you know we’re about to step into a trap.”
“You’re the perfect prize, Victoria.”
“Then why are we going?”
“Because—”
“If you’re telling me there’s a chance we won’t be walking out of there together, then I’m not going,” I argue. “You can’t make me. And you’re not going either.”
“Princess—”
“No!” I glower at him as I feel tears gathering in my eyes. God, I can’t possibly still have any tears left. I’ve been crying for days now. “I won’t do it. We’re a team, remember? You don’t get the final say. I won’t leave you with him. I’m not doing it, Dante.”
“Fine.” He wraps an arm around my waist and thumbs away a stray tear that drops to my cheekbone. “We won’t go. I’ll politely decline.”
I take advantage of his full frame, cuddling up in his arms for safety and comfort. “I’ll change my name to whatever, if it means we can get the passport faster.”
“I’ll let Enzo know,” he says above me, resting his chin along the top of my head. “But I don’t think it’ll make a difference. He’s already working on Lucy’s identity.”
It makes all the difference. Because no matter what name Enzo picks for me, Dante won’t stay my husband.
“I still want you to memorize this number, princess. You won’t be safe until we’re out of the country and I’m done tasking risks.”
I nod and repeat the ten digits he gives me.
“I mean it, princess. If you need the backup, you call. Tell Enzo whatever you need. He always comes through.”
“That’s it?” I ask. “Just like that?”
