Page 46 of Reckless Sinner

There was a pause, when I could feel Dante on the other side of the door, peering out. He was expecting me, wasn’t he? Why was he double-checking? I was so tired I couldn’t remember, maybe we weren’t supposed to meet today. Maybe something had happened to him, who knew.

The door flew open and Dante stepped forward. He was wearing an undershirt, dress pants, and an open button-up, like he had been wearing a suit earlier and was still half in it, or was in the process of putting one on. His face was a mask of concern—no, alarm. I’d never seen him look like this before.

“I didn’t think it was possible for you to panic,” I blurted out in a total non-sequitur.

“Delaney,” Dante breathed out, like he wasn’t quite sure I was real—and then he darted forward to grab me as I passed out.

CHAPTER21

Dante

Delaney showing up on my doorstep only to faint was not how I had expected the evening to go, but I was glad that I now didn’t have to figure out how to get her out of her father’s house myself.

Getting revenge was another matter and one that I’d be dealing with once I took care of Delaney herself.

She was pale, sweaty, and her face, arms, and legs were covered in small scratches and dirt. When I took off her shoes after carrying her inside and putting her on my bed, I hissed at the blisters that now covered her feet. Had shewalkedhere?

I set her purse aside, then went into the kitchen to make some food. I was tempted to order something, but I thought that after whatever day she’d had, a simple meal would be best.

I didn’t often cook for myself, since usually I was eating out with colleagues or too tired, but Mom had taught us all how to cook growing up—she’d said it was the number one way to impress a woman—and I could definitely whip up a few simple meals. I went with breakfast—scrambled eggs, toast, orange juice, and a bit of bacon and sausage for protein.

I had just finished everything when I heard movement from the bed. “Dante?”

“In the kitchen,” I called softly.

Delaney shuffled in. She moved slowly, carefully, and then sat down heavily in a chair. She looked beyond exhausted.

“Here.” I piled the food on a plate and passed it to her, keeping some bacon for myself to munch on. “You need to eat something or you’ll pass out again.”

Delaney nodded and picked up a fork. At first, she just took a few bites, but then her appetite kicked in and she wolfed down the food so fast I worried she was going to choke. I quietly made some more eggs and another couple pieces of toast for her.

“Never would’ve taken you for a simple breakfast guy, either,” she noted as I refilled her plate. “Fancy egg white omelets or something…”

I chuckled. “You’re not wrong, but I figured you needed something really simple and filling, nothing too crazy.”

“Thank you.” Delaney finished eating the rest of the food and gulped down the juice and water. “I didn’t eat all day.”

My throat went tight. How much should I tell her I knew? Should I act shocked about the entire thing? Would she be angry if I told her I’d asked my father to investigate, or would she be angrier if I tried to keep it from her?

“Tell me what happened.” I sat down next to her. I’d let her tell her story, and then afterwards I could decide what part of my actions I wanted to share with her.

Delaney wiped at her eyes. “I hate crying.”

“There’s nothing wrong with it.”

“I know, but I still feel so awful when I do it.” She took a deep breath. “My father… you were right, about him. I think he’s worse than you thought. My being with you—it’s not—you might hate me for this.”

“I’m not going to hate you.” I knew that, like I knew the sun was going to rise tomorrow.

Delaney hiccupped. “My father told me to date you because he and the D.A. had a plan to frame your brother Marco for murder. They knew your father would probably make you defend him, and so I was going to be the inside woman and get information to—to ruin your reputation either way.”

Hoo boy.I had known that there was something going on, but it honestly hadn’t occurred to me that Delaney might be hiding something from me—that she might be lying to me. I really wasn’t anything like the rest of my family, but maybe not in the way I’d always thought, maybe just in the way that I was so fucking stupid. Vincent or my father would have been suspicious right away and ran a quiet investigation to make sure nothing was up.

How could I have fallen for Alan’s tricks? He’d led me right into a damn trap and I’d fallen for it hook, line, and sinker. How could I have ever thought that anyone, least of all the man who’d made it his life’s work to take down my family, would actually believe in my good intentions and stand behind me?

I’d known he wanted something from me, an endorsement, but that shouldn’t have been enough. I should have known there would be more.

And Delaney. I had seen how observant she was. I had suspected that she was being manipulated by her father, and yet I hadn’t done the simple goddamn math to put two and two together. My family would be laughing their asses off at me if they knew how stupid I’d been. Hell, given what my father had just dug up, they probably did know, and they probably were.

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