Page 109 of Savage Prince

A whisper of fear streaks through me. “I’m going with you.”

Antonio shakes his head, a rueful grin pulling at his lips. “I would try to argue, but I have a feeling there’s no point.”

“You’re damned right,amore.”

“Smart man.” Bella shoots me a wink. “I think I’m starting to understand why you fell for him.”

CHAPTER 53

DANTE VALENTINO

Antonio

“Don’t be nervous.” Serena squeezes my hand as we walk toward the door. The early morning light filters into her apartment, but it does nothing to cast away the icy shadows frosting my veins. There aren’t many things in this life that scare me, unless it relates to losing Serena, but coming face to face with Dante Valentino is one of them.

“I’m not nervous,” I mutter.

Serena halts midstride and tugs my hand so I spin toward her. “Look, Toni, I’m not going to lie and say my dad is going to be thrilled about this, but he loves me. If there’s anything I’d stake my life on, it’s that. And I love you… it won’t be easy for him to accept at first, but he’ll give in eventually. He’ll understand.”

I force my lips to slide into a smile I don’t feel. “How can you be so sure about him?” I thought my father loved Raffaele and yet, what he did to him…

As if Serena has read my thoughts, her expression softens. “Dante is not your father, Antonio.Papàwould never do to me what he did to Raffaele.”

“How can you know for certain?”

“Because I know my father, and I’m one hundred percent secure in his love for me.”

“I hope you’re right,tesoro.”

Another knock, this one more forceful than the first resounds across the apartment.

“We better not keep him waiting,” I murmur.

“There, you see, you’re beginning to get Dante Valentino already.” She offers a reassuring smile. “He’s definitely not a patient man.”

Heaving in a steadying breath, I march the remaining distance to the door, half-certain I’ll meet the barrel of a gun when it swings open. Twisting the handle, I hazard a quick glance at Serena over my shoulder and memorize every detail of her face in case it’s the last time I see it.

I wouldn’t blame Dante one bit for killing me. Without even having a child yet, I feel it with the utmost certainty. If the roles were reversed, I would destroy anyone who ever threatened my daughter.

I can already imagine a family with Serena…

Blinking quickly, I chase away the heart-warming image for now, storing it in my memory forever. If all goes well today, then maybe, but I can’t afford to lose myself in visions of a future that may never be.

Serena’s hand closes around mine, twisting the knob, and a scowling Dante fills the doorway, his dark presence sucking all the air from the small foyer.

“Cazzo, how long does it take to open a fucking door?” he growls, eyeing me with barely veiled disgust. The temperature in the apartment drops to frosty levels, the tension thick in the air.

“Well, hello to you too, Pa.” Serena, ignoring his dark glare, curls her arms around his neck and pulls him into a warm embrace.

“I’m glad you’re alive,” he grumbles, that murderous gaze focused solely on me. For a middle-aged man the King’s enforcer is still intimidating as fuck.

“Same.” She steps back, an attempt to move by my side, but Dante’s big hands remain, fingers curled around her shoulders protectively. “So, this is Antonio Ferrara…”

The scowl only grows deeper, magnified by the now openly savage glare. “I never agreed to speak to thatpezzo di merda, only to meet with you,” he grits out. “After the hell you put me through?—”

“Dad…”

Already, this is going wonderfully. Clearing my throat, I prepare to launch into the speech I spent all night writing, but Serena cuts me off.

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