Page 17 of Code Name: Dante

Alessandro was out of the vehicle before it fully stopped, barking orders into his phone. Two more SUVs appeared, and security teams deployed with practiced efficiency. He grabbed my arm as I started for the shop’s entrance.

“Wait.” His grip was firm, but gentle. “Let them clear it first.”

“It’s my shop,” I protested, trying to pull away.

“And if someone’s waiting inside?” His dark eyes held mine. “Think about what your grandmother would say if anything happened to you.”

“You can’t keep using that tactic, Alessandro. It’s manipulative.”

He took a deep breath. “For fuck’s sake, Lark. Just let me keep you alive.”

I stopped struggling but shot him a glare that promised this conversation wasn’t over.

One of his men emerged from the shop’s entrance not more than two minutes later. “Clear inside, but the water’s up about a foot from the floor. Looks like someone tampered with the main line.”

Alessandro’s jaw clenched. “Get the utility company here. Now.” He turned to me. “What’s stored in the basement?”

“Extra inventory, old records, some of Gram’s—” My voice caught as realization hit. “Some of the original factory documents. Glove patterns, ledgers, everything we managed to save.” Items that meant nothing to most people but represented our family’s heritage, our legacy.

I broke away from him and ran inside, taking the basement stairs two at a time despite his shouting from behind me. The water was already rising. The familiar smell of coffee beans mixed with the musty scent of flooding and something else—copper?

“Lark!” Alessandro’s voice echoed from above. “Get back up here!”

“The documents are in the old safe,” I called back, wading toward the far corner, where generations of my family’s work was stored. “I have to?—”

The lights went out.

In the sudden darkness, I heard splashing behind me—someone moving toward me. Before I could turn, strong arms wrapped around my waist, lifting me off my feet.

“Let go!” I struggled against Alessandro’s grip as he carried me toward the stairs.

“The wiring’s compromised,” he growled in my ear. “The whole basement could be electrified any second.”

As if to prove his point, something sparked in the darkness, reflecting off the rising water. The smell of copper grew stronger—not rust as I’d first thought, but cut pipes.

He didn’t set me down until we reached the sidewalk outside, where emergency vehicles were already arriving. I stood helplessly, knowing that pieces of my family’s history were being destroyed with every passing second.

“The safe,” I whispered. “I’m not sure it’s waterproof. Everything inside…”

Alessandro pulled me against his chest, one hand cradling the back of my head. “I’ll get a team in there as soon as I can. Whatever can be salvaged, we’ll save.”

I should have pulled away. Should have maintained the distance I’d promised myself I’d keep from anything Castellano. Instead, I pressed my face into his shirt, breathing in the subtle scent of his cologne mixed with coffee from the shop.

“You were right,” I admitted, my voice muffled against his chest.

His arms tightened around me. “I wish I hadn’t been.”

The sound of more vehicles approaching made me lift my head. Karen stood in her doorway, eyes wide as she watched the unfolding scene. The flooding hadn’t reached her shop yet, but it was only a matter of time.

I was about to say something, but when I looked up, following Alessandro’s gaze to the familiar black sedan idling at the corner, every thought left my head.

“Get in the car,” he ordered, his voice dropping to the dangerous tone I imagined he’d used in his enforcer days. “Now.”

This time, I didn’t argue.

As we pulled away, I glanced over at him. The tenderness from moments ago was gone, replaced by something cold and deadly. For the first time, I understood why people had feared him, why they’d believed he was just like his brother.

But I’d heard the pain in his voice when he spoke of his mother and felt the gentleness in his touch as he comforted me. The question was, which version was the real Alessandro Castellano? And more importantly, which one would I be dealing with by the time this was over?

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