Page 36 of Dirty Behavior

Slumping my shoulders, I fiddled with my fingers. I honestly didn't want to piss him off, but Sesto was still his family. In my mind, that should mean more than anything that ever happened between them in the past.

People make mistakes, maybe Sesto messed up. That didn't mean it should be held against him forever. Holding a grudge only deepens the stab wound.

“It's just that he's your brother, Dante. Your mom is gone, your dad is gone, he's all you have left for family. Is whatever he did really worth all the anger you have towards him?”

Stroking his jaw, Dante's teeth clicked against each other like harsh sandpaper on stone. “You still have no fucking clue how shit works around here,do you?In this business there's rules, there's a code we live by, and that asshole—” Throwing out his arm, he pointed towards the door, aiming at the invisible shadow of his past. “He broke them all, that means he broke any bond we ever had.”

“So?He's also your fucking brother, maybe he has a good reason for doing it.” Holding up my hand, I spoke before he could chirp another fucking word about rules. “Look, I don't want to get in the middle of this with you guys, but I do know one thing.” Standing up, I ran my hands up his abs, curling my fingertips over his shoulders. “You still have family, that's what should be important. At this point, the entire business doesn't matter anymore, does it?”

Chuckling with a dark tone, his laugh rolled across my face. “There are some things in this world you can forgive, and there are others you never can.” Pulling my hands off his body, he let them fall by my sides. “I can't forgive Sesto.”

“I forgave my father, I forgave you. Sometimes people don't have the choices you think they do. How can you even stand there and say that shit without listening to what he has to say?” I wasn't backing down. Sesto didn't give me any real details, but from the look in his eyes, I knew.

He wasn't guilty of what Dante accused him of.

Dante stared at me, his eyes flicking around inside the sockets. “You just don't get it, Ivy.”

“No, I get it.” Slapping my palm on my thigh, I laughed out loud. “You think that whatever he did is worse then my father selling me as a sex slave, that you stealing me doesn't compare to him—”

“This is different.”

“Is it? Are you that much different than Sesto? Tell me, go on, tell me how you're different?” Dante's eyes blew open, his mouth snapping shut with a soft pop. “You can't say shit because you're not different. You put yourself on a fucking pedestal because you never ratted to the cops. But you want to throw around the wordbetray—like you betrayed your father?Like you disregarded the rules and kept me for yourself?”

“Stop,” he barked, his voice cracked like a whip across my face. “I don't regret what I did for you, I never will. But I'm not you, Ivy, I don't have the room in my fucking soul to forgive him. Just because you can give away forgiveness like fucking candy, doesn't mean I can.”

Pursing my lips, my head cocked up. “Fuck you.” Stepping towards him, I held up a single finger. “Don't you dare make it out like my forgiveness was an easy decision! Maybe you're just too cold-hearted to let go of the past. But I know who I am, I know what I stand for!”

Dante's eyes softened, his face falling and losing all its hard edges. “Ivy, I didn't mean it like that. But you have to understand where I come from. Right now. . .” Stroking his jaw, he tapped his thumb against his chin. “Right now I just can't forgive Sesto.” Turning to the door, Dante started down the stairs.

Where the hell does he think he's going?

We weren't done with this, I wasn't going to let him just run away from me. Running behind him, I tried to grab his arms, but he kept shrugging me off.

“Where are you going?”

“I need to clear my head, there's been too much shit for me to deal with today. I don't want to get pissed at you, Ivy and I don't want to take it out on you. I'll be back.”

“What the hell am I supposed to do? You keep leaving me here! I feel like I'm a fucking prisoner again!” Digging my nails into his flesh, I held on tight.

His lips drew in, brows dipping into his nose. “Let me go.”

“No!” Sticking my grip in tighter, I blocked him from going out the door. “I'm fucking tired of this! I'm tired of running, I'm tired of waiting, I'm tired of being stuck on the sidelines!” My eyes looked deep into his, flashing between anger and sadness. “Stop acting like I'm a delicate angel that needs protection. I can handle myself, you should know that by now.”

Cupping my chin, he smiled. “Trust me, I know that.” Kissing my forehead, Dante leaned into my ear. “That's what I'm trying to save, I want to preserve who you are.” Brushing me out of the way, he walked off down the dark driveway, disappearing into the blackness.

The trees swayed soundless words around me, the wind washed across my face, turning my skin cold. He was running away from me, running away from us.

What the hell did he mean?

He didn't know the girl I was before, he didn't know the woman he lifted off that dirt floor and smuggled away to safety.

All he knew was what he found, what I had transformed into.

The Ivy he knew was strong because she had to be.

The Ivy he knew was fierce because that's what this life needed.

But he was missing the entire person I had been.

What was he saving me from when I had already lost it all?

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