Page 50 of When Sinners Fall
Taking a breath, I smooth down my top and march to the door. My hand reaches out, and for a second, I wonder if he’s locked me in. Being held hostage might sound sexy in my head, but in reality, it’s not that fun.
At least not the way Dante’s gone about it.
I push down on the handle, and I hear the click. It’s open.
“Stay here until I tell you what you can and can’t do.”
The words ring loudly in my head. The visions of his fierce, angry eyes are etched into my memory. Well, I don’t give a damn. He’s not treating me like this for no reason other than me challenging him to take me out.
The door opens, but I hesitate to step over the threshold. There’s no way around the fact that if I do this, I am openly defying him.
“Ha!” I chuckle out loud. Defy? He’s not my mother.
He can’t order me to do something.
I walk out and slam the door behind me.
I wish I could say that my heart isn’t in my mouth the entire journey down in the elevator or that I don't cower in the entryway to check he isn’t coming back. But it is, and I do.
Surprisingly, he didn’t take my phone, so I open up the taxi app as I race for the doors and order one as soon as I’m out on the sidewalk. Any lingering need to play roulette with whoever might follow me home is well and truly over. So I wait just outside the door, under a streetlight with good visibility. It doesn’t stop me from glancing over my shoulder every few seconds, and the cab seems to take twice as long as the estimated arrival time showing on my phone.
When the correct car pulls up, I wrestle with the door and jump in. “Go!” I shout impatiently even before I’ve put on a seat belt.
“In a rush?” he asks, glancing back in his rearview.
“Something like that.”
I spend the journey twisting around and checking that a crazy Mustang isn’t following us, but there’s nothing. Dante obviously thought I’d just sit tight and do as I’m told. Well, more fool him. At least, that’s what I say now. I’m not sure what will happen when he realises I haven't done as I've been told.
The taxi pulls up outside my house, and instead of jumping out and bolting, I wait.
“Miss, you good?”
“Um, yeah. Sorry.” I pop the door handle and head up the steps to the door.
For some crazy reason, I pause. Maybe it’s to see if he’s around. Or maybe it’s some other random thought, but I wait to feel that tingling sensation that tells me he’s watching. The very same feeling I got back when it was simple - when he was an anonymous person, providing me with a thrill.
Nothing happens.
The noise of the traffic drowns into the background as I concentrate, but there’s no sensation – no feeling.
I close the door and bolt it, throwing the deadlock because right now, I wouldn’t put it past Dante to break down the door.
~
With all of the drama, I’m amazed I was able to fall asleep. I remember listening, really damn hard, and my heart rate racing as soon as a car idled outside or went past, but nothing happened, and the next thing I know, it’s the morning.
I roll over and check my phone, and there are no messages, either. Which means it’s only a matter of time before he catches up with me. Regardless, I have work, and a big gap in my schedule from the last couple of days. So I get showered and dressed, fill my largest coffee mug, grab my sunglasses and head for the door.
My thoughts seem to have levelled out this morning. As if all I needed was a little sleep to help order and arrange them. It’s surely more than that, but for now, I can think a little straighter.
The Cortez family always did have rumours and gossip swarming about them way back when. Dante challenged me on it, and I’ve been to one of the more reputable establishments. I know they aren’t all sunshine and flowers. I know he isn’t like other men. Those are the facts. But there’s still a great big hole in the knowledge I need filled, and that’s going to be my defence. If I can’t challenge anything, I need to know more. He needs to make me understand because the hard line for me is fear.
I can’t be afraid of Dante.
And last night I was.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
