Page 59 of Gin & Trouble

A knock at the door startled me back to reality.

Dante jumped back and gave me a confused look that told me the tender moment had surprised him as much as it had me.

Rather than standing there, or following him like a lost puppy, I sat on the lumpy sofa and checked my phone.

Nothing.

Dante opened the door and spoke to Kincaid. “Thanks for coming. Miss Carpenter will be staying here for the foreseeable future. See to it that she has whatever she needs, but she’s not to leave the apartment under any circumstances.”

“Yes, sir.”

“I’ll be staying elsewhere. Call me if there is any trouble.” He glanced over his shoulder. “But there won’t be, right?”

“Right.”

Not from me anyway. We’ll see what happens when Marco arrives.

I remained silent as Dante shut the door and strode down the hall. Judging by the sounds of drawers opening and closing in the back of the apartment, I guessed he was packing. A million questions danced through my mind, but I didn’t think it wise to ask where he planned to go. When he’d be back. If I’d hear from him again.

He returned with a duffle bag slung over his shoulder. “I revoked your security clearance, but I’ll reinstate limited access so you can keep digging into Harrison Meriwether. Use the spare PC in my office.”

“Thanks. It means a lot you trust me to keep working.”

“I don’t. Leo needs the information, and you need something to occupy your time.” His expression softened for a split-second before it went blank again, like he struggled to hang onto his anger. “Someone will be monitoring your online activity. Don’t do anything stupid.”

I nodded.

Dante held out his hand. “Give me your phone.”

My cell was my lifeline. Without it, my sisters and Iris had no way to reach me One glance at his determined expression and I knew there was no sense in arguing. Instead, I handed it over.

“Use the internet phone if you need to make a call but know it will be monitored.” He slid my last bit of freedom into his back pocket and headed for the door. “Give Kincaid yourrealaddress. He’ll arrange for your bag to be delivered.”

I scrambled to my feet. “Dante, wait.”

He stopped but kept his back to me.

“Promise me you’ll answer my phone if it rings. It’s the only way my sisters and Iris can reach me. I need to know they’re all right.”

Turning, he opened his mouth as if to speak but clamped it shut, nodded, and walked out.

The sound of the door closing behind him hit me like a gunshot to the chest.

18

Dante

LeavingFrankie in my apartment was the right thing to do, but it had taken every ounce of my willpower to walk out the door. I needed time to go through her data files and make sure I hadn’t missed anything important. Time to think, to lick my wounds, to decide my next move.

However, before I could do any of that, I needed to have a chat with Marco.

I parked my ass at the reception desk to wait and fell down the rabbit hole of what-ifs.

What if we start over? What if I forgive her? Can I do that? What if I don’t? Can I let her go?

I wanted to tell myself everything would work out. That as long as she was telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but—she hadn’t caused any real harm. That she’d gained access to a hell of a lot of information, some of which could get her killed, but as long as she kept it to herself, there was no real threat. That even with everything that had happened, we’d end up together…

But I knew better.

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