Page 91 of Gin & Trouble

At the sight of him, my knees threatened to buckle. Wiping my eyes on the back of my hand, I stared, half-expecting him to vanish like a mirage in the Sahara.

“Thank you.” Dante nodded to the pilot. “I’ll take it from here.”

The longer he went without acknowledging my presence, the faster my pulse sped, but I couldn’t seem to form a single word.

He’s here. That’s all that matters. He’s here with me. There’s hope.

Dante turned to me and his jaw tightened. “Let’s go.”

28

Dante

Looking at her hurt.Not looking at her was impossible. I was screwed and the worst part was, I didn’t know what to believe.

Frankie sure as hell didn’t act like a murderer. She seemed tiny and scared in an oversized jacket she’d likely borrowed from some unsuspecting fool.

Glancing to the waiting cars, I waved to signal we were ready and turned to Frankie. “Let’s go.”

“You shouldn’t be here. It’s not safe. I’m not safe.” Her voice cracked.

“You? Not safe? Why would you think that?” I was being an ass, but I didn’t care.

“Why didn’t you tell me Tommaso had Sophia?” Her eyes met mine and for the first time, I see it. How much she looked like her cold bitch of a sister.

Before I could reply, a stunned Giancarlo Lazio stepped out of the nearest vehicle. “Dante! I wasn’t expecting you.”

The big guy stood well over six feet tall and was half as wide. He wasn’t the kind of man I wanted to run into in a dark alley. In fact, had it not been for his wide grin, I might have turned tail and ran back to my SUV.

“Sorry about the change of plans. I’m going to accompany Frankie to Alicudi.”

He turned to her, opened his arms wide, and drew her in for a hug. “Little cousin. Good to see you.”

“You too. It’s been too long.” She gave him a tentative smile and kissed his cheeks.

He glanced between Frankie and me and raised a brow. Thankfully, he kept whatever questions he had to himself. “The more family the better. Especially this time of year.”

Frankie’s shoulders sagged. This wasn’t exactly the Christmas she’d wanted.

“Dante, you are the brother of my brother of my brother-in-law…” He scratched his chin. “That makes us related, no?”

I didn’t have the heart to correct him. Not when he was doing me and Marco a huge favor by helping us hide Frankie. Especially not when said huge favor could get him killed. “Close enough.”

“Anotherfratellino. Eh?” He kissed my cheeks and drew me into a hug that most Americans would consider too freaking overzealous.

“Little brother works for me.” Slapping his back, I pulled away.

“I would think you have enough big brothers.” He frowned seeming to rethink the statement. “I was sorry to hear of Joe’s death. He was a good man.”

“He was.” It’d been years, but I still couldn’t get used to referring to Joe in the past tense.

Watching me, Giancarlo folded his arms. “The…ahh…hit on Joe complicates things between the two of you. No?”

Understatement of the century.

Frankie turned her head.

“I don’t blame Frankie for the sins of her siblings. No matter how much I despise Sophia.” That he hadn’t mentioned Enzo’s shooting surprised me, but I chalked it up to the fact Enzo would survive while Joe hadn’t.

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