Page 13 of Damaged & Deadly

The fact that he’s not just telling me to duck behind him or Enzo if shit goes down surprises the hell out of me. “No need.” I lift the hem of my dress, giving both of them an eyeful of my toned, milky-white thighs and the two sharp blades I have sheathed to them. “I’m good.”

Both of their eyes turn molten. Apparently, seeing a girl dressed up and armed is a turn-on.Huh, who knew.Grabbing my clutch from the sofa, I shake it. “And my backup, just in case.”

Enzo snorts, but Dante tilts his head with a narrowed gaze and runs his eyes over my body. Despite the heat there, it’s not just lust driving his reaction. He juts his chin out, repeating. “Do you know how to use those things?”

I get the impression he already knows I do, so rather than being offended, I push back my shoulders and lift my chin. I try to keep my typical stony-faced Reaper mask in place, but it slips as a confident smirk lifts one side of my lips. “I’m the Reaper. Of course, I know how to use them.”

His expression never falters. Not even for a second. Trust me, I’m watching him so intently that I’d have noticed. Even Enzo is watching him closely, wanting to see his reaction. After a moment, he grunts. “Well, that explains a few things.”

I stare at him in bewilderment before my gaze darts to Enzo and back to Dante. “Seriously? That’s all you have to say?” I mean, I’m not exactly sure what reaction I was expecting. Probably for him to call bullshit, like Cain did. Like most men would.

There’s a slight twitch on one side of his lip as if he’s suppressing a smile. “It’s not that much of a stretch,” he states easily. “You have no problem going toe-to-toe with me when most people would run in the opposite direction—quickly. You didn’t react like a terrified woman when I pulled you into the closet that day at the club. And you held your own against Enzo today.”

Enzo snorts before grumbling something under his breath that sounds suspiciously like, “I was going easy on her for her first time.”

I roll my eyes as he walks out of the kitchen to go get the car keys. Dante makes to move after him, but I’m still reeling from his lack of surprise. “But how did you…” It clicks a second later. “The camera. You were watching us?”

Pausing, Dante turns, a small smile lifting one side of his lips. “Of course I was.”

My eyebrows lower. “Don’t you trust Enzo?”

A seriousness flattens his small hint of amusement. “I trust Enzo with my life. Therefore, I trust him with yours. But I don’t trust him not to make a move when my back is turned.”

I have no words, and I’m still gaping at him when Enzo ducks his head back through the doorway. “You’re going to have to get over that, but for now, we have to go.”

***

“I thought we were going to your father’s penthouse?” I question, when we pull into an underground parking lot beneath yet another giant skyscraper several streets over from the one his father lives in.

“We are, but we can’t just walk in the front door every time. Otherwise, all of our enemies would know where Giovanni lives,” Enzo answers.

“Okayyyy…” I still don’t get it.

“So, we mix it up each time.” Dante’s eyes meet mine. “You’ll see.”

On that cryptic note, I follow them out of the car and over to the corner of the lot where there is a bank of elevators. Enzo presses the button to signal one, and a second later, the door opens and we all file in. Except, instead of pressing the button for one of the floors above us, Enzo pulls out a key and opens a hidden panel. Stepping forward, Dante leans in until he’s eye level with the panel, and I peer over his shoulder, watching as a machine scans his eye. A second later, the elevator startles to life and I feel us descend deeper into the Earth.What the hell?This is all very weird.

Down and down we go until we must be deep underground, and when the elevator opens again, a gush of cold air blows in, raising goosebumps along my skin and making me shiver. I step out into what appears to be a large, man-made tunnel, lit with bright, luminescent bulbs that emit a low buzz above us.

“Where does it go?” I ask, peering into the darkness far up ahead.

Dante places his hand on my lower back, encouraging me forward, and the three of us begin walking down the tunnel. “All over our portion of the city.”

“Is this why we used the front door last time you brought me to meet your father? So I wouldn’t know about the tunnels?”

Enzo smirks at me over his shoulder in response. Even back then, they had been placing their trust in me by not blindfolding me, but I obviously passed that test if I’m being shown the tunnels now. Of course, if I’d failed, I probably would have been swimming with the fishes by dinner time.

We walk on through the tunnels, Dante directing me every time we reach a junction, for what must be at least twenty minutes before we come to a stop at another elevator. We passed a couple of others, but neither of them enlightened me as to where they went, and I didn’t bother asking.

They do the same song and dance with the eye scanner before the elevator doors open, and this time Enzo pushes the button for the penthouse. Nerves rattle around in my stomach, knowing that I'll see Luc again in a few short moments. He better not be in any worse shape than he was the last time I saw him.

Dante’s hand is still firmly planted against my back, the warmth and his constant presence helping to keep me grounded, and Enzo brushes his arm against mine. I feel the back of his fingers hit mine, and needing a little more, I push my fingers between his, loosely intertwining them. It’s only for a brief moment, for as long as it takes the elevator to reach the penthouse, before we both pull back, but I already feel bolstered knowing the two of them are at my side. When the doors open, I step out with my head held high and my game face on, ready to paint the penthouse red to get my brother back.

Chapter 6

My facial features have settled into their usual impassive mask as we step into Giovanni’s apartment. All of his inner circle are here—his closest advisors. Spotting us, the man himself abandons the conversation he was in and comes our way, a too-bright smile on his face.

“Ah, my son and his beautiful wife.” He ignores me, something I’m more than used to and happy enough with. There was once a time when his blatant refusal to acknowledge my presence would have sent me into a panic, desperate to do anything short of licking his balls to gain his attention. But that time has long since passed. I fucking loathe the narcissistic egomaniac standing in front of me. If it was up to me, he’d have been booted from his throne and drowned in the docks years ago.

---