Page 118 of Powerful Deception

“I told you that I no longer wanted any part of this.”

It’s the way that Gallo laughs that tells me that I should have never gone into business with this man.

I should have trusted my gut instinct that day in the laundromat and walked away.

Too late to do that now.

“Do you really think that I’m going to stop trying to take Rosetti down just because a little twat like you told me to? Sweetheart, I’ve been trying to do this since the bastard took over. I just needed something to make it happen, and that’s when you came in. You were my opening.”

Gallo closes the distance between us, grabbing me by my arms and pulling him to me.

The way he jerks me forward has me seeing black spots and biting down on my bottom lip to hold in a scream of pain.

“Such a pretty girl. Now I know why Rosetti couldn’t keep his hands off you,” Gallo states, one of his hand moving from my arm down my body, until he is cupping me at my core. “I bet this pussy is tight and hot. It would be perfect for me.”

I let out a whimper when I feel his fingers dig through the fabric of my dress.

My body is in so much pain that I don’t know if I will be able to push Gallo off me if he tries anything. But I have to try.

I have to push the pain down and get out of here alive if possible.

And the only way I can think of doing that is to keep Gallo talking.

“Why?” I say, my face is still too close to him.

“Why what?” Gallo spits out, moving his fingers along me.

“Why do you want to take Dante down? What did he do to you?”

The question must have been the wrong one to ask because Gallo lets out an angry growl causing his fingers to dig deeper.

“He stole my seat from me. I was supposed to be sitting at the head of the table, not him. The fucker only got that seat because of his blood, I should have gotten it because of my loyalty. That chair was fucking mine and the only way to get it back is to kill him.”

Tears burn at the back of my eyes of the thought of Dante being killed.

They burn even more when I think that he might be dead already.

“What did you do?” I ask mustering whatever force is left in me and push Gallo off me. Thankfully this time, his hands fall from my body.

Gallo gives me yet another sadistic smirk. “Had you followed? Dodged Rosetti’s men? Hired someone to ram their car into your SUV tonight? Is that what you want me to say? Because I did all of those things. I’m honestly surprised you made it out there alive, the driver didn’t.”

He’s the reason I’m in so much pain. That’s why I don’t remember anything after Dante’s four last words, because somebody slammed into the SUV.

Memories of the crash that took my mom start rolling in instantly and soon the tears I was trying to hold in escape when the memories morph into something else.

Instead of pictures of my mom’s lifeless body, I see Dante's right next to the driver’s. I picture his body, bloody and lifeless, and all the pain it will cause Angel and Alessandra to lose another parent to a car accident.

No, Dante can’t be dead. No way in hell will that man let himself take his last breath like that. No, he would fight to continue to live, if not for himself, then for his kids.

Dante has to be alive. He has to be.

I will not accept that he died. Not for the kids. Not for me.

“Where is he?” I say through gritted teeth, anger flowing through my body.

Gallo laughs, legit cackles at my question. “Where is who? The devil himself? Your lover? Why don’t you see for yourself?”

He waves a hand to the door guarded by his man. Keeping my eyes on Gallo, I move slowly past him and walk over to the door.

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