Page 126 of Powerful Deception

I give him a nod. “I’m okay. I’m in pain, but I’m okay,” I raise my own hand and gently glide my fingers against his face. “Are you okay?”

He flinches a little at my touch and his face shows so much pain that I have no idea how he’s still standing up.

Gallo and his men must have beaten every single inch of him while I was locked in the room.

Dante nods, even while his face contours with discomfort. “I will be.”

“Dante.” I step closer to him but not close enough to plaster my body to his. I don’t know just how far his injuries go.

“I'll be fine, Arianna.” He urges, but I can hear the pain in his voice. “Let’s just concentrate on getting out of here.” He states, holding out a hand for me to take.

I want to fight him on it, but I know I won't win so instead I just take his hand and let him pull me up.

When I’m settled on my feet, surprised that I’ve lasted this long in my heel, I survey the both of us.

We look like we were grabbed by a tornado and flung around the ground a handful of times.

Our clothing are completely trashed, and covered in blood. My dress is destroyed and there is not a chance that I will be able to wear it again.

From the looks of it, Dante’s injuries are worse than mine, but he is trying to tough them out. His face is starting to go pale and standing this close to him, I can hear his breathing get worse.

“I think we need to get you to a doctor.” I say, placing a hand on his hip, as if my small body can hold his up if he falls.

Dante shakes his head. “I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not. You need to see a doctor.” I argue. It looks like he’s about to fall to the ground.

Again he shakes his head. “No. Doctors ask too many questions. I’ll be fine.”

“Dante.” I want to reprimand him like I would if he was a kid, but when a chuckle sounds behind me, I stop.

A coldness travels through my body as I turn slightly and see Gallo sitting up on the floor a few feet away.

Like Dante, his face is bruised and bloody but he wears a sadistic grin instead of a grimace of pain.

How is he still alive?

I saw his head get bashed into the concrete multiple times. I saw his body go still and not even moving an inch.

So how the hell is this man still able to breath, let alone sit up and let out a chuckle?

Gallo makes the effort to stand up, but ends up falling to the floor a few times before giving up on the task.

“I guess this is how Detective Vitale felt before I tied him to the chair.” Gallo lets out another laugh, before turning to look at me. “Couldn’t keep his balance. The fucker feel more times that I can count.”

Tears start to form at the mention of my dad, but I’ve cried enough already, and I won’t let them fall.

Pushing all my emotions to the side, I move towards him, Dante’s hand landing on mine to stop me, but I pull away.

“Why did you do it? Why did you kill my father?” I say through gritted teeth.

I need to know. I need to know why he was really killed. I need to know before I let Dante finish the fucker off.

“Because he was looking into things he shouldn’t have. I was making all kinds of money, but then the detective came in and ruined everything. He had it coming. You’re lucky I didn’t do it sooner.”

I step closer to him, silently aware of Dante walking a few feet behind me.

“You mean you killed him for doing his job?”

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