Page 13 of Fatal Love

Only the sound of the music filled the inside of our ride home. His sadness washed over me like a rainstorm in April. Pulling down my driveway, I glanced at his profile. The lines of his face seemed to have grown deeper and bolder in the last few hours, aging him in a short amount of time. I knew from talking to Massimo their parents were due in from Sicily by morning. For now, all he had was me—and I planned to take care of him, no matter his state of mind or how he try and push me away.

“Hey.” I pressed my palm to his knee. “We’re here.”

Antonio’s eyes seemed to be unfocused as he stared out the windshield. I could tell he wasn’t hearing me, lost in his own head. The seatbelt smacked the door frame as I unlatched it and stepped out. The day had slipped through our fingers and the sun was high in the sky, mocking us from behind the clouds. I helped him from the car, my heart aching for the man I'd fallen in love with month ago. I had never seen Antonio like this. Even though he was least likely to exert violence, he was still hardened to the life his family lived. And right now, in this moment, it was like looking at a little boy searching for the comfort of his mother.

“Why?” Antonio finally whispered.

“I don’t know.”

The lock clicking into place seemed to snap Antonio back to the present. “We’re at your house?”

“Yeah. You’re going to stay here with me until this mess blows over. I’ve already called Madison—she’s going to bring some stuff over.”

His face scrunched up in confusion. “You called Madison?”

“I know you two are close. I figured she would be cool with this.”

Antonio cocked a brow at me. “This?” His tired eyes challenged me to say more.

“Yes, this." I took a calming breath. "Stop fucking around and go sit down. I’ll fix you a drink. I think you’ve earned one. Plus.” I tossed my keys on the entry table. “I need to tell you about my conversation with Rachel. I think you’ll need some whiskey to hear what I have to say.”

“Great. Something else to fuck with my day.” Antonio flung himself down on the couch and sank into the cushions.

I couldn’t help but chuckle at his child-like behavior, even if it were warranted, it was ridiculous to watch. The decanter of whiskey gleamed in the kitchen light. The amber liquid shined through the glass bottle, begging to be poured. I filled two glasses and carried them, along with the bottle, to the living room. Antonio had his head pressed against the back of the couch. He was staring at the ceiling, his hands fused into his hair.

“I hate Dmitri. If I could bury a blade between his ribs, I would. He's taken so much from my family. First Madison… then me. And let’s not forget Katya, his own daughter. Plus, Krissy and Megan. They were just employees who didn’t deserve to get sucked into this madness.” Dmitri had done some serious damage to the family.

Killing Krissy instead of Madison, then kidnapping Antonio had rocked the family hard. And if that wasn’t enough damage, he killed Megan, one of Vincenzo’s longtime servers. It had been a warning to back off, but it enraged Vin, which was exactly what Dmitri wanted. Only, it was Donat Ivanov Vincenzo killed weeks later. The fucked-up part was Riley taking the fall. She had been working as an undercover agent with the FBI and falling in love with Vincenzo, pushed her to protect him. Now she was pregnant and awaiting trial. Vincenzo had to pull through this. I wasn't sure the family come back from his death.

“Here—drink this.” I handed the drink to Antonio. “I need you to listen to me before you react. Can you promise me you’ll do that?”

“Fuck. I don’t like how this is starting.”

I held his gaze. “Promise me. Hear me out, then we will figure out what to do.”

“Fine. What could be worse than my brother on his deathbed?”

I blew out a frustrated breath. “Rachel plans on outing Dmitri Ivanov to the media.”

Antonio sat up, his senses coming back to him. “She what?”

“She is tired of playing games and knows he is behind everything. Rachel is under the misguided impression if she makes him mad enough, he’ll slip up.”

“And you didn’t tell her that was suicide?”

“I did. She pushed me out of her car and drove off.”

“Fuck.” Antonio stood. “She doesn't know who she’s fucking with. Call Agent Jackson. He needs to know she is going to get herself killed.”

My phone rang as if on cue, and Agent Jackson’s face lit up on the screen. I shared a troubled glance with Antonio as I hit the speaker button. “We were just talking about you.”

“We have a problem. The DA just held a press conference.”

“Let me guess.” I looked at Antonio. “He just tied Dmitri Ivanov to Vincenzo’s stabbing and Riley’s arrest.”

“Yep. This is going to get ugly, boys. I know the family has their own security. Now would be a good time to amp it up. I’ll put an agent at the hospital, but the rest of the family is at risk.”

“What about the prosecutor?”

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