Dante’s dad deserved to die for what he did.

But did Dante?

I slid the opaque fluid from my pocket and popped it open. It was supposed to be for me, just in case something went wrong. But instead, I slid it between the lips of the man who was meant to be my enemy, and then I allowed him to collapse on my lap.

I mindlessly stroked his back and hoped my suspicions weren’t wrong.

24

Dante

My lungs felt like they’d been coated in fluid, and time felt like an illusion as I stared at the stars. I’d never seen stars here before, not until right now.

I didn’t think I’d survive this, and I didn’t put the pieces together until I’d already fallen.

I didn’t put them together until Sienna grabbed my head and forced something down my throat that eased a fraction of the burn I felt all through my lungs and esophagus. It all made sense, but I didn’t want it to. I didn’t want to acknowledge the truth that barreled through me as the fluid worked to relieve some of my symptoms.

She’d been the one to get my drink.

She’d been questioning me about killing people.

She’d been fighting against me every step of the way since I brought her into my home, and it was only a matter of time until she did something to make escape possible for her.

I must have gone unconscious temporarily because when I woke, turned onto my side, and stared at a pool of vomit, I remembered everything, and Iknewwhat had happened.

Despite knowing it, I couldn’t wrap my head around Sienna poisoning me.

I couldn’t fathom why she’d then give me an antidote and stick around after the fact.

I waited until I knew I could move quickly before revealing I’d awoken, and then I struck.

My motions were quick and efficient, but Sienna didn’t bother fighting as I used my shoulder to slam her back into the patio’s stone ground. A jolt of air left her lungs as she lay beneath me, not bothering to fight or move.

Remorse shone in her eyes.

“Tell me this isn’t what it looks like,” I demanded, grabbing her shoulders and giving her a rough shake. I pinned her to the ground as I snarled in her face. “Sienna, tell me.”

She only shook her head, a tear streaming down her cheek in the process.

“Fuck,” I shouted loud enough to cleave the peaceful night. “Why?”

I hoped she’d give me an understandable reason—one that wouldn’t demand I kill her on the spot. Instead, she only shook her head. “You didn’t kill anyone until you were eighteen?” she asked.

“Why the fuck is that relevant?”

“He lied,” she whispered.

“Who the fuck lied?” I shouted again, shaking her hard enough that she should have flinched.

She didn’t give any reaction as she stared up at me and shook her head. “It doesn’t matter now.”

I felt the way my body remained weakened from the poison. I knew that whatever she had given me would have given her ample chance to escape, so why had she stayed? Why wasn’t she fighting me now?

“It does matter,” I told her. “We’re going back to New York tonight, and I’ll get the information from you one way or another.”

There was only one thing left to do, and it didn’t matter how well she fucked. It didn’t matter if she was the fucking love of my life. She’d tried to kill me, and I’d learn exactly why through whatever means necessary.

***