Danilo shook his head with a harsh expression and stalked past us toward the liquor cabinet, pouring himself a generous amount of a dark liquid. “Why the fuck are you gambling in a situation like this?” he snarled at the soldiers. The men lowered their heads.
Steps pounded upstairs. Ines followed by Sofia stormed down the staircase. Sofia didn’t stop and barreled straight into Pietro who hugged her tightly. Ines froze halfway down once she caught a look at the men’s expressions.
“No,” she whispered. “No.” She clutched the banister and slowly sank down. “No!”
Sofia lifted her head, looking at Ines then at Pietro and Samuel. Her young face fell. Samuel staggered toward his mother and pulled her to her feet. She clutched him desperately and sobbed.
The guards disappeared into other parts of the house to give us privacy and to escape Danilo’s open wrath.
My eyes met Dante’s but his expression was a mask of control. It must be bad if he acted like that.
Glass smashed.
I jumped then realized Danilo had flung his glass against the wall. He gripped the edge of the table tightly, rage burning on his face.
Dante cleared his throat but nothing penetrated Danilo’s fog of despair.
Pietro led Sofia upstairs while Samuel helped Ines. I approached Dante, touching his shoulder. He gave me a strained smile. It made me ache all over. “I’ll bring Leonas to bed and then check on Anna. Why don’t you go ahead and catch some sleep?”
I nodded, even though I didn’t feel tired in the slightest.
Dante headed up the stairs with Leonas.
I slanted a look at Danilo who was still bent over the table and considered going to him to offer him words of assurance but he appeared like a man who preferred to deal with his sorrow alone. He straightened and noticed me. “This isn’t the wedding night I imagined.” The words rang with despair and fury alike. He was a man fighting for composure. I wasn’t sure what to tell him and I had a feeling he didn’t want me to say anything. Suddenly, his expression smoothed. He strode toward me. “Tell Dante, I’ll head out to my family’s mansion. I’ll be back tomorrow morning to continue our search.”
He didn’t wait for my reply, just left, even leaving the door ajar. I closed it then leaned against it, trying to hold on to my composure. I pushed off the door and went upstairs. The hallway was dark except for the light squeezing out under the door to our bedroom. I opened it.
Dante sat on the edge of the bed, his arms propped up on his thighs, looking a little stunned and… guilty.
I stopped beside him and touched his shoulder. “This isn’t your fault.”
Dante shook his head, his mask slipping back into place. I hated that he felt the need to do so but it also told me that his inner turmoil was so strong that he wanted to protect me from it. “I’m Capo. This is my territory and it’s my duty to protect my people, my family. Serafina should have been safe.”
“Nobody could have foreseen this, not even you. It’s dishonorable to attack a wedding. Remo Falcone plays by his own rules.”
“He’ll try to force me into his game,” Dante said quietly, but an undercurrent of fury swung in his voice.
“What do you think does he want with Serafina?” I asked.
He shook his head. “I’m not sure about his motives.”
He was lying and that was more of an answer than his actual words. Good God, the rumors of the Camorra sent a chill over every woman’s back. “You’ll save her in time.”
Dante pushed to his feet, his eyes almost wild. “Will I? In time for what? It could be too late as we speak. For all we know, Serafina’s defiled body has already been dropped off so we’ll find it. Do you even realize what kind of horrors Remo Falcone is capable of, Val?”
I stared, my heart beating in my throat.
He gripped my arms in a too hard grasp. His anger wasn’t directed at me but Good Lord, it hit me like a hurricane, leaving me disoriented and shaken. “I am a monster, but even I haven’t done half the depraved acts the Falcones are capable of. Remo revels in torture as if it was his fucking drug of choice. And his crazy brother is a psychopath in the true sense of the word. He doesn’t feel anything. He can cut you up and have a pleasant conversation with you while he does it. He could maul women and children without a spike in his fucking pulse rate. Serafina is at the mercy of men like that, Val.”
My lips parted for words of consolation that would have done nothing and so Dante didn’t allow them to pass. He jerked me against him and kissed me brutally.