Declan’s short bark of laughter startled me. “You mean the fucker who's been coming to our club this whole time, and we never knew who he was until just a few weeks ago?”
“That would be Dante,” I replied through gritted teeth.
The music thudded against my bones as they exchanged glances. Their silence weighed on me, a tendril of fear curling around my spine. It was Cain who finally answered. “He was here a few days ago. Drunk off his ass.”
Relief flooded through me. So he wasn’t out doing anything nefarious like Mateo supposedly suspected. Worst-case scenario, Dante was just out on a binge and screwing whoever he decided to go home with that night. But even that thought left a sour taste on my tongue.
Cain caught the look on my face. He frowned. “You didn’t know where he was.” It wasn’t a question, so I didn’t reply.
“Or what he’s been doing.”
That got my attention. “What has he been doing? Drinking too many whiskey sours?” I joked. Again, the brothers exchanged heavy glances. It set my nerves on end.
“There’s more to it than that,” Archer began. Cain cut him off with a dark look.
“What?” My heart hammered in my chest. “What’s been going on?”
Cain scooted closer, his voice dropping. “You haven’t heard?”
“If I’d heard about whatever it is you’re talking about, I wouldn’t be here,” I snapped.
“You know, here at The Salamander, we hear just about everything. But what Dante has been doing? It’s setting everyone on edge.” Cain shook his head. “His father has been trying to keep it under wraps, which is probably why you haven’t heard shit. But I think you should know about it.”
“Just tell me, Cain. I don’t have time for this.”
“I’m sure you know about the Snake by now.” The sound of their name sent a chill over my skin. “Dante’s been on the hunt for the past week or so, tracking down those who had deserted.”
“And?” I raised an eyebrow. If Dante was finally getting somewhere with the Snake case, then that wasn’t too bad. Actually, I was pretty impressed.
“It’s not just tracking, Sienna,” Archer said quietly. “It’s hunting.”
My eyes flicked between the three brothers. “What do you mean?”
“He’s been torturing men for information and, whether or not they have it, he’s been—”
“Killing them,” Cain finished. “Brutally. Mercilessly. It’s even making the lowest assassins here nervous.”
Archer leaned back against the sofa. “The mafia might be killers, Sienna. But they still have a code. They still have honor. But what we’ve heard of Dante’s mission? It’s just been pure animalistic revenge.”
“The others are getting nervous,” Cain warned. I knew who he was talking about. The other mafia leaders; the Russians, the Irish. Of course, they’d be nervous. If one of our own went rogue and started killing anyone he thought had information on the Snake, then that was a threat to anyone.
“And Sal has been trying to control this?” I asked. “He knows?”
“Of course, he knows. He was one of the first to come looking for Dante when the rumors started.” Declan shot me a sneer. “You really didn’t know about any of this?”
I closed my eyes, trying to take a breath. No, I hadn’t known shit, but that was partly my fault. As soon as Dante left, I’d been too focused on his leaving to worry about the rumors on the street. But Mateo should have known. Maybe he did, and he just hadn’t told me.
“Shit.” My eyes snapped open. “I need to go.” I rose from the couch, halfway to the steps before Cain called my name.
“When you do find him, tell him he owes us for the property damage from the last location,” Cain said, smirking. “We had to threaten the landlord not to report us, and it cost us quite a bit.”
I hurried down the steps, ignoring their laughter as it followed me back through the crowd. The music was too loud, the bodies too close, the air too thick. I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t make sense of the thoughts running through my mind. Dante had gone on a killing spree, and I hadn’t known about it. Hadn’t been told. For a split second, I thought maybe if Gemma had known. She’d come to force me out of the apartment just to go looking for him in the first place. But then why hadn’t she told me herself? Why hadn’t Mateo?
If they knew and hadn’t told me, it was probably for a good reason. But at that moment, I was pissed. I was the fucking Don, and I should have known about this. It was one thing for Sal Scarano to keep this from me, but an entirely different matter that my own people would hide it.
Barging out of the front door, I finally took a fresh breath of air. Wildly, I looked around the street for my town car, finding it parked just at the end. My heels clacked against the sidewalk as I bolted towards it. Vincent jumped as I clambered inside, slamming the back door behind me.
“Miss?” he asked, half turning in the driver’s seat.