"Trust me, sweetheart," Dante says, his voice gentle. He's a mafia boss, one of the most dangerous men in the state, and yet he's been nothing but kind to me. "That boy isn't going anywhere you aren't. I can't even get him to leave your side when you're sleeping. It'll take a helluva lot more than Dillon Armstrong and a pair of cuffs to drag him out of here."
"We're not sharing a room," I mumble, though I wish we were. I've fallen asleep in Dimitri's arms the last couple of nights, but he's always gone when I wake up. I desperately want to ask him to stay with me, but I'm not brave enough to do it. I'm afraid he'll tell me no and break my heart.
Dante's eyes gleam, a small smile tipping his lips up at the corners.
"Oh," I whisper, pressing my hand to my heart as understanding dawns. Since I came here, I've been sleeping peacefully for the first time since I realized Delilah was trying to kill me. Not simply because I feel safe, but because I feel Dimitri as if he's watching over me even in my sleep. I thought I was only imagining it, but I imagined nothing. He's been watching over me in my sleep.
He's in love with me.
"Maybe I should just go out there and talk to the sheriff," I say as a jumble of emotions run through me all at once. Pride, awe, joy. Fear. I can't lose him now.
"Absolutely not," Dante says, his tone firm. "Dimitri will be fine. But if I let you go out there, my nephew is going to throw a holy damn fit." He chuckles ruefully, rubbing his jaw. "I'm too goddamn old to deal with him when he's in a bad mood, Snow. It didn't work out well for anyone last time."
"You mean when the cartel tried to kidnap Devin."
"He told you."
It's not a question, but I nod anyway. "It still bothers him. He blames himself."
"I know." Dante sighs, his expression troubled. "I lost count of how many bodies he left in his wake when they tried to take her. There was no stopping him."
My heart aches for him. He made a promise to his parents to keep her safe when they died, and he felt like he failed all three of them. "He lost himself."
"If we lose him again, I'm not sure we'll get him back this time. I'm not sure he'll want to come back from it this time." Dante meets my gaze, holding it. He's trying to tell me something, but I don't understand what.
"I don't understand," I admit.
Dante hesitates for a long moment and then curses softly. "He'll have a fit if he knows I brought it up, " he mutters reluctantly.
"I have a right to know," I say, pulling my shoulders back to make myself taller, braver. Not that it helps much. I'm barely five-three. But if I can do something to help Dimitri, I want to do it. I'm in love with him. I've been falling for him since the moment he held out his hand and promised to protect me. I'll do whatever I have to do to protect him, too.
"There are only two ways to deal with Delilah."
I eye him silently.
"Send her to prison. Or kill her."
I swallow hard, my soul quaking, though I'm not sure why. Deep down, I knew this was how this story ended, didn't I? We don't simply go our separate ways, the slate magically wiped clean. I've desperately avoided thinking about it since the other night in the study, but I knew.
Just like I know what he's saying now. Only he doesn't have to say it. If they have to kill her to save me, it'll destroy the man I love. I can't let that happen. I choose Dimitri. In this life and every other, I choose him.
I won't let him damn himself to spare me.
Delilah may be evil and nasty and hateful, but he isn't. If he's what waits in the dark, that's where I want to be. That's where I need to be. He is my fate, brought to me in my greatest moment of need. But I was brought to him too. He needs me too.
There are no absolutes anymore, save only one. We need each other. That's the only certainty, the only immutable truth. Light doesn't exist without the dark to give it meaning. Dark doesn't exist without light to balance it. That's who we are. That's what we're meant to be.
"I understand," I whisper to Dante.
"You're back!" I cry ten minutes later, setting Quack on the sofa and then racing across the room, dodging dogs, to reach Dimitri as soon as he crosses the threshold. I fling myself into his arms, knocking him back a step as relief floods through my system. "I thought he was going to arrest you."