Chapter 6 - He Saved My Life Again—And I Finally Told Him The Truth**
The emergency turned out to be a problem with one of the shipping yards.
Dante was gone for three days.
He called me every night to make sure I was okay, but he never had time to finish that conversation.
On the third night, I decided to go back to the townhouse early.
I was tired, and I missed him.
I missed the way he looked at me, the sound of his voice, the warmth of his hand in mine.
I was almost to the townhouse when I realized something was wrong.
The street was too quiet.
The guards who were usually posted at the gate were gone.
My blood ran cold.
I reached for my phone to call Dante, but before I could, the car door was ripped open.
A hand clamped over my mouth, dragging me out.
I fought, kicking and screaming, but there were two of them.
Strong men wearing masks.
They tied my hands behind my back and threw me into the back of a van.
The van drove for what felt like hours.
Finally, it stopped.
They dragged me out into an old, abandoned warehouse.
And standing there, waiting for me, was Nolan.
He looked even worse than he had in the parking garage.
Thin, wild-eyed, holding a gun in his hand.
“Hello, Elena,” he said, smiling that cruel smile I knew so well.
“Did you miss me?”
“Nolan, what are you doing?” I whispered, my voice shaking.
“Dante will find you. He’ll kill you for this.”
Nolan laughed.
“Let him try. He’s busy dealing with the mess my friends made at his shipping yard. By the time he gets here, we’ll be long gone. Or you’ll be dead. Either way works for me.”
He walked closer, pointing the gun at me.
“You ruined everything, you know that? My reputation, my job, my whole life. All because you couldn’t just be a good little girlfriend and do what you were told.”
He raised the gun.
My whole life flashed before my eyes.
I thought of Dante.
Of how I never got to tell him I loved him.
Then I heard it.
The sound of tires screeching outside.
The sound of doors slamming open.
The sound of gunfire.
Nolan spun around, panicked.
The door to the warehouse burst open.
Dante stood there, a gun in his hand, his face a mask of pure rage.
Behind him were at least a dozen of his men.
“Let her go, Nolan,” Dante said, his voice deadly calm.
“Put the gun down, and maybe I’ll let you live.”
Nolan grabbed me, pulling me in front of him as a shield.
He pressed the gun to my temple.
“Stay back! Or I’ll kill her!”
Dante’s eyes locked with mine.
He gave me a tiny, almost imperceptible nod.
I knew what he wanted me to do.
I took a deep breath.
Then, as hard as I could, I stomped my heel down on Nolan’s foot.
He cried out in pain, his grip loosening.
I ducked, rolling out of the way.
Dante fired.
The bullet hit Nolan in the shoulder.
He dropped the gun, screaming.
Dante’s men rushed forward, restraining him.
Dante ran to me, dropping his gun.
He knelt down, his hands checking my face, my arms, looking for injuries.
“Are you hurt?” he asked, his voice breaking.
“Did he hurt you?”
I shook my head, tears streaming down my face.
“I’m okay. I’m okay.”
He pulled me into his arms, holding me so tight I could barely breathe.
“I thought I lost you,” he whispered into my hair.
“When I found out you were gone, I thought I would die.”
I pulled back to look at him.
His face was pale, his eyes full of fear and relief and something else.
Something that looked a lot like love.
“Dante,” I said, my voice trembling.
“I need to tell you something. I love you. I have for a long time. I know I’m younger than you, and I know your life is dangerous, and I know you might not feel the same way, but I had to tell you—”
He cut me off with a kiss.
It was desperate, hungry, full of all the emotion we had both been holding back for months.
He kissed me like he was afraid I would disappear if he stopped.
May you like
When he pulled back, his forehead resting against mine, he whispered the words I had been waiting to hear.
“I love you too, Elena. More than anything. More than I ever thought I could love anyone again.”
