Page 262 of Dante
"Vittoria," he says, then answers. "Talk to me."
We can't hear her side of the conversation. Can only watch Bruno's face, searching for any sign, any indication of what's happening. His jaw works. His eyes close briefly. Then he nods once.
"Good. Keep me updated."
He hangs up.
The silence stretches.
"Well?" Nico demands.
Bruno looks at us. At each of us in turn. His gaze lingers on me for a moment longer than the others, and I don't know what he sees there. Fear, probably. Desperation. The wild hope of a woman who has bet everything on a man the world would call a monster.
"Everything is proceeding according to plan," Bruno says.
Relief floods through me. My knees go weak. I grab the back of the nearest chair to steady myself.
"The plan," Nico says flatly, "that none of us know anything about."
Bruno's mouth twitches. Not quite a smile. "The very same."
"Fantastic."
"We should be relieved," Nico continues, his voice tight with the control he's barely maintaining. "We should just feel grateful that we're not losing someone right now. That's what we should focus on."
No one argues with him. Because he's right. Because the alternative might be worse than the uncertainty. At least thisway, I can imagine him safe. Can pretend, for these stretching minutes, that the danger has already passed.
My phone rings.
I nearly drop it.
"Hello?"
"Cara."
Dante's voice. Rough. Tired. Alive.
I sink into the chair I've been gripping. My legs won't hold me anymore.
"You're okay," I breathe.
"I'm okay."
Tears blur my vision. I blink them back. The room has gone silent again, everyone watching me, but I don't care. I don't care about anything except the sound of his breathing on the other end of the line.
"Two days from now," Dante says, "we're taking a trip. Just the two of us."
I laugh. It comes out wet, choked with the tears I'm trying to hold back. "A trip?"
"Somewhere warm. Somewhere with no phones, no family emergencies, no cartel leaders trying to kill us."
"That sounds..." I shake my head. "That sounds perfect."
"You should check your schedule," he says. "Make sure you can clear it."
"My schedule?" I'm smiling now. I can't help it. "Dante, my schedule has been nothing but chaos since you showed up bleeding on my doorstep."
He laughs. The sound wraps around me like a blanket, warm and safe and everything I didn't know I needed.
