You'll see."
The black Rolls-Royce moved through the city like a specter. Dante sat beside me in silence, his face unreadable under the dim interior lights. I tried to hide the stiffness in my position, the way my fingers clenched into the leather seat.
Was this a test?
A warning?
We drove out of the city and into the industrial suburbs, the streets here were more empty, colder, with warehouses and abandoned buildings lining the roads, it felt we finally turned into a compound behind a gate, Armed guards nodded as the gate opened.
I recognized the smell instantly the smell of blood and fear.
Inside, men in dark suits stood in a semi-circle. In the center, a man knelt on the floor, his hands bound behind him. His face was battered and bloodied.
I did not need to inquire as to what was taking place.
"Who is he?" I quietly asked.
"A rat," Dante said. "He sold information to a rival family, cost me four men.".
My breath caught. "And you brought me here… why?"
He faced me, his eyes glacially calm. "So you know what traitors must endure, you wanted to know who you married, I thought it was time you did."
He exited the car, the guards parted.
I sat there, my heart racing But curiosity and survival instinct drew me out after him.
Dante didn't flinch.
He didn't yell, didn't speechify.
He simply walked up, pulled the gun from his coat, and shot the man in the head.
One clean bullet.
No hesitation.
I flinched at the sound, Blood sprayed the concrete.
Dante wiped the gun clean nonchalantly and handed it to one of his men prior to turning to me.
"Do you still want to snoop where you have no business?" he asked coldly.
I met his gaze, trying to hide the tremble in my knees, "No."
"Good, because this isn't a game, Isabella. You're here because I allowed it. Don't forget that."
His words slashed deeper than any blade, And yet… I could not look away from him, Not for terror, out of something different. Something darker. Something I did not want to say.
In the mansion, I locked myself in the bathroom and fell onto the cold marble floor.
My hands were shaking.
Not from what I saw.
From what I felt.
Watching Dante kill that man should've terrified me.
Of course I'm terrified.
But beneath the fear… there was awe, dark admiration, the kind you shouldn't feel for your enemy.
He was methodical, ruthless, cold.
Exactly the kind of man I was trained to destroy.
And yet, the thought of killing him didn't feel so black and white anymore.
I splashed water on my face, gritted my teeth.
He cannot get into your head, Isabella. You are here to work, not to drown in his eyes.
That night, I lay in bed unable to sleep, my head tangled in thoughts that I could not untangle, the sheets reeked of him, a fragrance I was beginning to memorize.
Then I heard it soft steps outside my door.
I sat up, heartbeat pounding.
A knock.
I crept to the door and opened it a crack.
Dante stood there.
Shirtless.
Hair mussed, eyes inscrutable.
"What do you want?" I whispered.
He regarded me for a long moment, "I thought maybe you'd like a drink couldn't sleep either."
I swallowed, all alarm bells ringing in my head.
But I nodded,"Okay."
He moved out of the way and gestured down the hall. "My private bar."
A drink with the man I was hired to kill.
Alright.
What could possibly go wrong?