The ballroom went silent. Dante kept his hand around my wrist while the red sights held steady over his chest.
Julian Thorne stepped forward and placed himself between us. He looked at Dante’s hand on my arm until Dante noticed.
“A king who uses his queen as a shield is a coward hiding behind a better woman,” Julian said.
Dante shoved me aside and faced him. “She belongs to me.”
He drew a black pistol and aimed at Julian’s heart. Several guests ducked behind tables.
“She is mine in this life and the next. If I can’t have her, no one will.”
His finger tightened on the trigger.
His emergency line rang. He ignored it. The call ended and came through again at once.
His second-in-command’s voice burst from the speaker before Dante answered. Everyone in the ballroom heard it.
“Boss, it’
