Bound by Secrets
Dante's POV
I'm already awake as the early morning light streams through the window, seated at the brink of the little, unassuming safehouse Aria and Sofia had transported her to in the middle of the night. Here it is calm, yet the weight weighing on my chest won't go away. Just seeing them sleep—my daughter, at last safe, and Aria, her face still exhibiting the marks of tiredness and anxiety—brings an unusual ache I'm not used to feeling.
I hadn't seen her appear so vulnerable years ago, and the awareness wounds hard. Aria has always been a fighter, but lately something more exists. One scar I never intended to leave. And now, even if I wish to shield Sofia and her from the dangers hovering above us, I know I am ultimately responsible for their initial endangerability
