Under his protection

Chapter 12

Aria

Dante had said we could stay at the safe house for a couple of days before we had to move. It’s not like I was excited or anything, but as promised, I did get a new phone. One that came with many rules. I wasn’t allowed to call anyone from my old life. That wouldn’t be hard considering I didn’t have any friends. They said Lola was back from maternity leave, so she was running the library. At least some good news.

I really hope we can resolve this issue soon so I can get back to my real life.

Dante had barely spoken to me all day, just brooding in his room. I never understood his mood swings. One minute he’s all “let me protect you,” another minute he couldn’t be bothered about things I do.

Maybe he was working. The sooner he figures out this mess, the better. But I was hungry, and I wasn’t about to try to make dinner.

Mustering all the courage I had, I casually walked to the door of his room and knocked.
At first, there was no answer, so I did it again.

“Come in.” Even though I was expecting it, it somehow made me jump a little.

I gently pushed the door open. It was the first time I was in this room. Compared to mine, it was smaller, but everything looked perfect. Nothing was out of place.

Dante sat by the desk, eyes fixed on his laptop screen. I was right, he was working. Now I felt bad for bothering him.

“Are you just going to stand there staring at me?” he said, raising his eyes to me for the first time.

There was a look of shock that lasted less than a second before his face returned to its usual expressionless mask.

“Uhm…” Suddenly I was not as bold as before, especially under his scrutiny.

“It’s dinner time,” I managed, but he didn’t say anything.

“I figured if I’m going to be serving you soon,” I made sure to put emphasis on the “serving,”
“you might as well fix me dinner now.”

Silence.

His face remained expressionless. I shifted uncomfortably. Did I say something wrong?

Just when I thought he wasn’t going to say anything, he did.

“I thought Victor went out to get some clothes. Why are you still wearing that?”

His eyes flicked over me, slow but intentional and I felt is everywhere

I was in one of the shirts I found in my room and one of the shorts Victor got the other day, but because of how big the shirt was, the shorts were barely visible.

Honestly, I preferred the clothes now, but I wasn’t about to say that.

“Most of the ones he got don’t fit,” I lied. They weren’t my size, but I could manage them. He didn’t need to know that.

He muttered a noncommittal “hmm.” But his gaze lingered, definitely longer than necessary before he returned to his screen.

Silence.

Maybe I wouldn’t be getting dinner after all.

I turned around, ready to leave him be, but then—

“I’ll be out in five minutes.”

Feeling giddy, I walked out.

Keeping to his word, in exactly five minutes he came out and moved directly to the kitchen. Going after him, I took a seat on a stool at the kitchen island, fully intending to watch him.

This all felt strangely normal.

Too normal

Dante wore a black long-sleeve top paired with black sweatpants. He was nothing like what I imagined for a mafia boss. First of all, he looked too young for the position. Secondly, when he was doing normal things like this, he didn’t look scary at all.

“I can feel you staring.” His back was to me.

“I’m just trying to figure you out,” I replied.

“Okay, and how’s that working out for you?” He turned around to place a plate of pasta in front of me, but that’s not what shocked me. He was actually smiling.

“Not so well,” I said, taking a bite. I widened my eyes. This tasted amazing.

He must have seen how much I liked it because he had a smug look on his face before turning around to fix a plate for himself as well.

How did he learn how to cook so well? There was so much I wanted to know about him.

“Okay, how about this? We each ask each other five questions and the other person has to answer truthfully.”

“I already know everything there is to know about you,” Dante replied smugly, “and anything I don’t know I can easily find out.”

I rolled my eyes.

“Yeah, but I don’t know anything about you.”

He thought for a minute before replying.

“Okay, I’ll bite.” I smiled. “But three questions.”

“That’s not enough.”

“Well, that’s what you get.”

“Okay, five.” I was almost begging, giving him the best cute face I could muster.

He smiled. “Fine.”

“Yay!” I had to think this through. I couldn’t waste any questions. He looked at me expectantly.
“How did you learn how to cook so well?”

“My mum taught me,” he replied simply, not explaining further.

Okay, that one was on me. I set the bar too low.

I frowned, but I still had four questions left.

“How did you become the Don? Was the old Don your father, or did you have to fight to the death or something?”

I didn’t expect his burst of laughter.

“That’s three questions, princess.”

“Wait, what? No,” I rushed out. “Don’t answer that.”

“Okay, for my second question,” I said, emphasizing every word, “how did you become Don?”

“Well, my father was consigliere, second in command,” he explained after my confused look, “and since the Don didn’t have an heir, it was between my brother and me.”

“You have a brother?” I asked, shocked.

“Half brother, but yes. And that’s your third question.”

“Wait, no—”

He looked victorious. If this was a game, he was winning. I took a deep breath but continued.

“Why you and not your brother?”

“Ultimately, it was the Don’s decision, and even though my brother is older, he picked me,” he shrugged but continued, “we had both been trained for the position, so it was easy.”

I was quiet. I didn’t know if these questions were helpful or if they just worsened my curiosity.

“Five questions are not enough,” I huffed.

“Well, that’s all you get. You have one question left,” his expression still smug.

“Fine.” I had one question, and there was one thing I was dying to know.

Would he answer? There was only one way to find out.

“Where is Lucia, your wife?”