Dante (5 page)

Vincenzo Savino had seemed like a God to a young Catrina with his money, status, and seemingly cultured view of the world. His nice clothes simply hid the snake underneath. For years, nearly a decade, he held Cat in his suffocating grip, training her to be this unfeeling, uncaring and cold creature.

“I was so open to him,” Cat said.

“What do you mean?”

“To his ways,” she explained softly. “After being abandoned by my biological father and then hated by the man who raised me, not to mention dismissed by the woman who should have protected me, how could I have not wanted someone to be the hero?”

“Cat,” Gaetano said, scoffing darkly. “Vincenzo was no hero.”

“I thought he was at first. And I also thought he must have understood me, you know?”

“Not really,” Gaetano admitted.

“He gave me the perfect character to play, Gae. He turned me into this … persona of a woman who would never be the poor girl from the village, forgotten and uncared for, lonely and afraid. Doesn’t that make you think he knew what I needed, then?”

“What, to feed your hatred for men?”

“I don’t hate men,” Cat snapped, her stare cutting to Gaetano sharply.

“Not now, but you did. And really, you’re not all that different, Catrina. You’re still a goddamn maneater.”

Maybe she was. It was becoming hard to tell the difference between who she was then, who she was now, and who she wanted to be. Hell, even Cat didn’t know.

“Anyway,” she continued, waving flippantly. “I did think he loved me once.”

“But you were never involved with him, not sexually.”

Cat shrugged. “No, but I needed a father figure and he gave me that.”

“I don’t think so.”

“Why not?”

“I think he used your weakness against you and molded you into exactly what he needed.”

Gaetano was absolutely correct. Cat knew it.

“This Marcello …” her friend said, trailing off with a raised brow.

“Give me your advice, Gae. I’m dying to hear it.”

“Don’t forget, he’s just a man, Cat.”

Yes. But again, one that had surprised her.

“I don’t know if I believe in love that is untainted and free of manipulation and filth,” Cat said, dropping the conversation altogether and going back to the beginning all over again.

“Oh?”

“But I would like to.”

• • •

“
Ciao, buona sera
, Dante,” Cat murmured the moment the condo door closed. “It’s a beautiful evening outside, yes?”

Dante’s gun was out and pointing instantly, straight at Gaetano. “Fucking hell! How did you get inside my goddamn condo?”

“I’m good with men,” Cat explained, dismissing his concerns with a wave of her hand. “For what the cost of this place probably was, the building should get security guards who can’t be manipulated by a pretty woman.”

Dante’s gaze narrowed but his gun didn’t lower. “Noted.”

“Your kitchen is magnificent,” Cat said, glancing over her shoulder at the black marble and stainless steel.

“It would shame my mother if it was anything less.”

Cat smirked. “You Italian boys and your
mammas
…”

Dante arched a brow. “What do you want, Cat?”

Satisfaction swept through Cat. She didn’t outwardly show it. Part of her battle was already won if he was calling her Cat as she’d told him to and not Catrina.

“I would appreciate it if you lowered your weapon from Gaetano’s direction,” Cat said again. “As I said, he’s a good friend.”

Dante’s gaze cut to a quiet, stoic Gaetano.

“How good of a friend?” Dante asked.

Cat laughed. “Oh, what do you say, Gae?”

Gaetano didn’t blink. “Quite good,
regina
.”

“Yes, he has even seen me naked a time or two. Worry not, Dante. There are three things about Gaetano that pleases me. One, he’s extremely protective of me. Two, he’s got an awful attitude. And three, I don’t have the right bits to turn him on.”

Dante cleared his throat, eyeing Gaetano again. He dropped his gun to his side. “I see.”

“We’re careful about keeping his homosexuality quiet, and I’m sure you understand why.” Cat surveyed her manicured nails as she said, “I suppose his sexual preferences make you uncomfortable being Cosa Nostra and a devout Catholic.”

“I don’t give a flying shit who he fucks,” Dante said sharply. “It’s also a sin to eat shellfish, but my mother loves it, and you won’t meet anyone more faithful to God than her. It’s a sin to be left-handed, but every man in my family is. As far as Cosa Nostra, I didn’t make the goddamn rules. Besides, he’s not in with
la famiglia
, so again, he can fuck whoever he wants as long as it isn’t me.”

“You’re not my type,” Gaetano replied.

“Thanks. Now, get out of my condo.”

Cat sighed. “Now, Dante—”

“Not you, him. I suspected you were going to approach me again after your men did a little disappearing act this past week on the streets. It’s like this: if you want to talk, we do so one on one. He leaves. I won’t have your minions breathing down my neck, Queen. I’m not some fucking sociopath who might hurt a female if I get her alone. Even if that female is
you
.”

Cat took note of his use of Queen and not her name. “You’ve done some digging, I assume.”

“
Sì
,” Dante confirmed.

“Did you like what you found?”

“Depends on how you look at it.”

Cat nodded to Gaetano. “Go to the car.”

“
Regina
—”

“Go, Gae. I am fine. You know this.”

Gaetano did as she asked, but he didn’t look pleased about it. Dante stood aside to let the man pass. Once the door was closed, Cat stepped away from the wall.

“If you break into my condo again, I won’t be so nice the second time,” Dante warned. 

“I was surprised you were nice this time, frankly.”

“I’m still deciding what to do with you.”

Cat grinned but kept quiet.

“I have an office,” Dante informed as he kicked off his shoes. “I would prefer to have you in there.”

The way Dante said the words were innocent enough, but something inside Cat reacted to the thought of him having her. It was impossible to deny Dante Marcello was a handsome man with strong lines shaping his features and body, the confident posture he sported, and the power he wielded in his family. That didn’t mean she had to give in to those urges whispering in the back of her mind.

Besides, Cat hadn’t let a man get under her skin in a long damn time. Dante Marcello would not be the first to dig his heels in and set her off.

“Let’s go,” Dante said, loosening the knot in his tie.

Cat followed behind her new companion in silence as he walked through his condo.

“Did you go through my place?”

“No,” Cat answered.

“Can I trust you to be honest?”

Cat laughed lightly. “I would tell you if I did. Though I couldn’t help myself with the kitchen. I had to look around and admire the setup.”

“You cook, then.”

“When I can. We Italian women have a way about that. I’m sure you understand.”

“You could say that,” Dante muttered, opening up the third door down in the long hallway. “Ladies first.”

“I’m a woman, but I wouldn’t go so far as calling myself a lady, Dante.”

Dante grunted something unintelligible under his breath, waving at the open doorway. Cat went inside without question, finding the first comfortable thing she could, which just happened to be a leather couch against the far wall. Instead of sitting, she laid across the black leather and crossed her heeled feet on the armrest.

“What did you find out about me, Dante? I’m dying to know.”

Dante took a seat behind his oak desk, pulling a file from a drawer before tossing it to the top. “Sicilian descent, born in America to an Italian mother who came over on a green card but returned with you to Italy shortly after your birth. I suspect she couldn’t continue working here with no one to help after you were born and so she went home to her family.”

“All true,” Cat noted, impressed with his thoroughness.

“You’re twenty-eight-years-old—”

“Hey, now. Just recently turned. Give me a bit of credit,
bello
.”

Dante’s gaze surveyed her from across the room. “You seem to like calling me that.”

“It fits. You’re very handsome. I think so, anyway.”

“Don’t play games with me, Cat. I will not be the puppet to your master who bends to your whims and control. If we’re going to sit down together and have a discussion about why you approached me and what you have to offer, I expect you and your intentions to be as clear as a fucking crystal.”

“Your language is terrible.”

“It’s just goddamn fine for my business. Suck it up, no one’s looking for your approval. Certainly not me.”

Cat huffed. “Whatever you can find on me legally or even professionally is who I am, Dante. I rarely, if ever, give people a glimpse into the real me, but you can trust when I say something, I always mean it. I never lie unless it’s absolutely necessary. And I follow through on my deals and promises every single time. Is there more you’d like to question me on in that regard?”

“We’ll see,” Dante said, his lips drawing thin as he went back to his file. “
Recently
turned twenty-eight.”

“Thank you.”

“Any information from Italy about you or your family was difficult to find.” Dante’s head lifted and he met her gaze, unabashed. “Why is that?”

“My family was quite poor. We lived in what is still considered a small village miles from the city. Neither my mother nor my sister was born in a hospital, though I believe they had papers filed later. I left home when I was nearly sixteen to do my own thing, came into the hands of some interesting characters, and grew from there.”

“Explain that,” Dante said quietly. “After you left home, I mean.”

The corner of Cat’s mouth lifted into a smirk. “I’m beginning to feel like this may be the start of a therapy session. I don’t need my head shrinked.”

“Tell me what I want to know or go, Catrina.”

“Fine.” Cat sat up on the couch, crossing her legs in the process. She didn’t miss Dante’s stare zoning in on the shape of her thighs beneath her dress or the heels she wore. “Shortly after I left home, I was working in a bar under an assumed name, lying about my age. An older gentleman offered me cash to do work for him and I said yes.”

“What kind of work?” Dante asked.

“Deals, things of that nature. Delivering substance, or whatever, to certain clients that wanted a pretty face to look at. The better I got at my job, the more difficult clients were pushed on me. Eventually I had enough contacts and clients in my book to do my own thing, so that’s exactly what I did.”

“And that’s where you showed up on the American side again,” Dante filled in, tapping the paper below him. “You used your dual citizenship to get you into America at twenty-five.”

Cat grinned. “First time on American soil since I was a baby. It took a couple of weeks until my contacts from Italy bled over to here with the people they knew. I had a few men who came with me, and we started from the ground up all over again.”

“The same men who met me at my brother’s club?”

“Some,” Cat admitted. “I only have five men working under me now. Only two are men I keep near me. The three others work out of state, supply certain demands, and always keep me informed as to the market on their end.”

“Two,” Dante said, raising a brow in disbelief. “There were three at the cub last week.”

“Yes, well, Carlos pushed his luck and is now at the bottom of a ravine. Or so Gaetano tells me. What more do you want to know?”

Dante didn’t give a single thing away at Cat’s confession. “You’re fine with killing men who work for you when you have so few who actually do?”

“Men like them are easily trained for my purposes. He’ll be replaced in a month if I want him to be.”

“I see. Moving on, then.”

“Please do, Dante.”

“The information my sources gathered on the down low for Queen is where it gets interesting,” he said simply.

“It always is.”

“You’re very successful.”

“I am.”

“I want to ask how, but I don’t think I would understand.”

Cat smiled, shrugging. “Our businesses are not the same, you see.”

“I realize that.”

“Then, you should already know why you can’t understand my success. We may deal in the same kinds of things occasionally, but your family manages men in the hundreds, your focus is everywhere at once, while mine only needs to be on the clients.”