Page 9 of Blood Vows

Dante waited her out until her eyes met his. “What did it say?” She hesitated. “Elena.”

“Trust no one with our blood,” she breathed.

Dante felt the words settle somewhere deep in his chest. “Our blood?”

“That’s exactly what it said,” Elena said.

“Where’s the note?” he asked.

“I destroyed it,” she admitted.

“Of course you fucking did,” he shouted.

“I was scared,” she spat.

“Where is the key now?” he asked. Her silence told him everything, and Dante swore. “You still have it.”

“Yes, I do,” she said.

“Where is it?” She looked away. “Elena.”

“My apartment.” The hairs on the back of Dante's neck stood up. Her apartment, the place they'd just left, the place someone could already be searching, held the key and possibly the answers that he was looking for.

“Where in the apartment?” he asked.

“I hid it,” she said, defiantly raising her chin at him.

“Where is it?” he asked. Again.

She shook her head. “I'm not telling you.”

Dante stared at her in disbelief. “Do you have a fucking death wish?”

“No. That's why I'm not telling the Camorra family's second-in-command where my dead father hid something he specifically warned me not to trust anyone with.” He couldn't even argue with that logic. He didn't like it, but he couldn't argue with it.

“Fine,” he spat. “You're coming with me.”

Her eyes widened. “Where are we going?”

“To your apartment,” he said.

“Now?” she asked.

“Yes, now,” he said. “Unless you have other plans.”

“It's the middle of the night,” she insisted.

“The people trying to frame you don't keep banking hours,” he said. Dante pulled his gun from the holster and checked the magazine, and Elena stared at it.

“You think someone might be there,” she assessed.

“I think if that key matters, someone is already looking for it,” he said. The fear returned to her eyes, and this time, Dante hated seeing it.

“Stay here,” he ordered. He walked into the hall and pointed at one of his men. “Get the car.” The man nodded, and Dante turned back to Elena. She stood in the kitchen, arms wrapped around herself, and for the first time since he'd met her, she looked small and vulnerable. He didn't like that either.

He crossed the room and stopped in front of her. “If we get there and something feels wrong, you do exactly what I tell you to do.”

“I can take care of myself,” she insisted.