Chapter 19—Dante

10 years ago …

Fucking bike. I clenched my fists and tried to keep calm.

Gio cast a glance at me and frowned.

I was fixing the engine on Claudius’ bike. He wanted to make the bike faster and heard I was the best at doing anything like that.

I just wasn’t when I was pissed.

“Hey kid, don’t you dare mess up my Harley.” Claudius frowned.

I looked at him and blinked.

Normally I would know my place around a guy like Claudius and wouldn’t be as bold as to even look at him the wrong way. Today though, fucking hell I was mad as fuck and I didn’t appreciate a guy who wasn’t that much older than me calling me kid.

Gio intensified his glare on me and shook his head warning me to calm down. I just ignored him.

“Who the fuck you calling kid?” I straightened up and zoned in on Claudius who practically flew over to me. His hair billowing out behind him like a cape.

I wished I could say he looked like some weirdo with his long hair and funny eyes, but he didn’t.

The whole package was just one part of the reason that all the women loved him. The other was that he was one of the capos to the Rossi family. He was a guy a grunt like me, looking to work his way up, should respect. I definitely shouldn’t have spoken to him like that.

“You have some death wish?” Claudius snarled.

Maybe I did. Maybe I lost my fucking mind. It was the kind of thing that happened when a guy saw his little sister associating with one of the worst crime families and practically rolling around in the lions’ den.

My little sister was getting out of some posh car with Donny Manello, of all the people and they were going into the Crowthorne Society, Antonella property.

Barabbas Antonella was the devil.

It didn’t get much worse than that and I couldn’t do anything about it.

So yes, I had lost my mind and I was ready to either die or fight.

“Try it! You fucking L.A. punk.” I balked.

Claudius snarled and pulled out his gun at me. I simply pulled my two on him. I may have been a grunt, but nobody was a quicker shot than me. The only other person that could claim to be better was Pa and he was dead.

I held out my twin Berettas at king Claudius who looked from one gun to the other, then back at me.

“Guys please, this is shit. This is our garage where we work on the stuff we like, remember?” Gio called out from the corner.

“L.A. punk?” Claudius asked me. “New York punk, I’m from here you idiot.”

“I didn’t see you here this whole time. Think because you’re up Raphael’s ass everyone’s scared of you.” I was an idiot; everyone was fucking scared of him.

There was Gio over in the corner for a reason.

Claudius looked at me like I had lost my mind. He sneered, almost sounding like a growl and lowered his gun.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Claudius asked.

I still held out my guns just in case this was some trick to get me to think he’d eased off. “Nothing, your fucking Harley will be ready in the morning.”

“You said it would be good tonight.”

“Plans changed up. It’s delayed, now beat it.”

Claudius laughed. Laughed at me and my attitude. “You know what Dante, you have some fucking balls. You totally do. I think as much as I want to kill you, you just earned my respect. Is this about Maria?”

Maria …

Fucking hell. That woman was either going to get me killed or … something.

The answer to my problems with her was simple. I needed to forget her, end of story. It was a case of me being the grunt of a guy with nothing and my stupid old bike as she called it riding around town like a fool trying to climb up the ladder of life and impress her.

“No, it’s not about her.”

“Looks like it is, if so your guns should be on Luc, not me.” He laughed again.

I lowered my guns. “It’s not about her.”

Anxiety was eating away at my insides. I had to see Christina now. I had Claudius’ bike to do and another guy wanted me to change the back wheel on his Kawasaki, but it all had to wait.

Claudius and Gio continued to stare at me as I started packing up my toolbox.

Claudius moved closer and tapped the work table to get my attention.

“Dante, if this isn’t about her then what is it about?”

I stopped packing and returned my focus to him. “My sister ... I saw her hanging around the Crowthorne with Donny Manello.”

For Claudius to look shocked it showed the depth of how bad what I just said was.

“You didn’t tell me that,” Gio stated coming closer.

“I’ve been too worked up man.” I replied.

“Need me to go with you somewhere?” Claudius asked to my surprise.

We just hung out here in this garage with our bikes. We’d done that for the last two years, but he didn’t really rate us until about five months ago when I fixed up a Harley for Fat Tony one of Raphael’s bodyguards.

Him offering to go anywhere with me meant a lot. Meant business and no one would mess with me if they saw us together. More than anything if he was thinking I was heading to Antonella territory it meant he was willing to go with me.

“No, but thank you. I just have to go see my sister.” I looked from him to Gio hopped on my bike and rode away.

I headed to Christina’s workplace. I’d been trying to see her and speak to her for the last two days, but she’d avoided me like the damn plague.

I wasn’t one to go to her workplace and cause a scene, but this was all getting to me in a way I couldn’t describe. It wasn’t good, it was shit. All of it and if I embarrassed her at work I didn’t care. I didn’t fucking care, because I had this bad feeling that something was going to happen to her if I didn’t act in some way.

I rode like a demon on my Harley. Maria could call my bike old all she wanted, but I knew I had a priceless work of art that could get me through rush hour traffic in record time and it handled like a dream.

I parked up and headed to Christina’s office. She shared it with two other people who organized the fundraising events. Her door was open and it sounded like she was arguing with someone.

I didn’t bother to knock. I just walked in and looked at the guy.

I looked at him and narrowed my gaze at him, staring him down.

He was with her and Donny a few days ago. He was the driver of the car.

He looked at me, and didn’t say anything. His gaze snapped back to Christina, then he straightened up and walked out.

I watched him the whole time, him with his peculiar features. With a nose that made him look like a cross between a penguin and the child catcher, and that creepy vibe.

Why would he be driving Christina and Donny? And what was he doing here?

“Dante,” Christina stood up, folded her arms and looked at me. “What are you doing here?”

“I have to talk to you.” I answered really trying to keep my voice calm and not fly off the handle. “You’ve been avoiding me for the last couple of days. Why the fuck don’t you answer your fucking phone to me?”

“Because you are acting like a crazy person.” She fumed shaking her head. Her dark locks flowed down her elbows.

“Me a crazy person? Christina I saw you with Donny Manello at the Crowthorne. Is that the kind of bastard you’ve been seeing?”

“You followed me?” Her eyes blazed.

“Yes, of course I followed you. You’ve been dating all these guys that are dangerous Christina. They’re dangerous. You could get hurt, or worse.”

“No, and you have no right to follow me around like that. You have no right whatsoever. It’s my life and you think you own me or something. I can see whoever the hell I want.”

“No, you can’t. I’m telling you Donny is a bad person.”

“Dante you’re a complete asshole. You just get on your high horse and cast your judgement and your law. You forget I’m not some kid anymore who needs her fucking annoying big brother breathing down her neck.”

I couldn’t believe she thought that. “I keep us safe. My job is to keep you safe.”

“Well you need to stop. I don’t want you to anymore. I hate your complete disrespect of me and my privacy. You can stop doing this job you think you have.”

“Christina, I’m begging you. Don’t associate with any one from the Manello or Antonella family. Please. Men like that aren’t good. They won’t treat you right. Are you seeing Donny? Is that what this is?” I had to know what was happening.

“It’s none of your business. But if you must know, I’m not seeing him.”

“You’re seeing somebody though,” I retorted.

“We’re done with this conversation Dante. It’s my life and I will keep private what I wish. Fuck off out of my business.” She shook her head at me, eyes filled with hurt.

I didn’t think I’d ever felt so hurt myself. I’d taken care of her since she was little. I had to grow up so fast when Pa died and be a man.

This was how she spoke to me and treated me.

“Yeah, sure. How about I do you a favor and butt right the fuck out. I’m done with you.”

The sting of my words gripped me. A tear ran down her cheek, but I ignored it, walking away. Hoping she’d come to her senses and next time when we spoke it could be the way we used to be and she’d hear me out.