Dinner on Friday

4. Dante

NOT SAFE

What's going on?

Besides the fact that I felt useless as a man because I couldn't provide a safe environment for my wife?

Not much.

I exhaled forcefully through my nose. "It's Annabella, she wants revenge. She's running the clan now and I need to be ready for when she strikes. That's why I went to the gun range tonight."

Carla sat up in bed and turned on the bedside lamp. Warm light flooded the room and our eyes met when she turned to face me. As promised, she was naked beneath the sheets. Her brown eyes, filled with trepidation, scanned my face in the low light.

"Why did you lie?"

Guilt gnawed at my belly. "Because I want to be a good man for you. Killer Dante and this Dante talking to you right now are two different people. When I have to kill, I go into predator mode and all I see is red. This thing with Anna is going to turn into a fucking war. The last time we went to war, people died."

"I know killer Dante. I've seen killer Dante. You never have to hide him from me."

You're right, baby, but you didn't fall in love with killer Dante. You fell in love with Dante, the protector.

Instead of answering, I acknowledged her with a curt nod.

"Why don't you talk to her?" Carla offered. "Maybe apologize if that would help."

"I never apologize for a kill. Every one of them is validated, otherwise, I wouldn't do it."

"Maybe I can talk to her."

"Absolutely not," I said. "She knows the only way she'll hurt me is if she gets her hands on you, and I'm not going to let that happen." Carla opened her mouth to say something and I cut her off. "The answer is no and I'm not fucking budging on that. Stay away from Annabella."

Her eyebrows furrowed and she turned her back to me and turned off the bedside lamp. "Good night. Talk to me in the morning when you actually give a damn about what I think."

"Cariño, fuck. It's not like that." I hugged her from behind and kissed the back of her neck. Her body remained stiff with tension and I despised being the cause of it.

"It's exactly like that," she murmured. "You're lying to me and making decisions about my life without consulting me."

"Everything I do is to protect you."

She turned to face me once more and stared deep into my eyes. "I'm not nineteen anymore. I'm not scared of your dark side. I knew what I was getting myself into when I agreed to be your girlfriend and then your wife. If we're going to war, we're going to war together."

I loved that she was willing to fight for us, but in this case, I wanted her far away from danger.

"No offense," she continued. "I know Annabella is your sister, but I will not hesitate to kill that bitch if she comes at us. I love what we have together and I won't let her take that away from us. She's taken enough. Eduardo. Mateo. Elisabeth."

I cupped her face and then in a stern voice said, "Baby, don't talk like that. You're not a killer."

Her eyes flashed with determination. "I've killed before. I won't let you do this alone."

"Hey, I'm not doing it alone. You keep me going. I'm doing this for us. My world would crumble without you."

"Then show me. Train me, teach me how to shoot."