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Unspoken Obsession (Casino King #4) 22. Dante 61%
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22. Dante

DANTE

F rankie and I sit together at my dining room table eating dinner and for the first time in a really long time, I relax. I am so grateful that she told me the truth about her family.

I know exactly who her father is. His name has been coming up a lot this evening.

And if all goes well, I will uncover even more evidence against him soon.

I want to prove that he had something to do with my sister's disappearance now as well. Seeing as he is everywhere else—interfering with my life. It is safe to assume he was involved in that too.

I need to find justice for her.

But I also have to admit that finding out her father is Antonio Musetti is also an enormous shock.

What will he do if he finds out I am involved with his daughter, all while launching an investigation into his sinister activities?

It's going to be a tricky situation - but through it all - I will keep Frankie safe. And her son.

Her son who was born months after she left Las Vegas - close to nine months from the night that we spent together.

Do you think it is possible?

Is he, my son? That kid in the apartment that Lorenzo saw—it makes sense now. It's her kid. Not her roommate's.

I push the thought aside because I am trying to process too much already at the moment. I have to deal with one thing at a time.

"Are you alright?" Frankie asks me from across the table. "Penny for your thoughts?."

"I guess, I am really happy you told me who your family is - but it means that us being together is complicated."

"I know, that is why I was trying to hide who I was. I didn't want to complicate things. There were so many times when I tried to convince myself to just walk away from you to save you the trouble of having to deal with my family. But I couldn't. I'm connected to you. Ever since that first night." She sighs.

"You never have to make choices for my sake, Frankie. If I thought you would complicate my life so much that I wouldn't want you to be a part of it - that is my choice to make. Not yours. Not for me. You promised you wouldn't disappear again. So, don't." I say sternly, piercing my gaze into her.

She nods, biting her lower lip. It sends a thrill of pleasure through me.

I want to kiss her again. I want to do so many things to prove to her I don't want her to leave my life.

I reach out beneath the table and run my hand over her thigh. She is beautiful.

I hold her leg while we carry on enjoying our dinner.

All the while the tension in my body is growing - my need for her.

I can see in her eyes she is thinking the same thoughts as me. Her eyes drift over my body, hungrily, eager to taste me.

The more I learn about her, the more she reveals to me, the more I want her. Our connection grows stronger with each revelation we find out about each other.

Frankie stands up from the table, and walking around it she stands in front of my chair, looking down at me.

"I'm hungry for something else." She whispers seductively. And it is the only invitation I need. She doesn't need to say another word before I stand up and lift her into my arms, carrying her toward my bedroom.

A few hours later we are both lying in my bed, smiling, our eyes closed as we take slow relaxed breaths. I have explored every part of her, and she has explored every part of me. We are both satisfied in ways that I could never have imagined possible.

She rolls onto her stomach, propping herself onto her elbows so that she can see me better.

"I have heard my father mention your name before - in meetings he has with his associates at the mansion. Are you two enemies or allies? I couldn't tell. He thought you were a threat to him - but he had respect for you. He understood your strength."

I sigh, brushing my hand through her dark curls. "Your father and I have never been allies, little fox. We have struggled to see eye to eye on a number of occasions. We are the two people who own the largest casinos in this city, so it is natural for us to be enemies. However, we used to be quiet adversaries. He stayed away from me, and I showed him the same courtesy." My thoughts drift off. It all changed when I found out the rumors were true.

"Used to be - what happened?" She asks, unable to read my expression, and that there is more to the story.

She has told me who her father is.

Should I tell her the ugly truth about him? Would it destroy her?

She has no idea what type of man he really is.

"Your father - did he discuss business with you? Besides the casino, the other things he does?"

"He is involved in several things, but never discussed them; I'm a girl. No women in business, right? That's how the mafia works. Honestly, I spent most of my life locked up in my bedroom - bored out of my mind." She shrugs a little and pulls her mouth to the side. "Why? What is he doing?"

"I guess I need to tell you a bit about myself and who your father is to me."

She shifts her position, looking a little nervous. "Ok." She says.

"Several years ago my little sister, Daniela, went missing. She was the only family I had left, and it caused me to fall apart. I spent years obsessed with trying to find her, and her disappearance tore me apart but also put me back together again - because I needed money, resources to continue to search for her?—"

"Did you ever find her?"

"Dani is still missing. But just recently I learned that one of the mafia bosses in the city is involved in trafficking women."

Frankie gasps, her eyes wide with horror. "Do you think your sister?" She can't say it.

"I think they took my sister to get to me. Frankie, the man I am talking about — it's your father. Antonio Musetti." Even if she hates him, I have just destroyed the humanity she saw in her father.

Frankie stares at me, dumbfounded for a moment. She takes a shaky breath and then pushes herself up into a sitting position, folding her legs in front of her beautiful naked body.

"Dante, I am so sorry - your sister - I can't imagine how that must hurt."

She sighs, closing her eyes for a moment. "I did not know my father was involved in anything that disgusting. I thought - smuggling narcotics or illegal goods. I've heard him and his men discussing difficult shipments, but I always assumed it was stuff… who ships humans?" She swallows hard, making a face as though a bitter taste has just filled her mouth.

"There is more though. I have something I need to show you."

"When?"

"Soon."

I am going to take her down to cold storage and look at her reaction to the man I have chained up there. It's the only way I can be sure she isn't involved. People can't hide their reactions to scenes like that. I will be able to read her body language and her expression.

I reach out and pull her towards me, hugging her against my chest.

"Frankie, I plan to go after your father. I have to find out what happened to my sister."

"After all these years — do you think she's still—" Alive, she doesn't finish the sentence. We both know what the odds are.

"I don't want to think about the worst-case scenario because every time I do, I can't decide whether it would be better to find out she died, or that she has been suffering for years at the hands of some madman."

"If your sister is anything like you, then she is strong." No one is that strong, we all have a breaking point.

"She is strong, but will she be the same person when I find her? And will she ever be able to recover from what she is going through?" My voice shakes. Anger and fear grip my heart thinking about Dani and what her life might be like now.

I want, more than anything, to find her alive and well.

I just don't want her to have suffered for this long.

We lie in silence for a while. Frankie is tense in my arms. Her fingers are tracing small circles against my chest, but her thoughts seem to be elsewhere.

When she shifts against me, I think she is going to tell me she needs to leave, but she wiggles up onto my chest, looks me in the eyes, and makes a promise to me.

"Dante, I don't know if there is anything I can do to help - but if there is I will do it. Whatever it is. I want to help you find out if my father took your sister."

"Frankie, I don't think it is safe for you to get involved with this. You are already worried about what your father could do to your son - and your priority, understandably, is to keep him safe." He is unstable and would take the boy to control her.

She nods. "Yes, but some things are bigger than just me and my son. If my father is trafficking women - then how many lives has he stolen? He has to be stopped."

Frankie and I talk a while longer. I watch the clock and at ten I tell her it's time to go. I have to show her something before she leaves the casino.

Reluctantly we climb out of bed. I'm tense because I am about to find out if she is playing me or being truthful. Is she working for her father? A trap set to infiltrate my life and take me down? I can't deny it is possible.

She is nervous as we climb into the industrial elevator that carries us beneath the glitz of Vegas into the pits of my underworld empire.

"What is this place?" She whispers, not wanting to draw attention to herself.

"Just follow me," I say coldly. I have to stay impartial right now. I need to be observant and watchful of her reaction. If she is his pawn, I will not be going back up with her tonight and that terrifies me.

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