Unspoken Obsession (Casino King #4)

27. Frankie

FRANKIE

W hen Dante arrived at the hotel, I felt such intense relief I wanted to cry. I want to curl up in his arms and have him hold me forever.

I don't know what to do. My father's messages are so dark that every moment that goes by I'm more fearful for my life and the life of my baby boy.

Dante follows me through to the open living room with views that overlook the city of Las Vegas. The hotel room is beautiful, but I am not in the right frame of mind to enjoy it.

"Read what he sent me," I say, holding my phone out towards Dante.

He takes it from me and reads out loud the message that my father wrote to me a few hours ago.

Antonio: If you do not return home by eight this evening, I will send my men out into the city to hunt you down - and when they find you, they will show no mercy to you for stealing my grandson and disobeying your father.

Antonio: If you do not come back to the mansion tonight, I will rip that bastard child from your arms, and you will never see him again. In fact - you might never see the light of day again.

"Stop," I say when he reads the next message. "I can't take it anymore. I just wanted you to understand how he is escalating."

Dante nods, his jaw clenched in anger.

"I will fucking make sure that man suffers. Death is too kind of an ending for him. He needs to rot miserably and with regret." It shouldn't be easy; his pain should be drawn out Like Dani's. "I have a detective who will want to hear this story - and who will be happy to take down one of the biggest criminals in Las Vegas." They have been trying to crack down on organized crime for years and drove us all out of New York, but here in Sin City, there are a lot of dirty cops. Here the mafia runs things, not the law.

I chew at my bottom lip nervously.

"It will take time if we involve the authorities." It's a fact. "What are we going to do about the immediate threat to our son?" I ask with desperation in my voice. "What can we do to make him leave us alone right now? The cops will need time, and he'll have a plan. At least one of the judges he pays—if not more—is working against us. And he can definitely afford bail.

"Tomorrow you are going to message him and arrange to meet him in public. We are both going to be there with copies of the evidence against him." I have enough copies hidden all over the city, with my allies, and lawyers. He can't destroy them all; his secret is out there now. "We will confront him together and warn him that if he doesn't back off, he is going to end up rotting in a jail cell. They love men like him in there, the ones who hurt young girls."

Dante's voice carries a deadly threat in it. He has reached his limit. We are both done with my father and Dante has no mercy for his enemies.

"Where is Damion?" He asks, taking a breath and rolling his shoulders to ease the tension out of them.

"I put him to bed. It's been a long day. I thought we could just enjoy some alone time?"

He grins, nodding. "I would love that. Shall I run a bubble bath?"

"That sounds perfect."

Every night I spend with Dante is more intimate and special than the last. I can't believe how close we have become and all I can think about is how I want nothing more than to spend my life with him. But my father is making it almost impossible. I cannot do anything about him threatening my son.

In the morning, even though our night was amazing together, I woke up anxious. We are going to confront my father; I must face my personal demons and the fucking sins of my father head-on.

He is not a man who takes threats lightly even though he has no problem dishing them out to other people; he will be furious to be cornered. There's no way to know what he will do; he can be so volatile. If his control is taken away, he might turn into a feral animal and attack anything that moves.

I hope Dante knows what he is doing.

We are making the right choice. If the evidence is as condemning as Dante says it is, then my father will have to back down and leave us alone.

I am pacing up and down in the kitchen, unable to sleep even though everyone else is still resting, and the sun is only just touching the sky with light. Dante's voice makes me jump and I spin around to face him with my heart racing.

"It's just me. I woke up, and you weren't there." He says, pulling me into a hug.

"I am nervous about today."

"It's going to be ok, Frankie. Today, or tomorrow, or the next day. I don't care how long it takes, I will not stop until our son, and you, are safe."

His words reassure me.

Just having him here with me is like a safety net for my emotions.

"Lorenzo is bringing over a copy of the evidence." I'm not sure I want to see it.

"You can message your father and tell him you want to talk with him - somewhere out in the open, but not too public." It needs to be outside; I do not want to be trapped in a room with him. I will panic. "We don't want bystanders hurt if anything goes wrong," Dante says, setting off my anxiety again.

"I'll text him now," I say. My hand already shaking, I pick up my phone and start typing out a message to my father while Dante makes us coffee. I am careful with my words, thinking it through over and over again until I have the perfect message. I don't want to anger him or upset him before this even starts.

At eleven o'clock in a quiet parking lot at the start of a hiking trail, Dante and I are waiting. I am nervous leaning against the car. "Do you think we picked the wrong place?" I ask for the tenth time.

"This is perfect, Frankie. Take a breath; look at me - it's going to be ok."

In the distance, I can see dirt stirring up into the air as cars approach. I suddenly want to puke. Of course, he wouldn't come all alone, he needs an entourage of goons to make him appear important.

Dante steps forward to wait. He is standing tall, so bold and confident. The doors of the car parked right next to us open and our security crew gets out. He has already introduced me to Lorenzo, who stands just behind Dante, calm and casual as though he is getting ready to order some coffee or a movie ticket. How are they both so calm?

I try to take inspiration from them.

The most important thing is that Damion is safe, back at the hotel with Clarissa and an army of bodyguards. And we are here to get my father to back off. This is good. This is going to work.

I nod to myself just as my father's car pulls into the parking area, coming to a stop on the opposite side.

He climbs out with several men, including the two goons who are usually following me.

"What the fuck is this?" He snarls when he sees Dante.

"I thought you and I should have a face-to-face," Dante says stepping forward.

"I told you to stay away from this man, Francesca. Why are you testing my patience like this?"

I swallowed hard and decided to find my voice. "We have something you will want to see, and I think you should pay close attention because this is important."

My father chuckles, a dark, and sinister sound. "Oh, is that so? You want to show me something. Well, let's not fuck around - what is it?"

He walks closer to us, not bothered at all by the fact that Dante's men have drawn their weapons.

I don't know if it's good or bad. I assume it's good.

I walk over to stand beside Dante as my father gets close to him.

My father lifts his lip in a snarl and grunts at Dante.

Dante holds out the envelope, but before he lets it go and allows my father to look, he says. "This is not all of it, but it is enough to help you understand you are not in a position to negotiate." He yanks at the envelope. "You are going back off. Leave Frankie and Damion alone; you will never contact them again. You are going to disappear, become a ghost."

My father's laughter is so loud it makes me jump.

He snatches the envelope from Dante and tears it open, pulling the documents out.

I can tell straight away that he recognizes what they are.

"These are copies. Hm," he says, looking bitter, his confidence knocked down just a notch. "How the fuck did you get your hands on these?"

"It doesn't matter how. What matters is that we have them." Dante says, "We - there are copies all over the city already. Now, are you going to back off and leave, or do we need to show this evidence to the feds?"

My father steps forward and in a flash -- holding his guns against Dante's forehead.

I scream, and Lorenzo and the other security guards move. I don't know how he moved that fast; he must have been holding his gun the entire time.

Dante is still calm. He has his hands held out at his side while my father screams right into his face.

"Who the fuck do you think you are? Threatening me; you are a fucking worm. You are nobody. You piece of shit. I will not tolerate this." His voice carries in the air. "You have just signed your own fucking death certificate. I will take my grandson. And when I have him, I'll kill the two of you myself." He's not afraid at all, he thinks this is nothing.

Dante waits until my father is done screaming, then he moves just as fast as my father did and spins. Knocking my father's grip loose, grabbing him around the throat, and slamming him to the ground.

My father drops his gun, and his men rush forward with their weapons aimed at Dante.

But Dante has the upper hand with his Glock inside my father's mouth.

"I'm done playing nice, Antonio. I asked nicely. If you don't want to oblige, we can move on to the other option -- the not-nice one."

My father's eyes are wide and brimming with anger. He is fuming. His fists are clenched.

Dante is pressing the barrel of the gun so hard into his mouth that he's gagging on it.

I can barely breathe. This is too much. I want to scream and cry and run. But I am glued to the spot, and I can't tear my eyes away from them.

"Tell your men to back off," Dante says.

At first, my father just glares at him. But then, realizing he has no choice he waves his hand signaling for them to back down. They all lower their weapons and step back.

"Leave the guns on the ground," Dante says, and reluctantly they all drop their weapons and walk to their cars. "Drive away -- do not come back." He orders and my dad's loyal puppy-dogs listen.

We wait until his men are out of sight, and then Dante gets up, yanking my father to his feet by the collar of his shirt.

"Think about your options, old man," Dante says before releasing him.

My father turns to look at me.

He stares right into my soul, his gaze burning like fire in my skull. I refuse to look away, keeping my eyes steady and my face calm. I can't show fear at this point. I must hold on. Stay strong.

"You are going to regret this." He says. "Your boyfriend's empire will crumble; you will lose your son, and I will destroy you both." He says. "I will always win Francesca. This is not over."

He climbs into his car, slamming the door so hard it rocks in protest. The engine starts, and he spins out of the parking area.

Dante's men stand ready with their guns aimed at the car until it is gone, only the dust left stirring in the air as they drive away from us.

Dante walks to me and pulls me into a hug. "That didn't go as well as I had hoped." he sighs.

"I don't think he cares about the evidence," I reply.

"Your father thinks he is untouchable. His ego is so big that he thinks the evidence won't harm him. But if he makes another move against you or Damion, he is going to find out that he's mistaken."

Tears of relief sting my eyes. I've never been in a situation like that before. I've never stood up to my father, not completely. He's always had some control and leverage to scare me into complying.

I'm realizing that I don't just dislike him - I hate him. I hate him for who he is and what he has put me through. I hate him for all the nasty things he has said and the cruel things he has done to me. I hate that he is threatening my child - my beautiful baby boy.

I hate him and I want him to learn that he can't get away with his crimes forever.

"I don't want to wait," I say, looking up at Dante.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't want to wait for him to make a move." He will go after Damion. I know him. "I want you to take him down. I'm done. He had his chance, and he didn't take it. Let's move before he does damage control or hurts anyone else."

My father has proven himself to be a cruel and heartless monster. This situation is too dangerous, and I want to end it now -- before it's too late -- before I lose someone I love.