Page 42 of Bound By A Promise
Em inhaled, his chest pressing against his shirt as he lifted his hand, palm up.
I looked suspiciously at his opened hand. “What are you doing?”
“Who is coming to get you?”
“Please don’t fight him, Em.”
He repeated his question.
“Dante,” I admitted.
“Papá won’t be giving you away. Let me take you to him and ensure you’re safe until I give you to him.”
A lump of emotion formed in my throat as I laid my hand in my brother’s.
Em closed his fingers around mine. “I need to tell Luciano that if he hurts you in any way, I don’t give a damn about the alliance, I’ll fucking hunt him down.”
Letting go of Em’s hand, I wrapped my arms around his torso. “Thank you.”
“Where is he picking you up?”
I told my brother the cross streets.
“Come this way,” he said, “I’ll help you avoid the cameras.”
Under the blanket of darkness, Em led me beyond the gate, around the side of the house, and through the underbrush of our landscaping, skimming neighbors’ properties until we came to an opening facing the street, two properties away from ours.
Immediately, the lights flashed from an unfamiliar black sedan. Em reached for his gun as the car slowly rolled toward us. The car stopped, the driver’s-side door opened, and two hands came into view.
“Don’t shoot.”
My heart filled with hope as Dante Luciano stood, his wide shoulders appearing as if they couldn’t possibly fit in the small car. His body unfolded. Beneath the shirt I’d seen him wear earlier at my house, I imagined his toned torso. As he stepped around the car, I scanned his long legs. With my knees weak, I dropped my backpack and ran toward him.
When we collided, Dante wrapped his arms around me, and I buried my face in his chest, inhaling his scent of leather and spice. “You came all the way out here to fight for me.”
His large palm gently cupped my cheek. “I was willing to do more to fight for you.”
Em appeared behind me, my backpack in his hand and his gun no longer in sight.
Dante extended his hand. “Emiliano.”
My brother used his dominating tone. “Dante. You realize this is going to cause problems withel Patr?nand your brother.”
Dante nodded. The sharp edge of his chiseled jaw clenched as his Adam’s apple bobbed. “We’re getting married tonight. Come with us.”
Em looked from Dante to me and back. “I don’t know what the fucking fallout will be, but I know Camila wants to go with you.” He inhaled. “Take care of her, motherfucker. The alliance will survive, but if you hurt her, you won’t.”
Dante’s lips quirked. “Do you give this woman…?”
I took a step away from Dante and turned to my brother.
Em wrapped his arms around me. He then pulled back and lifted my chin. His next words came in Spanish, keeping them from Dante. “Love you, Camila. Don’t shut us out. We’re your family.”
I replied in the same language. “I love you, too. I won’t. I promise.”
He continued in Spanish. “Mama will be heartbroken.”
That reality tore at my heart. I didn’t want to hurt my mother. I hoped that one day she’d understand. “She’ll survive.”