Error 404

Chapter 56

"I'm listening." I said as I placed my laptop beside me and sat up. 

"Well what do you want to know?" Dante said awkwardly as he looked down at his hands. 

"Everything." I simply stated as I looked at him. 

"I- just... Fuck." Dante said as he ran his hand through his hair. To say he looked uncomfortable would be an understatement. 

"I've never done this before, Rebel. So please, be patient with me." Dante finally said after a few moments of silence. 

"Done what?" I said as I tilted my head. 

"Explain myself - to anyone. I usually just give orders, and they're followed." Dante said quickly. 

"Okay, well how about we start with the phone call in your office? The woman who called?" I said calmly. I knew that I couldn't explode on him, not now at least. In this moment, he was delicate, vulnerable. It was a rare sight for Dante, and I knew that staying calm and collected would be my best bet at communicating with him. 

"Her name is Scarlet Rossini." Dante said as he looked down at his hands once more. 

"Rossini..." I said under my breath. 

Why does that name sound so familiar?

"As in Sofia Rossini's older sister." Dante said as he sighed. 

"Oh." I said, annoyance lacing my tone as I furrowed my eyebrows. I would be lying if I said that I wasn't grateful that Sofia was on an undercover mission for the past few weeks. 

"Scarlet is a freelance assassin. She'd do anything for the right price." Dante began to explain. "She's one of the best in the world, and has a reputation for always finishing her jobs. We've been trying to recruit her for the past year, but she's rejected every offer we've given her." Dante continued. 

"Originally, we thought bringing Sofia on board would increase the likeliness of Scarlet joining, but even then, she still said no. Always saying something about cherishing her freedom." Dante said. I hung on his every word, leaning forward as he struggled to find his next words. 

"After we saved your mother, I got a message in the car on the way to the estate. It was Scarlet. She said she got an offer... an offer that I might find interesting." Dante said as his hands clenched into fists. He took a deep breath before he continued. 

"She called me when I got into my office, and told me that the Russian Mafia was offering her $10 million.. for you. To kidnap you, and bring you back alive." Dante said as his voice grew tense. 

"I... I lost my temper when I shouldn't have. I threatened her, screamed that if she went anywhere near you I'd kill her in the worst ways imaginable." Dante said as he shook his head. 

"But that was exactly what she wanted, she wanted a reaction out of me. I fell right into her trap." Dante continued. 

"She knew that her sister had... a thing for me, and promised to reject their offer if I would... be with Sofia." Dante said in a low voice, making my heart drop. 

"I immediately refused, making her question the nature of our relationship." Dante said as he looked up at me. 

"That's when I said those awful things... saying that I didn't have feelings for you. If she knew I cared about you, she'd just kill you for the hell of it." Dante said in annoyance before he clenched his jaw. 

"I thought if I humored the idea of me giving Sofia a chance, it would buy me some time to figure out how to handle the situation." Dante said as he looked at me with his eyebrows furrowed.