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Everyone knows what happens within the first twenty-four hours of a disappearance in the mafia. Time was ticking and if I wanted Giovanni back, I needed to squeeze out as much information as I could from Dante in as little time as possible.

Taking a few steps toward Dante, my gaze was hard. Deep down I knew he was nothing but a weak boy, always ready to do what his father asked. It was the only reason Tino would never turn his estate over to his only son. For as long as Tino was alive, Dante could only accept the large allowance his father paid him every month. Dante could try and try and try and try, but no matter what he does, Tino would never look at him as anything but a burden.

I glanced over at little red. She softly placed her fork down on her plate, her eyes never leaving the gun in my hand. The girl looked more worried than Dante was.

On the other hand, Dante was unfazed, probably because he's seen the barrel of a gun more times than he's seen an empty wallet. He knew that he was untouchable because his father was one for revenge. And when Tino wanted vengeance, he would stop at nothing to get it.

I palmed my face as I shook my head back and forth, slowly lowering the gun. "What am I thinking? Tino would kill me," I muttered. Dante leaned farther back in his chair, a smug look on his face.

"Leave now and my father won't ever have to hear about this," Dante said.

Harming Tino's precious son was basically asking for war. However, little did Dante know, I didn't really give a fuck.

Grabbing the knife off of Dante's plate, I slammed it into his thigh, igniting a gasp from little red. He screamed out in distress as he reached out to grasp my hand. Quickly, I pulled the knife from his femur, wiping his blood off on his shirtless body.

"You fucking crazy bitch! My father will fucking kill you!" Dante exclaimed.

"Or..." I smirked. "I'll kill Tino."

"After everything he's done for you. When you were nothing—he helped you! Don't you dare forget that! He made you!" Dante screamed, grasping his leg to try and stop the bleeding. Tears were falling from his eyes and splattering on his stomach.

I grasped Dante by his throat, forcing his eye to meet mine. "No one made me. No one. Now, tell me about Giovanni."

"Fuck you," Dante spat.

"Angel, if I shoot my dear friend Dante in the stomach right here..." I punched him with all of my strength, forcing him to hunch over and spit out blood. "How much time will he have until he bleeds out?"

"It could be anything under five minutes," she answered.

"Hm, five minutes..." I muttered. "I could do a lot of damage in five minutes."

Grabbing my pistol, I cocked the gun, ready to pull the trigger after aiming it at the exact place I promised I would shoot him.

"Wait, wait, wait, Saint. I was told to take him and drop him off. That's all I know," Dante spoke up. I narrowed my eyes at him, feeling his lie intoxicating the air.

"By who?" I asked, wondering if maybe it was Adriano who set it up. He knew I wouldn't be home, so it would be a perfect plan, and the thought made me angry enough to want to beat Dante to a pulp.

"I-I don't know, man," he lied.

With the barrel of my gun, I slapped him across his face. Another gasp fell from Reyna's lips as Dante wept like a newborn baby.

"Angel, go get something to tie up his hands," I said. She rushed out of her seat and disappeared only coming back moments later with a rope. I tilted my head toward him and she quickly took the hint.

"Put your hands behind your back," I ordered him. Reluctantly, he placed them behind his back and Reyna quickly tied them up.

Dante's head dropped to stare at his bleeding lap. Slowly, I squatted down to stare him in his eye.

"By who?" I repeated myself.

"My... father..." Dante groaned. I raised a brow. Tino wanted Giovanni?

"Why?" I asked.

"Please don't kill me. Please, I won't tell my father. He'll kill me if he found out I already told you this much," Dante sobbed. "He's finally starting to feel proud of me. Please, please."

"Why?" I repeated.

"He knows you have Red, and he believes it's Giovanni. If it's not, he will use Giovanni to find out who is," Dante answered. I stood up and stole a glance at Reyna whose eye's widened.

"What makes him think I have Red?" I asked.

"I-I don't know," he stated, only this time, I could tell he was telling the truth.

"So, your father is after the hacker?" I questioned. Again, I looked over at Reyna to see she couldn't stop staring into space. Her mind must've been running a mile a minute. I had to remind myself to ask her what she was thinking.

"He wants Red. I'm not sure why, but he assigned many of his men to find the hacker. It's unclear if he wants to kill Red or keep him," Dante answered.

I nodded my head. I already knew this was going to happen. Either every family wanted to recruit Reyna, or kill her.

"Angel, come here," I called her over. She slowly walked over to me. "Stop the bleeding in his leg."

"You're keeping him alive?" she asked.

I couldn't stop the smile on my face as I looked at her. "You want him dead?"

"I-"

"Yes, I'm keeping him alive. It's better if Tino doesn't know what we are already aware of. I know that Dante won't say a single word if he wants to keep Mario alive, right?" I asked, playfully tapping the tip of his nose.

"How do you know about Mario? My father doesn't even know," Dante whimpered.

Mario was Dante's son. He had a baby with a woman he was supposed to kill, but instead of killing her, he fucked her and got her pregnant. To keep his father from finding out, he had to hide her away in Italy where she's raising their four-year-old child all on her own. Dante would occasionally visit, but he wasn't as present as I'm sure he wanted to be.

I pulled out my phone and dialed Leo's number. It didn't take long for him to answer the phone.

After giving Reyna a nod, I walked away to speak more privately.

"Saint," Leo greeted.

"Let Adriano go. He's not the rat. I'm still not convinced that there isn't one, but for now, it's the least of my worries. Arrange a meeting soon. Very soon," I told him.

Tino was getting closer to discovering Red's identity. He was entering a dangerous zone, and I needed to stop it. Not only that, but I needed to get Giovanni back as soon as possible. There was no telling what they had done to him.

"Yes, sir," he said.

I hung up the phone and dialed Savannah's number. It took a lot longer for her to answer than it did Leo.

"I'm not babysitting again unless you pay me double what you did last time," Savannah said.

"No, you have an assignment. I just got some information from Dante Morelli on where to find Giovanni, and I've decided to let him live after almost killing him..." I began.

"And what do you need me to do?" she asked. I glanced over at Reyna to see she was caring to Dante's wounds as he sat there almost lifelessly.

I looked around the house, checking for any cameras. Most of us didn't have cameras in our homes, fearful that someone like Red could easily hack into them and watch over us. I was sure that Tino got rid of all his surveillance as well as Dante. It was too risky while knowing Red was on the loose.

"Tino believes we have Red. Do what you have to do to get with Dante, stick around for a couple of weeks or months—however long we would need—and find out all you can," I ordered her.

She chuckled. "Isn't Dante Morelli that horny idiot? This will be a piece of cake."

"When you get any information, I want you you to contact me immediately. I'll be getting a burner phone specifically for your calls. I'll give you the number as soon as I have it," I told her.

"Yes, sir. I'll get started right away. I should be the love of Dante's life by tomorrow," she laughed.

I hung up the phone, and turned to Reyna who finally finished. She wandered over to the kitchen where she washed the blood off her hands in the sink. I headed over to her and placed my hand on her hip. She harshly flinched away from me, and turned the water off.

"I used a few of his table napkins to stop the bleeding. Then, he told me to call his doctor who is on her way," Reyna notified me. I reached for her again, only this time with two holds, keeping her from flinching away from me again.

The fabric of her dress was rising, showing parts of her that I wanted to explore. Her sweet flowery scent was wafting into my nose and flattering my desire.

"How long did the doctor say it would take her to get here?" I asked her, ushering her forward and toward the houses' entrance.

"She said about five minutes," Reyna answered. I smiled. Just before we passed Dante, I lifted my gun and shot Dante in the stomach, just where I said I would.

His scream echoed throughout the room.

"Good talk, Dante! Have a very nice rest of your day," I called as we left the house.

It wasn't like me to leave someone alive, but Dante was better for me alive rather than dead. Not only would Savannah be able to keep up with the Morelli family through Dante, but Tino would never know that I was on his trail.

As we walked to the car, Reyna turned to me. "I hope that doctor is good," Reyna muttered before frowning. "They're going to kill me, aren't they?"

"Not while I'm alive," I answered, meaning every single word.

Question: how do you feel about letting Dante live?