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“She was.”

“Was?”As my eyes met his, my mind made sense of what he was saying. “I'm sorry,” I said immediately, filling with sadness for his loss.

“It's okay, it was a long time ago. Seventeen years . . . Wow, it's been seventeen years. Shit, that's crazy to think about.”

I felt sorry for him, to have lost his mother at a young age must have been horrible. “I didn't realize your father and Remo went back so far.”

Stepping into the room, he stood behind me and looked over my shoulder. I could feel the weight of his chest against my spine and the heat off his muscles as they pulsed under his clothes.

His closeness hit me, sending goosebumps over my arms and making my body heat and chill in one rapid beat.

It felt good to have him there, it felt incredible to feel so small and so protected.

“Yeah, they go back years. But it's not a good thing, and it hasn't been for a really long time.”

Arching a brow, I looked up at him from over my shoulder. “But they work together, it can't be that bad? Can it?”

“Ivy, you know who we are.” Stroking his hands firmly down my shoulders, he cupped my belly. “And nothing with my family is ever a good thing.”

“But they look happy here, there had to be a time where it was good, right?” Tightening my grip around the picture, I looked back down at it. “You don't smile like that if it's bad.”

“Smiles only last so long, those smiles ended that night, and they never came back.” Digging his fingers into my hips, he turned me around, pulling me closer into his chest. “My life has been nothing but pain and violence, Ivy. Smiling in my family hasn't ever been the same, not since that night.”

“I don't understand.”

Dante dragged his thumb over his jaw, eyes snapping up to the ceiling. “It doesn't matter now, that was a long time ago, and things have settled . . . Mostly.”

My heart was pounding, pulse speeding up as his heart raced against my chest. I could feel him living it all over again through his body, through his emotions. But on the outside, he was completely calm, hiding what he was truly feeling.

“Dante, you don't have to pretend you're not hurt. You don't have to act like these bad things are nothing and are normal. Because they're not.” Resting my hand over his heart, I felt the muscle beat like a drum. “You feel it and no matter how much you try and act like it doesn't matter, your body is telling me that's a lie.”

Taking a step back, he lifted my hand to his lips and kissed the back of my palm. “It's in the past, you can't change the past.” Squeezing my hand harder, he braided our fingers together, holding a gentle smile. “So, did you explore anywhere else in the house?”

His smile was intoxicating, even if it was uncomfortable and forced to move past the conversation. I could tell it was something that he didn't do every day, but it made me happy to see he could.

“No, I only made it in here. This room is like a time capsule, it's like it hasn't been touched in ages.”

“That's because it hasn't been.” Sitting on the edge of the bed, he tugged me in between his legs, wrapping his arms around my waist. “That dress, the one you were so curious

about . . .”

“What about it?” Stroking his hair, I played with the tips and ran my fingers around his ears.

“That was my mother's, this was my parents room a really long time ago. The night she died, my father sealed it off.” Pressing his cheek into my chest, he spoke softly. “I'm glad you decided to stay.”

That answer made sense. It was truth, it was one puzzle piece in the thoughts my mind was sorting through.

Raking my nails through his hair, he tucked his head under my neck, resting his face against my breasts. “Who said I decided to stay?” I asked with a smirk dangling off my lips.

“You're here, that says enough.”

Pushing the hair away from his forehead, I ran my fingers over the rough stubble of his jaw. “How did your meeting go?”

Tilting his head up, his eyes darted between mine, but he didn't say a word.

I wasn't sure how to take that. Was he hiding his feelings about that too?

Was he harboring information that could free me or cost me my life?

“Dante, what happened at the meeting?”