Page 106 of Bitter Prince

I wrapped my arms around my sides and held on tightly, trying to control my breathing in and out. My lungs burned as my whole body shook, and I had no way of stopping it. I was about to break down on the deck of Amon’s yacht, on my birthday.

“Breathe, Reina.” Dante’s voice penetrated through the fog. He shifted me so we stood facing each other. An invisible fist wrapped around my throat, squeezing it hard and blocking any intake of air. My pulse was in my throat. I felt weak, the need to slide to the floor and pull my knees to my chest overwhelming.

My knees gave out, but before I could collapse, Dante’s fingers grabbed my upper arms and held me upright.

“Breathe, or I’ll have to resort to drastic measures and you won’t like them.” I met his eyes and noticed they weren’t as dark as I originally thought. They were midnight blue. “Now,” he commanded firmly.

I gulped down air, the sound like a wheeze against my cramped throat.

“Good. Now exhale.” I followed his direction, breathing slowly until my heart rate returned to normal. His voice was different from Amon’s, but just as deep and strangely soothing.

His hands remained on my upper arms while he watched me, seeing too much. But there was something in his gaze that told me of the demons he carried too.

“See, all better.” His expression changed, or maybe in my panic I hadn’t read him right. Because now, his expression told me he couldn’t be paid enough to care.

He released me, taking a step back. I swayed, blinking at his abrupt mood change. Heartbeats stretched into minutes, and deep down I knew that, just like Phoenix, Dante didn’t like people staring at him.

Yet I stood there, unable to look away, staring at his demons, my own forgotten. “Thank you.”

Two simple words. But something about them—or my inquisitive look—had his expression closing and turning so cold that goosebumps rose on my skin. He reminded me of his father more than I cared to admit.

While Amon held no resemblance to Angelo Leone, Dante was his spitting image. I wondered whether his cruelty mirrored his father’s too. Because I’d heard that Angelo Leone was notorious for the torture of his own family.

43

AMON

She gave it to me while she was dying.

Did Reina watch her mother die? It sounded like it. And why would Grace Romero give her daughter a necklace that belonged to her husband’s old flame? It was clear there was something fucked up going on.

But first, I’d findmymother’s necklace and ensure Reina calmed down.

The panicked look in her eyes… It gutted me from the inside. As if I needed additional confirmation that I was fucked when it came to this girl. I couldn’t handle her tears, never mind anything else she suffered.

You’re obsessed with her.

Dante’s earlier words haunted me. He saw what this girl meant to me, how she turned me inside out without even trying.

A shimmer caught my eye and I dove once more. We’d been at this for the past hour, but I was determined. We weren’t pulling the anchor until we found the necklace. I’d yet to give her the kanji symbol pendant I’d bought to join the one around her neck, and I’d be damned if her birthday was ruined on my watch.

The second I reached the sea floor and reached for the shining item, I knew the search was over. The tiny pebbles and dainty piece of jewelry in my palm, I kicked my way back to the surface.

I inhaled oxygen into my lungs and cleaned it off. The clip didn’t look sturdy, probably the age of it, but I planned to remedy it with my birthday gift to her.

I swam back to the yacht, my brother and Reina still in the same spot, her long curls whipping against his shoulder, and something in my chest clenched. They looked good together. Something about them seemed to fit.

Still, I knew deep down that I’d kill my brother if he took her from me. I loved Dante, but that was one thing I would never give him. He had the Omertà seat. I gave that up gladly. I’d give up the Yakuza too. But I’d never give Reina up.

I hated that my mother’s words about Tomaso Romero haunted me, refusing to give me peace. Reina didn’t watch Dante with hearts in her eyes. She didn’t smile for him the way she did for me. All of her was mine and mine alone.

And that was one crown I wouldn’t relinquish.

Once on the deck, Reina rushed to me, barefoot and still wearing that tempting bikini. The soft curves of her body were hard to resist, but I didn’t want to rush anything. For her sake.

Her sapphire eyes watched me, filled with hope, while her bottom lip trembled.

“Anything?”