Page 73 of Bound in Debt

“You let Liam.”

“I was weaning Liam off,” I counter. “But then he got me involved in this mob shit and that plan fell to pieces.”

“If we go to Paris?—”

I jolt upright, trying to puzzle through what he could mean. “What do you mean if we go to Paris?”

Dante’s brows knit together in a small scowl. “If you’d stop interrupting, I could explain.” I press my lips together and after a moment he continues. “I need to find a way to get you that passport you wanted. But my nephew’s shitty little friend isn’t nearly reliable enough. If he ratted you out to Liam, he can’t be trusted.”

“You mean…like us leaving without paying back Angelo?”

“That’s a perfect world scenario. But whether we pay him back or not, I’m not leaving until he’s dead.”

Dante doesn’t even flinch as he freely spells out his plan to murder a man. My blood runs cold. “You can’t.”

“I can,” he states matter-of-factly. “And I will. He murdered my brother.”

Shit.

I knew Liam’s father had been murdered, but dealing with my own issues meant I never stopped to think how knowing his brother was murdered would make Dante feel. What it would mean to meet with the very man responsible for taking part of your family away. What it would take to agree to follow that man’s orders.

“I’m sorry,” I mutter, reaching for his shirt and balling it into my fist in silent comfort. “We’ll do whatever you want to do.”

“Is that so?” Dante pushes back. “Because you seem to have an opinion on everything.”

“Am I not allowed to have one?”

“That’s not what I said. But I’d love it if you’d come to me when you have doubts so I have a chance to address them.” He groans, chucking a finger under my chin and bringing my eyes up to his. “However, I can’t—won’t—tell you everything. You’re a liability. If the cops catch on to this shit, I don’t want you to know anything.”

“Why? Because you think I’ll rat you out?”

“No, because I don’t want you to have to lie for me.”

I don’t get this man.

I really don’t.

One minute, he’s an asshole. And the next, he says something so thoughtful it causes my brain to short-circuit.

He really wants to save me from this.

If he didn’t, we wouldn’t be fighting about it every two seconds. He wouldn’t be so adamant about getting me to calm down and accept the breadcrumbs of his plan that he’s willing to share.

“Do you think we could get out of the States without paying him?” I ask curiously. “After you…”

“Well, he’d be dead, so what’s six million worth to him then?”

“I don’t want you to get caught up with the rest of his people,” I explain. “I understand why you want to…do what you want to do. But what are you really willing to risk? Without you, I’m stuck here.”

“Without me, you’d still have a passport. I won’t go after Angelo until everything is in place for you to leave.”

“I won’t just abandon you.”

The comment flees my lips before I can stop it, but I know I wouldn’t be able to leave him behind, not without feeling like I was betraying him.

I fell asleep last night with his assurances playing on a loop in my mind. Dante doesn’t want to leave me to suffer at the hands of Lombardi. He couldn’t walk away knowing I’d pay the price.

How could I ever abandon him to the law or the Lombardi mob when he’s sacrificed his chance at freedom for me?