Dante (Blood Brothers Book 5) (21 page)

Dante’s heart contracted at the warm scene before him.
One would have to be heartless to
remain unaffected by such a display. Silence engulfed the room as everyone watched the mother, father, and son reunion.
Dante would probably welcome his nephew back once his parents had their turn but for now
,
he felt
he was intruding on a private moment,
so
he turned away.

Giovanni caught Dante by the arm. “
Outside, now. What I have to say is not meant for
the
others to hear
.”

He didn’t like Giovanni’s commandeering tone.
Dante stared pointedly at the hand gripping him. However, for the sake of not causing a scene, he allowed himself to be led out
to
the terrace at the back of the villa.

“You needed to get out of there before you ruined Nico and Sasha’s moment.”

Dante’s brows flew together and he pounded his chest. “Me? He’s my brother. Credit me with a little more tact.”

Giovanni crossed his arms
over his chest
. “He’s my brother
,
too, or have you forgotten?”

“
I believe
I have more right to claim it, don’t you think?” The second the words left his lips, Dante realized how fucked-up that sounded. Giovanni’s face
remained
expr
essionless, but Dante
sensed an acute ache emanating fr
om the older vampire. “I’m so —
”

Giovanni held his hand up. “Don’t. Your apology isn’t necessary. It’s a stressful time for us all.”

Dante released a deep sigh.
He had to get it together.
Just because he’d been tricked by a heartless bitch didn’t mean he should lash out at his loved ones
because he was hurting
.
No matter his current state of mind
, he had to keep his composure. Getting angry about
his situation wouldn’t change things.
“But
,
you have it
,
nonetheless. I don’t know what’s come over me.” He raked his fingers through his hair in frustration.

It was so much easier dealing with issues when they weren’t his. He told himself to stop thinking about her, to not let her invade his every thought and affect his actions.

“Just so we’re clear, Nya is as much Adonis’s victim as the children are.”

“You don’t need to explain yourself to me. Obviously, you’re privy to things about her the rest of us are not. However, you have to pardon me
,
if I’m a little skeptical about a source who spends most of her time with the enemy.”

“Not everything is black-and-white, as you know. If it were my place to tell you the history she has with Adonis, I would, but it’s not. Maybe one day you’ll know, or not, but don’t judge her by the standards of someone you feel has disappointed you.”

Dante narrowed his eyes. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Cut the bullshit. You and I both know something is wrong and that something is Isis. Whether you want to talk about it is your business, but you need to get over it and quick. When this is all over
,
you can brood all you’d like.
” Giovanni sighed. This is
probably my fault anyway
.”

Dante shrugged with a nonchalance he didn’t quite feel. “How is this
,
your
fault? You tried to warn me about her. Paris did
,
too. I should have listened. Next time, I won’t allow my dick to do my thinking for me.”

Giovanni shook his head, a troubled expression furrowing his brow. “No. I shouldn’t have said anything to you. At the time
,
I thought I was doing the right thing, but now I’m not so sure.”

“
Look, I know you mean well but I don’t want to talk about her right now. And if you don’t mind
,
I really need to be alone right now to clear my head.”

Giovanni’s steady, all-seeing gaze roamed Dante’s face, conveying a wealth of meaning. “As you wish, but there is something I need to make clear to you about my relationship with Nya
before I leave you to your own devices
.”

Dante wasn’t in the mood for a lecture, nor did he want to hear about the sordid details of his brother’s sex life. Could it be his brother had also gotten so wound up in a bunch of pretty lies he couldn’t see the truth? As far as he was concerned, if Nya was with Adonis, then he’d kill her
,
too
,
if necessary. “No explanation needed. In fact, I don’t want to hear one.”

Giovanni’s green eyes turned such a deep shade of jade they nearly looked black. “But
,
you will listen to me. Considering what she’s already done for me, done for your family, you
,
at least
,
owe me the courtesy of a hearing.”

Dante
smirked
. “Exactly what has she done other
than play both sides
?”

“It’s been difficult to always keep track of Adonis’s movements. In the last century, it has been Nya who has kept me informed of his plans.”

This didn’t quite add up for Dante. “I don’t follow. Why would Adonis allow her to spy for you and continue to take her back? If I’ve learned anything about him, it’s that he wouldn’t be the kind to suffer such a betrayal lightly.”

“Exactly, yet she continues to put her life on the line over and over again.”

Dante snorted. “This still makes absolutely no sense.”

“It’s complicated, and like I said before, it’s not really my story to tell, but you do know the strength of a bond created when one of our kind brings a human over?”

Dante nodded slowly. Only in the case of bloodmates did a vampire usually bring a mortal over
although there were some exceptions. T
hat link between creator and new vampire was stronger than most. Some would argue it was more powerful than that of mother and child. In essence, when a vampire brought someone over, it was like giving birth, if only in the metaphorical sense. The blood exchange required was a pure sharing of essences; the new vampire had a piece of its creator’s soul, making it hard for him or her to break away without it actually being a painful process. Unless there was already a bond to begin with as was the
case with Giovanni and Adonis and
that of father and son. It wasn’t often a new vampire chose to leave the one who made them.

In his experience, there were only three reasons vampires turned humans: For love, as was the case with his brothers Marco and Romeo; to save a life, as was the case of his older brothers and father; and to enslave.
Dante wondered if it was the latter.

“It’s a bit of the first and the last option.”

A low growl escaped Dante’s throat. “Don’t do that. You are not allowed into my thoughts without my permission.”

“Then you should be more careful to shield them around me. As long as you’ve lived, it’s a lesson you should be well aware of.” Giovanni released a lengthy breath. “I apologize. You’re right. I shouldn’t do that to you. I’m so used to doing it to others
that
I sometimes don’t know when to stop. I’ve only recently gained the ability to touch people’s minds even though they are locked. It’s come in handy for what I’ve been up against. I promise I won’t tap into your thoughts again unless you grant me access.”

The obvious sincerity in Giovanni’s tone mingled with another emotion, which sounded a lot like despair. Could it be that he was in love with the mysterious
Nya
?
That had to be it
;
otherwise, Dante didn’t know why his brother cared so much.
“No, I’m the one who owes you the apology. I’m acting like an ass. My problems do not justify my behavior.”

“
That’s
one of the issues.
If y
ou
continue to bottle your emotions up, they’ll fester until one day they
explode.”

“But we’re not talking about me, remember. You were telling me about Nya.”

Giovanni closed his eyes briefly and opened them again slowly. “Of course. Like I was saying before, the dynamic between Adonis, Nya, and I is complicated for reasons I can’t get into. Everything isn’t so cut-and-dried, but Nya is my friend, nothing more. Before she met Christine, I feared for her. I actually still do.”

“How?”

As if he was struggling to determine the right words to say, several seconds of silence passed before Giovanni responded. “She’s been spiraling for some time now.”

“That normally happens if…”

“It wasn’t a vampire’s choice to be turned. That she’s managed not to fall into that dark descent after all this time is a testament to her will and strength. Recently, she’s found another reason to hold on, but it would all be for nothing if something isn’t done about Adonis.”

“So she really doesn’t want to be with him? He’s using the bond they have to hold her to him.”

“I wish it were that simple. They’ve been together for several decades; feelings do eventually get involved.”

“Are they bloodmates?”

“Again, it’s not for me to say. But
,
I’d like to ask you to not judge her. There are things at work here even I don’t fully understand. Nya carries a heavy burden and I owe her a lot. She’s saved my life on more than one occasion.”

“I know you said you’re not at liberty to discuss what’s going on with them, but can you at least tell me why Adonis allows her to spy for you? Why wouldn’t your mother have said anything?”

“If it were up to my mother, she
would be dead by now, but Nya’s death wouldn’t serve any purpose to her, except in vanquishing a rival. My mother needs human sacrifice in order to maintain her unnatural immortality. As for Adonis, his feelings for Nya run deeper than even he would
let on
.
But to be perfectly honest
, I don’t think even they quite know
what to call each other
.”

“I see,” Dante murmured, not really seeing at all. If anything, he was more confused than before, but it seemed Giovanni was stubbornly convinced of Nya’s innocence. He just couldn’t see how Adonis would keep her around if she wasn’t truly on his side. Dante supposed she would remain an enigma he’d never figure out.

“I don’t think you do, brother, but it’s okay. All I ask is you respect my wishes where she’s concerned.”

Dante
nodded
. “Since I owe you for all you’ve done for us, I will as best as I can. However, if she does anything to jeopardize the family, I will take her down with no questions asked.”

A muscle twitched in Giovanni’s jaw as he clenched his teeth together. Finally, he nodded. “I only have one more thing to add before you join the others out front.”

“What?”

“I
’ just wanted to apologize again for doing you a
disservice
in sharing my misgivings about Isis
. It wasn’t my place.”

Dante clenched his hands at his sides as tension slid through his entire being. Not trusting himself to speak, he remained silent, turning his back to his brother.

“Not that it’s any excuse, but I was made aware of something before we’d gone out that first time and it concerned me. Normally, I would have taken the time to mull it over and give it the proper degree of thought it deserved, but
believed I was protecting you
.” Giovanni
took a deep breath.
“This is coming out all wrong. What I’m trying to say is maybe she’s not as guilty as I initially believed her to be.”

Dante didn’t want to hear anyone’s defense of Isis, especially Giovanni’s
since he
obviously couldn’t see past the wiles of Nya.
“Do you think what you’ve told me really matters after what I saw? What I heard? She’s a goddamn traitor, and if she would have had her way, every single one of us would be dead. My skin crawls when I think of how I let her touch me,
when she’d been plotting our demise all along
. She and her real lover
are
probably plotting their next move
. All this time I sensed something wasn’t quite right, but I was so enthralled by her. She played me for a fool. She betrayed my trust as well as our family’s, so there’s absolutely nothing you can say to make things right. And
,
I’d rather you not try again. I meant what I said before. I do
n’t want to fucking talk about her again. Do. I. Make. Myself. Clear?” He
met
Giovanni’s unreadable stare, refusing to back down.

Anger emanated from Dante’s every pore and the need to
lash out grew
with each passing second.
Giovanni looked to be on the verge of speaking but was halted when
Marco joined them on the terrace.