Dante (Blood Brothers Book 5) (30 page)

Chapter
Twenty
-Two

Isis
could not have predicted the level of Dante’s cruelty,
but he’d cut her to the quick with those last words. Instinctively, she wanted to run away with her tail between her legs and forget Dante even existed but she couldn’t. How could she truly love him if she didn’t fight to be with him? She would confront him and make him listen to her. And then if he turned her away, she’d try again.

Isis
understood why he’d believed she’d betrayed him but he’d gone a bit overboard in his condemnation. In her heart, Isis believed
beyond a shadow of doubt that they belonged together and he knew it
,
too. It was why she’d gone back to Giovanni’s villa, uninvited. She didn’t know how she’d be received, but Isis didn’t care about what the others thought, only Dante.

So why couldn’t she bring herself to knock on the door? For the third time, she raised her fist and then dropped it. Just as she was building enough courage to go for it, the door swung open and she met the questioning gaze of Paris Kyriakis. His nephew was behind him and they looked to be heading out.

“I was wondering when you’d show up.” His tone surprised her; it lacked the edge she had come to expect from all their exchanges
. It almost sounded like he was pleased to see her
. It had to be her imagination. There had never been any love lost on his end where she was concerned.

“Well, um, I, uh, had to freshen up. I needed to shower and get some clothes so I kind of let myself in
side of
an unoccupied villa.”
She
owed
him no explanation but she found herself babbling nonetheless
“Is Dante inside?”

“Yes, he is, but
may I
have a word with you before you go in?” He turned to his nephew. “Aries, go ahead and wait for me in the car; I’ll be with you shortly.”

Aries Kyriakis inclined his head toward her in acknowledgment, closing the door behind him before he left.

Once she and Paris were alone, Isis tensed.
She hoped he didn’t intend to tell her to stay away from Dante because that was one request she couldn’t comply with.
Or
he
could tell her that he no longer wanted her to contact Persephone anymore which would have been almost as bad. She tensed as she waited for him to speak.

“Relax, Isis, I won’t bite your head off, although sometimes I do give that impression.” He was actually smiling.

Isis took a step back. Who was he and what had he done to Paris Kyriakis? “No? Then what did you want to talk to me about?”

“Not about what you think.”

She crossed her arms across her chest defensively. “And what am I thinking, Paris?”

“That
,
I’ll warn you off. Before we began our adventure
,
it might have been something I would have done, but no more. Truce?” He held out his hand to her.

She looked at his outstretched palm, debating whether she should take it. Finally, releasing a deep breath, she placed her hand in his engulfing grasp.

Paris offered her a smile, the first genuine one he’d ever given her. “Now that wasn’t so bad, was it?”

Slowly, she relaxed and let her guard down. “No. It wasn’t. But
,
I wonder what’s brought on this about-face.”

Paris released her hand and raked his fingers through his dark hair. “I know I’ve made no secret about my thoughts on lone wolves. In my experience, a lot of them were bad seeds, kicked out of their packs for whatever reasons. I’ve put up with you because Persephone believes in you and I should have listened to my daughter.”

She raised a brow. “Oh?”

“Yes. I’ve misjudged you.”

“You no longer believe I was working both sides?” Isis couldn’t help challenging him. She’d been on the receiving end of his disapproval for so long that it wasn’t easy to accept this turnaround.

“I admit when Dante had told me what had happened between you and Black Adder, it made me think about how you fought against those rogues. If you were really on their side, would you have gone at them as hard as you had? Besides, you were clearly smitten with Dante.
It was clear your feelings for him are
genuine
, I was simply too blinded my own prejudices to admit it
. And then
,
there was tonight when you went after that demon. You had our backs and no traitor would have done all the things you did.”

“I still had an association with the Serpent Gang.”

“This is true, but I would be a hypocrite to say my past is pristine. My biggest concern about you was the influence you have on my daughter. My judgment about you was so clouded I couldn’t see that Persephone is quite strong-willed when she wants to be, so there
’s nothing you can make her do t
hat she doesn’t want to. And then
,
there was Dante. He’s a good friend of mine, and he’s been through so much I didn’t want to see him hurt again. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“Yes. I think I do.”

“I’m glad because I was wrong about you. While I can’t say I’m happy with the friends you kept in the past, what you did then should have no bearing on the present, and for that I apologize. Put it down to me being an overprotective father and friend.”

Isis realized it couldn’t be easy for Paris to express regret to someone of inferior rank, a wolf without a pack’s protection. “Thank you. I only hope Dante will be as
forgiving as you
.”

Paris rubbed his chin. “He’s
been distant since he returned.”

She frowned. “How so?”

“
Oh, he’s all smiles for everyone, but I can tell something’s the matter. I think he’s probably more hurt he didn’t learn the truth from you. You knew how he felt about rogues. That he learned of your association with an entire gang of them and that
you and the leader were lovers
hurt him
the most
. I’m not saying it’s right, but that’s probably more in line with his reasoning. When you go in there and confront him, it won’t be easy, but you have my support. And if things don’t work out, you have a place in Pack Kyriakis.”

Isis was so touched by his generous offer tears sprang to her eyes. “Thank you. Your offer means a lot to me.”

Paris smiled,
showing off even white teeth.
Bending over, he brushed her cheek with his lips. “Good luck, Isis.”

Nervous laughter trickled from her lips. “I’m definitely going to need it. “

“Aries is waiting for me. We have to get back to the island and check up on Constantine and Sarah.”

“Send them my love and tell Persephone
,
I’ll be in touch.”

“Will do.”

When he was gone, she was left facing the same dilemma she had earlier. Should she go in? Gathering every ounce of courage in her reserve, she tried the doorknob instead of knocking. Isis
decided to brazen it out. She had nothing to lose and everything to gain
. It was unlocked. Making her way inside, she closed the door behind her with a gentle click, but before she could turn around the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. He was near. Not just near, but he was next to her.

Isis slowly pivoted to see Dante so close the breath from his flared nostr
ils caressed her face. “Dante!
”

“You don’t fucking listen, do you?”

Catching her bottom lip between her teeth to hold back her gasp, Isis squared her shoulders to show him she wouldn’t be intimidated, despite the quivering of her insides. She raised her chin in defiance, meeting his cobalt gaze. “I was hoping we could talk and I don’t plan on leaving until we do.”

Raising one dark, sinisterly arched brow, Dante crossed his arms over his broad chest. “Is that so?”

She moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue, holding onto the last thread of her courage. “Yes, it is. Are we just going to stand here or a
m I not allowed any farther?”

“Everyone else has either left or retired for the night. I was about to do the same, so say
whatever you need to say to me and leave
.”

She took a step closer until their bodies touched. “Won’t you offer me someplace to sit?”

Dante took a step back, his arms falling to his sides. “What kind of game are you playing, Isis?”

“This isn’t a game, Dante. It never was with me.”

His gaze raked her face, his expression unreadable. Finally, turning on his heel, he gestured her to follow. He led her to the living room.

As he’d said, everyone had dispersed for the night, but she didn’t want to take the chance of being interrupted. “Can’t we go to your bedroom? It would be more private, wouldn’t it? You’re staying the night here, aren’t you?”

“I am. You aren’t.”

“I never said I was. Please, Dante. All I need is five minutes of your time. In private.”

Releasing an exasperated breath, he rolled his eyes. “
Even though
I owe you nothing, I’ll give you those five minutes, but not a second more. And if you try anything, I just might strangle you.”

“What exactly do you think I could do to you with a house full of your family and allies? I wouldn’t make it out of here alive.”

He
grunted
in response, but turned and led her down a hallway until he reached
the guest room he occupied
. Unable to help it,
she allowed her gaze to stray
toward the large four-poster bed. It was the same bed they’d shared not so very long ago. A shiver raced up her spine as she remembered how passionately he’d fucked her and the way he’d held and kissed her afterward. God, she wanted that back, but from the look of him, this wouldn’t be an easy task.

His arms were folded across his chest and his face was a tight, unreadable slate. Isis shivered from the iciness of his stare. “You’ve wasted two of your minutes already. I hope you can sum up what you need to say in the next three.”

She closed her eyes against the harshness of his tone. “Please don’t.” Isis wished her voice didn’t sound so wobbly and unsure.

“Don’t what, Isis?”

“Don’t be so cold. I can’t bear to see you like this.”

He raised a dark brow. “How should I act toward you, Isis? Do you think I should take you in my arms and say all is forgiven despite how you lied to my face and continued to do so even after I practically begged you to tell me what was bothering you?”

She took a step toward him, but he backed away. Isis flinched, but squared her shoulders and met his gaze. “I swear I wasn’t in on the plot with Black Adder and his gang. I’d distanced myself from them long before I met
you. If you don’t believe me—
”

“I believe you, Isis, about that part at least. That’s the one thing I’m willing to concede to you. When I look back on events more closely, you couldn’t have been aligned with them. I remember the look in your eyes when Black Adder revealed himself. I’d almost forgotten it.”

“I thought you still believed I betrayed you.”

“I did up until a few hours ago.”

“What changed your mind?”

“I didn’t have Adonis and his evil mother to contend with. I had time to think things through properly.”

“So why do you continue to treat me like a pariah? If you know I wasn’t working for the other side, why do you continue to push me away?”

“You can ask me that when you know I’ve been fighting people like you for most of my life? You may have disassociated yourself from them, but do you think you could possibly mean anything to me when every time I look at you
,
I’ll be thinking of what you did? I don’t want to know all the gruesome details, Isis, but if you were in league with that crew, it stands to reason you’ve killed innocent people.”

Isis winced as he reminded her of her past. She was ashamed of many of the things she’d done which she desperately wished she could take back.
It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him exactly that, but
didn’t know if he would care about her regret so she went another route.
“We’ve all done things in our past we’re ashamed of. I explained to you what it means to be a lone wolf, alone and without the protection of a pack. I did what I had to do to survive and along the way
,
I made some bad decisions. But that’s in my past. It’s not who I am
,
now
.”

Dante twisted his lips into what looked like a cross between a sneer and a smirk. “That’s where you’re wrong. You still have the heart of a rogue.”

“
You told me yourself
,
we’ve all done things we weren’t proud of. Were you lying to me when you told me that, Dante?”

“You don’t get to fucking turn this back around on me. I wasn’t a fucking rogue and I never killed innocent people. Can you say the same?”

“I can. I robbed, stole, conned,
and
did whatever I thought I could do to fit in, but I never killed an innocent.”