Page 120 of The Scarab's Game

“What?” Scarlett’s shocked voice pierced my eardrum—apparently, she wasn’t on mute. “Emmett, I told you?—”

I tuned her out, my attention fixed on Dante’s reaction.

“I know.” He gave a small laugh and turned to share a tight smile. “You did a terrible job of hiding it. She didn’t see it at first, but I did.”

Was that why he regularly puffed up his chest when I was around her? Gave her those stupid macarons? Kissed her in the hotel lobby?It was on the cheek, Emmett. He’d been trying to win her over before I did, hadn’t he?

“I think she came into my life to help me accept who my father is,” he continued. “When she’s safe on land again, I’ll call my brother with the Carabinieri.” He nodded, not looking at me anymore. These were words for himself. “I have enough information to ensure the moment Papa sets foot on Italian soil, he’ll never be able to do this again.”

Well, shit.Dante wasn’t the bad man I’d thought he was. Maybe I’d been too quick to judge him, consumed by jealousy and suspicion. But now? Some sort of strange admiration was poking its way through all the negativity.

“My team’s almost here,” I said, glancing at my watch. Drew would arrive any second with the disc.

Rav moved past me, climbing into the boat and releasing the rope with practiced ease.

I followed, then turned to Dante. “Tell the manager about the guards down here. There aren’t any alarms, and no one else has come down this way, so I suspect they interrupted the security feed.”

The fucking irony. My team had done exactly the same thing to steal the disc—which had wound us up here.

Dante approached the boat. “Let me help.”

I put up a hand before he could jump in with us. “We’ve got this.”

But Dante wasn’t backing down. “I’m done making excuses for my father. Done being in his shadow and being defined byhim. I don’t care if you understand, but Ineedto do this. To be my own man.”

His words hit me like a gut punch. I didn’t want to be defined by what my father did, either. I’d kept Jenn in Monaco against everyone else’s recommendations to prove I was better than my father and to prove I was over all the things Fenix had done to me. Where had that gotten us?

And where had my stubborn insistence that I didn’t need anyone gottenme?

“All right, but you play by our rules.” I turned to Rav and asked, “Got your gun?”

Rav nodded. “Of course.”

I faced Dante again, a strategy taking shape in my mind. “Does your father love you?”

Dante looked apprehensive. “Yes.”

“Good,” I said. “Because I have a plan.”

Chapter 45

Jenn

I wrappedmy arms around my curled-up legs, shivering at the back of the speedboat. My ridiculously expensive evening gown did nothing to fend off the cold.

The lights of Le Rocher faded into the distance, and I strained my eyes, desperately searching for any sign of Emmett.

But it was too dark.

We were moving too fast.

The boat that had met him on the dock wasn’t moving. Were they even coming after me?

“You’re cold,” Noah’s quiet voice startled me. He was suddenly close, too close.

I recoiled as he wrapped his tuxedo jacket around my shoulders. The warmth was a relief, but I couldn’t bring myself to feel grateful. Not to him.

The engine was too loud for his voice to carry, but still, he leaned in. “I won’t let him hurt you. I promise.”

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