Page 21 of Danica's Revenge

“I didn’t make it, I’m just bringing it in.”The big man shrugs.

I raise an eyebrow.“Oh?”

“They’re too scared, boss.”

“And why is that?”I know the answer but I want him to tell me.

“Miss Matthews was quite upset earlier…” he carefully broaches the subject.

Emilio is more than just my guard.He is my confidant, my advisor.In the more than two decades we’ve worked together, Emilio has been the only dependable person in my life.

“Yes, I suppose so.”I pick up the warm cup of black liquid.It’s too hot but I take a sip anyway, enjoying the burn.

“I have a lot on my mind…”

“You don’t have to explain yourself to me,capo,” Emilio says simply, formal as always.

“I should make it up to her though.Will you speak to Alicia please and arrange a special dinner for tonight?Just here at home.It’s not safe to go out.”

On top of being my PA, Alicia also makes sure everything runs smoothly at home.The domestic staff all report to her.She’s only been with the family for three years now, but she proved a quick learner.

“Yes,capo,” Emilio says.

“And ask her to get some of Danica’s favorite flowers too, those dark red tulips.Make it special, you know?”I am trying, but romantic isn’t really my style.Not since my wife died…More than six years ago now.I flinch at the mere thought of those days.

Emilio nods.“Anything else, boss?”

“No.Just keep that door closed at all times.”

“Of course.”He makes his exit quietly, shuffling into his usual position outside my door.

Maybe if Emilio had been at home that day, rather than with me, she would still be alive.

I can’t stop the thoughts that drift to the painful past, poking a raw wound that never seems to close.Poking it just to make sure it still hurts.It does.A lot.

Elena.

I can still hear her laugh echoing through the rooms.She made it all feel so different, the whole house, my life.Things had been dark until she'd come along with those long legs and innocent smile, dark curls cascading down her back.She was beautiful in every sense of the word.A true Italian too, my dad would have been proud.No, my dad was never proud.But hecouldhave been.Elena was made of pure sunshine.Everything about her had felt light.

I had just turned 32 when we met.She was 26.From the moment I'd first laid eyes on her at some social gathering I didn’t care for, I hadn’t been able to tear myself away from her.She was a distant relation of Don Greco, a cousin on his wife’s side.

Our attraction had been instant.She'd wanted me as much as I'd wanted her.Elena had been used to the crime life; I didn’t have to hide anything from her.She'd loved me as I was.For the first time since I'd taken over the family business 13 years prior, I had found something that was purely mine.

Elena had been the most beautifully obedient sub any man could wish for.The way she'd kneeled for me, waiting by the door every day, naked except for her collar.The things she'd let me do to her body, the things she'd wanted me to do…Her devotion had known no bounds.And neither had my desire for her.I'd wanted her all the time, wanted to make her face contort in pleasure as she screamed my name loud enough for everyone in the house to hear.

I had never been a pleasure Dom until I met Elena.But her satisfaction became the only thing that mattered to me.Burying my face in her cunt, her long legs wrapped behind my back, that’d been the only time the chaos in my mind had calmed down.

We married within two years in an extravagant affair attended by both families en masse.I will never forget the sight of her walking up in that pure white dress, the smile she wore just for me.We were so happy.So naive too, in hindsight.

I was going to give it all up for her.I was going to get out.Maybe move back to Italy, start a family of our own.Luca had still been young, 27—but eight years older than I was when I took over the business.He was keen for the power but not so keen to learn.But I'd been ready to hand it all over to him, even if he burned it all to the ground.Anything to take my princess away to another castle, to keep her safe.

I'd wanted nothing more than to live by the sea in a modest house, just us, maybe a few kids running around.For a moment, I'd thought I could have it all.I could be just Dante, not Don Fera.Oh god, how beautiful she had looked between my legs, hungrily devouring my cock as small murmurs escaped her mouth.

But nobody gets out alive.

Emilio had been with me the day it happened.We'd gone to bail out Luca again after some or other dumb shit he'd gotten himself into.I don’t know if I've ever stopped resenting him, or myself, for not having been there when they took her.

Elena had gone to the doctor.A guard had gone with her, someone always had.Only much later did I find out she was pregnant.We were meant to have a little boy.

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