Dante Sees Red

Daniel's text hung in the air like a death sentence.

Marcus Kane is planning something. Something big. He's going to strike soon. Be ready.

Cassandra stared at the screen, her hands trembling. She showed it to Dante, watching as his expression shifted from concern to cold, hard fury.

"We need to be ready," he said quietly. "For anything."

---

Dante went into overdrive.

He called Marco, doubling security at the safe house. He arranged for Evelyn to be moved to a secure location—not because he forgave her, but because Cassandra needed her alive. He didn't trust anyone. Not after everything. Every person was a potential threat. Every shadow could hide an enemy.

Cassandra watched him work, her heart aching. She knew he was scared. He was scared of losing her.

---

The next morning, Cassandra insisted on going to the flower shop.

She needed to see it—to say goodbye, maybe. To remind herself of who she was before all of this. Before the necklace, before the conspiracy, before Dante.

Dante refused at first. It was too dangerous. But she wouldn't back down.

"You can't keep me locked up forever," she said. "I need to breathe."

He stared at her for a long moment. Then he relented, but only with a full security detail. Marco would drive. Two other men would follow in a separate car.

---

The flower shop was exactly as she remembered it.

Bloom & Petal. The small storefront wedged between a dry cleaner and a coffee shop. The windows filled with colorful displays—roses, lilies, hydrangeas—all arranged with the kind of care that came from decades of experience.

Patty was behind the counter, her face breaking into a wide smile when she saw Cassandra.

"Cass! I was so worried about you!"

Cassandra hugged her tightly, tears pricking at her eyes. "I'm okay, Patty. I'm okay."

She spent an hour there, helping arrange flowers, breathing in the familiar scent of fresh blooms and earth. For a moment, she felt normal again. Like the girl she used to be.

But reality was waiting outside.

---

They were ambushed on the way back.

A black SUV rammed their car from behind. Marco swerved, trying to evade, but another vehicle appeared on the left, boxing them in. Gunshots rang out. Glass shattered.

Dante threw himself over Cassandra, shielding her with his body. She could feel his heart pounding against hers, his breath hot against her ear.

"Stay down!" he shouted.

The world became chaos. Bullets flew. Metal crunched. Someone screamed—she didn't know who.

When it was over, Marco was wounded—a bullet graze to his shoulder. One of Dante's men was dead. And Dante was bleeding from a gash on his arm.

Cassandra's hands were shaking. She was covered in his blood.

---

They made it back to the safe house.

Cassandra cleaned his wound, her fingers gentle, her eyes wet. The gash wasn't deep—it wouldn't need stitches—but it was a reminder of how close they'd come.

"I could have lost you," she whispered.

"You didn't." His voice was raw. "I'm right here."

She finished bandaging his arm, then looked up at him. The fear, the adrenaline, the relief—it all crashed together. She kissed him. Desperate. Hungry.

Dante responded immediately, pulling her close. His good arm wrapped around her waist, his lips trailing down her neck.

"I need you," she breathed.

"I need you too."

They made love—slow at first, then urgent. It wasn't about escape. It was about connection. About reminding each other that they were alive. That they were together.

Afterward, they lay tangled together, their breathing slow and steady.

"I love you," she whispered.

"I love you too."

---

But the peace didn't last.

Dante was furious. Not just angry—furious. Someone had tried to kill Cassandra. Someone had tried to take her from him. He was done playing defense. Done waiting.

He left the safe house without telling her where he was going. When he returned hours later, his knuckles were bloody. His eyes were cold.

"What did you do?" Cassandra whispered.

"What needed to be done."

---

He told her he'd found one of Marcus's men. He'd interrogated him. He'd gotten information.

Marcus had a safe house—a place where he kept his most valuable secrets. And they were going to raid it.

"Tonight," Dante said.

Cassandra stared at him. "You're going to kill him."

Dante's eyes met hers. "Yes."

---

That night, they raided the safe house.

Dante's men moved through the building with practiced precision. Cassandra stayed in the car with Marco, her heart pounding, her hands clenched in her lap.

Then Dante emerged. His face was pale. His jaw was tight.

"It's empty," he said. "He's gone."

Cassandra's blood ran cold.

"What do you mean?"

Dante stepped aside, and she saw it.

Written on the wall in blood, a message.

You're too late. She's already mine.