Home / I Left the Don Who Used Me as Bait / Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

All Chapters of I Left the Don Who Used Me as Bait: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

The confirmation popped up on my screen just as Dante pushed open the carved doors to the great room.He found me slumped on the couch, making no move to get up.He checked his watch and frowned, already impatient."Any other business we need to discuss tonight? It's almost midnight. I have to get to the West Wing."I studied the hard lines of his face for two seconds, then shook my head."No. Nothing."He gave me a curt nod."Fine. Get some sleep."He didn't notice how pale I was or that my hands were shaking. He turned and headed down the private corridor to the West Wing.I sat there for a while, staring at nothing.I was about to get up when the dark screen of the house comm unit flashed red. It was Elena's private channel.And then there was Dante.The ruthless Don had forbidden all visitors, calls, and business after midnight. Yet he answered her call at once.As if he couldn't bear to keep her waiting.I let out a bitter laugh.How considerate. Too bad I'd never been the one he

Chapter 2

On the drive back, the head of our outpost called me.He asked me to stop by the central medical unit and pick up the casualty report from the latest shootout.I ended the call.I sighed. I was trying to make a clean break, and of course the medical unit had to be Elena's territory.By the time I arrived, the place was packed with people getting their dressings changed.A few guards from the outer perimeter were talking quietly, but I couldn't help overhearing them."The Don had a helicopter fly these sedatives in from Russia. Just for Dr. Costa.""Yeah. Everyone in the family knows he has a soft spot for her. They look perfect together. She's the real Donna."I slowed down.Bitterness rose in my throat before I could stop it.I'd held the title of Donna for three years, but I'd never once been allowed into the room where the real decisions were made.Right after we signed the blood contract, I'd asked him to introduce me at a meeting of the elders.To tell the other gangs who I was.B

Chapter 3

When we pulled up at his mother's estate, Maria Rinaldi was already on the steps, watching eagerly for us. As Dante's mother and the former Donna, she commanded more respect than anyone else in the Rinaldi family.Elena had her door open before the car even stopped.She gathered up her skirt, hurried over, and linked arms with Maria."Maria, it's so damp out tonight. You didn't have to come out to meet us. Let's get you inside."Maria beamed at her, all warmth."I'm worrying about you, sweetheart. Having to stay in Dante's West Wing like that. You deserve better."Hardly anyone can put up with that temper of his."Elena glanced at Dante, who was smiling a little, and her cheeks turned pink."Dante takes good care of me. I don't mind at all."The two of them went up the steps together, laughing and chatting.Maria was halfway up before she stopped, as if she'd only just noticed me.She looked back at me, not bothering to hide her contempt."Oh, you're here too. Come inside. You're an ey

Chapter 4

"Turn right up ahead. We'll drop Elena off at the clinic first."Elena's perfume filled the car.On the way back, Elena still had the front seat.I sat in the back, quietly discussing the purchase of a safe house in Moscow with an overseas contact over an encrypted channel."Come sit up front."Dante said it out of nowhere, in a tone that left no room for argument.I didn't even look up."I'm good."He went quiet for a moment."Suit yourself."I had no energy left to argue. On my screen was a heavily secured villa out in the snowy countryside. I paid the deposit without a second thought.We got back to the estate.Dante took out a beautifully bound portfolio and walked over to me."Take a look. See if anything catches your eye."Confused, I picked it up. Inside were designs for the ceremonial scepter I'd be presented with when I was formally recognized as the family's Donna."Pick one soon. You'll be presented as Donna in just a month, and the craftsmen need time to finish it."He tapp

Chapter 5

At that same moment, in the West Wing's private recovery room, Dante felt a sharp pain in his chest. He hadn't left Elena's side all night.Elena sat up at once."Dante, what's wrong? Are you hurt? You look awful."Dante took a deep breath."I'm fine."He frowned and thought back over last night's fight. He hadn't been hit. It had to be exhaustion."I went a little too hard last night. Guess the adrenaline's finally wearing off."Elena remembered how he'd torn through those men for her, and a barely hidden smugness flickered in her eyes."Thank you."If you hadn't gotten there in time, I'd probably be with your brother right now."She bit her lip and caught hold of Dante's bloodstained sleeve."Please don't tell Maria about this. If she finds out, she'll send someone to take me away."Dante nodded.She still looked shaken in the hospital bed. Irritation crossed his face, but he softened his voice anyway."Get some sleep. I'll stand guard outside your door myself tonight. I'm not going

Chapter 6

"What? Evelyn ended the contract?"Dante stared at the glaring red text on his tablet.There were only a few lines, but they hit him like a blow to the head. For a second, his ears rang."I, Evelyn Lind, hereby terminate my contract with Dante Rinaldi, effective immediately."I accept full responsibility for whatever follows, even if it costs me my life."Let's go our separate ways. We never need to see each other again."No explanation. No room to change her mind.Dante sat frozen. He read the short message over and over for five minutes, as if he could burn a hole through it.The elders around the table saw how pale he looked and started whispering."What's gotten into the Don? He's white as a sheet.""Who knows? If we weren't afraid of him, you think we'd sit here listening to his bullshit? The man's a hypocrite."They were still muttering among themselves.Dante shoved back his chair and stormed out of the council hall without even bothering to end the meeting.He left behind a roo

Chapter 7

"Ms. Lind, we need you to look over and sign the financials for the new territory."Just like that, a whole year had passed since I left Sicily.The wind and snow in Moscow always cut right to the bone.I sat in my office at Alexei's gang headquarters downtown, signing one document after another as if I'd been doing it all my life.A lot had changed in that year.I used everything I'd learned about gang wars at Dante's side, along with my own instincts, to help Alexei crush a few troublemakers in East Moscow.I was no longer a pawn to be sacrificed whenever it suited them.I was the underboss of the biggest gang in Russia.As for Sicily and everyone in it, I'd buried them deep in my memory, along with the chip I'd had removed."Done."I handed the papers to one of my men, pulled on my heavy black coat, and stepped out into the snow.The streetlights gave off a dim yellow glow.I headed for my armored SUV.Late that night, after a gang negotiation, I'd just stepped out of my car when I

Chapter 8

"Are you related to Mr. Rinaldi? He was attacked on the street. Please come to the emergency room right away."In the middle of the night, my phone rang until it woke me.A doctor from a private hospital was on the line, speaking urgently in Russian.I leaned against the headboard, lit a cigarette, and blew out a lazy smoke ring."I'm not his family. If he dies, bury him in the Moscow snow."I was about to hang up.Then Alexei's voice came on the line, low and amused."Evelyn, come take a look. The tyrant of Sicily got stabbed three times by a bunch of nobodies. I'll be laughing about this all year."I frowned.I stubbed out my cigarette, pulled on my coat, and went to the hospital.I pushed open the door to his private room in the ICU.The Mafia Don who used to think he owned the world lay weak and deathly pale in a hospital bed.His chest was wrapped in bandages, and he even had a breathing tube.When he saw me, his dull eyes lit up, and he tried to sit up."Evelyn..."I pulled up a

Chapter 9

"You hate me that much? You wouldn't even care if I died in the street?"It was the next evening.I'd just left the gang's underground shooting range when someone cornered me in a narrow alley.Dante was still in his bloodstained hospital gown. In the shadows behind him stood more than a dozen armed Sicilian hit men.He'd clearly tapped into the Rinaldi family's secret network. He was willing to do anything to drag me back by force.I studied his pale, wild face and quietly wrapped my fingers around my gun."What's this? The sympathy act didn't work, so now you're going to kidnap me?"Dante tipped the muzzle of his gun down, away from anything vital."Evelyn, don't make me do this."He spoke through gritted teeth, obsession burning in his eyes."I sent Elena to a remote island in South America. She'll never set foot in Sicily again."My mother always had it out for you. I stripped her of all her power and put her under house arrest."Everyone you hated, I got rid of. Now come back with

Chapter 10

"Fiancée? Evelyn, what kind of joke is this!"Dante was breathing hard. Blood seeped from his wounds and dripped onto the snow, bright red against the white.He stared at me, searching my face for any sign that I was being forced.I calmly pushed aside the barrel of the gun he'd aimed at Alexei."He's not joking."I pulled a wolf's-head badge from inside my coat and dangled it in front of Dante. It was the symbol of the highest authority in the Russian mob."I'm not just his fiancée. I control half of Moscow's underworld now."Dante, did you always think I was some helpless woman who couldn't survive without you, someone you could manipulate however you pleased?"Dante froze where he stood, staring at the badge in disbelief."Did you really think you could use me as bait to draw your enemies' fire without my noticing?"I stepped closer, dripping contempt."For three years, you thought you were protecting Elena. All the while, I was using your arrogance against you."Every time you put

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