Chapter 7 - THE DIVE
“LUCY!”
I didn’t think. I didn’t wait for Dante.
I sprinted past Celine, my shoes slipping on the wet wood, and dove headfirst off the pier into the freezing darkness.
The shock of the icy water knocked the breath from my lungs. The current was brutal, tossing me around in the pitch black. Saltwater stung my eyes as I frantically searched the darkness.
Please, I prayed, kicking my legs against the heavy drag of my clothes. Please let me find her.
Through the murky water, a flash of purple caught my eye.
Lucy’s bag.
I swam desperately toward it. Beneath the bag, sinking fast, was Lucy. Her eyes were closed, her little body limp.
I grabbed the collar of her pajamas and kicked upward with everything I had. My lungs burned. The surface felt miles away.
We broke the surface, gasping for air in the driving rain.
“I’ve got you!” I coughed, pulling Lucy’s head above the water, treading furiously against the current. “I’ve got you, baby!”
Lucy sputtered, coughing up seawater, and buried her face in my shoulder, shivering violently.
Above us on the pier, a gunshot rang out.
I looked up in terror.
Dante wasn't looking at the water. He was standing over Celine.
Celine was on the ground, clutching her leg, screaming in agony. The ledger was scattered across the wet dock, completely ruined by the rain.
Dante dropped to his stomach on the edge of the pier, reaching his massive hand down into the dark water.
“Grab my hand, Mara!” Dante roared over the storm.
I kicked hard, pushing Lucy up toward him. Dante grabbed his daughter by the arms and hoisted her effortlessly onto the dock. Then he reached back down for me.
His hand clamped around my wrist like a vice, hauling me up out of the freezing water.
I collapsed onto the wet wood, gasping, pulling Lucy instantly into my arms. She was freezing, but she was breathing. She was alive.
Dante fell to his knees beside us. The ruthless mafia boss was entirely gone, replaced by a father sobbing with relief. He wrapped his arms around both of us, burying his face in my wet hair.
“Thank you,” Dante choked out, pressing a kiss to my forehead, then to Lucy’s. “Thank you.”
Celine groaned from the ground, trying to crawl away.
Dante stood up slowly. The vulnerability vanished, instantly replaced by lethal authority.
He walked over to Celine and looked down at her.
“You are going to prison for the rest of your miserable life,” Dante said coldly. “My lawyers will make sure you are charged with Elena’s murder, and the attempted murder of my daughter.”
Sirens wailed in the distance. Dante had called his private security, but the police were responding to the gunshot.
Dante turned back to me. He took off his heavy, dry suit jacket and draped it over my shivering shoulders, wrapping it around Lucy as well.
He helped me to my feet, his dark eyes locking onto mine with an intensity that made the cold fade away entirely.
“Let’s go home,” Dante said quietly.
As he led us away from the pier, leaving Celine bleeding on the wood for the police, I felt a heavy object in the pocket of Dante’s jacket he had given me.
I reached in and pulled it out.
It was a small, velvet box.
I looked at it in confusion. I opened the lid.
Inside was a simple, breathtaking diamond band. It wasn't the gaudy ring he had given Celine. It was elegant. It was real.
May you like
And tucked beneath the ring was a tiny note, written in Dante’s handwriting.
For the woman who truly loves her.
