Chapter 418: You Took Lorenzo’s Daughter

"South," Dante said. "To the coast. There’s a property about eighty kilometers down....a villa right on the water. It’s secure. Your father’s reach doesn’t extend that far south, and The Covenant doesn’t have operatives there."

"How long will we stay there?" Isabella asked.

"Long enough to figure out the next move," Dante said. "Long enough for your father’s initial fury to settle. Long enough to understand what Dimitri is going to do."

Isabella turned to look at him.

"You’re thinking about Dimitri," she said. It wasn’t a question.

"Always," Dante confirmed. "Dimitri is the variable I can’t control. Your father I can manage. The Covenant has its own agenda. But Dimitri....Dimitri is unpredictable. And unpredictable is dangerous."

"Do you think he’ll come after us?" Isabella asked, and there was fear in her voice.

"Possibly," Dante said honestly. "But not immediately. He has other concerns. His empire. The Covenant. His woman. We have time."

He squeezed her knee gently.

"And I won’t let him take you," Dante said with absolute certainty. "I didn’t go through all of this just to lose you to another man. You’re mine, Isabella. Completely. And I protect what’s mine."

Isabella leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder.

They drove in silence for a while, just the sound of the engine, the occasional passing car, the night surrounding them.

***

By 11: 15 PM, Dante had the operative pull into a small rest area about forty kilometers south of Rome.

It was a place he knew....a small café/gas station combination run by associates who owed him favors and asked no questions.

They got out of the car and stretched, the night air cool against their skin.

Inside the café, Dante ordered coffee for both of them and some food....sandwiches, fruit, things they could eat quickly and then continue moving.

They sat at a small table in the corner of the café, away from the few other travelers who were passing through.

Isabella wrapped her hands around the hot coffee cup, grounding herself in the moment.

"Dante," she said softly. "What happens now?"

He looked at her, understanding the depth of the question. It wasn’t just about the next few hours or days. It was about the future. About what they were building together. About whether he had a real plan beyond just running.

"We go to the coast," he said. "We settle in the villa. We figure out what comes next."

"And then?" Isabella pressed. "After that? Do we run forever? Do we hide? Is this what our life is going to be....constantly moving, constantly afraid?"

Dante set down his coffee and reached across the table to take her hand.

"No," he said simply. "This isn’t forever. This is just the beginning of something new."

He pulled her hand closer, his thumb stroking across her palm.

"I spent years building power," Dante continued. "Building territory. Building an empire. And you know what I learned? None of it meant anything. Not really. It was all just noise and violence and endless strategy."

He looked directly into her eyes.

"Until you," he said. "Until you, I didn’t have anything real. I didn’t have anything worth actually protecting. I had power, but I didn’t have purpose. Now I do."

"Which is?" Isabella asked, her voice barely a whisper.

"You," Dante said absolutely. "Building a future with you. Creating a life where we’re not running FROM things, but running TO things. A life where you’re free and safe and happy. That’s the plan, Isabella. That’s always been the plan since the moment I decided to take you."

Isabella’s eyes filled with tears.

"I don’t deserve you," she whispered.

"You deserve everything," Dante responded. "And I’m going to spend the rest of my life making sure you know that."

He stood and pulled her up, drawing her into his arms. She buried her face against his chest, and he held her....just held her, the entire café fading away, nothing existing except the two of them and the connection between them.

After a long moment, they separated slightly, and he kissed her forehead.

"Come on," he said. "We need to keep moving."

They were back in the SUV, twenty kilometers further south, when Dante’s phone rang.

He glanced at the caller ID....blocked number, and his jaw tightened.

He answered, and his voice was absolutely controlled.

"Yes?" he said.

The voice on the other end was cold and clinical, the Covenant contact who’d been Dante’s primary liaison with the organization.

"You took Lorenzo’s daughter," the voice said. It wasn’t a question. It was an accusation.

Dante’s hand tightened on Isabella’s knee as she watched him, understanding something had happened.

"I did," Dante confirmed.

"Is that stupid or wise of you?" the contact continued. "You still couldn’t handle Dimitri, and now you’ve added Lorenzo to your list of enemies. Do you understand the scope of what you’ve just done?"

"I can handle it," Dante said, his voice absolutely certain.

There was a pause on the other end of the line.

"I hope you can," the contact said finally. "Because we know Lorenzo. We know how precious his daughter is to him. We know that he won’t let you off the hook for taking her. So you have to deal with this mess yourself. We’re done helping."

The line went dead.

Dante set down the phone slowly, his expression absolutely cold.

Isabella was looking at him, understanding what had just happened.

"They abandoned us," she said quietly.

"Yes," Dante confirmed.

"Does that mean...." Isabella started.

"It means we’re on our own," Dante said. "No Covenant backing. No Covenant protection. Just us."

He turned to look at her, and there was something almost like a smile on his face.....not a happy smile, but a satisfied one.

"Good," he said.

"Good?" Isabella repeated, disbelief in her voice.

"Good," Dante confirmed. "I never needed them anyway. I took you to prove I could. I’m keeping you because I want to. And I’ll protect you from your father and from Dimitri and from anyone else who tries to take you from me, all without The Covenant’s help."