He nuzzled into her neck, his tongue gliding across her cool skin as he palmed a breast. "What about it?"
"It's not latched."
"I know."
"But it was. I locked the door when I got in the bathtub."
"You sure about that?" His thumb grazed across her perky nipple, sending tingles through her. "Because it wasn't locked when I got home."
"I, uh…" She moaned when he kissed the spot right below her ear. "Maybe I forgot the chain."
He pulled away. "But you're sure you locked the door?"
"Pretty sure."
"Pretty sure isn't sure," he said. "Because I'm not fucking with you when I say the door was already unlocked when I got home. And by that I mean anyone could've turned the knob and walked right in. So if someone unlocked it, it wasn't me."
Her expression fell. "What?"
He glanced at the door before scanning the dark apartment.
"But I was here," she said, sickness churning her stomach. "I mean, I heard a noise, but then you were here, so I figured…"
"You figured it was me," he said, finishing her thought. "What kind of noise?"
"I don't know." She reached down to snatch the towel back up, wrapping it around herself again. "Like a door, maybe? The floor creaking or something closing? I fell asleep but then—" She stalled abruptly. "Oh God, do you think someone was in here? Seriously? Someone broke in while I was taking a friggin bath?"
"It's possible."
"Who would do that?"
Dante moved away from her to search the apartment, checking rooms and opening up drawers. "I have some ideas."
"Like?" She followed him around. "What are you looking for?"
"I'm trying to see if anything is missing," he said, pausing, "and making sure nothing was left behind."
"What would they leave behind?"
"Bombs? Bugs? I don't know. Jesus, baby, you're a fucking Brazzi. I need you to act like one. Can you think of anything else? Anything that'll tell me who might've broken in?"
"I, uh, ugh." She followed him into the bedroom, watching as he checked under the bed and rifled through the dresser. "Oh crap, there was a guy earlier today."
"What guy?"
"He wouldn't tell me his name, but I've seen him before. He asked me about you… he asked me about my boyfriend."
"What did he say about me?"
"He said you killed his best friend."
Dante opened the bedside stand and stood there, completely still, staring down into it. "He wasn't lying."
Gabriella closed her eyes to keep the room from spinning.
"Gabriella?"
She opened her eyes again. "Yeah?"
"Where's your gun, baby?"
"It's in the drawer, where it always is."
Dante stared into the drawer for a moment before closing it.
"Do you think it was him?" Gabriella asked, watching as Dante walked over to the door, checking out the locks. "The guy I saw?"
"I don't think so."
"Why?"
"Because your gun is missing."
Genna's car was gone from out front of the Galante house.
It was the first thing Dante noticed when he approached the property at one o'clock in the morning, lingering in the frigid darkness, careful not to slip on any ice or leave any distinguishable footprints in the snow. His car was parked down the block, out of sight, too noticeable to bring it any closer.
The irony of the situation wasn't lost on Dante. Months ago, Matteo Barsanti had done damn near the same thing, lurking outside the Galante house with a gun and a grudge, both aimed at Dante. And Dante had realized in that moment, when Matteo's finger hovered over the trigger, itching to squeeze it, that someday he would pay for what he'd done, but it wouldn't be with his life. No, his life wasn't worth enough. The world would want to destroy everything he loved instead.
He couldn't let that happen.
Umberto's car was right out front. After pulling his hood up over his head, Dante carefully approached it, ghosting his hand along the hood.
Still warm.
He banged his fist against it, setting off the shock sensors, the car alarm blaring through the quiet neighborhood. Dante plopped down on the hood as it screamed, just sitting there and waiting, knowing it wouldn't be long before he surfaced.
Thirty seconds passed, maybe a minute at most, before the front door of the Galante house opened, the car alarm deactivated. Silence reigned for a few seconds before the alarm again went off when Dante shifted position.
Umberto strolled toward him, once more disabling the alarm. Again, it only lasted a few seconds before the screeching alarm echoed through the neighborhood.
"You mind getting off my car?" Umberto asked, stalling near him. "You know, before