Page 105 of Blood Vows

Elena stepped out of the church behind him, and he knew it was her without turning. He always knew when she was near. “You’re brooding,” she said. Dante looked over his shoulder. She stood there wrapped in his coat. At some point during the chaos, she got cold, and Dante had put it around her without thinking. Now the sleeves swallowed her hands, and he liked the sight more than he should have.

“I don’t brood,” he insisted.

“You absolutely brood,” she said.

“No, I think,” he said.

“Men like you call it thinking because brooding sounds dramatic,” she assessed. He almost smiled—almost.

“Men like me?” he asked.

She walked toward him. “Bossy, armed, and emotionally constipated.”

“That last one feels unnecessary,” he grumbled.

“It’s accurate.” He looked at her, and she smiled. Just like that, something in his chest loosened. He was alive and so was she, and for now, that was enough. No, it was everything.

He reached for her hand. This time, he didn’t hesitate, and Elena let him take it. “Is Isabella okay?” she asked.

“She’s fine,” Dante assured her.

“Is Luca all right?” she asked.

“He’s angry, but he’s fine,” Dante said.

“So everything is normal,” she teased.

“Pretty much.”

She exhaled. “What about the house?”

“Damage was contained to the east wing,” Dante said.

“And no one was hurt?” she asked.

“No, no one was hurt,” Dante said. Relief softened her face, and Dante watched it happen. He was starting to memorize those little shifts. Maybe he already had.

“How’s Marco?” she asked.

“Insufferable,” Dante grumbled.

“So also normal,” she teased.

“Yes.” She leaned against him, and Dante wrapped an arm around her. For a while, neither spoke. The city was waking around them—cars were passing, garbage trucks had begun their round, and people were going to work. Life went on as normal around them, and it felt strange standing at the edge of it after everything that had happened.

“Elena,” he breathed.

“Hmm?” she hummed.

“What do you want to do with Crimson Holdings?” he asked.

She looked up at him. “End it.”

“Still?” he asked.

“More than ever.”

He nodded. “And the money?”