Lahat ng Kabanata ng Fallen From Grace [Married to the Mafia Novel]: Kabanata 101 - Kabanata 110

“Why are we here?” I ask as Dante closes the door to our bedroom. He continues to walk inside gently ushering me to sit on the bed.After revealing that the island is the next step, Dante started acting weird.“There’s something I need to talk to you about,” Dante says softly as he sits on the edge of the bed. This way, we’re facing each other.Confused, I simply say, “Okay.” Not wanting to mess with the seemingly delicate situation. Earlier, Dante had this grim expression and the overall mood had been dark since we left the dungeons.Dante may not have noticed but I saw him and Luca exchange looks before the latter went away to do whatever it is that Dante asked him to do. They’re being so secretive and it’s making the anxiety build in me. It settles badly in the pit of my stomach and then it dawns on me before Dante could even utter another word.“Shit. You’re locking me in here again… aren’t you?” I look straight into his eyes not bothering to hide the fear from my face. I study hi

“You’re sure about this? There’s nothing I can do to make you sit this one out?” Dante asks quietly, not to be overheard by the rest of the team preparing to mount the boat sitting idly on the pier.The whole day it was overcast, so now, the clouds cast a thin veil over the moon, giving us more cover than we’d hoped for. The plan is going to go well.We’ll hijack that boat, get to the island, gather the evidence that we need, then free those innocent people. The plan is simple. But that’s the thing with simple things, they don’t always mean easy.“We’ve been over this at least a dozen times, Dante,” I reply softly, not wanting to aggravate him so close to the start of the mission. “I’ll have your back and you’ll have mine. We’re a team. We’ll be fine.”Dante’s expression turns dark even as he reaches one of his gloved hands forward to touch my face. “No one will touch you. I’ll make sure of it.”Smiling, I nod my head to say that I trust him. Dante lets me go and turns around to walk

“And you’re sure this will work?” I ask one last time before we head down to the village. My heart pounds against my chest, my brain screaming at me that this plan is flimsy at best. And to add fuel to the raging fire of anxiety already building in me, Dante’s team and mine are separated. So even if I know the plan might fail, I ask for the reassurance anyway.“Positive.” It’s Noah who answers, standing before his team of three other men. They’re dressed like we are, but they all wear something much heavier, their shoulders slumping with the weight and my heart goes out to them in their grief.Three men. They lost three men trying to safely land here, and those who live carry that burden, visible in the determination in their eyes. They seek vengeance for their fallen comrades.Facing Dante, I notice that he too looks forlorn. They were his men too, he mourns for them too. To me, they might be faceless soldiers, but to Dante and Noah they were their brothers.“And you trust him?” I as

My eyes widen in surprise, there’s no way they know I’m part of the mission team. From the corner of my eye, I notice Dante’s finger flexing around the rifle’s trigger. As carefully as I can, I reach forward to grip the back of his shirt, tugging him back, a silent warning to help him calm down. It seems to work.“Let them go,” Noah hisses, his shoulders tense as he aims his gun slowly toward the village chief.“Those weren’t my orders,” the chief replies smoothly, in his thick South Asian accent. “I was told to talk only to Jean Atwood and I’m sure that’s not you.”Ever so slowly, Dante inches sideways to block me from the enemy’s view. My grip on his shirt tightens, in fear of what’s about to come.“If she’s not here, my orders are to kill them all.” There’s a glint in the chief’s eyes, something akin to amusement, and it makes me sick to my stomach.I can’t let him kill all of these innocents. Slowly, I pull away from Dante, but he senses my movements, he knows what I’m about to do

DanteEverything happened so fucking fast, there wasn’t enough time for us to react. Apart from the sudden charge from a new party, explosions from all directions keep shaking the ground causing the prisoners to panic.Two distinct gunshots ring in the air bringing my attention back to Jean.“Adeline!” Jean’s voice pierces through and I watch her dive for Adeline. A close distance from where she lies is the chief’s body, as the life drains out of him, watering the ground with his blood.Fuck. Did she shoot him?I didn’t even see it happening. I can’t believe I was so focused on the chaos caused by the rebels that I hadn’t realized what happened to Jean. Some husband I am.“Protect your mistress!” I shout over the chaos, already running toward where Jean is hunched over Adeline, her hands coated with red as she presses her hands firmly on the latter’s chest. But I know it’s too late. One look at Adeline’s eyes and I knew she was dead before she even hit the ground.I don’t bite back th