All Chapters of Fallen From Grace [Married to the Mafia Novel]: Chapter 61 - Chapter 70

The night is dark and cold when we finally set out. I turn to Dante, talking with Luca in hushed voices. The estate is so quiet it’s almost eerie, but the tension in the air is palpable. My heart pounds in my chest with each passing moment.   The garage doors open and I watch Dante’s men file in one by one into their designated vehicles.   “It’s almost time to go.” I hadn’t even noticed Dante making his way toward me. “You’re on the fourth car out, I’m in the second. Don’t be too worried, okay?”   He must have noticed the fear in my eyes. “Are you sure this is going to work?”  

“We’re here,” Daveed announces as we pull up the garage. Adeline’s the first one out, stepping around the car to help Dante out along with Luca.   To be honest, when I’d first heard the word safehouse, I’d expected a beatdown, haphazardly patched-up house, but what stands before me is the most beautiful seaside mansion.   It’s still dark, but the dark brown panels are a beautiful complement to the large glass windows.   “It’s chilly, we better get inside.” Adeline walks past me to open the front doors as I turn around and see Dante leaning heavily against Daveed and Luca.   “I’m fine, Jean,” he says as if reading my mind. “Get inside.”   The mansion is even

When I say this is the longest night ever, I’m not kidding. Having only slept for maybe an hour, I wake up in the middle of the night, cold sweat making the blanket cling to my skin. For a brief moment, I panic when I wake up in an unfamiliar room, but it subsides easily when I feel Dante stir beside me.   He’s still fast asleep, his chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm. I breathe in tune with him, and it works to calm my erratically beating heart.   Closing my eyes, I try to fall back asleep. But each passing second doubles my anxiety. Giving up on falling back asleep, I get up carefully so as to not wake Dante.   I pick up my dolphin shorts from where Dante had thrown them on the floor and the white shirt he had changed into.  

The screaming and sounds of breaking glass transport me back to the most dreaded night of my life. Just like the night of my parents’ deaths, my heart hammers in my chest, and my vision and hearing blur from the fear creeping into my system.   It’s only when I hear a sharp cry beside me that I snap back to reality. It’s Natalie.   “Natalie! Wait!” I call out from where I’d collapsed on the floor in shock. “It’s not safe!”   But either she doesn’t hear me or she doesn’t care. Where the hell did that explosion come from?   ‘Promise me, Jean.’   Dante’s voice filters into my head. I promised him that at the first sign of danger, I’d run. But I can’t l

I look Natalie straight in the eyes, uncaring of the way her hands shake, and how her face seems to be drained of blood.   “Did you set us up?” I ask keeping my voice steady despite my trembling lips. I hold my breath waiting for Natalie’s reply with the potential to destroy whatever friendship we’ve managed to build.   “No! Jean I swear to you I didn’t know this was going to happen. Camille! She—” She tries to explain but I cut her off. The mere fact that she knew something was about to go down was enough.   “So you knew something was up and have the audacity to pretend to be innocent?” I don’t bother hiding the venom in my tone.   “I—”   “That’s all I nee