"I'm listening." I said as I placed my laptop beside me and sat up. 

"Well what do you want to know?" Dante said awkwardly as he looked down at his hands. 

"Everything." I simply stated as I looked at him. 

"I- just... Fuck." Dante said as he ran his hand through his hair. To say he looked uncomfortable would be an understatement. 

"I've never done this before, Rebel. So please, be patient with me." Dante finally said after a few moments of silence. 

"Done what?" I said as I tilted my head. 

"Explain myself - to anyone. I usually just give orders, and they're followed." Dante said quickly. 

"Okay, well how about we start with the phone call in your office? The woman who called?" I said calmly. I knew that I couldn't explode on him, not now at least. In this moment, he was delicate, vulnerable. It was a rare sight for Dante, and I knew that staying calm and collected would be my best bet at communicating with him. 

"Her name is Scarlet Rossini." Dante said as he looked down at his hands once more. 

"Rossini..." I said under my breath. 

Why does that name sound so familiar?

"As in Sofia Rossini's older sister." Dante said as he sighed. 

"Oh." I said, annoyance lacing my tone as I furrowed my eyebrows. I would be lying if I said that I wasn't grateful that Sofia was on an undercover mission for the past few weeks. 

"Scarlet is a freelance assassin. She'd do anything for the right price." Dante began to explain. "She's one of the best in the world, and has a reputation for always finishing her jobs. We've been trying to recruit her for the past year, but she's rejected every offer we've given her." Dante continued. 

"Originally, we thought bringing Sofia on board would increase the likeliness of Scarlet joining, but even then, she still said no. Always saying something about cherishing her freedom." Dante said. I hung on his every word, leaning forward as he struggled to find his next words. 

"After we saved your mother, I got a message in the car on the way to the estate. It was Scarlet. She said she got an offer... an offer that I might find interesting." Dante said as his hands clenched into fists. He took a deep breath before he continued. 

"She called me when I got into my office, and told me that the Russian Mafia was offering her $10 million.. for you. To kidnap you, and bring you back alive." Dante said as his voice grew tense. 

"I... I lost my temper when I shouldn't have. I threatened her, screamed that if she went anywhere near you I'd kill her in the worst ways imaginable." Dante said as he shook his head. 

"But that was exactly what she wanted, she wanted a reaction out of me. I fell right into her trap." Dante continued. 

"She knew that her sister had... a thing for me, and promised to reject their offer if I would... be with Sofia." Dante said in a low voice, making my heart drop. 

"I immediately refused, making her question the nature of our relationship." Dante said as he looked up at me. 

"That's when I said those awful things... saying that I didn't have feelings for you. If she knew I cared about you, she'd just kill you for the hell of it." Dante said in annoyance before he clenched his jaw. 

"I thought if I humored the idea of me giving Sofia a chance, it would buy me some time to figure out how to handle the situation." Dante said as he looked at me with his eyebrows furrowed. 

"After that, Sofia's advances became more and more outlandish. Even after I would blatantly reject her, she would still keep trying." He said as he shook his head. 

"Sofia finally got fed up, and told me that if I don't be with her, she'd order her sister to kill you. Just hearing her say that made me go crazy... and... I killed her." Dante said as he looked at me with a nervous expression on his face. 

"Scarlet said she'd be in touch, and she was. She lost contact with Sofia, and figured I killed her. She told me that she accepted the Russians offer, and I haven't heard from her since." He said before he swallowed. Even though Dante presented himself with a calm and collected demeanor, it was easy to read beyond that, and see the anxiety that plagued him. 

"I didn't want to push you away, Rebel... I just... I didn't know what else to do. I didn't know if we had a mole, I didn't know if Scarlet would find out. I didn't know what to do. I just knew that by being with you, I was being selfish." Dante said quickly as he looked down at the ground. 

"Pushing you away, saying those things, it was the hardest thing I've ever done. I can't even tell you how many sleepless nights I had, wishing I was beside you." Dante said as he looked up at me and gently grabbed my hand. 

"But if pushing you away meant that you'd be safe, at least for a day, then I'd do it again in a heartbeat." Dante said as he cupped my hand between his two callused ones and looked me in the eyes. 

"I promised you that I'd protect you, and in my own... unconventional way... I was. I was trying to protect you. To keep you safe and out of harms way." Dante said as his irises filled with sadness.  

"Listen, Rebel." Dante said as he leaned forward slightly. "I can't promise you that won't hurt your feelings, I can't promise that I won't piss you off, or upset you. But what I can promise, is that I'd do anything to protect you, because I can't imagine living in a world where you're not in it." Dante said, his thumb rubbing small circles on my hand. 

"So please, all I'm asking for is patience. I've never done this before... I've never had feelings for anyone. This is all new to me, and I have no idea what the fuck I'm doing." Dante said as he looked down. "But... the one thing I do know, is that... I need you, Rebel." He said as he looked up. I looked into Dante's eyes, and for the first time... I saw fear. He was afraid. 

I watched the infamous Mafia Don stumble over his words, as if he was allowing himself to be vulnerable for the first time in his life. Part of me was still resentful for the way he treated me, yet I couldn't help but understand and relate to him. 

The man who single-handedly killed most of his family has returned. I can't imagine the pressure he's feeling, and the responsibility that is weighing down upon his shoulders. As I looked at his face, I could see the internal conflict arising within him. For some reason, Florence's words echoed in my mind:

His father, much to my disagreement, raised him to be a ruthless, cold-hearted Mafia leader. 

His father thought it would be better for us in the long run.

I realized that Dante struggled with expressing emotions simply because he was trained not to. That emotions will make him weak, fragile, unable to fulfill his duties to his family as well as his organization. Especially now, when his greatest enemy has resurfaced, he needed to be as heartless as ever. 

He was trying to be emotionless, trying to be strong for his family. For the people he cares about. He was trying to protect them in the only way he knew how to. 

I felt so naive, so immature for judging him by his actions, not realizing that he was doing the best he could to keep me safe. 

Don't get me wrong, I would love for Dante to shower me with praise and affection, to be open with his emotions and feelings while treating me like a queen. But then again, if he did that, he wouldn't be my Dante. 

I admired him because even though he was closed off, he was himself. What you see, is what you get. And I wouldn't have him any other way. 

"Rebel I-" He began to say, but I cut him off by pressing my lips to his. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and pressed deeper into the kiss. The feeling of him in my arms was unlike anything I ever felt before. It was as if half of my heart has been missing this entire time, only to finally be returned to me, making me whole once more. 

I slowly pulled back, touching my nose to his as I looked up at him.

"I get it, Dante. I get it." I whispered as I smirked, making him sigh in relief. 

"You have no idea how much I missed you." Dante said as he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. He wrapped his arms around me and held me close against his body, as if he never wanted to let go. 

"Promise me one thing." Dante whispered. 

"Depends on what it is." I said as I looked up at him. 

"Never leave me, no matter how arrogant, annoying, or rude I may be. Just please, never leave my side." He said through strained words. 

"I promise." I said after a moment before pressing my lips against his once more. 

A loud beeping noise emitted from my laptop, making me reluctantly pull away from the kiss to see what was happening. I grabbed my computer, and placed it on my lap. 

"What is it?" Dante asked as he looked at me. 

"The facial recognition software I ran is complete." I said as I pulled up the information.

A police report popped up, displaying the information for mystery man at the bar.

"Jackson Pullman." I said as I read the report. I opened another file to see him shot in an alleyway two blocks from the bar Stephan was at. 

"Looks like he was just a pawn for the Russians." I said as I replayed the footage of Stephan at the bar. "Another dead end. Literally." I sighed as I fast forwarded it. 

We sat in silence as the video played, analyzing it for any clues. 

"Wait a minute." Dante said, reaching over and pausing the film. We were at the part when Stephan shooed the woman away from him. 

"Zoom in on her... please." He said as he looked at me. I smiled at his display of effort before quickly typing on my keyboard. 

I zoom in on the woman's face. She was attractive, beautiful long brown hair, tan skin, and a resting bitch face that would instill the fear of God in any man. 

"That woman... It's Scarlet." Dante said as his eyebrows furrowed. "That doesn't make any sense." He mumbled to himself. 

"What do you mean?" I asked as I tilted my head. 

"I killed Sofia after Stephan returned." Dante said, his eyes locked on the screen. 

"Then that means Scarlet was going to double cross you regardless of it you were with Sofia or not." I said as I looked at him. Dante's expression darkened instantly, and his jaw clenched as he stared at the computer screen. 

"See if you can track her location... please." He said as he tried to control his anger. 

I quickly typed away, cross referencing street cameras, atm's, anything that had the capability of recording near the bar, I searched. 

Windows of Scarlet's face were popping up on my screen, each displaying her at a different location in Paris. Some were of her crossing the street, others were of her getting into cabs, and the last and most recent one to popped up showed her sitting at a cafe, sipping on a cup of coffee. 

"When was the last one recorded?" Dante asked quickly. 

"Half an hour ago." I said as I looked at him with my eyebrows furrowed. 

"Dante, Scarlet's still in Paris." I said with wide eyes. 

"Ladies and gentleman, we will be arriving in Paris shortly. Please fasten your seat belts and return to your normal seating." The pilot announced over the speakers.