He ended the call and looked at me.

“What is it?” I asked, my heart hammering.

“That was my security team,” Dante said.

“Vanessa Hale just arrived at the docks.”

He picked up his coat from the chair.

“And she is not alone.”

“And she is not alone.”

My hand instinctively moved to my stomach.

I protectively shielded the secret life growing inside me from the cold air of the room.

“Who is with her?” I asked, my voice barely a whisper against the drumming rain.

“Marcus,” Dante said.

His voice was cold and flat as he pulled his heavy wool coat over his broad shoulders.

“I am coming with you,” I said, standing up from the wooden chair.

Dante stopped, his dark eyes locking onto mine with an intensity that made me hold my breath.

“It is too dangerous, Alessia,” he said.

“It is my life they ruined,” I replied, stepping around the desk to face him. “My family’s legacy. I need to look them in the eye.”

He stared at me for a long moment, measuring my resolve in the dim light.