**Elena’s POV**

The sound of the lock clicking still echoed in the small space as he turned toward me. His eyes were darker than I had ever seen, and it scared the hell out of me.

“Who the hell is Dante to you?” he growled.

“What?” I sucked in a panicked breath, my chest tightening as the air suddenly became impossible to find.

“Don’t play dumb with me,” he snapped, his voice low but trembling with something deeper than anger. "Tell me, who is he to you?"

My heart pounded ...