Dominic was up before the sun rose, and he knew that Isadora would be sleeping for a while. He’d taken her twice during the night; her screams had filled his ears, and he’d loved every second of it. During sex, her face was an open book, which she clearly didn’t realize.
At the kitchen counter, he poured himself a cup of coffee, grunting a good morning to Austin, who stood on the other side. Ingredients lay out on the counter as he prepared to start breakfast. Dominic hadn’t slept much, and neither had Austin, it seemed.
“The look on your face says it was a productive night,” Austin said with a grin on his face.
“It’s been a while,” Dominic replied.
“What time do you want to leave?”
Dominic stretched his arms over his head and emptied his cup of coffee. “We’ll leave tomorrow at five sharp. Take the day and night off; spend it with whatever floats your boat. I won’t be going out.”
“Do I still have to make you breakfast?” Austin’s grin had Dominic grinning too.
“Definitely not; you’re no Ethan. I can feed myself for one day. Don’t let Hudson near the strip clubs at all.”
“I won’t make that mistake again. Fuck, the last time he nearly killed two guys who couldn’t keep their hands to themselves.” Austin smiled at the memory.
It had taken money, whispering in listening ears, along with a few threats, to get Hudson out of cuffs and back on the streets after the stunt he’d pulled. He hated the manhandling of women, especially strippers and hookers, who he claimed weren’t there by choice. He had a warped sense of responsibility towards women who couldn’t fend for themselves.
Hudson was a diamond in the rough, with an emphasis on the rough, but he had a heart of gold. He was also a mean motherfucker, with a sick glint in his eyes when he faced an enemy. He had no fear or remorse for taking a life that he deemed unworthy. Dominic still loved him like a brother, warped and all.
“I’ll keep an eye on him.”
Once Austin had left the apartment, Dominic made his way upstairs to his private penthouse and worked out in his own gym for an hour, needing to get rid of the pent-up frustrations that were bottling up. Isadora was still asleep by the time Dominic had showered and dressed casually in jeans and a t-shirt.
Isadora appeared just as Dominic finished with breakfast, wearing Dominic’s dress shirt, looking completely sated and at ease. Her hair was disheveled and he liked that she hadn’t bothered with make-up or dressing up to try and impress him.
“Did you sleep well?”
She smiled and slid onto a bar stool, watching him as he filled a cup with coffee for her. “I did. Did you?”
“Very.” She didn’t need to know that Dominic hadn’t slept or that he rarely slept through the night.
“You, Dominic, are a man full of surprises,” she said as he placed a plate in front of her.
“My mother believed her sons should be able to care for themselves.”
“Sons? How many siblings are there?” She looked genuinely intrigued.
“I have three brothers and two sisters.”
She looked at Dominic with shock etched in her eyes. “Your mother must be a saint.”
“What about your family? Tell me something about you. Any siblings?”
She hesitated. She was going to lie to him, and he knew it the moment he’d seen it. He had no idea why she’d want to lie, but it could’ve been one of many reasons. Perhaps death or disappointment, everyone had that one person in their family that they’d rather not talk about. He already knew everything she’d done to hide the truth, but he’d let her lie herself into a corner.
“I’m an only child. My parents live in Sherwood. My mom teaches English at the high school, and my dad’s an accountant,” she said. Dominic didn’t believe her, but he decided not to call her out on it. She’d only known him for a day, so one could argue that it was good that she didn’t trust others easily. She would tell him the truth eventually, which he’d make sure of.
They ate in silence, and he didn’t object when Isadora offered to clean the kitchen. He hadn’t planned on doing it, but she didn’t need to know that either. Dominic retreated to the living room and checked his emails on his laptop while she hummed to herself in the kitchen.
At some point in the near future, he’d have to meet with Lorenzo Altobella to finalize his arranged marriage to his daughter. The agreement had been made on the day of her birth, and Conrad would escort him to that meeting to make sure the contract was signed.
Lorenzo Altobella was one of the Famiglia Elders and an important man. He held the monopoly on the strip clubs in the city, and the Manso family worked directly under him. Luca Manso was one of the heads and paid tribute to the godfather as well as the Elders.
“Dominic.”
He turned his head towards Isadora as she sat down on the couch next to him. “Yes?”
“Don’t you think it’s a bit soon for me to just move in here with you?”
Dominic smirked; she clearly hadn’t been listening the previous night. “I don’t live here, Isadora. I only use it when I’m in the city overnight.”
She bit her bottom lip, reminding him again how he’d rather do the biting. “So I’m supposed to live here in your apartment and be available when you come to town?”
He didn’t like the bitter tone in her voice, but he kept his expression neutral. “I’m not forcing you to stay here. I just thought you’d be more comfortable here with a stocked apartment, a driver, and a car at your disposal. It’s still your choice.”
Her eyes softened as a smile appeared on her lips. “How is a man like you still single?”
“Perhaps I’ve been waiting for the right one.” Women needed to know that they meant something, and Dominic never made a promise he couldn’t keep.
Her cheeks heated slightly, and he watched as the idea took form in her mind. She thought he was talking about her, and for now, he’d let her think that. He wasn’t opposed to having feelings, although he rarely did; he just didn’t waste his time with having feelings for someone that wouldn’t last.
The sniper teams had dealt with the men sent to the house so swiftly that Rafaella hadn’t even known it had happened. Hudson had given them the all clear and she’d asked about Dominic first.“He’s fine, Rafi, I spoke to Cooper, they’re all fine,” Hudson said.“Then this is the perfect time for us to leave,” she said.“You got what you need?” Hudson asked her.“Yes. Let’s go before they know we’re gone,” Rafaella said.Hudson led Rafaella out of the house and into the garage. He took the smaller SUV and they sped away from the house. The other men were busy dealing with the dead bodies and the women were all safely in their quarters.“You did everything I asked?”Hudson looked at Rafaella in the rearview mirror. “I did.” She nodded her head. “Are you sure you want to do this, Rafi?”“I’ve never been surer of anything in my life, Hudson,” she said as her hands cradled her pregnant stomach.“Dominic’s not going to be happy about this.” She knew Hudson was right. Dominic’s temper was lege
Twenty minutes later, Cooper slowed the SUV down and Gage looked at Dominic. “See you soon, brother.” The door opened and Gage was out of the car. Cooper sped up again the moment the door closed and Dominic could feel everything inside him settle.Tonight everything would end, one way or another.Cooper pulled the SUV up at the specified warehouse. Three men stood outside the door and watched them warily. Their hands reached for their weapons as the doors opened and Dominic climbed out.“Mr. Vittori is waiting inside,” one man said.The other two men stepped closer to them and started patting them down. Dominic had expected it and neither he nor Cooper were armed. Ethan had been somewhere on a rooftop since the sun set with his sniper rifle and he’d start taking the men out when Gage gave him the signal.Dominic walked into the warehouse first, Cooper following close behind him. He hadn’t liked the idea of bringing any of his men with him, but they’d argued and Cooper had told him tha
Sniper teams were waiting at the compound, Agron’s house and Dominic’s country house. Each woman had three men with her and security at Dominic’s house had been doubled. Austin and Hudson were in strategic places on the ground floor of the house.Dominic sat in the rear while Cooper drove the SUV and Gage sat next to Dominic. He had his head resting on the headrest with his eyes closed and Dominic had no idea how he remained so impassive.The trip to the warehouse took them forty-five minutes and Dominic was itching for a fight. He wanted to feel his knuckles split open on Rocco’s face and see the fucking bastard bleed. He could even feel it in the tightening of his groin.“I get it now,” Dominic said.Gage opened his eyes and turned to look at him. “Get what?”Dominic chuckled. “I get why Hudson gets aroused by blood.”“Fuck,” Cooper muttered from the front and Gage laughed.“I’ve always been aroused by it. I just hide it better than Hudson,” Gage said.“There’s a difference between
Gage’s eyes snapped open as a door opened on the far side of the building. He’d been in the ceiling for two days, waiting for the perfect moment. The plan was a fucking good one, even he could admit it.They’d spent three weeks going over the details. For the first time in their history, three crime families were working together to take out the godfather of la famiglia. Rocco Vittori had surrounded himself with soldiers.It was a good thing that he was afraid, because Gage was pissed off and his patience was wearing thin. He wanted Rocco’s blood so much that he could taste and smell it. The women were at the country house, being watched by their men.Dominic would take Cooper with him, Lev would take Sasha and Agron would have Granit with him. Gage worked alone, he didn’t need back-up, he was first in line, back-up and the middle man.Gage closed his eyes again and listened intently as footsteps neared the office. “All I’m saying is, tonight’s meeting with Dominic will end in blood.”
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!” Dominic growled. The documents in front of him told the same story Faro just did, but he didn’t want to believe it. He was pissed that Eris kept his problems to himself.Dominic would have helped him, he’d always help all of them, blood was blood and they were bound by it. They all had the middle name ‘Rose’ for a reason. It was their mother’s maiden name and for them it was as strong as the blood that made them family.Faro sat in the chair in front of his desk, the proof spread out over his desk. Fucking Eris. “Sihana found it. She said he was broke, Dominic. He had a few grand in his account, the others were empty.”“Drugs. That’s the only explanation,” Dominic said, sounding a lot calmer. No matter how angry he felt now, Eris would always remain his brother, even in death. He should’ve seen the signs of Eris’s freefalling earlier, but he hadn’t, Faro had.He also blamed himself. If his relationship with Eris had been better, he might have bee
Sihana woke up to light kisses on her bare shoulder. She shifted onto her back and looked at Faro’s face. His hair was tousled and she could see it was still dark out. “What’s wrong?” Her voice was thick from sleep and she cleared her throat.“Why did you leave?” Faro’s voice was soft but he sounded wide awake.“Because you were being an asshole and I wanted to sleep peacefully,” Sihana said and turned away from him.Faro moved up right against her. “You know how I feel about waking up without you. It’s our bed for a reason.”“Then don’t be an asshole to me right before you go to sleep,” she said.“I wasn’t being an asshole. I just disagreed with you,” Faro said.“The truth is still the truth, you’re not a bookkeeper, I am. Eris was skimming money from the strip clubs. I showed you the proof,” Sihana said. “You have to tell Dominic.”“Fuck, Sihana. Do you have any idea what that’s going to do to him?”Faro’s arm snaked over her hip and his hand cradled her stomach. She felt sorry for
Inara clamped her hand over her mouth and retreated away from the kitchen. Her heart was thudding loudly in her chest. She’d woken up half an hour earlier and pulled on her robe, wondering where Agron was.He never left without waking her and she’d gone downstairs for some water when she’d overheard something that might get her killed. She took a deep breath and quietly made her way upstairs again and slid back into bed.By the time Agron joined her, she had her eyes closed and her heart had stopped betraying her. She tried not to stiffen when his arm encircled her waist and his mouth nuzzled her neck. She felt like an idiot. Agron had played her, had played her whole family and it was all her fault.She must have fallen asleep at some point because the sun’s rays woke her and Agron was still wrapped around her. She hated the fact that she’d given herself to him willingly. Hated that she’d fallen in love with him.She understood the saying better now, there really was a fine line betw
The trial had dragged on for two more weeks and Dominic was glad that the end was in sight. The jury was deliberating the outcome but he wasn’t focused on that anymore. They were back in the city and headed to Rafaella’s gynecologist.Hudson had accompanied her to her other appointments while he was stuck in court and they’d decided to wait until he could be with her to find out the genders of their babies. Dominic couldn’t remember a time he’d been more excited about something.“Mrs. Vittori?” The nurse called out their name, and Dominic stood up to help Rafaella to her feet.Dominic had his hand on the small of Rafaella’s back as the nurse led them down a hallway and into an examination room. She took Rafaella’s blood pressure and made notes on the chart for the doctor.“You can get comfortable on the examination bed with your shirt up. Dr. Rehmeyer will be in shortly,” the nurse said and left the room.“After this trial, I think we should go away for a bit, someplace you can relax,
Isadora had taken the stand and sworn to tell the whole truth. Dominic’s rage flared up again the moment she opened her mouth and started lying. He knew Halden had coached her. The things she was testifying to hadn’t been made public knowledge and he’d never said a word to her about it.It took all his self-control not to lash out at her or call her a lying whore in front of the whole courtroom. She was a woman scorned but Dominic could see himself wrapping his hands around her neck and choking the life out of her. He could almost understand Hudson’s fascination with it.Mitchelson stood up with a stoic look on his face. “Miss Watkins, would you say that you were close to Mr. Vittori during your relationship?”“Yes,” Isadora said. “We were very close.”“Mr. Vittori shared things with you, personal things?”Isadora shifted in her seat. “Yes.”“Can you tell the court what the name of Vittori Ads’ sister company in Japan is named?”Isadora blinked and Dominic’s lips twitched but he fough