Chapter 14

Aurora POV

Before I can process what’s happening, Dominic’s arm tightens across my chest, a protective barrier as he shifts the car into a different gear.

My breath catches, terror seizing my body.

A second later, the impact happens.

Our car slams into the back of Leonardo’s vehicle, the violent jolt ripping me forward, but Dominic’s arm stays firm, holding me in place. The sound of metal crunching against metal reverberates through my skull, the world spinning as Dominic’s foot jams down on the peddle.

Tires screech against the pavement, the force of the collision pushing Leonardo’s car forward and through the ring the men have formed around it.

I bite down on a scream, my fingers digging into the seat.

The second I hear the crack of gunfire, my eyes fly open.

“Down.” The single word is a snapped order, his tone leaving no room for hesitation.

The car veers violently as Dominic yanks the wheel around again, his movements precise and urgent, maneuvering the vehicle in a way that keeps us from being a stationary target.

My entire body reacts on instinct.

I sink down as fast as I can, pressing myself low into the seat, my hands gripping the edge of it like a lifeline. Every inch of me is radiating with fear, my pulse hammering against my ribs like a war drum.

That’s when my fingers brush against the cool metal handle of something metal.

A gun.

“Shit.” Dominic’s window explodes, glass splintering inward as a bullet slams into it.

My body reacts before my brain can catch up.

I grab the gun, my fingers locking around it and without thinking, I sit up just as a figure moves outside Dominic’s now-broken window. A man’s face appears, strange, unknown, and aiming his own weapon directly at us.

I pull the trigger.

The recoil jolts through my entire body, the confined space of the car amplifying the gunshot so violently that it rattles inside my skull. The man’s head snaps back, his body dropping instantly.

For a split second, both Dominic and I freeze.

His head whips toward me, his expression stunned, his eyes wide—not just surprised, just shocked.

“Go!” I scream.

Dominic doesn’t hesitate, his foot slams down onto the gas pedal, the engine roaring in response as the tires screech against the pavement. The car lunges forward, jerking me back into my seat as we cut sharply around Leonardo’s vehicle.

The world outside is a blur, streaks of movement and the distorted silhouettes of armed men diving out of the way as Dominic maneuvers the car with lethal precision.

I twist around in my seat, keeping the gun clutched tight in my hands while my pulse hammers. Through the cracked, spiderwebbed windshield in the back, I see Leonardo’s car lurching forward, following us, pushing through the chaos we just tore away from.

Time moves quickly as we race through the city, coming up to a parking garage. The car barrels through the entrance gate, the metal arm snapping up as we tear inside. He doesn’t slow down until we reach the far end of the garage, a darkened section where the overhead lights flicker faintly, barely illuminating the space.

Once Dominic parks us, he sags in his seat, sighing to himself.

Whatever that was, an attempted carjacking or something else entirely, I don’t care, I’m just happy to be out of it.

The weight of the gun is still in my hands, my fingers stiff from holding it too tightly. I can’t believe I shot someone… then again, I’m not sorry about it at all.

Dominic notices.

Without a word, he reaches over and plucks the gun from my grip, sliding it back under his seat like it’s nothing more than a misplaced set of keys.

But before he can, another set of tires screeches against the pavement. I stiffen, my pulse spiking once more as my head whips toward the entrance.

Leonardo’s car.

It pulls into the parking space right beside ours, the engine still running as the driver’s side door flings open. Leonardo stumbles out, his movements unsteady as his hand clutches his ribs, fingers pressing against a darkened stain on his suit.

Blood.

My stomach drops. He’s hurt.

But as his sharp, narrowed gaze sweeps over Dominic and then lands on me, I realize something far worse: he’s furious.

He doesn’t get the chance to say anything before he collapses on the ground.

Dominic kicks his door open, cursing under his breath. “Call Romero. Tell him we need a doctor.”

It takes me a second to realize he’s talking to me.

I quickly turn to the console on his dash and tab through the contacts until I hit Romero’s. His voice is clipped when he answers, pausing only a moment when he hears me talking, before he tells me he’ll send some people down to come help us upstairs.

And then the call ends.

It turns out Leonardo sustained a gunshot wound during the ordeal. Blood loss, the doctor had said after checking the older Guerraro out, nothing fatal. While the bullet hadn’t hit anything major, the injury still had been enough to keep him out cold, rendering him completely vulnerable.

The penthouse is the same one I’d woken up in the night after sleeping with Dominic and being back here brings too many memories for me to process while also dealing with Leonardo almost being taken out.

In the midst of all the chaos, Dominic ended up arranging a room for me to rest in for the time being, his voice clipped and impersonal when he’d told me, already shifting back into business mode.

He’d also told me to stay put while things were being handled, that I’ll be sent home when they figure out what the hell happened and who those men were.

I don’t argue and don’t bother asking any questions either.

Because right now, I need the quiet to think. Or at least, I think I do.

The room he gives me is large with high ceilings and dark furniture that only makes the space feel colder the longer I’m in it. I sit on the edge of the bed, running my fingers over the soft fabric of the jacket draped in my lap.

Dominic’s jacket.

I had taken it when he’d shrugged it off to help carry his father upstairs and hadn’t realized I still had it clutched in my arms when he’d forced me into this room and shut the door behind me. I don’t know if I’m locked in here or if I’m free to move around, but I have a feeling either way he doesn’t want me getting into things while he’s dealing with those carjackers.

I run my hand over the jacket again, feeling something small and rectangular in one of the pockets. Shoving my hand into it, I pull out his wallet. It’s worn leather, the edges slightly frayed and discolored, but other than that it’s well-kept.

When I open it, a small, folded photograph catches my eye immediately.

It’s a picture of a woman. Her long dark hair drapes down her back as she’s half turned to the camera, a radiant smile on her face that lights up her expression, her eyes warm with vibrance. The image is old, the edges creased, like it has been touched many times.

Why does Dominic have this?

Something tightens in my chest. I know what it’s like to cling to a memory, to hold onto something that once meant safety.

Swallowing, I carefully fold the photograph back and tuck it into the wallet, rising to return it to him. This may be the first time I’ve glimpsed something real behind the walls he keeps so tightly guarded.

I move through the hall quietly when I leave my room, the wallet tucked in my palm, listening for any sign of where Dominic might be.

When I hear voices, I follow them. The door to a nearby study is slightly ajar, the glow of dim light spilling through the crack and onto the floor in front of it.

“Let him die,” someone is saying when I reach it.

“We can’t.” Another one argues. “It’ll disrupt the entire operation.”

“He killed my mother.” The first voice snaps. Dominic’s voice— sharp and cold.

“It’s not the time, Dominic,” the other voice response, his tone firm but steady. “The doctor just said his vitals are stable. The consigliere and Theo are on their way. Killing him now would raise suspicion.”

Kill him?

My stomach flips. They’re talking about Leonardo.

Dominic wants to—

Oh my God.

My hands tighten around the wallet, my nails biting into the leather as my mind races.

Dominic wants to kill his own father. No, more than that, he’s planned for it. That’s what all of this has been about. Not about my family or getting some revenge for his men being killed in that raid over a year ago. No, this is so much more than that.

And the worst part? I understand. I know why he wants this. If it’s true that his own father killed his mother, I’d want that man dead too.

I need to leave. To get out of here before—

The floor creaks under my feet as I step back from the door.

“What was that?” Dominic says.

A shift in the floorboard beneath my foot.

Shit.