Chapter 15
Aurora POV
My breath catches in my throat as the door swings open, revealing Dominic’s dark gaze that instantly locks onto me.
I freeze, not daring to even breathe while he states at me. I’ve been caught but how much they suspect I’ve heard is still up in the air. If they think I know their plans, will they kill me? Will they simply forgo using me as a pawn and get rid of me out of sheer paranoia?
Romero reacts first, stepping forward. “We have a problem here, don’t we.”
My heart slams against my ribs, but I force my chin up, refusing to shrink under the weight of his stare. “I won’t say anything. Even if I did, which I won’t, no one would believe me anyway.”
While Dominic’s expression shifts just a little, Romero scoffs, unimpressed. “That’s not a gamble we’re willing to take.”
I swallow hard, bracing myself.
If he wants to kill me over this, I’m at least going to put up some kind of fight. I’ve lived this long and gone through enough shit to not go down without a fight. I may have given up on my freedom long ago but that doesn’t mean I’m ready to die.
Not like this at least.
But before he can act, Dominic suddenly snaps back to his senses. “No.”
One word. Final. Absolute.
Romero’s expression tightens. “You can’t possibly think this isn’t going to bite us in the ass later.”
Dominic doesn’t flinch. “Killing her would raise suspicion. You know how my father is. If Aurora dies under my roof, there’ll be questions and that’s not something I’m at all in the mood to deal with.”
Romero exhales sharply but doesn’t push it. As much as he might want to eliminate the problem, me, he knows Dominic is right and so do I. Not only will killing me get Dominic in trouble with Leonardo, it’ll be enough of a convenient excuse for my father to potentially start a war with the Guerreros.
After the incident last year and the Guerreros, specifically Dominic, I’m not sure how many men they can spare to lose a second time around.
While I don’t know the exact reason for why Dominic won’t kill me, I’m not questioning it. Maybe what he said is true and that this is all because of Leonardo or maybe it’s something else entirely like another war I’m suspecting will happen.
Then again… would Dominic be reckless enough to risk it in order to keep his secrets safe?
For now, at least I’m still breathing and that’s all that matters.
“I came to return this,” I say, holding out his wallet to him. “I’ll go back to my room now.”
Right as I’m about to turn to head back down the hall, the Consigliere and Theo arrive, their presence unsettling me in a strange way. Though, maybe that’s because I notice Theo’s eyes raking over my body as I slip out into the hallway again.
Them showing up here cements the fact that all of this has been a much bigger deal than some simple carjacking we’d managed to escape from by the skin of our teeth.
A mafia boss had been hit, and with that came some sort of call for retribution.
I can feel Theo’s gaze following me down the hallway, sending a shiver rolling up my spine. I’m too exhausted to care, though. I quickly return to the room I’d been given, closing the door behind me and sealing myself safely inside while my mind remains a tangled mess.
I’m not looking forward to what tomorrow brings—what other fresh problems I’ll soon have to face being involved with the Guerrero family.
And yet, as I slip under the expensive sheets, the tension in my body barely easing, I can’t ignore the fact that tonight could have ended very differently.
Why didn’t Dominic kill me?
Thankfully, it doesn’t take long for sleep to claim me.
Dominic POV
Long after Aurora had left to go back to her room, Dominic sat in his office with his fingers tapping idly against the armrest of his chair, his eyes staring at nothing in particular.
Romero paced the room while the silence stretched between them. Had been since Theo and Matteo had left a little while ago after their meeting. He’d grown more uneasy as the night went on, muttering under his breath just like he was doing so now.
“She knows too much,” Romero said, his voice edged with frustration. “I don’t like this. Her being here—it’s a problem, Dominic. She could ruin everything if she decides to start talking about what she sees.”
Dominic’s gaze remained fixed on the darkened window outside. “She won’t.”
He had full confidence in that. She knew what would happen to her if she so much as uttered a single word about what she overheard. That woman wasn’t stupid, far from it, actually.
Romero exhaled sharply, shaking his head. “You’re betting too much on that.”
Dominic wasn’t betting on anything. He knew.
Aurora had stared into the face of death earlier today and pulled the trigger anyway. She’d seen firsthand the kind of monsters that were after them and who would be more than willing to take him and his family down given the chance.
She had stood her ground and protected them while he, himself, had been trying to get them out of danger. There was something about that—about her—that impressed him.
“She won’t talk,” he repeated, firmer this time. “She understands the stakes.”
Romero didn’t look convinced but it didn’t matter. What did matter was the sudden unease curling in Dominic’s gut. His fingers stilled against the edge of his chair, his eyes narrowing as his instincts screamed at him to pay attention.
Something felt off. Wrong.
Then it hit him: Theo… he hadn’t seen him leave. Dominic had trusted he’d follow Matteo out when they’d both bid them a goodnight before leaving the office. He hadn’t actually seen Theo leave with his own two eyes.
Fuck.
The realization hit him like a bolt of lightning slamming into his body.
If the bastard was still here, wandering around the penthouse with no one to keep him and Aurora apart, there would be no stopping him from trying to get at her like he did back at that gala event .
Romero frowned when he rose to his feet. “What—?”
Dominic was already moving out of the office, through the hall and down to where Aurora’s room was. The second he reached it, he could tell something was off.
Her door had been left partially open.
Dominic didn’t hesitate. He slammed through the door, the force of it rattling the walls, the deafening sound cutting through the night like a gunshot.
“Theo.” He bit out.
A shadow hovering over her bed froze.
