Chapter 23

Aurora POV

Sneaking out one of the back doors of the estate has my heart thudding hard against my ribs.

I’ve never done anything like this before, let alone to go meet someone. But I always thought one day if I got the courage to leave, it would be like this—darting across the lawn towards the gate with nothing but the clothes on my back and a small stash of cash I’ve kept safe tucked into my back pocket.

I can’t believe I’m doing this not to escape my horrible life but for a man. My enemy, at that.

The world outside is silent, only the moon’s pale light guiding me as I run. Where the front gate it, it’s dark, almost like a void has swallowed up that part of the estate. An ominous chill races up my spine once my hands grab at the iron bars in order to yank them apart, leaving only enough room for me to slip past them and nothing more.

It was a risk sneaking down to the main breaker and cutting the power to the gate before I’d left. But seeing as how there would be no other way to get out other than climbing the retaining wall, I had no other choice.

It was either that or trying to somehow figure out the code for the gate without an alert waking up my father for inputting it in wrong.

As soon as I get the gate closed behind me I turn around and see it.

Of course—a sleek black sports car, low to the ground and gleaming beneath the streetlight behind it. I don’t even need to see whose behind the wheel to know Dominic is the one driving it, no doubt with one hand resting on the stick shift and the other casual holding the bottom of the wheel.

Breathing out, I slowly approach the car and then try the handle. It’s already unlocked, opening easily for me.

I hesitate for a second—just one second—before slippin into the car.

The leather seats smell expensive. The cushion is firm when I settle myself down onto it, sinking into the heat radiating from the back.

Dominic says nothing when he looks over at me, simply shifting the gears once I have myself buckled in and then taking off down the road.

The silence between us stretches on longer than I thought it would, like a string pulled tight and straining to snap. The only sounds between us are the hum of the engine and the faint rush of the wind blowing past us as he shifts us into a different gear.

I can’t help glancing at him from the corner of my eye.

His jaw is tight, one hand clenched around the wheel and the other around the stick shift. He looks… distracted. Maybe even a little frustrated. I don’t know if that’s better or worse than him looking calm like he usually does but it’s not anything I’m familiar with.

I’m used to him always acting like he’s one step ahead of everyone else, like he’s in on some game the rest of us don’t even know we’re playing. But right now this tension feels like anything but that. Like somehow he’s gotten himself into trouble and doesn’t know how to get out of it.

My mind spirals through every worst-case scenario.

Did Dominic somehow figure out that I’ve been snooping around and collecting intel on his plans to murder his father and my creating my fail safe to survive the aftermath?

I twist my fingers in my lap, forcing myself to keep breathing.

While it wouldn’t be that far of a stretch, I can’t see how I would’ve tipped him off. I’ve been careful in my research, sticking to the correct channels and hardly diving into the deep web at points that would somehow get back to him. Even when I’d brought Gianna in on it, we’d made painstaking efforts to keep everything under wraps.

But what if somehow Dominic already suspects I’m up to something?

Without warning, Dominic swerves off the main road and pulls off onto a thin one-car lane road. My heart pounds hard in my chest as the trees envelope us from either side, his headlights the only thing able to penetrate the deep darkness beyond the car.

Oh god, if he’s taking me out here to kill me, I’m an idiot for not taking the proper measures ahead of time. Then again, Gianna knows what to do if I suddenly turn up missing. My best friend will be smart enough to figure out what happened and release the info.

That, at least, brings me a little bit of comfort.

When he cranks the wheel again, he turns off onto a small parking lot. I blink in confusion as the car slows and then stops, the engine cutting following shortly after. The lights are still shining ahead of us and once I blink a few more times, I realize we’re facing a park.

I turn toward him slowly. “Okay… what’s this about?”

His exhale is long, tired sounding, as he closes his eyes. We sit there in silence for another long moment and then he slouches back in his seat, head tipping against the headrest.

“I got into a fight with Romero.”

I blink. That… was not what I expected. “About?”

“He thinks you’re a threat to the plan. That I’m getting distracted and that I’m not going to follow through with it.” His eyes remain closed as he speaks.

I don’t even know what to say to that.

“He wants me to kill you,” he lets out a humorless chuckle. “I told him to fuck off.”

I should feel terrified that Romero wants me dead. I probably am in all honesty. But part of me—some twisted, shameless part—feels… flattered.

He defended me against Romero of all people. His literal right hand. The man that Dominic is supposed to trust the most, who has been trying to get between us since I got dragged into all of this, Dominic told him no.

“Why did you take me here?” I ask quietly.

He doesn’t answer at first. His fingers drum against his thigh, as if debating the question himself. When he opens his eyes again, he turns to face out to the window next to him, his other hand coming up to cup around his jaw.

“I needed to think,” he says finally. “And I didn’t want to be alone.”

I go still. It’s the softest admission I’ve ever heard from him.

Suddenly, all my careful planning, the kill switches I’ve put into place, all the blackmail prepped and ready to go in the name of survival, vanishes. Because this man doesn’t look like the kingpin I’ve come to know him as tonight.

He looks… human.

Dominic opens his door without another word and steps out into the cold night air.

I don’t hesitate before following him.

The park is silent except for the sound of our footsteps swiping softly over the soft grass. Somewhere in the distance, a dog barks but otherwise it’s just us walking together alone, side-by-side like we’ve been doing this for years and it’s become second nature.

“I’ve thought about it,” he says, voice quiet. “Killing you.”

I swallow. “But you’re not going to.”

“I can’t.”

That stops me dead in my tracks. Not ‘won’t’ but ‘can’t’. The word isn’t said bitterly, it’s said in a matter-of-fact way. I hate how it makes my heart flutter. I should be scared of this man, terrified of him because of the power he holds, but no matter what I do, no matter what he does to me I can’t stay away.

I’m like a moth to a flame.

“Why?” I breathe out.

He stares at me for a beat, and then he reaches for me.

I don’t pull back. I let him slide his arms around my waist, pulling me close until we’re pressed together. His eyes flicker down to my mouth and when he kisses me, it’s not soft. It’s fierce. Desperate.

I kiss him back.

His hands are in my hair, mine are on his chest. For a few breathless seconds, the world disappears around us. Maybe all of this makes me reckless. Maybe that makes me stupid. But in this world, sometimes surviving isn’t about always doing the smart thing.

Sometimes it’s about finding something real in the middle of the lie and holding onto it like hell.