Chapter 43
Dominic POV
The tension drained from his shoulders the moment Dominic slid into the driver’s seat of his car. The subtle hum of the engine was a soothing sound compared to Francesco’s grating voice, and he took a moment to savor the quiet.
He knew Francesco wasn’t happy—far from it, apparently considering he was willing to actually put up a fight—but Dominic hadn’t gone there to negotiate. Marrying Aurora was never a suggestion, it was a necessity. A move on the chessboard already decided far before anyone was the wiser.
Francesco’s stubbornness was merely a temporary nuisance. Eventually, he would fall into line like everyone else did as soon as they realized what they were up against. Dominic had made sure of that the moment he’d hired the bratva to shoot up the wedding.
While he had no intention of bringing the Russians back again—it was far too risky now that he was in close proximity to his father’s inner circle and Francesco’s by extension—but no one needed to know that.
Fear, Dominic had learned long ago, was a far stronger motivator than any kind of loyalty.
As he drove through the city streets, he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. Pulling it out, he glanced briefly down at the screen before focusing on the road ahead, Romero’s name displayed prominently.
Usually he didn’t call around this time of day.
“Talk,” Dominic said curtly as soon as he answered.
As Romero always did, he got right down to business. “We need to seriously discuss filling the inner circle vacancies Carlos and Enzo left behind last year. With Matteo still sniffing around about Theo’s death, we need reliable allies. Quickly.”
Dominic sighed heavily. The inner circle was a thorny subject. The two men they’d lost against the Ferrari family last year had been more than just loyal subordinates—they’d been trusted friends, brothers in arms. Replacing them felt wrong in a way, almost disloyal.
But Romero was right.
They needed as many allies as they could get on their side before any other large-scale attack took place again. Taking on both his own family and soon Francesco’s would require stronger footholds in places that were already severely lacking.
Dominic leaned his head back against the leather headrest behind him, his free hand flexing around the steering wheel. “You have anyone in mind?”
“Not local,” Romero replied. “We can’t trust anyone in this city. Everyone here is already compromised. We need outsiders. Ones who are completely loyal to you and haven’t already been bought off by Matteo.”
A tall order, indeed.
Dominic considered the options, anyway.
People who owed allegiance solely to him and had no other influence that could sway them to another side… His thoughts drifted briefly to his extended family overseas—relatives who always remained carefully uninvolved in the politics here in the States. Distant cousins who ran family businesses back in Italy where the Guerreros originated from.
Two faces flashed through his mind instantly: Luca and Marco, sons of his mother’s cousin and second cousins to him.
Dominic remembered spending summers with them as a child, back before his father cruelly shattered everything. Luca was sharp, strategic, always ten steps ahead of everyone around him. His twin, Marco, was fearless, reliable, and loyal to his last dying breath.
They knew what it took to take care of a ‘family business’ and understood family obligations quite well. And more importantly, they would have his back without question.
“You remember the twins?” Dominic finally said.
Romero let out a long sigh. “...Yes.”
That almost had Dominic smiling—almost. Together the twins were an unstoppable force. An excellent thing to have in the middle of a battlefield and a pain in the ass to deal with while trying to wrangle them like the feral cats they tended to behave like.
Romero’s true worst nightmare.
“They’ll come if I ask.”
Romero was quiet for a moment. “I suppose I’m wasting my breath asking if you have any other ideas?”
“You would be correct.”
He could practically hear the eye roll on the other end of the phone. “Understood.”
Dominic paused for a moment, his hand flexing around the steering wheel as a sudden wave of emotion washed over him. “They won’t be like the ones we lost… no one could ever replace Carlos and Enzo. But they’re good men. The kind we need on our side while we get through the next couple of months. They’ll protect our interests as much as you and I will.”
A soft sigh come through on the other end. “Yes. You’re right. If you need me to, I can give them a call. I still have their contact information.”
“I’d rather call them myself.”
“Alright. Keep me updated.”
Dominic ended the call, tossing the phone into the passenger seat. Gripping the steering wheel 10-and-2, he felt his jaw tighten.
Losing Enzo and Carlos had hurt more than he’d ever admit to anyone. They were a wound still raw beneath his carefully cultivated mask, a deep guilt that Dominic knew would never truly fade. Sacrificing themselves had been a noble act for a completely avoidable situation. Knowing the Carusos had a hand in their death only continued to flame the burning desire to end them like he had the Ferrero family.
Until then, survival demanded practicality and the truth of the matter was simple: Dominic needed allies now more than ever.
Tapping on the center console to bring up his contacts, he moved through them until he found Luca’s. Connecting the call, he slowed at a traffic light and leaned back in his seat, one hand coming up to rest against the side of the door next to him.
He tapped a finger against his bottom lip while the other end rang.
On the fourth ring, someone finally picked up. “A ‘1’ country code must mean my favorite cousin is suddenly missing me. I knew my ears were ringing for a reason.”
Dominic snorted. “‘Miss’ is a strong word.”
“Yes. Hence why I used it.”
The nostalgia of his cousin’s accented English was unfortunately charming enough to distract him from arguing back. But then again, he supposed that was Luca’s hidden superpower. Easily able to disarm anyone—even him. “I need you and Marco to come to the States.”
“Oh? Something serious happen?”
“Yes,” Dominic said, tapping on the gas to push the car forward when the light flipped. “I’m sure you heard the news of my father’s sudden passing.”
He clicked his tongue against the back of his teeth. “Yes. Quite sad. All of us here offer our sincere condolences. Did you get the flowers we sent to the funeral home?”
Dominic’s brow raised. “There wasn’t a service.”
“Ah, I see.” Luca continued as if he didn’t hear a word Dominic said. “They must’ve gotten lost in the mail. How tragic. Postage these days is quite tricky, no?”
He felt a rare moment of genuine amusement. “Indeed.”
“You say you need Marco and I on the next flight out?”
“Preferably.” He replied. “I’ll fill you in on what’s going on when you get here.”
“Of course. I’ll be waiting for the tickets to show up in my email. Romero still has my contact info, no?”
“That he does. I’ll have him put you both on a private jet.”
Luca chuckled. “I look forward to seeing you, cousin. It has been too long. I wonder how tall you’ve grown. Perhaps towering over me now.”
“A mystery for you and Marco to contemplate together on the ride over.”
“Excellent. I’ve needed an excuse to force him into another bet.”
Pulling into the parking garage of his penthouse, Dominic gave his final goodbyes to his cousin before ending the phone call and pulling into his paid parking spot. As soon as he had the car in park, Dominic sat back heavily, closing his eyes for just a moment.
Everything was coming together quite easily. Which… worried him. The turmoil within his father’s inner circle was bound to implode soon, none of it being helped by Francesco’s insistence on being involved.
Sitting back and watching them all eat each other was easy enough, however with Matteo starting to deviate from his fated path, Dominic was growing worried he was turning into a wild card previously unaccounted for.
That would make his plan much more annoying to execute if Matteo continued to be a nuisance.
The center console lit up with a text notification.
Aurora.
He grabbed his phone from the passenger seat to open it immediately.
It read: We need to talk. Meet me tonight.
Dominic stared at the short message for a long moment, his thumb hovering uselessly over the keyboard. Aurora always managed to throw him off balance. She’d become her own kind of wild card since the morning of her wedding. Surprising him in ways he never thought possible.
He had meant it back then when he told her he was proud of her. Not many in this world could claim to have genuinely flabbergasted him before. As frustrating as it was to completely upend his plan and come up with an entirely new one in a matter of hours, he never found it in himself to be angry with her.
She played a good game. Dominic of all people could appreciate recognizing that.
I’ll pick you up outside of the gate like last time. Be ready at eight.
She texted back almost instantly. Okay.
Aurora’s unpredictability intrigued him more than it irritated him. His life had always been carefully controlled, meticulously planned, every move deliberate b since meeting her Aurora had grown into something he couldn’t predict as easily as he did everything else.
Strangely, part of him liked that challenge. Aurora Caruso was one of the only people brave enough to challenge him like that.
He briefly wondered if Aurora was requesting to see him in order to reject his proposal. If she planned to beg him for freedom like she had so many nights ago being faced with marrying his father instead.
No matter what she threw at him tonight, he would convince her otherwise. Accepting his proposal, and marriage with him, would guarantee she survived the destruction of her family’s downfall. No matter how angry or defiant she got tonight, he would not lose control over her.
Aurora belonged to him—he had decided that already a long time ago.
He just needed her to see it too.
