Chapter 62
Dominic POV
Things were finally looking up.
Dominic hadn’t expected that. Honestly, hadn’t dared to. Not when this whole thing had started as a necessary evil to avenge his mother. An arranged marriage and a blood-soaked business strategy that somehow had turned into something more romantic.
Aurora had loved the ring, not just liked it as he expected her too. After all, regardless of the meaning behind it, it was simply a stunning piece any woman would find pretty.
But she hadn’t accepted it because she thought she had to, she loved it. Not just the ring, but the meaning behind it, too. She understood it was more than a few expensive stones and metal workings. That it wasn’t some shiny bribe to keep her from running: it was a grand gesture, a way to bring her into his world and not that of the mafia.
It was a piece of himself he hadn’t given to anyone else before.
Dominic didn’t know when things had changed between them. There was no clear line, no precise moment, when the arrangement stopped feeling like enemies forced into a contract. Somewhere between the fights, the blackmail, and the way she’d let herself soften in his arms after pulling her into bed, it had happened.
They were moving towards something real and for once, he didn’t feel like resisting it.
He actually wanted this.
Dom had learned to live without much softness in his life. He didn’t trust it. Things like that only led to someone finding the weakness in order to exploit it and use it against him. But Aurora brought it out of him in pieces without trying. Oddly enough, with her it didn’t feel like weakness.
It felt like evolution.
Like maybe deciding to marry her hadn’t just been a smart decision for business as the heir to the Guerrero syndicate and its future boss. But the best one for himself. For just Dominic the man who had longed for someone to stay by his side despite never wanting to admit to it.
Aurora was special.
He never wanted to let her go
He was still in a rare good mood when he climbed out of his car later that afternoon, the sun overhead doing its best to warm the brisk coastal wind blowing in from the east. He stood at the edge of the dock, flanked by Romero and Luca, his coat flapping around his ankles as he looked out over the quiet stretch of concrete and shipping crates.
Shipments were going smoothly. Another rarity these days. Since taking over at the family’s caporegime, Dominic had found himself consumed with bettering their trades. Making money could only happen if operations were running efficiently, after all.
Luca stretched his arms behind his head with a loud groan. “So… a little birdie told me you snuck into a certain someone’s bedroom window last night. Did she at least beckon you in with a sonnet?”
Dominic shot him a look, but it lacked heat. “Are there other things you wish to tease me about? Or do you simply lack material.”
“Oh, I have plenty to poke fun at,” Luca said, grinning. “This simply happens to be the most fun at the moment.”
Dominic shook his head and turned toward the row of container stacks lining the dock. “Perhaps I should send you back to your mother. You do miss rolling paste for her, don’t you?”
“Oh, he is going for the threats now. Do you see this Romero? You see how my own family treats me?”
Romero made a sound of vague exasperation beside them, keeping his arms crossed while his eyes remained scanning the property with the habitual alertness he usually carried. One of someone who could never quite relax, even on friendly turf.
Normally, Dominic would’ve shut Luca down already or simply barked at him and told him to mind his business. But today he couldn’t bring himself to care. Not when what Luca was implying was true: he was smitten.
Did he care who knew it? To some extent. To outsiders, of course. There would be no greater threat to him or his inner circle if word were to get out that Aurora had become his underbelly. To his comrades, however?
Well… he honestly didn’t give a shit.
“Perhaps I was looking forward to seeing my future wife,” Dominic replied. “Is that a crime?”
Luca laughed loudly, the sound echoing off of the steel containers surrounding them. “My, my! He admits it. It certainly is a glorious day, wouldn’t you say, Romero?”
Aside from the slight twitch to his eye, Romero remained quiet.
They made their way across the lot, passing stacks of weathered containers getting loaded back onto the freight ship and forklifts maneuvering the ones coming off of it between them. Dominic's gaze flicked toward the far end of the property, where a fenced-off section sat mostly empty.
He walked over, inspecting it silently.
This was the dock he’d promised Alek in their final meeting.
The one concession he’d agreed to on top of everything else in their original handshake, in exchange for parting ways without animosity. The Russians wouldn’t take over for another few years, but Dominic had given his word that it would remain untouched and maintained until then.
He intended to keep that promise. Especially since Alek seemed uninterested in the alternative offer of another bride.
The meeting with Alek might not have ended how either of them expected, but Dominic had no intention of giving the bratva any excuse to retaliate. He already had his hands full with what was coming next, the real fight. The one that would tear down the last of his father’s old empire.
As they walked along the length of the dock, Dominic laid out the beginning of his plan. “My father’s inner circle seems to be faltering by the day. A few lower on the totem pole have already broken rank and defected. We should use this instability while we still have it to our advantage.”
Romero nodded. “We should strike from the bottom up. Get rid of your father’s under boss and new consigliere before going after Matteo.”
A fine idea.
This is exactly why he kept his second around. Romero was good at configuring players just like he was, mapping out battle strategies like a well-seasoned general. Dominic never went into any situation blind, so the more thoroughly they planned this, the better off they would be.
He nodded. “That’s how we’ll do it.”
“And the Carusos?” Romero asked. “Will we be taking them out in the same sweep?”
Dominic’s jaw tightened slightly. “Actually, they’ll need to be last. That has to be handled differently than my father’s men.”
He didn’t say Aurora’s name, but it lingered between them anyway.
He’d take out her father last—punish him for all of the things he’d done to his own daughter and then some. Dominic had to be smart about it, though. Strategic. In a way that wouldn’t come back to hurt Aurora before Francesco could be taken out for good.
“Won’t it look suspicious if our numbers start dropping?” Luca asked. “If I were on the Caruso’s end, I would be frantic trying to distance myself from a family whose head executives were dropping like flies.”
Dominic was about to elaborate when his phone rang. Pulling it out and glancing down at the screen had his brow raising slightly.
Marco.
Dominic frowned, stepping away from Romero and Luca to answer it “What?”
The voice on the other end was strained, thin and hoarse as it sucked in a tight sounding breath. “Dom…”
Dominic’s entire body went still. “Marco? What is it?”
“Alek…” There was a strained cough that sounded horrible—like the man on the other end had been strangled. “He’s… he’s here.”
Dominic’s blood ran cold. “What?”
“In the States,” Marco gasped out. “He’s… said… he’s here to talk. Wouldn’t wait. Said he—”
There was a thud on the other end of the phone, and then silence.
“Marco?” Dominic barked, suddenly alert. “Marco!”
No one answered him back.
Fuck.
As soon as he whirled back around, Romero was already striding over, his face pinched with a grim look. “What happened?”
“Marco just passed out on the phone. Said Alek is in the States.”
Luca cursed.
Dominic knew exactly why the Russian was here. They’d parted on good terms but apparently, their agreement and the new proposal hadn’t been enough. Alek Volkov wanted something he couldn't have and was now refusing to take no as an answer, intending to come here and retrieve it himself.
Or rather: her.
Dominic clenched his fists. “We need to get back to the safehouse. Now.”
