Chapter 67

Dominic POV

Dominic was still fuming. Even days later, the rage lingered just beneath the surface, coiled and ready to strike.

Ever since Alek showed up in the States and tried to snatch Gianna right out from under him, Dominic hadn’t known a single moment of peace. The audacity of it, the sheer nerve that man had, had consumed his every waking thought.

He wasn’t sure what pissed him off more, the fact that Alek had tried to go behind his back to claim something Dominic had explicitly said no to, or the fact that Alek had managed to get that close without Dominic knowing until it was almost too late.

And he’s almost gotten away with it.

Dominic hadn’t expected Aurora to take the news well. She’d been quiet since that day—withdrawn in a way that gnawed at him. Her smiles didn’t quite reach her eyes and her touch felt different. More rehearsed than natural.

Gianna, too, had been distant, but at least that was understandable. She’d nearly been carted off like a mail-order-bride by a Russian crime lord. Anyone in her shoes would be shaken after that.

Aurora, though… her distance felt like something else. He told himself she was just scared. That she didn’t know how to process everything yet. It wasn’t like any of them could have predicted Alek would show up in person, let alone with his men in order to intimidate Gianna into going with him.

But something about the way she looked at him now made him wonder…

Made him uneasy.

Still, there was no time to dwell on her mood when the city was pulsing with tension like a powder keg ready to ignite. Since the standoff at the safehouse, he hadn’t heard a word from Alek. No calls or messages. Not even a whisper of a sighting of him climbing on a jet back to Russia.

Which was worse than anything because it meant Alek was still here, somewhere, biding his time.

That alone made Dominic reluctant to leave Aurora and Gianna unattended but today he had no choice. The meeting with the Carusos and his father’s remaining inner circle had already been delayed once. Doing so again would only fuel the fire.

Rumors were already swirling about the bratva being in the city. Paranoia was spreading like an infection, attacking left and right. If he didn’t get ahead of it, every carefully placed domino he’d stacked to dismantle the Carusos and the rest of his father’s loyal men would come crashing down around him.

Dominic straightened the collar of his dress shirt in the mirror, his jaw tight as Romero walked into the room behind him.

“You sure about this?” Romero asked. “Leaving them?”

“No,” Dominic said. “But I don’t have a choice.”

They were already late.

The meeting was held in a private backroom of a posh downtown hotel, the kind with imported crystal chandeliers and bulletproof windows. Dominic hated it. It was too flashy and far too exposed for his liking. But the Carusos were creatures of habit and Francesco didn’t like meeting in unfamiliar places.

By the time Dominic arrived, the remaining heads of his father’s inner circle sat gathered around a long oak table. Francesco sat at the head, flanked by two of his own, Stefano among them. His expression was tight, mouth flattened in a perpetual frown when he fixed his eyes on Dominic coming through the doorway.

“About time you showed up,” someone muttered.

Dominic didn’t answer. He simply took his seat at the opposite end of the table and folded his hands calmly over his knee, his presence alone silencing the few other voices.

“Word on the street is that bratva was seen near the harbor three nights ago,” Stefano said.

“Bullshit,” Matteo snapped. “The Russians wouldn’t be that obvious.”

“They already were that obvious if there was a sighting,” Francesco snapped. “They came into our territory like they owned it. If they’re looking to take over a piece of our city, they’re going to strike hard and fast. Lord knows what they’ll be after if we don’t stop them now. Maybe one of our own… or worse.”

Dominic didn’t flinch, though his jaw did tighten. He was good at appearing unaffected. It was part of what made him dangerous. He found it ironic how close to the truth Francesco nearly was. Pushing a little deeper and he would uncover the entire situation tenfold.

Thankfully, he wasn’t that brilliant.

“The point is,” Francesco continued, “if they’re here, we need to act now. Before they do.”

Dominic’s voice cut through the chaos, steady and calm. “You send out a hunting party without intel and you’ll spook the other families in the city. Showing that much force for a witch hunt will spark a war we can’t afford.”

“We can’t afford not to,” Francesco countered.

“If we handle this the wrong way, you won’t be the only one who pays the price.” Dominic said, his tone icy.

Francesco’s eyes narrowed.

The room erupted again, voices overlapping with speculation and panic. Dominic didn’t join the shouting match. He simply leaned back in his chair, letting the others wear themselves out, while he watched.

As much as he would’ve loved to have two families at his back when confronting Alek, he needed to keep all of this contained. Allowing the Carusos and the Guerreros to find out that the rumors were in fact true would only end up coming back to bite him in the ass.

There would be questions and fingers pointed, all of them eventually landing on him. If he could get the Russians out of the city quietly, they would all be better off.

Him especially.

By the time the meeting adjourned for a short break, Dominic practically rushed out of the room. Nothing had been decided or solved but the longer he stayed in that room, the crazier everyone was driving him.

Once he was outside in the corridor where Romero was already waiting, he nodded for his second to follow, taking him down a private hall and leading them to a door in the back.

“Well?” Romero asked as soon as they were outside. “What happened?

Dominic rubbed the back of his neck, frustration simmering beneath his skin. “They’re circling the drain. Francesco wants to send out a search party to look for the Volkovs.”

Romero’s mouth twisted. “Shit.”

“I need to wrangle them in before they all get too carried away.”

Romero crossed his arms. “What happens if the Carusos decide to act first anyway? If they send out an army to hunt down Alek and his men, they’ll end up finding something. Alek may talk to save his own skin.”

“I’m aware,” Dominic muttered. “And that screws everything.”

Romero nodded grimly. “So what do we do?”

Dominic stared down the hallway they were currently loitering in, his mind already whirling.

“If I can’t calm them down,” he said, “I’ll have to turn their attention somewhere else. Distract them with another problem that seems equally as big. Give them a smaller fire to focus on while we get the Russians out of the city.”

Romero’s brow lifted. “You want to manufacture a threat?”

“Not a real one. Just enough noise to keep them chasing ghosts. Something to buy us time until I can get into contact with Alek again.”

Romero was quiet for a beat. “What about Gianna?”

Dominic’s expression darkened. “He won’t get her.”

“He might not give us a choice. He seemed determined last time.”

He fixed his second with a look. “I won’t let him near her.”

Because if he did, Aurora would never recover.

Or forgive him.

“Understood.”

They both knew what was at stake here.

If Alek did start talking and word got out that Dominic had been the one to orchestrate his father’s assassination, every alliance he’d been carefully forging would disintegrate. The Carusos wouldn’t wait for explanations. They’d strike first and ask questions never.

If Alek was smart, which Dominic knew he absolutely was, he’d use that leverage to force Dominic’s hand if it meant getting what he wanted.

Give me the girl or I tell the world.

Dominic clenched his fists.

Everything he’d built, everything he’d been working toward, it was all at risk.

And worst of all? He might lose Aurora if things went south. She was already starting to slip from him.

He had to move faster.

Smarter.

Before it was too late.