DOM: Alliance Series Book Three (98)
The sound of someone vomiting cuts through the silence.
Some of the men make sounds of disapproval as they drag the second man back a step, away from his regurgitated dinner splattered on the floor.
I sigh, and placing my hand below the blood-filled wound, I push myself up and away from the corpse.
I open and close my fist around the soiled brass knuckles, loosening my fingers, as I step up to Living Room Guy. “Guess you’re the one that will do the talking.”
CHAPTER 65
Living Room Guy
Jesus fucking Christ.
Dominic Fucking Gonzalez stares at me with his cold blue eyes.
I try to step back, to flinch away. But these fuckers don’t budge.
Dom steps closer, and I have to fight not to puke again.
He…
I fight off a gag.
He just fucking punched his way through Hendry’s chest.
And he did it without making a fucking sound.
“I’ll tell you!” I cry out before he can come any closer. “Our-our handler is a dude who goes by the name Casey. His number always changes, but he’ll text my phone tomorrow to check in.”
Dom nods once and flexes his hand around the bloody brass knuckles. “I’m assuming there’s some sort of confirmation code so he knows it’s you.”
I keep my eyes on his hand. “Keep me alive, and I’ll type it in myself.”
The mafia kingpin makes a humming sound like he’s considering it. “Seems like a hassle.”
My legs start to shake.
“I have something else.” My voice gets more frantic with each word as he takes a step closer.
“What’s that?” Dom asks me.
I force my gaze up to meet his. “Whoever hired us, they wanted you to think someone else was behind it.”
“Who?”
“Someone named Hans,” I tell him. I don’t know what that name is supposed to mean, but Dom lifts a brow.
“They want me to believe that some human trafficking asshole is hiring thugs to kill me?”
“I don’t know, man!” I try to convince him. “I’ve never even heard that name before.”
“What were your instructions exactly?” he asks me.
He’s so calm, so chill. It’s even scarier than if he were screaming in my face.
“I-if.” I have to swallow. “If we were caught, we were supposed to tell you that Hans hired us.”
He keeps staring at me like I’m some sort of science experiment. “And why didn’t you?”
“Because I want to live, man!” I shout.
Dom steps closer until our faces are only a foot apart. “And what makes you think I’d let you live?”
He jerks his chin up, and hands grip my head.
Then—
CHAPTER 66
Dom
The man’s neck makes an audible snap.
All three of my men let go, and the newest dead man falls to the floor.
There is no room for mercy in The Alliance.
And I am The Alliance now.
The room is dark when I enter. Valentine’s form is still with sleep under the blankets. I want to go straight to her, but I need to wash away the ugliness of my night.
So I do.
The scent of her shower products lingers in the bathroom, confirming she did this same thing before getting into bed.
On my way back here, I read the message from Doc. He reported that she suffered no more than a few scrapes and bruises. He cleaned and checked her palms for debris and recommended salve and a couple of bandages. He also told me that she wanted to shower and said she’d treat them herself afterward.
As I step under the scorching spray, I find I can’t be angry with her decision. I understand the need to rinse off a bad day. And even though the doctor and his wife could’ve waited downstairs for her to shower and then treat her hands after, I don’t think I would have been okay with my Angel being naked while someone else was in the condo without me around.
I lather a palmful of my body wash, then vigorously rub it over my chest and up and down my arms. And again, scrubbing at my torso and legs. I take an oversized squeeze of Valentine’s face wash, and I breathe in the clean scent as I roughly clean my face.
I’ve never felt so rattled during a killing. There have been too many dead men at my feet for me to even count anymore. But tonight. It was different. That man…
I close my eyes and put my face directly under the water.
Hearing that man talk about Valentine that way, it split me. It divided the two sides of me. The man. And the murderer. And without the tether, the violence inside me was completely unleashed.
Even Rob stayed an extra step away from me when we left that basement.
But I don’t regret what I did.
The dead men will never tell anyone how they died. But my men will talk among themselves. Word will get around. And then people will understand. They’ll finally understand just how off-fucking-limits my wife is. That even the smallest slight against her will result in me crushing their hearts inside their chests.
I open my mouth and let it fill with water.
After swishing it around, I spit it out, washing away the metallic taste that’s been lingering at the back of my throat. Then I turn off the water.