_DominicI drove away from the cabin but my mind was still inside it. I was happy that Isabella was finally coming around and taking this union seriously. Maybe bringing Cesare did a lot of good than I had first imagined. Speaking of which, I still needed to solve the Eric mystery. My brother owed me some explanation, not only about what happened the night Cesare was conceived but what had he been doing with my woman when I was away.I sneered at the thought of the two of them together, laughing and drinking. Bloody hell, if he touched what's mine, they would be hell to pay. But I had to keep my anger in check. I didn't want to give Mother more reasons not to trust in my capabilities to lead this family forward. Joseph had gotten hold of one of the men who broke into my home, that in itself was a plus for me. Finally, I would have one piece of the puzzle, and depending on its size, I would be able to solve the whole mystery that surrounded me. Whoever it was. I hoped for his sake,
_DominicIt did indeed take less than a whole night. How could I have been so stupid? That first night in the cottage, I had been so blown away by Isabella's innocence and had been furious about Kate who had been thrown on my lap, that the idea of protection never entered my mind. Still, nothing excused my being an absent father. I should have insisted more on Cesare's paternity and not taken the first answer that Isabella gave me. I was guilty on many accounts. At the time when Cesare was born, I had been the next in line to be a Don. And now. I could not even imagine what would have happened had word gotten out that Cesare was my son. They would be after him as well. 'Oh god.' I sighed loudly. Time wasted was time lost. This only meant one thing: I needed to cover a lot of ground with Cesare, to make up for lost time. And this morning was a great start. At first, when I had looked at Cesare I was certain that he was Eric's, but then I could see how it was easier to pass him off
_Dominic"Hands up and on your knees," the voice behind me said. I raised my hands. This was never how I had imagined things would turn out this way, and I was caught completely unprepared. "You go on your knees," another voice said, one that sounded very familiar to my ears. Something like hope filled me up. "Shit," I heard the man behind me say and lower his gun. I breathed a sigh of relief, took a risk, and turned around. "Vini?" I said and the little man gave me a broad smile. Proud of himself. Hell, I was proud of him. "Joseph said I should follow you, he thought you might need backup," he said."Seems he was right about that." I bent lower and looked at the man who was now on his knees with his hands up. When his eyes locked with mine, he blinked a couple of times, as if not believing what he was seeing. "Dominic? Is it you?" he dropped his hands and tried to get up."On your knees!" Vini shouted, and I gestured for him to calm down. "Do you know who I am?" I asked. The
_DominicThe man in the mirror and behind me was an older version of myself. Who was he, my dad's long-lost brother?"Tell me who you are." I moved away from the mirror and found a chair."I'm your father, Dominic," he said calmly. Like he was dropping the biggest bomb of the day, something that would change my whole existence. I looked at him in disbelief, waiting for him to tell me he was joking. "But my father is Frank," I answered him. "Yes Frank was your father Dominic, and he did a great job with you. He kept his promise but there must be a reason why you came all the way here, not to hear fairy tales." He was right about one thing, I wanted the truth of why what was happening to me was happening. And I wasn't so sure about the "good job" part; most people would disagree that being the don of a crime family was a good thing. "What promise?" as much as I couldn't digest what he was saying. I didn't want to dismiss him outright. I wanted to hear him out first. "To take care
_Dominic“What is it, spill it out,” I said impatiently. “Boss, we have company,” Vini said and we both got up from our respective chairs. The man I was with started to walk towards the back window and looked out.“I never got your name,” I said as soon as he turned and looked around. “Nikolai, but you can call me Nic,” he said, looking between me and Vini. Nikolai. He was Russian, but even as I searched in the hazy compartments of my brain, there was no Nikolai.“And I assume everyone has a gun,” Nic said, bringing me to the present and I grinned. Was he telling a joke? “Depending on how many are coming.” I showed him the pistol I always carried around. “You might want to back it up with this.” He handed me a rifle from his collection on the wall, he opened a drawer and I assumed he was looking for some ammunition. “Get down.” He said looking at Vini who was peeping through the window. "They might be able to see you from there." He handed me the ammunition and I loaded the ri
_Dominic As soon as the fourth man realized that he was outnumbered. He raised his hands in surrender. "Drop your gun and get down on your knees," Nic shouted. The man did as he was told. Nic looked at me. "Should I or you want to take this one, they came here for you after all." That was easy. Since it was Nic's property. I was going to let him take the lead on this one. For some strange reason, I had massive respect for this man who claimed to be my father. Although I had only just met him. "It's your house, your rules," I said and he grinned. "I'm going to skin him alive." He started walking down to meet Vini, who was already down next to the man, holding a gun to his head. I trailed behind him, without a word. When we joined Vini and the man, Nic pointed to the barn. "We going to need some privacy." I looked around at the dead bodies to make sure they were dead. Vini gestured for the man to get on his feet, while he walked behind him with the gun still pointed
Three weeks later. _Isabella I shifted uneasily in my seat. Dominic looked at me sideways without taking his eyes off the road. "We talked about this," he said, as if he could see the turmoil of my emotions. "I know, but it still doesn't make it any easier," I answered and faced forward. He was going to confront his mother about our marriage. "I still think we should have told her that we were coming. And not ambush her." He gave no reaction that he was listening to what I was saying. The only reaction that showed he was listening was the ticking of his jaw, which was also gone in a split second. He squeezed my thigh to reassure me. "If I don't do this right now, nothing will ever change. You're my wife, and they should respect that or else..." "Or else what?" I asked. "They will never see me again," he whispered. "I wish there was another way." I said. "So do I," he murmured. The gates opened to the Montego estate, reopening old wounds and memories I would rather forget.
Four weeks later _Isabella_The sunroom had become a favorite place of mine in recent weeks. I could sit there the whole day soaking up the sun and reading, or better yet, I could use the room to work on my assignments, now that I had gone back to school on a part-time basis.The couple of weeks had passed in a blur. But the only thing that had not passed in a blur was the awkward lunch we had with Rosetta and Eric. That day was still as clear as day in my mind. Nothing could make it fade or even better, erase it.Although I had been hesitant to go back to the old house, Dominic insisted that it was necessary for security purposes that we move back, not to mention that there was a more pressing matter that made us move back.A growing matter. One that I found out about soon after we went to his parent's house. And one that I was not ready to share with his family. No matter how much he said they would listen and not pass judgements. But, my experience told me otherwise.And the fact t
_Isabella As Kate got dressed and modelled out of the room, I folded my arms and stared at Dominic. “What the hell is going on here?” I asked, we were both surprised at my tone. “It's nothing you should concern yourself about. There is nothing between me and her. I don't know how she got in here.” That was saying a lot for someone who seemed to know everything all the time. “You're right, you don't seem to know anything lately.” I blindly threw my weapon, and it seemed to land on its mark as he blinked twice before looking at me again. Maybe he had been right all along. Dominic was losing focus, and this was no place to raise kids. Everyone did as they pleased, any time. “The stress is unhealthy for the baby. You've had a long night and need some rest. IL sort this out.” He said as he recovered from his mini shock. Even though I didn't believe that he was thinking about the baby at that instant, I got worried as well. I felt my cheeks getting heated. I was embarras
_Isabella The mansion felt strange after my time in the cabin. Although I hadn't been there long, the tension between Dominic and me was palpable. After he picked us up from Nick's truck, he'd only asked if we were hurt before retreating to his study. I spent time with the chef, who made me a delicious steak that I devoured in seconds. If anyone noticed the tension between Dominic and me, they were too polite to mention it. "Don't mind him, he's under a lot of pressure," Joseph said from nowhere, tension must have been written all over my body, as he was speaking from behind me. "I know." there was no point in pretending that I hadn't been thinking about him. Embarrassed that I'd been caught, I got up from my chair and headed to the sink to put my plate. "You bring warmth to this place," Joseph said, He was leaning against the wall. "I thought I brought trouble," I replied, taking my sit to sip on my juice. I realized with a pang that my dietary needs had been changed; the ch
_Isabella Nick took a sharp left, switched off the pickups lights, and then we zigzagged into a country road, before coming to a stop behind an overgrown hedge. I looked behind us and our pursuers were nowhere to be seen. “How do you know they won’t find us here?” now that the adrenaline was wearing off, I felt numb and shaken. “Because not many people know about this off-ramp, it has saved me many times before.” There was a story there, but maybe later. He turned off the engine and opened his door. “Where are you going?” I asked, wanting some fresh air myself. “To take a leak, that was close.” He shut his door with a bang. I opened the passenger door and jumped out. The night was still, without a leaf rustling out of place, but the midnight air still stung. I wrapped my arms around myself and stood against the body of the pick-up. “The stars look more bright from here than anywhere else.” I said, enjoying the gulps of the fresh air, making the most of the gift that
_Dominic Once everyone had settled, the drinks started flowing and so did the conversation. Even Ludo's speaking volume had gone up another annoying inch higher. When a waiter surfaced from the back to take out orders, I could tell Ludo was well on his way from the slap he gave the young woman's behind. "As I was saying, Montego, the shipments of girls is increasing..." I fet my body tense up at the mention of the flesh business, but I made a mental note to keep my body relaxed."Which means more money for us." I said enthusiastically and took my glass to wash off the bad taste in my mouth. "Yes, it's more money." He said with a more sombre mood than I expected from him."Then why do you sound worried?" I asked and Ludo leaned back on his chair with a worried expression on his face. "The quality of girls has been dropping in recent months, it seems like someone has been taking a dip into our business." into his business he meant. I didn't want my name tainted with such."Mm..."
_Dominic Everything was set, and the chef was already at the back preparing the meal of the evening, but Ludo was nowhere to be seen. “Where is that fat bastard?” I asked Joseph, who shrugged in response. I was getting agitated with each passing second. “He will be here, calm down. Everything is ready to go.” He finally said when he noticed that I was blowing air like an angry bull. Plus, I hated the fact that he was calm, while I felt like a boiling kettle. “Stop checking your watch, it will not make the time to move any faster.” He said looking at my wristwatch, I hadn't even been aware that I was checking it. We were at the restaurant that Ludo had picked. It was empty because we had booked the entire place for the night. And now the idiot was running late. The bell on the door ding donged, to signal that someone had arrived. I fought the edge to turn my head and look, but once the door closed, I heard the sound of a women's shoes clicking against the floor. Now I had
_IsabellaNick's truck was as reliable as him. The pickup drove steadily out of the woods and towards the city.Although I watched the woods slowly fade away and the scenery change into a flat road that stretched on for miles, my mind was a few miles ahead of us, playing different scenes of what sort of outcome was going to come out from the trip. Nick kept on stealing glances in my direction, and I was very much aware of his glances, but I kept quiet. In the short while that I had known him, I knew he wanted to say something, maybe ask about the money. So I thought I would make it easier on him.“You must be wondering where I got all that money?” I said, my voice feeling croaky. “No.” he answered softly. I sat up straighter and looked at him. “What do you mean, no, I've seen the way you have been looking at me since we left the cabin.”“I'm worried about you, Isabella.” He said, looking at me before focusing on the road again. “Why?” I asked, and as soon as the words left my mo
_Isabella After Dominic and his entourage left the cabin. I prepared Cesare for his bath and sat In the lounge long after he had gone to bed. I still hadn't said anything to Dominic about Nick. And I was starting to worry that I should have said something. The way he ran out when he saw that I had a visitor was suspicious. I went into the bed and opened the only closet in the room. The bag of money was still where I had left it. If someone knew about the money…if the wrong person knew, I would be in deep trouble. Was Nick the wrong person? What if he was an investigator who knew about Dominic's extra activities on the side? I was getting tired of the uncertainties, I was going to get answers. I pulled the closest sweater and looked around the room. There was still the bag that came with my change of clothes. I took the clothes out and stacked money inside the bag before putting some clothes back. But that didn't seem like a wise idea, so I took the clothes and money out a
_Dominic"What are you planning?" Joseph asked me the minute we were safely alone in the car."Nothing fancy, just dinner with Ludo. I might even get dessert depending on my mood later on.""The only problem is that you hate the man." he pointed out the obvious."Yes, I do. It's just dinner, I'm not asking him to be my life partner." at the mention of his name my phone beeped, and I showed Joseph the message."Prepare for dinner, I need you looking your best sharp self tonight." I typed some keys on my phone, dinner plans were already in motion."Any particular plan I should be made aware of? I don't want to embarrass you in front of polite company." He looked at me with a slight smile.I liked this side of Joseph, the other sides were debatable."You catch on fast. The usual plan will be fine." I said and he nodded. "You need to get the chef in town on time, tell him he has a gig, only his best steak will do for tonight.""What about his mashed potatoes?" Joseph asked and we both sta
_DominicWe were back at the house and Joseph was standing by the doorway and wouldn’t stop looking at me. “How long are you going to play this game? Just tell her the full story.” He said softly.I paused and gave him my full attention,“I can't dump everything on her, not until I have tied up all the loose ends”. I stood up to put away the files I’d been using.When he didn’t say anything, I added, “If you have anything else, please, I have a meeting and you are welcome to join me.” I winked at him.“She seemed preoccupied, like she was expecting anyone but me.” He finally spoke up.A chuckle passed my lips at his words.“She is in a cabin in the woods, who can she possibly be meeting, the rabbits and foxes?” I asked him.“Are you going to leave her without protection all alone with your son?”“She has protection.” I sighed, Joseph was not going to let this one go until he got whatever he came for.“Not from what I saw and what Vini told me.”“Vini? what does Vini have anything to d