EMILY’S POVMy phone rang and I rushed to answer it, knowing it was Dominic. I had been waiting for his call since he left. “Dominic…” I whispered into the phone, my voice shaking. “My love. I am here. I arrived at Victor's house an hour ago. I am exhausted.” He told me and I could hear the fatigue in his voice. A sob escaped my mouth even though I tried to stop it, the worry I had been feeling finally taking over. “I'm so glad you're okay. I was so scared. How's everything down there?” There was a heavy silence, almost as though he was trying to figure out whether to tell me or not. “There is nothing for you to be worried about. Everything is under control.” His voice was filled with confidence, but I did not believe him. I knew that even if I pushed for a response, I wasn't going to get anything more from him. For now, I was just grateful to be hearing his voice. “Okay. Be careful.” “I will. How are things over there?” “Everything is fine. I've been shopping with the girls…
DOMINIC'S POVThe cold air bit into my skin as I stood on the balcony of Victor's mansion. I was exhausted, but my mind was too restless to let me sleep. The moon cast its pale glow over the estate, making it look especially magnificent. The view reminded me of Emily, I wish she was here so we could enjoy the scenery together.I let out a sigh. Tomorrow would be a bloodbath. Many lives would have to be taken to recover the warehouse that was taken from me. If Williams and his accomplice thought they could launch attacks on me with no consequences, then they had another thing coming. They thought I was scared of them. I wasn't—not anymore. I'd had many battles, but this was more important because it felt like I had something to lose. I had to protect Emily and Anita at all costs. ***EMILY’S POV I woke up drenched in sweat and breathing very hard as a result of the nightmare I'd just had. It had been so vivid, I was shocked to find out that it was a dream, but I was glad it was just
DOMINIC'S POV The smell of blood and gunpowder filled the air as I stood in the middle of the chaos that had just occurred. We had taken back my warehouse, but of course, the cost of it was the lifeless bodies that were littered all over the floor—some of the men from my side and the majority from the Mendez Cartel. I had won this part of the war, but I could not dwell on it for long because I knew worse attacks were on the way. Victor walked up beside me, wiping blood off his hands with a piece of clothing. We were both covered in blood. His expression was unreadable, but his eyes carried the same burden of fatigue that I felt in my bones also. “We've won this one.” He remarked. I nodded, still looking at the havoc before me. Williams had been nowhere to be found causing me to be disappointed. Williams was a desperate man… he was desperate for revenge and that was what made him more dangerous and a big threat to me—one that needed to be eliminated. “How many men did we lose?” I
EMILY’S POVIt has been three days since I had heard from Dominic since the last time that we spoke and I had to force myself not to worry about it. I needed a distraction. I walked into Sofia's room and found her with a book in her hand. I felt bad for being away for so long because I'd been distracted. She was probably losing her mind spending the whole day in this room. I decided it was time to give her some freedom. Dominic was not around and I was in charge. Plus, Dominic and Dino were now working together. “Hey,” I said. “Hey,” Sofia responded. “I'm sorry I've not been here to check in on you for a while. But I decided that since Dominic and Dino have reached an agreement and are now working together, there is no need to keep you locked up in this room. You deserve to have a bit of freedom. Move around the house and stuff.” I told her. Her face was bright, but she looked uncertain. “Would that sit well with your fiancé?” “What does it matter? He's not here. Plus I am in ch
EMILY’S POV I let out a piercing scream as my eyes flew open and I turned around to see the intruder, only to be met with Dominic's piercing ocean-blue eyes. “Shit, you scared me,” I said, my hands placed on my chest. He gave me a sympathetic smile. “I didn't mean to startle you, my love. I only wanted to surprise you.” My fear gave way to delight and I jumped into his arms. “What are you doing here? I was so worried about you?” “I missed you too much, I had to come back and see you. I was going insane. I'll have to leave first thing in the morning.” He told me, but I didn't care how long he stayed, all that mattered to me was that he was here with me. “I am so glad you're here,” I whispered. “Me too, amore mio, me too.” He whispered before taking my lips in his. He pressed me against the wall as his tongue took over my mouth, I'd missed the taste of him even though he'd only been away for a week. His hands roamed my wet body as the water continued to wash over the two of us.
DOMINIC'S POV I kissed Emily wildly and passionately as I led her to the bed, everything in me craved to be inside her. I was losing my mind in Italy, and on an impulse, I came back to see her. Being away from her was like hell, it was like a part of me was missing. The thing with the Cartel was getting too heated, and I could not be away for too long, but I needed a moment to breathe. The deeper we got into it, the more I wondered if this was actually going to end well for me. I pushed all thoughts of the war out of my head and I focused on Emily. Her plush, soft, sweet lips are on mine. I picked her up and placed her on the bed. I pulled away from her lips and trailed kisses from her neck to her stomach before coming back up to admire her perfect body, her skin was glowing with the light from the moon casting upon her. I could barely believe that she was mine. “Il sole, la luna e le stelle si inchinano alla tua bellezza.” I whispered to her. She looked at me in wonder and pure
EMILY’S POVMy heart broke as I watched Dominic say his goodbye to Anita and Daniella. Daniella gave him a curt goodbye and stood at the side, but Anita was crying her eyes out at having to watch her father go. I cried also; I knew what was going through her mind; it was the same thing that was going through my mind, too. The fact is anything could happen, and we could never see him again. He could die. He looked at me, I could see the anger in his eyes…anger at the situation, anger at seeing his daughter cry, anger at everything that had brought him to this place. His eyes burned with fury. I walked up to him and threw my arms around him. He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me closer to him. “I'm so sorry.” He whispered into my ears. “Just come back.” “As soon as I can get away again, I'll be back.” He promised and then he left. I pulled Anita into my arms as he sobbed. I watched as Daniella stood there looking awkward, but something was going on that caught my atten
EMILY’S POV “I am so sorry that happened to you, sweetheart,” I told Daniella because that was the only thing I could think of to say. The tears were flowing down her face freely now and it broke my heart to watch. I knew exactly what she was going through because I remember the pain and how much it hurt when my father died. “I don't even know why I'm getting so emotional, maybe it is because I am sad for Anita. She's scared her father won't come back.” Daniella explained. Her words made my heart drop. It suddenly occurred to me that this could easily be the last time that we would see Dominic if something went wrong. I tried not to show my sadness to Daniella because I knew that she was going through so much pain, she and Anita needed to see me strong. I pulled her into my arms and wrapped her in a hug to comfort her till she calmed down. Then we pulled away from each other. “I think you should go and join Anita and have some rest. Maybe the three of us can all do something fun l
EMILY’S POV Waiting was gruesome. It had been two days and I had not heard a word from any of them. Not even from Victor. I was constantly nervous, not getting enough sleep because I could not sleep, and when I did, I got nightmares. Victoria had not left the house since and it was nice to have someone around. We talked and we got to know each other better. It helped us to keep our minds off everything. I was grateful for her; she was the only thing keeping me a bit sane. I tried not to think about Dominic so much, cause thinking about him made me sad. No matter how much I tried to understand, I could not help the feeling of hurt that came as a result of his abandonment. We'd always gone through everything together, so why did it have to be different now? I missed him, but I was angry with him. After I called him two days back and he didn't respond, I promised myself not to try to contact him again. If he wanted to be away from me, then so be it. I would not beg him anymore. If
DOMINIC'S POV The warehouse looked like a haunted house. It was an old abandoned building. It was filled with silence and darkness except for the flickering security lights. My fingers clenched as I looked at the building that held the possibility that my daughter was in there. We were parked a safe distance from the location. This was not an attack, it was a stakeout, but everything in my body screamed for a shootout, but not with the girls in there. Lorenzo slid into the backseat. “I did another scan on the property and found that there was movement in the building. There are a few people on there, probably a way to reduce activity and take attention away from the building.” I was about to respond when my phone began to buzz in my pocket. I pulled it out to see who was calling. Emily. I allowed the phone to finish ringing before putting it back in my pocket. I looked up to find Victor shaking his head at me in disappointment. My heart sank. I knew it wasn't fair for me to kee
DOMINIC'S POV Victor pulled me aside after I was done talking to everybody with a serious expression on his face. “You need to talk to Emily.” He said simply. I let out a shaky breath as I ran my fingers through my hair. “I can't talk to her right now, Victor. She's counting on me for something that I can't give her right now and that I'd comfort. I'm a mess. My daughter is in the hands of my enemy and all I can think about is that I need to save her so I don't lose her.” “She's not asking you for comfort, Dominic. She just wants you to know that you are both in this together. If anything, she wants to comfort you. You can't let this whole thing tear you apart, that's how Damien will win.” I didn't respond. I knew he was right, but right now I could not give her what she was asking. I needed to handle this on my own. It was better she stayed away from the entire case. I could not handle emotions right now, it was for the best. I was about to respond when Lorenzo rushed bac
SOFIA'S POV I woke up covered in sweat, my wrist hurt from where they were bound. My mouth hurt from the gag and every single inch of my body hurt. The room was dark and damp and the smell of blood hung in the air. My head throbbed from when they'd delivered a blow to my head when I had tried to resist them. I had no idea how long I'd been out, but judging by how much my body hurt and the dried-up blood on Anita's head, I knew it had been a while. Anita was beside me; she was not moving, but I could hear her shallow breathing—thank God. Daniella was on my other side, she was bruised and very weak, but she still had a look of determination that I envied. I was just glad that we were all alive… for now. Slow and deliberate footsteps approached the space where we were kept. I winced as the door cracked open, casting light into the dark room. A man walked into the room. I gasped. He looked just like Dominic, just a bit older. He was put together, wore an expensive suit and everythi
EMILY’S POV I felt like I could not breathe as I paced up and down the length of my room. Dominic had left hours ago without so much as a word to me. I had not heard anything from them about the situation over there. I tried to call Dominic but he wasn't answering. I hated not knowing, I hated that this was happening. We'd don't everything to make sure that Damien did not find out about where they were. Everything to protect their location, but nothing has worked. Damien had still been able to get his hands on them. I imagined Anita and Daniella, terrified and Sofia too. It was ironic that the last time this had happened, it was Sofia's father who had taken them. Finally, unable to take the lack of information anymore, I called Victor. He answered immediately and I was relieved, but it also meant that Dominic was deliberately avoiding talking to me, which made me feel alone. “Emily?” “Hey, Victor. How are things over there?” There was a pause at the end of the line before
DOMINIC'S POV We got to Sydney at dawn. The air was thick with heat and tension as we drove through the street to my estate. When we got there, the place looked normal from the outside. I felt like I'd not been there in forever. The gate was still intact, so I knew that they didn't force themselves into the property. The cameras in front of the gate were still blinking rapidly. They had not been tampered with. All five of us—myself, Dino, Victor, Barry, and Ezra—walked into the house to inspect it. Lorenzo greeted us at the entrance, and he could not look me in the eye. That was good. I left him in charge, trusted him to take care of the girls, and he'd disappointed me. Even though I knew it wasn't really his fault. Damien and his men had bested him, but I needed someone to blame. “Walk us through what happened,” Victor told Lorenzo as we walked through the house. I'd asked that nothing be touched or cleaned until I came. I wanted to see everything for myself. “They came in s
EMILY’S POV “How did that even happen? The house is supposed to be very secure, and how did he even find out where they were?” The questions rushed out of me before I could stop them. The tears were flowing freely from my eyes, and I felt shattered. I'd spoken to Anita only some hours ago, and she sounded okay. She told me everything was fine. How could that have changed in only a short period? “I know as much as you do, Emily. I'm waiting for feedback from Lorenzo. I might have to make the trip down there.” Dominic said, sitting in the corner. Beside him were Victor, Barry, and Ezra, who were trying to console the both of us. “I'm going with you,” I told him. “You are not going with me.” He said quietly, shaking his head. “But—” I started to say, but he cut me off. “My decision has been made, and that is final. I am leaving before noon today, and you will stay here. I can't risk anything happening to you either.” He told me strongly. His tone left no room for argument, bu
DOMINIC'S POV The silence in the room was very heavy. The only sound in the room was of Emily clicking away on the laptop. She was so engrossed in the work, in trying to find anything that would help us take Crowley and Damien back. She spent the whole day on the encrypted server. “I can't really find anything more on him,” Emily said frustration filling her voice. I put my hand over hers and soothed my thumb over it. “Don't be too hard on yourself. Just take a break, and we can continue later. It's already getting dark. I think we should take a shower and sleep.” I told her. With a resolved sigh, she nodded her head, and I helped her up with my good arm. The pain from my injury was still very bad, but Emily disinfected it every night and dressed it. It was beginning to heal, but not as fast, and I could like it. Damien could strike at any time, and I needed to be ready. I could not do that with an injured shoulder. I hoped they would hold up any future attacks until I was
EMILY’S POV Dominic sat on the bed, still looking at the file. His jaw was clenched and I could see the calculating fury in his eyes. The way he went quiet when he was angry would be terrifyingly for somebody else, but not for me. It looked like a storm was brewing on the surface, and it was about to erupt and cause destruction. “This changes everything.” He told me, not looking away from the screen. He began to rub his temples with his good hand and I could tell that he was getting stressed. I moved to stand behind him, and I began to rub his back softly, which seemed to reduce the tension in his body. “We were focusing so much on Damien.” He said. “Trying to take him down, but all this while we were chasing the shadows. Damien is my brother; that much is true, and I think Crowley found that out and used what my father did to get in his head.” I nodded, releasing a slow breath and coming to sit beside him. “And if what the files say is true—and I believe it is, then we hav