Chapter 2
The motel was a rotting, neon-lit stain on the edge of the interstate. Rain had picked up, turning the parking lot into a murky swamp of oil slicks and overflowing gutters.
“Stay in the car,” Dominic ordered, opening his door.
“No.” Tessa unbuckled her seatbelt. Her hands were shaking, but her voice was steady. “If they see you coming, they might panic and hurt her. She asked for me.”
Dominic froze, one foot on wet pavement. He looked back at her, dark eyes narrowing.
He hated that she was right.
“You walk in front of me. You do not speak. If anything goes wrong, you drop to the floor. Do you understand me?”
“Yes.”
They walked through freezing rain toward room 112. The two guards flanked them, silent and lethal.
Tessa’s sneakers squelched on concrete.
She felt like she was walking to an execution.
She knocked on the peeling green door.
“Gemma. It’s Tessa.”
A moment later, the door cracked open.
Gemma’s tear-streaked face appeared in the gap. She looked terrible—designer makeup smeared, expensive silk blouse ripped at the collar.
“Tess, did you bring—”
Gemma’s eyes darted over Tessa’s shoulder and landed on Dominic.
All color drained from her face.
Before Gemma could slam the door, Dominic’s hand shot out, hitting the wood with a violent crack that splintered the frame.
He pushed the door wide open, stepping into the dingy room.
Tessa stumbled in behind him, gasping.
There were two men in the room. One sitting on the stained bed counting bills. The other standing near the bathroom.
They both reached for their waistbands the second the door burst open.
They never made it.
Dominic moved with terrifying liquid speed. He crossed the room in two strides, grabbing the man by the bathroom by his throat and slamming him against drywall with enough force to crack the plaster.
The second man lunged, but Dominic’s guards were already inside, dragging him to the floor with brutal efficiency.
It was over in five seconds.
Tessa stood frozen near the door, breath caught in her throat.
She watched as Dominic, face an impassive mask of stone, tightened his grip on the choking man’s neck. The man’s legs kicked frantically against the wall.
“Dominic!” Gemma sobbed from the corner, curling into a ball.
Dominic didn’t look at his sister. He stared dead into the eyes of the man he was holding off the floor.
“If you ever breathe in my sister’s direction again, I will peel the skin from your bones. Nod if you understand.”
The man, face turning mottled purple, managed a frantic, jerky nod.
Dominic dropped him.
The man collapsed, coughing violently.
Dominic adjusted the cuffs of his suit jacket, not a hair out of place.
He turned to his men. “Clean this up. Put her in the car.”
He didn’t look at Gemma as she was ushered out.
He walked back to Tessa, who was trembling so violently her teeth were chattering.
“Look at me.”
His voice was instantly soft, quiet command.
Tessa forced her eyes up.
“Are you hurt?”
She shook her head. She couldn’t speak. Adrenaline was crashing, leaving cold, hollow panic.
She had just seen the monster beneath the suit.
Dominic saw the fear in her eyes.
He reached out, hesitating for a fraction before resting his large, warm hand on the back of her neck. His thumb brushed her pulse point.
“Breathe, Tessa.”
The touch acted like a live wire. The sheer heat of his hand against her freezing skin grounded her, pulling her out of the spiral.
“Let’s get you out of here.”
Forty minutes later, they were not at Tessa’s cramped studio.
They were in Dominic’s penthouse—a sprawling fortress in the sky that made Gemma’s apartment look like a college dorm.
Gemma had been taken to a secure family estate under heavy guard.
Tessa stood in the center of Dominic’s massive, dimly lit living room, still wearing her damp jacket.
Dominic walked to a crystal decanter, poured two fingers of amber liquid, and pressed the glass into her hand.
“Drink.”
Tessa brought the glass to her lips and took a swallow. The whiskey burned like liquid fire, making her cough, but it chased away the lingering ice.
Dominic took off his suit jacket, throwing it over a leather armchair. He rolled up his sleeves, revealing thick, corded forearms and a constellation of faded scars.
He looked exhausted again.
He sat on the edge of the coffee table right in front of where she stood.
He looked up at her, elbows resting on his knees.
“You’re angry.”
“I’m terrified,” Tessa corrected, voice finally steadying. She clutched the glass with both hands. “I don’t belong here, Dominic. I don’t belong in motel rooms with men with guns. I don’t belong in penthouses that cost more than my life is worth. I punch a clock. I count pills.”
“You belong wherever you decide to belong.”
“No.” Tessa shook her head, tears of pure frustration pricking her eyes. “You don’t get it. My whole life I’ve kept my head down. I built walls so high nobody could get over them. I’ve never let anyone in. I’ve never—”
She stopped, cheeks flushing hot.
The cynical armor was cracking, falling away piece by piece.
Dominic tilted his head, dark eyes locking onto hers.
He didn’t push, but the silence demanded truth.
“I don’t know how to do this,” Tessa whispered, the confession tearing out. “Any of it. I’m twenty-three years old and I’ve never even let a man see me naked. I’ve never been touched because touch means attachment and attachment means ruin. And now I’m standing here and the only thing I can think about is the way your hand felt on my neck.”
The silence became deafening.
Tessa squeezed her eyes shut, wishing the floor would swallow her.
She had just handed him her biggest, most humiliating vulnerability—to a mafia boss, a man who dealt in blood and leverage.
She heard the scrape of his shoes on hardwood.
When she opened her eyes, Dominic was standing mere inches from her.
The imposing, terrifying boss was gone.
In his place was a man looking at her with reverence that stole breath from her lungs.
He reached out, knuckles grazing her cheek. His touch was terrifyingly gentle.
“You think that makes you weak?”
His voice was a deep, rough rumble that vibrated in her chest.
“You think guarding yourself makes you a fool, Tessa? In my world, we lock away the things that are priceless.”
May you like
Tessa shuddered—a full-body tremor as he stepped closer, obliterating the space between them.
“If you’ve never been touched, then we go slow. Because I am going to touch you, Tessa. And when I do, I’m never letting you go.”
