Chapter 6 - The Price of Standing Beside HimThe deal should have made Maya feel safer.
Instead, it made everything more dangerous.
Dominic Russo stood less than a foot away from her on the raised platform above the casino floor, the final word still hanging between them.
“Deal.”
Below them, chips clicked against green felt. Cards slid across tables. Men laughed too loudly over whiskey they barely tasted. Nothing in the room had changed.
But Maya knew something had.
Dominic had given her terms.
More importantly, he had accepted hers.
Men like him did not compromise.
They conquered.
The fact that he had looked her in the eye and agreed was somehow more unsettling than if he had threatened her.
Maya stepped backward.
“Good.”
Dominic’s mouth curved faintly.
“That’s all?”
“What were you expecting?”
“Most women would react differently after negotiating with me.”
Maya picked up his untouched glass of whiskey and examined it.
“Most women probably have better survival instincts.”
She put it back.
Dominic laughed under his breath.
Before he could answer, Carlo appeared at the edge of the platform.
The amusement disappeared from Dominic’s face instantly.
It was almost frightening how quickly he changed.
One second, there was warmth in his expression.
The next, there was nothing.
Carlo leaned close and spoke quietly in Italian.
Maya caught enough to understand.
Pier.
Shipment.
Missing men.
Blood.
Dominic’s jaw tightened.
“How many?”
“Three.”
“Dead?”
“One confirmed.”
Carlo glanced toward Maya.
Dominic noticed.
“Speak.”
Carlo hesitated.
“The other two were taken.”
Dominic looked down at the casino floor.
For several seconds, his face remained perfectly still.
Then he said, “Close the east doors.”
Carlo nodded.
“No one leaves?”
“No one.”
The change spread through the casino almost immediately.
Men who had appeared to be ordinary security guards moved toward the exits.
Heavy steel doors closed.
Locks clicked.
The music continued.
The dealers kept dealing.
But everyone important in the room noticed.
Maya did too.
“What happened?”
Dominic looked at her.
“Business.”
“That is not an answer.”
“It is the only answer you need tonight.”
Maya crossed her arms.
“We just made a deal about you not deciding things for me.”
“This has nothing to do with Sophie.”
“It has something to do with the fact that I’m standing inside a locked building controlled by armed men.”
Dominic’s expression hardened.
“Which is exactly why you will stay beside me.”
Maya stared at him.
“So much for agency.”
“This is not about control.”
“Everything with you is about control.”
A burst of shouting came from below.
Dominic turned.
Near the baccarat tables, two men had grabbed a customer by the arms.
The man struggled.
“What is this?”
He was middle-aged, heavyset, wearing a cream suit.
“I’ve been coming here for six years!”
Carlo moved toward him.
Dominic remained on the platform.
“Bring him upstairs.”
Maya watched the man being dragged toward them.
His anger lasted until he saw Dominic.
Then it disappeared.
“Mr. Russo.”
Dominic leaned against the table.
“Victor.”
“Whatever happened at the docks has nothing to do with me.”
Nobody had mentioned the docks.
Maya noticed.
Dominic did too.
A terrible silence formed.
Victor realized his mistake.
His face went pale.
Dominic took one slow step forward.
“I didn’t say anything about the docks.”
Victor swallowed.
“I assumed—”
“No.”
Dominic’s voice remained almost gentle.
“You heard.”
Victor looked toward the exits.
Bad decision.
Carlo blocked his path.
Dominic stopped directly in front of him.
“Who told you?”
“I hear things.”
“Who?”
Victor’s breathing became shallow.
“I don’t know.”
Dominic tilted his head.
Maya had seen angry men before.
Her mother’s boyfriend in Naples had shouted before he hit walls.
Customers screamed when their steak was overcooked.
Henry became red-faced whenever reservations were mishandled.
Dominic did none of that.
His calmness was worse.
Victor understood it too.
“Dominic.”
“Wrong answer.”
“I swear.”
Dominic looked toward Carlo.
“Take him downstairs.”
Victor panicked.
“No.”
His voice broke.
“No, wait.”
Dominic stopped.
Victor’s eyes darted across the platform.
Then landed on Maya.
Something changed in them.
Recognition.
Not of her identity.
Of vulnerability.
Victor suddenly lunged.
Everything happened in less than two seconds.
He grabbed Maya around the waist.
A hard object pressed against her ribs.
A knife.
Carlo reached inside his jacket.
Dominic lifted one hand.
“Don’t.”
Victor dragged Maya backward.
“Open the door.”
Maya’s heart hammered.
She felt the knife point against her dress.
Dominic’s face became completely blank.
“Victor.”
“Open it.”
“You are making a mistake.”
“I’m dead either way.”
“Not necessarily.”
Victor laughed wildly.
“You expect me to believe that?”
Dominic’s eyes moved briefly to Maya.
She understood something in that glance.
Stay calm.
Victor tightened his arm around her.
Maya forced herself to breathe.
The smell of his cologne was overwhelming.
Sweet.
Chemical.
His hand shook.
That mattered.
His grip was poor.
That mattered too.
Five years in Naples had taught Maya many things she wished she had never needed to learn.
One was that frightened men were often more dangerous than confident ones.
Another was that panic made people careless.
Victor shifted the knife.
Maya moved.
She stomped hard on his instep.
At the same time, she threw her head backward.
Her skull struck his mouth.
Victor shouted.
The knife moved away.
Maya twisted sideways.
Carlo crossed the distance instantly.
He slammed Victor against the table.
The knife hit the floor.
Dominic caught Maya before she stumbled.
His hands closed around her shoulders.
For the first time since she met him, Maya saw something close to fear in his face.
Not anger.
Fear.
“Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine.”
“Are you hurt?”
His voice became sharper.
Maya looked down.
A thin line of red had appeared along her ribs where the knife had grazed her through the fabric.
“It’s a scratch.”
Dominic saw the blood.
Something terrible changed in his eyes.
Victor saw it too.
“No.”
Victor’s broken lip bled onto his shirt.
“I didn’t mean—”
Dominic released Maya.
That frightened her more than anything.
He turned toward Victor.
“Carlo.”
Carlo straightened.
“Basement?”
“Yes.”
Victor started begging.
Dominic did not look at him again.
Two men dragged him away.
Maya grabbed Dominic’s wrist.
He stopped.
“Don’t kill him because of me.”
The entire platform seemed to freeze.
Carlo looked back.
Dominic slowly turned his head.
“You think that is why he is going downstairs?”
“He put a knife on me.”
“He compromised my docks.”
“He knows operational information he should not know.”
Dominic stepped closer.
“And then he put a knife on you.”
His voice dropped.
“That part simply ensured I will not be generous.”
Maya let go of his wrist.
“Dominic.”
“Not tonight.”
Something in his tone ended the argument.
But Maya saw it now.
The world she had entered was not metaphorically dangerous.
It was not dark suits and whispered threats over expensive wine.
Men disappeared here.
People died.
Dominic looked toward Carlo.
“Get the doctor.”
“I don’t need a doctor.”
Dominic ignored her.
“Now.”
Carlo left.
Maya exhaled sharply.
“You really struggle with the concept of asking.”
“You are bleeding.”
“I’ve had paper cuts worse than this.”
“You had a knife against your ribs.”
“And I handled it.”
“That is not the point.”
“It is exactly the point.”
Dominic turned toward her.
For the first time, his control cracked.
“What if you had not?”
The question came out harder than he intended.
Maya went still.
Dominic looked away.
His hands clenched.
“What if he had moved the blade two inches?”
His voice lowered.
“What if Carlo had fired and missed?”
Maya studied him.
“You’re afraid.”
Dominic’s gaze snapped back.
“No.”
“You are.”
“I don’t get afraid.”
“That sounds medically impossible.”
“This isn’t funny.”
“I’m not joking.”
She stepped closer.
“You were afraid.”
Dominic said nothing.
Maya suddenly understood why his generosity had always felt violent.
Why he bought buildings instead of having conversations.
Why he erased debts instead of asking how he could help.
Dominic did not know how to care for something without controlling every variable around it.
And Maya had become a variable he could not control.
A doctor arrived ten minutes later.
He cleaned the shallow cut while Dominic stood nearby.
Maya finally snapped, “Stop staring at it.”
Dominic did not move.
“It’s three centimeters long.”
“Four.”
“You measured?”
“Yes.”
“Of course you did.”
The doctor hid a smile.
When he finished, Maya adjusted the side of her dress.
“Can I leave now?”
Dominic answered immediately.
“No.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“We had an agreement.”
“And there is an attack underway against my organization.”
“That sounds like a you problem.”
“It became a you problem the moment Victor grabbed you.”
Maya stood.
“You don’t get to imprison me for protection.”
Dominic’s jaw tightened.
“You will stay at one of my properties tonight.”
“No.”
“Maya.”
“No.”
“Someone inside this building knew enough to target the docks.”
“And?”
“And Victor knew who you were.”
That stopped her.
Maya frowned.
“He didn’t know me.”
“He looked directly at you when he needed leverage.”
“I was standing closest.”
“There were other people closer.”
Dominic’s voice became colder.
“He chose you.”
Maya felt unease move through her stomach.
Dominic continued.
“Yesterday, nobody in my world knew your name.”
“Tonight, you walked into my casino in Carlo’s car and sat at my table.”
He looked toward the floor below.
“That makes you visible.”
Maya thought of Sophie.
Dominic saw the realization.
“Exactly.”
Her anger disappeared.
“Sophie.”
“She is safe.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Yes.”
His answer was immediate.
“I do.”
Dominic took out his phone.
He opened a live security feed.
St. Jude’s private wing.
Two guards outside Sophie’s door.
Another near the elevator.
Maya stared at the screen.
“When did you do this?”
“The moment Victor grabbed you.”
Her head lifted.
“You ordered protection while I was still standing here?”
“Yes.”
Maya did not know whether to be furious or relieved.
Probably both.
Dominic slipped the phone back into his jacket.
“You can hate me tomorrow.”
“I’m scheduling it.”
“Good.”
“But tonight?”
“Tonight you stay where I can keep you alive.”
Maya looked toward the locked casino doors.
Then toward the blood stain where Victor had stood.
The danger was real.
Sophie was now connected to it.
Maya hated that.
But refusing to acknowledge reality would not protect her sister.
“Fine.”
Dominic said nothing.
She lifted one finger.
“One night.”
“That is what I said.”
“And separate rooms.”
A faint smile returned to his mouth.
“I hadn’t suggested otherwise.”
“You were thinking it.”
“I’m always thinking many things.”
“Keep those particular things to yourself.”
Dominic’s eyes darkened with amusement.
Then Carlo returned.
His expression removed it immediately.
“We found the missing men.”
Dominic turned.
“Alive?”
“One.”
“And the other?”
Carlo’s silence answered.
Maya felt cold.
Carlo handed Dominic a phone.
“There’s something else.”
On the screen was a photograph.
A body beside the docks.
A message had been painted across a shipping container behind him.
Dominic’s expression hardened.
Maya moved closer.
The words were written in Italian.
She read them easily.
YOU TOOK SOMETHING THAT DOESN’T BELONG TO YOU.
WE WILL TAKE SOMETHING THAT DOES.
Underneath was a second line.
A name.
Maya.
Dominic slowly lowered the phone.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then he looked at Carlo.
“Move Sophie.”
Maya grabbed his arm.
“Where?”
“Somewhere no one can reach her.”
“No.”
Dominic turned toward her.
“Maya.”
“You promised.”
“This is different.”
“You promised you would not make decisions about Sophie without me.”
“Maya, someone just painted your name beside a dead man.”
“And that means you ask me.”
Their eyes locked.
Dominic looked furious.
Terrified.
Trapped by his own promise.
Finally, he exhaled once.
“Fine.”
He stepped closer.
“We move her together.”
Maya nodded.
“To where?”
May you like
Dominic’s answer changed everything.
“My house.”
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