Dominic (The Family Book 2) Page 3

  With what I hoped was a smile I gave her a slightly terse time to go babe before I went straight to the bathroom and the shower. I stunk. I think I fell asleep standing up in the stall because next thing I knew a very pissed-off Marcus was telling me to hurry up; we were going to be late.

  Fuck, I didn’t need this today. After the shower I skipped shaving and hurried to get dressed. I looked like shit. I threw on a pair of sunglasses and fought the urge to call Maria and tell her that she wasn’t going to class today. My only saving grace was that she only had two classes today. Thank you baby Jesus. Leaving my room I saw that all of the girls were gone but the place stunk so bad of sex and B.O. that I wanted to puke. “Open the fuckin windows.” I gagged, earning murderous looks from the two guys sprawled on the couch.

  “They are. I opened them when I was clearing the bitches out,” Chris snarled obviously still pissed at his impromptu bath.

  Fuck! Looking around the room even with the participants of the impromptu orgy gone it still looked like a disaster. There was no way I could let that girl come here when it looked and smelled like this. Shit. I rubbed my hand across my face. “You two stay here and clean this place up. I’ll go deal with Maria.”

  I hated the words coming out of my mouth, especially when the two of them were looking like I just gave them a reprieve. Pissed beyond words at their gloating faces I stormed out the front door. I almost turned back when I heard one of them yell out, “Have fun.” Yeah, I’d have fun all right. I’d have fun when I got home and beat the shit out of them. With that happy thought in my head I got in my car and hit the gas. Sal was a punctual fuck and expected everyone else to be to. Especially when it came to Maria. He had been Maria’s guard since she was little, so he viewed her as a daughter and didn’t take even a perceived slight to her kindly.

  Sal was waiting for me in the parking lot. “Where is she?” I growled, getting out of the car.

  “Right over there on the bench with that little friend of hers,” he said, nodding his chin toward them. “Rough night?”

  Giving him a fuck you look from over my glasses I flipped him off and stormed toward the two women. Sal’s grating laughter followed me and alerted the girls to my presence. Seeing Maria’s annoyed frown I had to grit my teeth to keep from snapping at her. “Dom, you’re late. I wanted to get to class early to talk to the teacher before it began…” she started only to stop when I held my hand up.

  I tried to hold on to what little patience I had left. I grabbed an arm of each of the girls, ignoring the almost petrified stiffening of Tori and pulled them along behind me. Feeling the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, I knew that Maria was about to open her mouth so I beat her to it with a sharp no-nonsense, “Don’t.”

  Luckily she understood not to fuck with me right now so the rest of the walk to class was in silence. When we reached the door I pulled the two of them forward and pushed them in front of me so they went in first. Tori practically ran to her seat to get away from me while Maria threw me a dirty look over her shoulder that I ignored. I took a seat a few rows behind them and was just about to close my eyes when I saw this guy go and take a seat next to Tori. Who the fuck was that? Watching them through my sunglasses I saw the bastard hold out his hand to Maria. As I was about to stand up and go rip the little shits head off I was stopped as the teacher strolled in and took his place.

  Two hours later I was chomping at the bit for this asshole to shut up. Finally after what seemed like forever he gave us our assignment and dismissed us. No wonder Chris bitched so much when I forced him to do this class with Maria. I made my way down to where Tori and Maria stood, still talking to that pretty boy. “Maria, you going to introduce me to your friend?” I said, as soon as I was close enough for them to hear me.

  She rolled her eyes at me. “Dom, this is Tori’s friend, Tony. Tony, this is my brother, Dom.”

  I looked the guy up and down. There was something about him that I just didn’t like, though I couldn’t place it. Nodding my chin at him I dismissed him, filing a note in my head for later to check him out. I turned to Maria. “Let’s go. Sal’s waiting for you.”

  She was pissed at my rudeness to the guy still standing there. What the fuck did he not understand? Get lost. Did I have to spell it out? Maria, seeing the look on my face beat me before I could open my mouth to do just that. “Tony, it was nice to meet you. Tori and I have to run but we’ll see you next week,” she said before she grabbed my arm and pulled me toward the exit.

  I allowed her to do it because I wanted to speak to her alone before Tori, who looked to be apologizing to him, caught up with us. Once we were outside I moved us to the side of the door. “What the fuck were you doing? I heard you agreeing to go out with the two of them. You of all people should know better than agree to hang out with a stranger,” I hissed.

  What the fuck! Was this guy Tony a plant? Were he and Tori looking to lure Maria away from her guards? Never again would that happen. Never. Cold rage coursed through me that I could barely contain when Tori joined us. Silently I walked the two of them to the parking lot where Sal was waiting. Tersely I told the two of them to get into the car while I motioned for Sal to join me out of their hearing distance. “I’m going to see Lucca. Don’t leave Maria alone with that bitch.” Narrow-eyed, Sal nodded his head in understanding. I turned sharply and rushed to my car. I understood the love Lucca had for Angie. I loved her, too, but there was no way that I would ever risk Maria to protect her. Our world would never touch Maria like that again.

  Chapter 6

  I pulled up to a club the family owned and got out. Lucca was there with the boys, doing his monthly visit. Which meant that all the videos were being checked and the money proofed, among other things. In this day and age anyone could turn rat or think they were smart enough to steal from you no matter how much you paid them or think you knew them. Walking into the dimly lit club, I took a moment for my eyes to adjust. Everything looked good. The place was clean and busy. Girls danced on stage while others worked the floor, talking to the customers. Nodding to the security guys I went to the back offices where I knew Lucca would be. I was still furious but the ride over allowed me to gain some control. The boys outside the door saw me approaching so they opened the door to let me in.

  First thing I saw when I walked in was Paulie at the computer. The fucker was a super genius when it came to computers. You could hide nothing from him. Some other guys were in the room but no Lucca. I went to the door that held the main office. I knocked and waited until I heard “enter.” Inside Lucca was talking to Taylor, the night manager of the club. He motioned that he needed a minute, so I took a seat while he finished up.

  “Lucca, I’m telling you that there’s something wrong,” Taylor said, gaining my attention. “The woman isn’t the normal type of customer that we get in here. She gets dances with the same three girls every time she comes in here.”

  “What’s the issue? Don’t most of the customers have favorites?” Lucca asked, not dismissing Taylor’s concerns but wanting her to explain.

  “Nothing, except I watch the cameras, and she doesn’t have the girls dance. She has them sit with her and talk about themselves.” Seeing the look on Lucca’s face, Taylor hurried to explain. “Not about club business, but themselves, asking them if they’re happy with their life and shit. I would have thrown her out already but she gives them huge tips, thousands at a time. To tell you the truth that’s the reason I even noticed the woman at all. One of our girls got nervous and came to me. I mean who gives a dancer thousands of dollars to tell them about their lives, their hopes, and dreams?”

  “For now let the woman keep coming in. Act as if nothing’s wrong but keep an eye on her. I’ll find out what her deal is and determine what needs to be done. Is there anything else we need to go over?”

  Taylor smiled. “No that’s it. I’ll let you and Dom talk.” On her way out Taylor stopped to give me a kiss on the cheek.

  Once the door shut behind her, Luc
ca turned to me. “Were you listening to that?” he asked as he motioned me to the desk. I took the seat that Taylor had just vacated and looked at the video stills pinned up on the wall. As soon as I looked I knew what had Lucca so pissed. Caterina Genovese was prominently displayed in a variety of freeze frames taken throughout the club. What the fuck was she doing here?

  “Those girls she is speaking to are the ones that we rescued from her brother Enzo’s bondage clubs. We’ve had similar reports from our other clubs through the months of a young woman throwing around a lot of money to speak with certain girls. I’ve also had calls from some of the girls we were able to place back with their families. They say that a girl has been coming around asking questions.”

  Oh shit. What the hell was going on?

  Lucca was furious and so was I. Did this bitch think that she could take on our family and walk away unscathed? “What info has she been trying to get from our girls?” I asked.

  “Nothing. Yeah, you heard me right—nothing. Not one question has she asked about her brother or us. She asks the girls what they want to do with their lives. I haven’t figured out her game yet. So tell me, where the fuck are you with her?”

  “I’ll be getting her alone starting tonight. She’s going to be tutoring me,” I said, bracing myself for the explosion.

  Lucca was one to never disappoint. “What the fuck? It’s been two weeks and you’re no closer to getting those tapes? Are you fucking kidding me?”

  “The bitch is smart, Lucca. Which is one of the reasons I’m here. Some guy named Tony, a friend of hers, was just introduced to Maria today. I don’t trust the fuck. I want Paulie to do a check on him.” At the mention of the fuck’s name my anger came back in full force. “And I want Maria out of this. I’m not taking the risk of them luring her off and shit like what happened before happening again. No matter what might happen to Angie, you have no right to risk Maria.”

  “You should know me better than that. I would never risk our sister, but get your head out of your ass. This is about more than my wife. Do you think that those fucks will just come after Angie if they find out the truth? It will be open season on not just our family but the Gagliardi family also. Our allies will run for cover. Everything we have worked for will come under fire. Guilt by association,” Lucca snapped. “So do your job, fuck that bitch, find out what she knows then dig a hole and bury her in it!”

  Lucca stared at me, pulling back his anger. “I’ll get Paulie to find out who the guy is and beef up the security on Maria, but you have to understand that this is not personal. It’s business. Family business. Which means you have a job that has to be done. If you can’t do it let me know and I’ll find someone who can.”

  I looked Lucca in the eye, giving him the respect due to an underboss, but letting him know he didn’t rattle me. “The job is mine. If I didn’t think I could do it I wouldn’t have taken it. Let me know what Paulie finds.”

  I stood up without another word and walked out. Lucca was right, as much as I hated to admit it. This wasn’t just about one member of our family. This was about our family as a whole. I could watch out for Maria. From now on that would be my boy Chris’s only job. To keep her safe. With Maria’s safety off the table that only left me with Caterina Genovese to worry about. If she was contacting the girls Enzo enslaved, who else was she contacting and why? I needed to figure it out and end any trouble it could cause the family before I ended her.

  …

  Fuck, did I make a mistake by letting my father talk me into giving this assignment to Dominic. What if he can’t handle it? I wasn’t kidding when I said that this could destroy us all. If Angie found out she would go on a killing spree of biblical proportions, pregnant or not. Our world would run red with blood. I hit the intercom and called in Vic, my number two. Dom was my brother and I loved him, but I was the underboss responsible for the protection of the entire family and individual relationships didn’t mean shit. I’d set Vic to keeping a close eye on this. If Dom’s seduction didn’t start moving along I’d have Vic grab the bitch and see how tough she was. Grown men had cracked in an hour after my special form of hospitality so I’m sure that I could get everything I needed from Caterina Genovese before her heart gave out and I put her and the past behind us for good.

  Chapter 7

  Something was wrong. Maria had been off since Dom stormed away in the parking lot, and Sal seemed cold to me. When we got to my dorm, Sal insisted on coming up. He went through my room before we could enter. Giving me a hard look he grudgingly left the room at Maria’s urging before positioning himself right outside the door. I swear he was acting as if I was going to hurt Maria. At first all I could think was that they knew who I was. I could barely contain my panic before my brain kicked in and told me that if they knew then they would never have let me anywhere near Maria. No, if they knew who I was I’d be weighed down in some lake right now.

  Maria of course rolled her eyes at Sal and acted like it was normal, then proceeded to attack my closet. Pulling out this and that she forced me to try on whatever she found suitable. After almost an hour of playing fashion doll she final settled on the clothes that of course I never wore when I was around her. She of course found the stuff I hid at the bottom of my closet. The stuff that I wore when I made my little trips on the weekend to try and find redemption for my soul, tight jeans and a tight top that barely held my boobs in. Pulling me to a chair, she proceeded to take off my glasses and apply makeup. Again, another thing I never wore around her. The whole point of my disguise was to look nothing like myself, and I was afraid that by the time she was finished the only thing that would be left of my disguise was the hair.

  When she was finally finished with whatever the hell she was doing, she grabbed my arm and pulled me out the door. I was lucky to grab my glasses and purse, never mind see what she had done in the mirror. Chattering a mile a minute she tugged me down to her car and proceeded to keep talking, never taking a breath until we arrived at one of the high-end apartment buildings just off campus. In awe I stared at her. I had never in my life heard someone talk that much. I swear she didn’t stop once.

  Confused, I followed her docilely from the car and into the building. Where we were going didn’t even cross my mind to ask as I stared at her still-moving mouth. Nothing clicked until the door she stopped us in front of opened and a shirtless, just-out-of-the-shower Dominic looked at me, surprised. I’d been had. He was hot. Like my IQ just dropped ten points and my legs were permanently spread with a sign that said all aboard hot. Unfortunately those nasty little thoughts must have showed on my face because his expression changed from surprised to amused in a second flat.

  I had completely forgotten that I was supposed to tutor this arrogant asshole. No. No way was that going to happen. I was about to tell him to fuck off and run when I was stopped by Maria’s incessant babbling about how grateful she was that I was doing this favor for her. I knew God hated me, but now I was really starting to believe that he had a pool going on up there, and the odds weren’t in my favor. Bowing my head in defeat, I watched as Maria got back on the elevator and waved goodbye as the doors closed.

  “So are you going to come in or run?” Dominic asked, chuckling at my expense. Fuck me. There was no way I was going to give him the satisfaction of watching me run away like a scared child. I raised my head, gave him a nasty look and pushed my way past him into the spacious apartment.

  I went to the couch and threw my bag on the table. “Get dressed, so we can get this done,” I told him, hating the fact that I couldn’t look at him without wanting him. I was such a loser. Luckily he seemed to be done with amusing himself at my expense for the moment and went to what I assumed was his bedroom to grab a shirt. With him gone I was able to let go of the breath that I had been holding. That man was too hot and he knew it. Furious with myself for letting a gorgeous body and face make me forget even for a moment what it could hide I hardened myself by pushing those buried thoughts of Enzo to the front of my min
d. Just the thought of my psychotic brother’s name was enough to cool my blood and remember why I was here and what would happen if Dominic found out who I truly was.

  By the time he rejoined me in the living room I was ready. Instead of seeing him, the only thing I saw was the death of my plans. Satisfied that I could hold up, I quickly grabbed the book on the table and began going over his notes, which were almost nonexistent. What was he doing during his classes? Sleeping? For the next hour I droned on, explaining what he needed to do and what he needed to study. Not once did I let him take us off track. Whenever he tried to talk about anything other than his classes I ignored him and kept on going like I hadn’t heard him. He was pissed and I was pleased, holding in my laughter at the growing aggravation and confusion on his face. Obviously he expected any woman in his presence to hang on his every word or be dumbstruck by the attention he heaped on her. He had no clue how to deal with a woman who couldn’t wait to get rid of him.

  It was going to be easier to get out of tutoring him than I thought. By tomorrow he’d be telling Maria he didn’t need help and my problem would be solved. I’d be rid of him and Maria wouldn’t be mad at me because her brother would be making the decision, not me.

  Chapter 8

  I held back my smile as I watched the little self-satisfied witch. She honestly thought that it was going to be this easy to get rid of me. Like hell. Half listening as she droned on I looked her up and down, glad that she cleaned up so well. At least when I finally got her into bed, I wouldn’t need a bottle of Viagra to stay hard. Her breasts alone were enough to have me discreetly adjusting myself. Fuck, where had she been hiding those? Of course that blond hair was still shit but that could be ignored. Watching her lips move as she talked about who knew what I started to imagine them sealed around my cock. What was it about her that suddenly made me think about sex? Looking at her hard I put the girls I usually fucked up against her, and she rated second best to everyone. The only conclusion I could come up with was the fire that she displayed when she couldn’t hold it in any longer. Not that it could matter. It wasn’t like I was keeping her. Hell, who knew if she’d still be alive in a month, I thought, pulling myself back to the real reason I had her here. She was a threat, and I had better not forget it.