Chapter 8
DOMINIC
I walked back and forth across Sophie’s room as she watched me from her bed.
It was the weekend, and like every weekend for the past four months, I had come to my parents’ place in Connecticut to be with my sister.
She hadn’t set foot in her apartment since the attack.
I worried that with every day that passed without finding her attackers, Sophie was spiraling deeper into her fears and nightmares.
She always had a short fuse, but these days, all she did was hide in her room, watch mindless television, and snap at me if I asked her to go for a walk. As much as I wanted to shield her from the world and keep her under strict protection, I increasingly worried about her mental state.
And now, I had invited Samaira—such a beautiful name—to meet Sophie. I also might not have talked to Sophie about the Wildcats yet, and Samaira—I finally knew the tigress’s name—was arriving in thirty minutes. Clearly, I had more than enough time to say two sentences to Sophie.
What worried me was the time Sophie might need to prepare herself emotionally and mentally to retell the events of that evening to a total stranger.
“Dominic, if you have nothing to say and are just getting your steps for the day in, please do it in the gym. You’re making my head spin,” Sophie snapped, stopping my feet with her glare.
I ran a hand through my hair, pulled out the rolling chair from her desk, and took a seat. Rubbing my palms together, I met her eyes. “So I might not have stopped looking for the fuckers from that gala.”
Sophie instantly turned her eyes away with a sigh. “Dominic.”
My jaw clenched at the hopelessness in her voice, the lack of fire in her eyes. “You know I can’t stop. I won’t stop.”
She shook her head in defeat. “You heard the cops. You heard the lawyers. They’ve all got nothing. I have nothing to help you.”
I nodded, willing her to meet my gaze again. “That’s why I’ve hired the Wildcats.”
Her eyes snapped to mine. “Wildcats?”
My lips curved in a smile. “You wouldn’t even believe me if I told you about them.”
She shook her head at me, but a hint of a smile touched her lips. “Are they a gang or something?”
That pulled a chuckle out of me. “More like super badass women who are vigilantes,” I said. “And one of them is coming to meet you and talk to you about that evening in about twenty-five minutes.”
That had her jumping off the bed. “What?” she screeched, stalking over to tower above me from where I sat.
“You want me to talk about that day all over again? Wasn’t once, twice, ten times enough?
Every single day, I try to put that day behind me.
Every day, I try to forget what happened.
To wake up and find the will to leave this house, go back to my apartment, go back to work, and start fucking living .
And now, you want me to talk about it again? ”
I knew how much it would cost my sister to talk about that day, but I had to try. I clutched her hand in both of mine and gave her a pleading look—a look that had always gotten me my way ever since we were kids. “Just this one last time. Please, Soph?”
Her eyes glistened with tears as she shook her head defeatedly, as if pitying me. “One last time.”
I jumped off the chair and pulled her into a hug, swaying her in my arms. “Thank you, Soph.”
Her voice came muffled as she spoke in my arms. “Don’t get your hopes up.”
Leaving her to freshen up, I walked into the living room but didn't find my parents. They had to be somewhere in the house. I hadn’t told them about the Wildcats yet and was still debating whether it was a good idea.
I didn’t want to give them false hope, only to disappoint them later.
Yet I also hated seeing the defeated look on their faces, the hurt and betrayal knowing their daughter hadn't received the justice she deserved, that everyone who should have been fighting for her had given up.
Perhaps knowing someone was out there trying to bring her justice could alleviate some of that pain.
I settled on the couch to wait for Samaira, but my mind kept drifting to the night before last. I hadn’t stopped reliving that late-night phone call ever since I'd fallen asleep listening to Samaira's voice.
That was the first time after endless nightmares, circling what-ifs, and an ever-present guilt that I actually had a full night of sound sleep.
I had slipped into that blissful darkness with a whisper of her name in my ears and woken up with it escaping my lips.
I was obsessed with the way her name rolled off my tongue.
I had been sure she wouldn’t disclose her name when I’d asked her, especially when she hadn’t outright answered.
I could just imagine her weighing the pros and cons of revealing her name to me.
The thought of her arriving at a decision in my favor made me unreasonably happy.
My phone pinged with a loud ding.
Samaira: I’m outside your house.
I jumped off the couch and pressed the button by the door to open the front gate of the house. I opened the main door and stepped onto the covered porch to greet her. An average-looking black sedan entered the driveway—certainly not the kind of car I expected the tigress to drive.
The car door opened, and she stepped out, planting thick, mid-calf black boots on the pavement.
A short-sleeved black T-shirt stretched taut over her powerful arms, showing off her sharply defined muscles and a vibrant red and black tiger tattoo sleeve that seemed ready to pounce right off her skin.
Loose cargo pants hung on her frame. Her hair was pulled back in a thick ponytail with some loose curls hugging her face, giving her hard and lethal expression that hint of softness, which tightened something in my chest.
She gave me a simple nod in greeting. “You tell Sophie about the Wildcats?”
There was no smile on her face, no softness in her eyes, and no hint of acknowledgment that I’d fallen asleep while talking to her. She was cold and aloof, as if creating a hard line of professionalism between us. “Samaira.” I nodded back at her, giving her a smile anyway.
A hint of warmth reached her eyes, but she didn’t return my smile. She simply waited for my answer. Did something happen between the night before last and this morning?
Putting that thought aside, I walked inside the house, with her right beside me, leading us to Sophie’s room, silently thanking my lucky stars that my parents weren’t around. “I did talk to Sophie about hiring your team to work her case. Clearly, she doesn’t have much hope right now. ”
We were almost to her room when I stopped walking, making Samaira look back at me. “Samaira, I need you to know that Sophie’s physical injuries might have healed, but she’s still extremely sensitive. I just want to make sure that you’ll tread carefully.”
Her steady gaze remained fixed on me as I spoke.
As I finished, her shoulders seemed to have released some hidden tension, dropping slightly.
She took a step toward me, her eyes kinder than I’d seen today, and placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder, her touch flooding that spot with warmth.
“Dominic. Sophie’s safe with me. Our whole purpose is to take care of women just like Sophie.
To bring them justice. To give them a voice when the perpetrators and the justice system have snatched it away.
You need to trust me and let me do what I do. ”
My heart calmed at her words, and I took a deep breath, her scent of orange blossoms flooding my senses. Everything within me yearned to trust her. I nodded, listening to my instincts. “Understood.”
I took the lead to Sophie’s room and gave a quick rap on the door. Instantly, the door opened, and Sophie stood ready in a sweatshirt and jeans. That was far more put together than she'd been in ages. Hiding my reaction, I stepped inside, Samaira following.
Before I could make the introductions, Samaira stepped around me and stood in front of Sophie. “Hey, Sophie, I’m Samaira. I’m here to find the motherfuckers who dared to touch you.”
Sophie’s eyes widened as she took Samaira in, her jaw dropping at the picture she painted in her all-black outfit, looking like she could take down ten guys in under a minute.
It took Sophie a few seconds to snap out of her awe and close her mouth.
I hid my smile as a red blush rose along her cheeks.
“Uh, hi, Samaira. Pleased to meet you. Dominic said you have some questions for your investigation. ”
When Samaira just nodded politely, Sophie turned around and sat on her bed, hugging a pillow to her chest. Samaira took a seat right across from her on the bed, while I tried to give them space and leaned against her desk a few feet away.
Sophie chewed her lip. “I don’t know how much more I can help.
I honestly told the cops everything I knew. ”
Samaira’s voice was remarkably gentle. Her tone was so soothing that she not only put Sophie at ease but also put me at ease.
“I know you did. You were very thorough. But I had to meet you and ask you a few questions to get a better understanding. I need some specifics in your story, so if you could fill in those parts for me, it could be beneficial for the case. Does that sound good?”
When Sophie nodded, Samaira pulled out her phone and opened something, maybe her notes.
I couldn’t see it from where I stood. Samaira placed her phone on her lap and turned to Sophie.
“So during the gala, did you first see the attacker when he was attempting to drug your employee, or did you notice him around her prior to that?”
Sophie thought for a second before saying, “I saw him approach Anna and talk to her for a good five minutes at the bar. She’d turned around to talk to my business partner, Ashley, when I caught the masked guy spiking her drink. I immediately rushed to her and pulled her away. If only…”
She stopped talking at that, biting her lip and staring at her lap.
Samaira whispered, “If only what?”
Soph shook her head, her shoulders tensing and giving a defeated shrug.
“If only I’d just pulled Anna away and walked off.
But I was so mad I just couldn’t help hitting the guy.
I tried to pull off his mask, but he was quite tall, and he quickly walked off.
Anna and Ashley were quick to stop me from following him, but I called security to get him thrown out of the gala.
I was worried he would attempt to spike some other girl’s drink, you know. ”
Samaira nodded sympathetically as Soph continued, clutching her own arms as if holding herself together. I so badly wanted to wrap my baby sister in a hug and save her from the horror. “Maybe if I had left him alone, he wouldn’t have caught me a…and r…r…raped me.”
I quickly stepped toward Samaira, afraid she would ask something further and upset Sophie more.
I’d barely made contact with her shoulder when I found myself flung in the air and landing sharply on my back.
Samaira’s eyes glared daggers at me, her hand clutching my neck, her face pulled in a mask of violent rage that had me going absolutely still.
Her jaw was clenched tight as she bent her head down slightly, and she spoke in a tone that sent shivers down my spine.
“I did not give you permission to touch me.”