28. Dominic
TWENTY-EIGHT
DOMINIC
Luca
Please talk to me.
I miss you
Agony socked me in the gut. I stared at the screen until the letters blurred. It wasn’t the first time he’d reached out, but every message chipped away at the walls I was trying to build around myself.
Some were quiet—simple words asking if I was okay. Others were full of fire, blaming me, demanding answers I couldn’t give.
Why’d you leave me?
What did I do wrong?
You’re just like everyone else.
But the ones where he missed me filled my heart with lead.
Letting him go was supposed to be the right thing.
Luca needed help, not the confusion my presence had stirred up in him. I couldn’t sit by and watch him spiral, not when I was part of the reason he was falling apart.
My bodyguard opened the door. “Mr. Caruso, the contractor’s here.”
“Give me five.”
I stayed seated, phone gripped in my hand. It’d been three weeks since I’d walked out of Luca’s life, and every second felt like a slow descent into hell. I’d buried myself in work—new casino expansions, back-to-back meetings, pointless security drills—anything to keep me moving.
I’d reassigned Luca to a different property. Distance was supposed to help keep Luca out of trouble and me out of his own head. Every time I closed my eyes, that flicker of panic when he grabbed my jacket and said “Don’t do this.”
It haunted me.
I pushed back from my desk, pacing the office. I couldn’t think straight.
I’d done the right thing.
He was spiraling. The fight with Frank. His short fuse. Luca couldn’t handle his emotions, and I was making it worse. He needed to figure his shit out, and I needed to be strong enough to step away.
But I missed him.
His stupid smirks. His sharp comebacks. The way he softened, just for me. I missed the sound of his voice. I missed watching him flip through textbooks. I missed his grumpy greetings in the morning.
I sank back into my chair, staring at the app I’d meant to delete weeks ago. My thumb hovered before I tapped it open, revealing the GPS tracker I’d planted on Luca’s car before we broke up.
The blinking dot remained in the parking lot outside his apartment. The tightness in my chest loosened slightly.
What if I was wrong?
What if walking away had shattered him? What if my leaving only proved every terrible thing he thought about himself?
I got up from my chair, pacing the length of my office. The contractor would walk in any second, and I needed to pull it together. My phone buzzed again, and another text filled the screen.
Luca
Dom, please.
The door opened, and my bodyguard stepped in. His sharp eyes flicked to my phone. “You’re distracted.”
“No shit.”
He raised an eyebrow. “You want to tell me what’s going on, or should I let the contractor figure it out when you bite his head off?”
I sighed. “Just send him in.”
He gave me a look but left.
I sank back into my chair, staring at the phone. Weeks of silence, and he still hadn’t given up. Part of me admired it. The other part wanted to throw the damn thing out the window.
My phone buzzed again. I ignored it. If I opened another message from Luca today, I’d break.
You’re killing me, Luca.
The contractor entered the office, a wiry man in his forties with a clipboard and a determined look. His name was Vince, and he didn’t bother with small talk. Fine by me.
“Mr. Caruso.” Vince laid out blueprints on the desk. “We’ve got the updated plans for the casino expansion. Some of the structural reinforcements need tweaking, but it won’t push the timeline too far.”
I forced myself to focus, nodding as Vince pointed out load-bearing walls and fire exits. My brain registered the details, but the conversation felt like static in the background.
“…if we adjust the mezzanine layout,” Vince was saying, “it’ll open up more space for high-roller suites. Should bring in an extra ten percent revenue on comps alone.”
“ Fine .”
Vince hesitated. “Is there an issue?”
“The layout’s good. Just do what you need to do.”
He nodded. “Understood. I’ll get the revisions finalized.” He packed up his blueprints, gave a curt nod, and left the office.
I stood and grabbed my jacket, desperate for air.
The hallway stretched ahead, the steady hum of casino activity filtering through the walls. As I rounded a corner, I caught sight of Frank.
He walked toward me, his nose still swollen and tinged with bruises from Luca’s fist. Frank froze, his eyes flicking away. Then he turned on his heel and walked in the opposite direction.
I stopped, watching him retreat.
Since Luca beat the hell out of Frank, he’d completely stopped flirting with me. Before that, he’d been a pain in the ass. Sometimes he showed up uninvited to dinners or late nights at the casino. Luca put an end to it with one swing.
I headed toward the elevator.
Would I ever stop missing Luca?
The elevator crawled upward. By the time the doors slid open, my chest tightened like a vise.
Cool night air hit my face as I stepped into the parking lot. Only a few cars dotted the space, their shapes cast in the flickering glow of overhead lights. My footsteps echoed against the asphalt.
I reached into my pocket for my keys, and a prickle of awareness stopped me.
My body went rigid. I tightened my grip on the key fob, scanning the shadows between parked cars.
A figure burst from the darkness and slammed into me. I stumbled, twisting to avoid the blade. Two more shapes emerged, their footsteps rapid, closing the distance.
The first man lunged. I ducked low, driving a fist into his gut before spinning to face the second attacker. Pain flared in my ribs as the third man’s kick sent me crashing into a parked car.
The world tilted. Blood filled my mouth, yanking me back into focus. I swung wildly, my knuckles connecting with one of their jaws. He staggered back, cursing in a foreign language. Russian? The others surged forward.
Blows rained down, fists slamming into my ribs and shoulders. I grunted, straining to stay on my feet. My hand scrambled for the gun at my waist, but another hit knocked it free, the weapon clattering uselessly on the ground.
One grabbed my arm and twisted it behind my back, forcing a sharp jolt of pain through my shoulder. Another shoved me face-first into the hood of a car, metal biting into my cheek.
“Bastards,” I snarled.
“Dominic Caruso,” another sneered. “Your brothers send their regards.”
A cloth smothered my mouth and nose, reeking of chemicals. I thrashed, my heart hammering in panic, but my strength drained with every gasping breath.
The last thing I saw was the open van door, its interior yawning dark and waiting, before the world slipped away.
I snapped awake.
My head throbbed, every pulse of pain dragging me to reality. I blinked at the concrete walls. I was in a basement, slumped in a chair.
Across the room, a hard-eyed bald man with Cyrillic tattoos glared at me. Bratva. Beside him were my two brothers, Angelo and Enzo.
“Look who’s awake,” Angelo sneered.
I held his gaze. “This is a new low, even for you two.”
Enzo smirked. “You didn’t think we’d let you take everything, did you, Dom?”
I forced a laugh. “You mean what you didn’t earn?”
“Your brothers were smart to come to us,” said the Bratva thug. “We get what we want, they get what they want. Everyone wins.”
I sneered. “Right, because teaming up with the Bratva always ends well. Brilliant plan.”
Angelo stepped forward, crouching so his face was level with mine. “That’s where you’re wrong. We made a deal. A piece of the estate for their help in getting you out of the way. Easy money, and all we had to do was get you to cooperate.”
I held his gaze. “You think money will save you when this goes south?”
Enzo’s eyes narrowed. “It’ll work out fine if you play nice. Just sign a few things, and we’ll let you go.”
I laughed.
Angelo’s grin faltered. “What’s so funny, Dom?”
“Here’s the thing,” I said, letting every word drip with satisfaction. “I changed my will. Everything goes into a trust for an LGBT runaway youth foundation. Not a dime’s left for either of you. Dad’s estate was about seven million, in case you didn’t know.”
The Bratva creep stepped closer. “We’ll find a way around it. A lawsuit questioning your mental state when you set up that trust.”
Angelo’s lips curled. “Guardianship’s an option. If you’re not fit to handle your affairs…”
A chill shot down my spine. “What, you’re gonna turn me into a vegetable to get what you want?”
Enzo’s expression hardened. “If that’s what it takes, Dom, then yeah. You’re either with us, or we’ll make sure you can’t fight us.”
I glared back. “You think you’re clever, don’t you? Teaming up with these Russian pricks and trying to strong-arm me like I’m some scared little kid. If brains were dynamite, the three of you couldn’t blow your own dicks off.”
Angelo’s grin vanished. Enzo took a step forward, his jaw tight.
“Guardianship? Jesus Christ, you’re desperate. You two dickheads don’t have the balls to take what you want, so you cozy up to the Bratva, hoping they’ll hold your hands through it. Pathetic. You two really are the dumbest assholes in the room. Teaming up with the Bratva is the kind of genius move that gets you both buried in a ditch.”
Angelo’s gaze sharpened. “They’re business partners.”
I barked out a laugh. “They’re using you. The second they don’t need you, you’ll be lucky if they let you crawl away breathing.”
Enzo’s fist slammed into the side of my face, sending a sharp jolt of pain through my skull.
I let my head roll back, laughing. “No wonder Dad hated you both.”
“You son of a bitch!” Angelo snarled, his hand twitching toward his gun.
Bratva Thug stepped between us, shoving Angelo back.
I chuckled, spitting blood onto the floor. “When this falls apart, and it will, they’ll take your heads before they even look in my direction. That’s what you signed up for. Congratulations .”
Enzo’s fist collided with my jaw. The force of the blow sent my head snapping back. Pain exploded in my skull, but I didn’t flinch.
Enzo’s blows came fast, brutal, and relentless. My ribs felt like they were cracking with each hit. Then Angelo stepped forward. He kicked me in the stomach. I gasped, heaving.
Angelo grabbed me by the hair. “Even if I don’t get my money, this was worth every minute.”
He threw a punch into my side, followed by another into my gut. I choked. Angelo kicked me again in the ribs, and I went still, my body sinking into the concrete.
“Don’t think this is over,” Angelo sneered as they stepped back. “You’ll either cooperate, or we’ll finish it the hard way.”
“I don’t care what you do to me,” I said through gritted teeth. “You’ll end up with exactly what you deserve.”
Angelo’s face twisted. “We’ll see about that, brother.”
They left the room, the Bratva guy following them.
When the door slammed, I let out a slow breath. My ribs screamed with every inhale. I tipped my head back against the cold concrete wall, the room spinning.
Angelo and Enzo were as predictable as ever. I should’ve seen this coming. My brothers were snakes, but they weren’t the real threat. The Russians didn’t partner with anyone unless they already had the knife ready for their back.
Luca.
His name pushed through the haze in my brain.
I closed my eyes. I saw the sharp curve of his smirk when he thought he was being clever.
I fucking loved him.
And I’d walked away.
I thought I was doing the right thing. I didn’t want to be the reason he ended up in a grave.
I hadn’t walked away to protect him. Not really.
I’d walked away because I was scared.
Luca wasn’t just a man I cared about. He was the one . Only he could tear me apart with a look.
I imagined his scowl. He’d yell at me for getting jumped. He’d clench his fists, full of fire, and would look at me with that unbearable softness, like I was the only person in the world who mattered.
God, I missed him.
I’d told myself I was doing the right thing, but I’d been wrong. So fucking wrong. Luca wasn’t spiraling because of me. He was just falling for me, and I’d left him to hit the ground alone.
I exhaled, my ribs screaming in protest.
What if this was it? What if I died in this miserable basement without ever telling him?
The thought clawed through me.
No .
I had to get out of here. To tell him everything.
That I loved him so much it hurt.
I couldn’t die with him thinking I didn’t care.
I tilted my head back, forcing a laugh out of my cracked lips. My brothers thought they’d won. They didn’t realize they were already dead men walking.
The second I got out of here, I was going home.
To Luca.