Chapter 6
Chapter Six
Dominic
I t took calling in a few favors, but I finally tracked Vivian Sinclair down.
The opulent racetrack stretches before me, a sea of designer outfits and sparkling champagne flutes. Expensive perfumes mingle with pheromones, creating a heady mixture that tickles my nose and sets my teeth on edge.
I breathe shallowly through my mouth as I scan the crowd.
The laughter and chatter of the wealthy elite grate on my nerves, their carefree attitudes a stark contrast to the work my pack puts in to get our dream off the ground.
I reach the outskirts of the track, my hands gripping the metal railing. The thunder of hoofbeats sounds in the distance, the racers on the opposite side of the field.
A gentle breeze carries the hint of a garden, catching on my tongue and curdling in my stomach. The pheromones are so close to Chloe’s, but soured by alcohol, both old and new.
Turning, my gaze lands on the private boxes where the crème de la crème sit above the heat and the earthy scent of the racehorses. In a center box, I spot Vivian Sinclair, her pink hair standing out against all the white, like a peacock in her roost.
Anger boils in my blood as I take in her immaculate appearance, not a strand out of place, her locks swept up in an expensive chignon that leaves the pink-diamond necklace around her neck on full display.
Images flash through my mind of a young Chloe, our last year in high school, cast out and alone as the popular kids sneered at her fall from grace. If only I’d stood by her side back then instead of giving in to my family’s pressure to distance myself.
Could I have changed her fate? Stopped Vivian from selling her off to Louie for a fat monthly allowance?
My hands clench into fists at my sides.
How can Vivian sit there, sipping champagne and basking in luxury, knowing what she’s condemned her daughter to? The level of her narcissism is almost unbelievable. Yet, here she is.
I navigate through the throngs of race attendees, their chatter fading to a dull roar as I lock in on my target.
Vivian’s tinkling laugh grates on my nerves, her smile as false as the rest of her facade. She’s the picture of privilege, untouchable in her designer dress and sky-high heels.
But beneath the polished veneer lies a mother who sold her own child, a woman so consumed by status that she sacrificed Chloe’s safety and happiness.
I take the stairs to the top and flash my license at the man who guards the door. The Sterlings have a box here, and by the way he waves me through, I’m either not on the restricted list or he doesn’t care.
With measured steps, I approach Vivian’s private box and slip inside.
The cloying sweetness of her pheromones fills the air, mingling with the sharp tang of alcohol that clings to her twenty-four-seven.
I paste on a smile, the muscles in my face straining with the effort.
“Mrs. Sinclair.” I incline my head in a show of respect I don’t feel. “Might I have a word?”
Vivian turns, her pink eyes narrowing as they rake over me from head to toe.
“Dominic.” Her lip curls into a sneer as she drops my last name. “I’m surprised to see you here, considering your… current circumstances. I believe we’ve already discussed what you came for, so be a good boy and run on home to that sorry excuse for a pack that you’ve formed.”
The intended barb misses its mark. I don’t care that I gave up my inheritance and accepted exile from the Sterling pack. They’re all vipers, and I was close to turning out just like them before Blake knocked some sense into me.
Ignoring her obvious dismissal, I stand my ground. “I’m here on behalf of Chloe. I’m concerned about her well-being.”
Vivian takes a delicate sip of her champagne. “Spare me the theatrics. Chloe is exactly where she needs to be. Louie is a good match for her, and their arrangement is beneficial for all involved.”
Anger surges through me, hot and potent. How can she be so cavalier about her own daughter’s suffering?
“The only one benefitting is you,” I growl, the Alpha in me wanting to snap her slender neck like a twig. “Chloe doesn’t want this courtship, and you’re sitting here, acting like it’s all some grand social game.”
Irritation flashes across Vivian’s face, her mask of civility slipping. “You always were a na?ve little boy. You have no idea what it takes to maintain our position, the sacrifices that must be made. Chloe will learn, in time, just as I did.”
I shake my head in disbelief, disgusted by the woman in front of me. “Is that what you call selling your daughter to a man twice her age? Sacrifices? Chloe deserves better than to be a pawn in your social climbing schemes.”
“Careful, Dominic, you’re treading on thin ice.” Vivian’s lips tighten, her knuckles white around the stem of her glass. “Chloe is my daughter, and I will do what I believe is best for her. Your approval means nothing. She is being courted by a wealthy man who will protect and elevate us, which you are not .”
I step closer to Vivian, the bitter scent of alcohol assaulting my senses. The woman is damn near pickled with the amount she drinks. I don’t know how she keeps such a level head when one empty champagne bottle sits on the table beside a second one already opened.
“At Chloe’s request, Grady filed a restraining order to protect herself from you, her own mother,” I say, my voice measured despite my frustration. “You threaten her, make her life hell. Your own daughter. This was her response.”
Vivian blinks in mock surprise, pressing a manicured hand to her chest. “A restraining order? Against me? I had no idea.”
My hands ball into fists at my sides. “This ends now, Vivian. You’re going to release Chloe from whatever sick arrangement you’ve trapped her in. No more threats, no more using her. It’s over.”
“Or what? You’ll sic your little pack of nobodies on me?” She rises and walks to the sideboard to open a crystal decanter, releasing the sharp scent of vodka. “Please. I’m not afraid of you.”
Rage pulses through me, hot and insistent. I take another step forward until I tower over her. “If you don’t back off, I’ll use every resource I have to keep Chloe safe from you. Every. Single. One. This is your only warning.”
The words leave me in a near growl, reverberating in the space between us.
For a moment, fear darts across Vivian’s beautiful features, but it vanishes just as quickly, replaced by a sneering mask of superiority. “Love? Loyalty? Is that what this is? Pretty illusions for the lower classes to cling to, but they won’t get you far in our world.”
Vivian laughs then, a cruel, mocking sound. “All your posturing is just idle threats from a lovesick pup. You have no idea who you’re dealing with. Louie Santaro always gets what he wants, and so do I.”
She steps closer, invading my space, her saccharine scent of flowers mixed with alcohol churning my stomach. “You think you and your little band of misfits can stand up to someone like Louie? He’ll crush you like the insignificant insects you are.”
I clench my fists at my sides, fighting the urge to lash out. To hurt her the way she’s hurt Chloe. Hurt our pack. But that’s what she wants. To provoke me into doing something rash. I won’t give her the satisfaction.
Vivian must sense my restraint because her sneer twists into something even uglier. “Today, I’m feeling generous. Perhaps we can come to an arrangement.”
She trails a finger down the front of my shirt, her touch making my skin crawl. I jerk away, but she just smirks. “You seem to care so much for my daughter. Surely her freedom is worth something to you?”
My eyes narrow, not trusting the calculating gleam in hers. “What are you suggesting?”
“It’s simple, really. You offer me a substantial sum, and I’ll consider letting her scamper off into the sunset with you to live out whatever pathetic little daydream you have.”
Revulsion rises like bile as she bargains with her daughter’s life, putting a price on Chloe’s happiness as if she’s nothing more than a commodity to be bought and sold.
“You’re disgusting,” I spit out, not bothering to hide my contempt. “Chloe isn’t some pawn for you to play with. She’s your flesh and blood. Or have you forgotten what it means to be a mother?”
For a split second, Vivian’s icy facade cracks, revealing a glimmer of something raw and painful. It vanishes before I can be sure, replaced by a cold, hard smile. “Spare me the lecture on familial bonds. I’m a businesswoman. Right now, I’m offering you a deal. Take it or leave it.”
Disbelief fills me, torn between fury and desperation. Part of me wants to leave this instant, to find another way to save Chloe that doesn’t involve lining Vivian’s pockets. But the other part, the part that aches with love for her, screams that I’ll pay any price to ensure she’s safe and free.
I swallow my pride. “How much?”
Her lips curl into a triumphant smirk. “Ten million dollars. Non-negotiable.”
The figure hits me like a punch to the gut. We have it. Hell, we have twice that amount, but it’s all tied up in building the resort. Taking out ten million would cripple us.
By the cruel satisfaction in her expression, she knows it, too. She’s forcing me to choose between my pack and Chloe.
“Vivian, please,” I try one last time, my voice cracking. “Think about Chloe. Remember when she was little, how she twirled around in those frilly dresses you bought her? How her face lit up every time you gave her a new storybook?”
For a moment, Vivian’s expression softens. Wistfulness crosses her features, and I glimpse the woman she used to be. The mother who once cared about her daughter.
But it’s fleeting. Like a mirage shimmering in the desert heat.
Her face hardens again. “Get off your high horse, Dominic Sterling . I’ve done nothing but think of Chloe since that alphahole kicked me and my little girl to the curb. I’ve made sure she’ll never want for anything in life.”
“You made sure of nothing. You took and took from her when she used her gifts to save you!” I shout. “And then you sold her to rake in a fortune off her back!”
“Am I not allowed to rise to the top alongside her after all of my efforts?” She sweeps her diamond-encrusted hand around the viewer’s box. “You’re quick to tell me to give all of this up, but what are you willing to give up? Nothing.”
Her words twist in my heart like a knife, shredding any hope that she’ll see reason. “You’re a monster.”
“And you’re pathetic, clinging to some idealized version of the past. Well, let me make this crystal clear for you, Dominic Sterling . Nothing in life comes for free.” She jabs me in the chest with one manicured fingernail. “That little girl is never coming back. You helped see to that.”
Rage simmers beneath my skin, urging me to lash out, to silence her, but I force it down. “Chloe deserves to be happy. She deserves a life of her own choosing. No one, not even you, has the right to take that from her.”
Vivian’s hands move to her hips, diamonds glittering on her slim wrists.
“Happiness?” she spits, as if the word tastes foul on her tongue. “Happiness is a luxury for the weak. Chloe’s future is already set in stone. She will marry Louie, and she will secure our family’s legacy, as is her duty.”
“Duty? I thought you said it was a sacrifice?” Blood boiling, I take a step toward her just as the door opens, and two large men in security uniforms enter.
Her lips curving into a smug smile, Vivian waves her hand in dismissal, relishing her petty victory. “You have twenty-four hours to come up with the money. Otherwise, consider our little arrangement null and void.”
She thinks she’s cowed me, that I’ll slink away with my tail between my legs. But she has no idea how far I’ll go for Chloe. I turned my back on her once. I won’t do so again.
She tosses her hair as she sweeps past me. “Security, escort this man out of my sight.”
“Chloe is not a pawn in your twisted games. She’s a person, with her own dreams and desires!” Fury roars through me, white-hot and all-consuming. I lunge forward, and Vivian stumbles back in shock, wobbling on her high heels. “I won’t let you crush them under the weight of your greed.”
The security guards grab me by the arms, fingers digging into my flesh through the fabric of my suit jacket.
Vivian straightens, drawing herself up to her full height. “You’re a fool, and you’ll never have my daughter. Louie will give her everything you can’t. Wealth, status, influence. He’ll elevate her to the heights she deserves.”
“You’re wrong.” The security guards tighten their hold, which only fuels the fire raging inside me, the fierce determination to protect Chloe at all costs. “Louie will cage her, suffocate her until nothing remains but a hollow shell. I won’t allow that to happen. I’ll fight for her, even if it means taking on the whole damn Santaro Pack.”
“Then prepare to lose, pup.” She settles back in her seat. “Louie will crush you without even leaving his penthouse.”
As I’m dragged away, I turn my head, locking eyes with Vivian one last time. Her cold gaze holds triumph, a woman who believes she’s already won. But something else is there, too, a flicker of fear, of uncertainty. She knows I won’t give up without a fight this time.
“This isn’t over,” I growl, my words a solemn vow. “I’ll be back for Chloe.”
Vivian’s mocking laughter echoes in my ears as I’m hauled through the doorway and out into the loud public area of the racetrack. Humiliation burns my cheeks as people turn to whisper as I pass, but they don’t matter.
When the guard releases me at the gate, I pull out my phone with shaking hands, my heart pounding. I speed dial Blake’s number.
He answers on the first ring, the sound of construction in the background. “Dom? What’s going on?”
“Chloe’s being held in one of the Santaro penthouses,” I say, my words clipped. “If we’re in luck, that means she’s still in the city.”
“Good work. I’ll track down every one they own,” he says. “Are you going to be home tonight?”
I should go be with my pack, but if Blake finds an address right away, I don’t want to be on the island, waiting for Kyle to bring the water taxi back. For the first time, I question our choice to live in a place accessible only by boat.
“No, I’ll book a hotel room tonight.” I head toward my car. “If we don’t find another lead by tomorrow, then I’ll come home.”
“Okay, stay safe,” Blake says, concern in his voice.
“I will.” I pull my keys from my pocket. “Make sure Holden leaves some scones for me?”
“I’ll hide a basket in the pantry,” he promises.
We say our goodbyes, and I slide into the driver’s seat, breathing in the clean air. Chloe’s face flashes behind my eyelids, her pink hair and sparkling eyes, her secretive smile and infectious laughter.
My grip tightens on the steering wheel. This time, I won’t give up.
No matter the cost, I’ll save her.