Chapter 10
Dominik
The most paradoxical ten weeks of my life. I was both at my best and worst self.
Ever since I heard Love’s voice break as she told me the truth about Spencer, this overpowering rage has been eating me up.
Love has been too afraid to touch me like I might break. And Josh hasn’t been easy to live with. He’s been a constant pain in the ass about me stealing his sister. When in fact he’s only mad she opened up to me and not him. Not that he’ll ever admit it.
“Vee?” I hear Rian call and I look up at the stairs. Love is standing at the very bottom of them with Sammy and Maya. But I couldn’t care less about them. All I see is her.
Her striking curves and those beautiful crystal blue eyes. She looks absolutely stunning and I immediately wonder where she’s going in that sexy red dress, and why the hell was I not invited.
I look at my phone and have my answer.
Vie: My parents are renewing their vows. It’s been thirty years since they got married, the whole family is going to be there. Think you can be ready in twenty?
I was definitely not ready at twenty. Damian walks in with a suit and I jump from my seat and run to him.
“Switch clothes with me,” I order- sorry request, no, more like beg.
“No. Are you demented?”
“Demented no, but very desperate. I invoke this request as my payback favour!” I exclaim trying to get him to agree and he sighs.
“I’m two sizes below you,” Josh nears us and hands me a suit.
“She made me get it for you in case you hadn’t seen the message,” Josh says and I wonder how long I stood in the living room helping Marcus with his physiotherapy, in my own way of course. Arm wrestling.
“Thanks, man,” I say get the suit and go to the downstairs bathroom. After I enter and had just undressed myself, I hear a soft knock on the door. I know it’s her but just to be safe I will ask.
“Yes?” I question and hear someone leaning against the door. I want to open it, but I need to cool it down. My body is not being my friend.
“Are you dressed?” Love asks her voice a soft whisper.
“Does it matter?” I ask and she sighs on the other side and I slide the pants on.
“Come in,” I say, I don’t know when I started practising courtesy and manners, but it was somewhere within those ten damned weeks.
And it has grown on me to see how Love is delighted every time I’m the perfect gentleman. Yet that’s exclusive to her.
“You’re not dressed,” she says opening the door and getting ready to close it again right after but I get a grasp of her arm.
“You’re barely dressed yourself,” I say and she blushes, I smirk.
“I told that to Maya, she says that’s just being hot-”
“You are hot. Dangerously so,” I tell her putting on my shirt, followed by my blazer.
Her eyes follow my every move and I have to fight the urge to ruin her makeup and clothes. This is not the time for it. After the ceremony.
Instead of ripping her clothes off I offer her my arm and she wraps her arm around mine leaning completely against it.
I look down at her and the pink still covers her freckled cheeks. Her hair is held up. Making her dress call even more attention. Seems like Maya wants to kill me, or anyone who looks at Love. Either way someone is getting killed tonight.
I send Karl a message saying for him and our current team to follow us and stay outside the building.
What I wasn’t expecting was the ceremony to be so small.
We’re only a few people in a small chapel.
We were handpicked. There’s only Maya, Marcus and Josh to my left, Damian, Sammy and Rian to my right and that’s it.
No more family. This isn’t just a love ceremony this is some kind of other statement.
“I promise to love you and cherish you every day for the rest of my life and protect our children at all costs,” there’s a slight glare at me from Vance, Love’s dad.
There’s part of the statement but this feels incomplete.
Or maybe something is wrong. No, it has to be the first one. Something is missing from the picture.
“Thank you for joining us, Dominik,” Love’s mother says catching me outside the chapel alone.
“Of course, Marie, I wouldn’t miss it. Thank you for the invitation,” I say assuming I was invited. At least I was by Love.
“You saved my daughter three times, you’re family, Dominik!” she exclaims happily and smiles at me before Love erupts from behind her.
“She was the one who saved me,” I confess to her in a whisper before turning to Love, who hugs her mother and gives me a huge smile before it vanishes for some reason.
The statement. It wasn’t Vance’s statement. It was Spencer’s. I look up at the chapel and see Kai’s sidekick hanging in a noose from the clock structure above us. A blood drop falls on Love’s cheek and I can actually see and feel when darkness settles on her.
I hover over Love and her mother and guide them to my car.
“We got the killer, Mr. Ricik,” Karl says when I get to the parking lot.
“Leave him to me,” Vance orders and I accept his request. This is personal for him. That’s his second closest guard. And I bet that isn’t Kai up there just to show he can reach anyone, but he’ll be the one to choose who.
“Was it Spencer?” I ask in a whisper in his ear.
“Yes, sir,” I knew he couldn’t get past my security but he probably spent years studying Love’s. That’s why we have the purge in my side of town.
“Mr. Kane, a word before you leave,” I request and he stands near my car. Love stands inside of it and his wife is in the car in front of mine. “Could you reconsider my offer?”
“Make it happen, kid,” let the purge begin.
Love is safe. We all are. The elite’s children. I’m the oldest one on the island. My island. Here we are safe while Vance deals with Spencer in town and his infiltrates. He finally accepted following my specific way to get rid of the weak, the fake and the troubles. While staying safe.
I call it the purge because that’s what it is. Everyone targeted will get killed during the purge. We’re on a secure island, with my own security team, and the only rule of the island is no killing. Which is a very necessary remark considering we’re all mafia. Mafia heirs with no authority.
Love is staying in an apartment near the forest next to Josh’s. Accompanying her are Sammy and Maya. Accompanying Josh are Marcus, Rian and Damian.
I’m the only one excluded and that’s because I’m in charge.
Karl is in charge actually, I’m his second so I can keep a close eye on Love and check on her.
I’m about to enter her flat when I catch a glimpse of Rian outside getting his ass kicked.
I enjoy the moment for a few seconds. And then decide enough is enough, I couldn’t care less about him, but Love does, and I need to stop it.
“What’s going on here?” I ask and show my security badge, their eyes remain hostile and enraged. Rian looks at me like I’m here to reap him, when in fact I’m the saviour, and he must hate it. Good!
“He stole something from us,” one of the men says, a bleached blonde, a cheap one.
“They’re lying,” Rian spits loudly, he spits blood at their feet, he looks like a mess. His face is full of cuts, and he’s clinging to his ribs. “They tried to get inside our fucking apartment for only Satan knows what”
“Well I can’t allow that,” one of the five men grabs a knife, “You’re very lucky there’s a no-killing policy”
“We’re at an advantage, we’ve got weapons and you’re alone-”
I don’t let them fool themselves anymore. With the image of them trying to enter Love’s flat in my head I move towards them calmly. This is what I was made for. The adrenaline, the fights. The overall chaos.
I crack the front man’s wrist and grab his knife before it falls. The others approach me and I can feel the murmur in me starting to grow as I get the possibility to inflict pain.
When the bleached blond tries to punch me I dodge and send him flying to the ground with his own impulse. I take a punch at the black-haired guy who dared say they were at an advantage.
“Who are you?” he asks and I catch a glimpse of a brown-haired broad guy attempting to stab me from behind. I switch my position at the last second and he stabs his friend’s shoulder.
“Your worst enemy. Where are you going?” I ask when they start to leave, “I was having so much fun”
“Freak,” the blond says, his nose dripping blood to the floor, as if that would affect me.
“Karl, we got five men practising violence in a group, tell the team to pay attention to them,” I say to my microphone and turn it off right after.
“Got it, cap. Any injured?” he asks and I smile, truly smile remembering the falling face-first to the ground, the broken nose and the beautiful shoulder wound pouring out blood heavily. I turn the microphone back on.
“They’re going to appear in the infirmary.
There’s a scratched face, a broken nose, and a stab wound to the shoulder, in different individuals.
Report them to the security team, no one takes eyes off those punks,” I turn it back off, Karl says “Consider it done” and I turn to Rian who’s already on his feet.
“Let me help you,” I say trying to get him to lean his weight on me but he shakes me away.
“Fuck off,” Rian says and I look at him with disdain.
“I like this as much as you do, but you’re in no condition to walk-”
“I’m a doctor, I get to access that, not you. Now get away from me,” Rian tries to shake me off but I make him lean on me.
“Do this for Love,” I say and he laughs, ironically.
“Don’t you talk to me about Love,” he says and pushes me away. “You brainwashed her parents with your life-saving gigs, but you can’t brainwash me,” he says and almost falls trying to walk on his own, I let him fall to his knees and help him back up.
“Still don’t think you can use some help? There’s nothing to be embarrassed about Rian. They ganged up on you. I will need details on what they were planning,” I say helping Rian to the stairs, he sighs.
“I don’t feel comfortable sharing them with you-”