Chapter 16
DOMINIC
Rafe and I stare at each other for the better part of ten seconds before he finally asks, “Should we just start without him?”
I shake my head.
“We’re not starting without Tomasso. We’re only having this meeting because he wanted it. Where the hell is he?”
As if summoned, Tomasso appears in the doorway. He doesn’t apologize for being late. He just strolls in, jacket open, phone still in his hand, like whatever he was dealing with mattered more than showing up to this meeting he asked for.
“Where are we with the Marble Ridge issue?” he asks, sinking into one of the chairs like it’s his office. I bristle in mine.
“Right here,” Rafe says, handing him the file he’s been tapping his pen against for the ten minutes we’ve been waiting.
“My concern is that it was missed,” he says.
“Your concern is that my assistant caught it,” I correct him.
It’s been eating him up since he found out, and he clearly has some kind of vendetta against Sofia that I absolutely will not tolerate. He’s been making snide comments about her ever since we got back from Vegas.
“Everyone is concerned that it got missed,” Rafe cuts in, always trying to be the voice of reason between us.
“Well, what are we doing about it?” Tomasso asks, even testier than usual. “It’s been almost a month since Vegas. Surely we have a plan by now.”
“I’m taking the easy approach,” I tell him calmly. “They attacked us for paying off a debt—”
“Which you shouldn’t have done,” Tomasso cuts in.
“And we’re letting them think they got away with it,” I continue. “It’s our best move for now. We want them to underestimate us. It’ll make it that much sweeter when we finally make our move.”
“You’re making a mistake,” Tomasso says, and I’m getting tired of people telling me that. Rafe about Sofia. Tomasso about the Calderones. I need one goddamn person in my life to trust that I know what the hell I’m doing. This isn’t our first bit of bad blood with another syndicate.
“It’s my mistake to make,” I remind him, hoping the insult cuts exactly as I intend.
“We’re getting off track.” Rafe sighs, just as the lights cut out.
It’s abrupt and unsettling. The three of us are plunged into sudden darkness, though light from the neighboring building filters through my windows. Not a blackout, then. A second later the emergency lights kick on, a red glow washing over the office until we all look covered in blood.
Rafe is already standing. Tomasso curses under his breath and reaches inside his jacket. I find my gun under the desk and pull it out, ready for a fight.
Then the alarm goes off, sharp enough to make my teeth clench. My phone buzzes on the desk the same moment Rafe’s and Tomasso’s do. An automated voice comes through the ceiling speakers.
“Security breach detected. Lockdown protocol active. Elevators disabled. Remain in a secure location.”
My first thought is gratitude that it’s late enough that most of my employees are gone. My very next thought goes to the one employee I know for a fact isn’t. She stays for every meeting, no matter how late it runs.
“I need eyes on Sofia,” I call out. “Right fucking now.”
I move before either of them says a word.
“Where are you going?” Tomasso demands.
I ignore him and cross to the door. The outer office glows red too.
Nina is still here, clutching her cell phone like a lifeline.
When she sees me, I motion for her to get under her desk.
I don’t know what the hell is going on, but if it’s tripped the alarm system, I’m not gambling with anyone’s life.
“Where’s Sofia?” I ask, getting close enough that we can hear each other over the alarm.
“I don’t know,” she shouts back. “She was just there.”
I look back at her desk. Her laptop is still open and hasn’t been signed out. Her purse is gone, but her water bottle isn’t. She hasn’t been without it the last two weeks.
Rafe comes up behind me, already on his phone. “The security feed is down from floors twenty-seven through thirty-two, but the elevator banks are still showing. She isn’t in any of them.”
“What about the stairwells?”
“The east camera is out.”
Of course it is. Because that’s the stairwell she uses when the bathroom on our floor gets too busy.
“Rafe, clear everything from the lobby up,” I order. “I’m going to find Sofia.”
“Dom,” he argues, shaking his head.
“Take Tomasso with you,” I tell him. “He should help with something. I’ll join you as soon as I get her to a secure location.”
“She may already be in a secure location.”
I don’t respond to his argument. I push through the door into the east stairwell, gun low at my side. The alarm is even louder here, echoing on the brick walls, bouncing around constantly. The red lighting cuts the stairs into ugly strips.
“Sofia?” I call. “Sofia, are you in here?”
“Dominic?” I hear her voice. She has to be at least two floors down.
The relief is short-lived. I hear heavy footsteps below us. They aren’t going down. They’re coming up. That means they aren’t my men.
I round the next landing and find her halfway between floors, pressed against the wall, one hand gripping the rail. Her face is pale, her eyes wide, but she looks unhurt. I glance down and see two men climbing the stairs, only two landings below. Shit, they’re fast.
One of the men is faster than the other and reaches our landing first. When he sees Sofia, his hand slides inside his coat, but I’m faster. I lurch in front of her.
“Stay behind me,” I command.
For once, she doesn’t argue with me.
“Put your hands up,” I tell the man, cocking my gun and pointing it directly at his chest. His hands automatically go up.
“Higher,” I tell him through gritted teeth.
His partner joins him on the landing but stops short when he sees me standing there holding a gun. He puts his hands up too.
“Sorry, Mr. Vieri, we’re lost,” says the first man.
“No,” I answer him. “You’re not.”
He glances toward Sofia. I fire into the wall beside his head. The concrete cracks, dust exploding from the impact. Sofia lets out a sharp yelp.
“Keep your eyes on me,” I say. “Both of you.”
The stairwell door above us bangs open hard enough to hit the wall. Two of my men come through, weapons drawn. The moment they see me, they rush in to take the two men down.
“Are the lower levels clear?” I ask one of my men.
“We’re still working on it, sir,” he tells me.
“Good. Find every man who doesn’t belong in my building and hold them in the basement.”
“Yes, boss.”
Sofia goes completely still behind me. I know there’s no taking back what she’s just seen. No way to make it go away.
I turn to look at her. “Are you hurt?”
She stares at my gun then looks behind me where my men are roughing up the intruders. Then, she looks back at me.
“No,” she says, but it comes out raw.
Another door above us slams shut. Then one below does the same. I hear a hard mechanical click and freeze. The security system is locking the stairwell doors. Fuck. We’re trapped in here until someone resets it.
For a moment, the only sound is the alarm and Sofia’s uneven breathing. She takes a step away from me. I let her, even though it kills me.
“Do you always carry a gun?” she asks accusingly.
There’s no point in lying now.
“There’s always a gun for me to use,” I say, since I wasn’t technically carrying this one.
Her face tightens like the answer is physically hurting her.
“And those men downstairs, the ones with guns, they work for you?”
“Yes,” I tell her honestly.
“They work for you,” she says again. “But not Vieri Holdings.”
I nod. “That’s correct.”
She laughs, but there’s no humor in it.
“Sofia,” I try.
“No!” she says, putting her hand up and backing away from me. “Just give me a minute to process all of this.”
I nod and slide down against the wall. We might as well get comfortable. There’s no telling how long the lockdown will last. She sits too, but away from me, a few stairs down. She drops her head into her hands and groans.
Finally the alarm stops blaring, but the lights don’t come back and the doors don’t unlock. We’re left in a darkness and silence that’s quickly becoming unbearable. I don’t want to push her, but I can’t stand to see her like this.
“Sofia, please talk to me.”
She turns to look at me over her shoulder, and I see the pain in her eyes. Pain that I put there.
“If I asked you to tell me who you are, would you be honest with me?” she asks.
It’s now or never, I suppose. I wasn’t going to tell her any of this. I didn’t want to worry her. Lying to her outright, though, is a line I don’t want to cross. If she wants to hear the truth, then she deserves it.
“If you ask me, I will be honest,” I say carefully, giving her the out.
She mulls it over a second, then stands and climbs the few steps to the landing. She stands over me and plants her hands on her hips.
“Tell me exactly what you do.”
I sigh heavily and stand up. If she’s not going to sit for this conversation, neither of us should.
“My family has businesses that you aren’t going to find in our annual reports,” I tell her honestly.
“That’s vague,” she says in a cold tone. “You said you’d be honest.”
I sigh again. “It’s not exactly legal,” I tell her. “For your own safety, it’s best you don’t know the details.”
She nods, but I can tell the answer doesn’t satisfy her.
Overhead, the lights flicker back to life. She grips the railing, and I notice again how pale she is. She’s been pale for weeks now. Sick, too. I push the thought aside, since there are more pressing matters right now.
“How illegal are we talking?” she asks. “I don’t need the specifics, but if someone asks me whether I know where the bodies are buried, would that be a joke or a legitimate question?”
I don’t answer, but the silence is enough to give her what she needs.
“Oh, my God,” she groans. “I’m going to be sick.”
“Let’s talk about this,” I offer.
“No,” she answers, her voice rising. “I don’t want to talk about this right now. I just saw you hold a man at gunpoint and shoot the wall very close to his head.”
“He had a gun,” I tell her. “It was concealed. I just pulled mine first.”
She shakes her head. “You picked me out of a crowd,” she says. “I didn’t even apply to work for you. I never would have taken this job if I knew.”
“So it’s okay for you to work for my company, but working for me directly is a step too far?”
She shakes her head. “Would I have been safer in the Hospitality Department?”
My jaw clenches and I can’t answer her.
“Am I safe now?”
“You’re protected,” I say immediately, which I can tell is the wrong thing. Her face scrunches up in anger, just like her father’s.
The locks finally disengage and I know we’re closer to freedom now. We can go back to my office and talk this out. One look at her face tells me that probably won’t be happening, though.
“If you want to quit, that’s your prerogative,” I tell her truthfully. “I would prefer for you to stay, but I would understand if you can’t.”
She glares at me, but it’s all I can offer. I put my hands up in surrender and back up, slowly making my way up the stairs but still keeping my eyes on her. I don’t know what she’ll decide, but this time, she has all the facts to make the decision that’s right for her.