Dom’s POV
Dom’s POV
After the night of the gala, Sophie and I went back to the same avoidance routine.
Not for a lack of trying on my part. I attempted to “run into her” at random moments when I thought I could get her with her guard down.
But her wall was impenetrable. At least, by me.
I would overhear her talking unguardedly with Mrs. Fancelli occasionally, when I would just happen to walk into the kitchen.
She would lock down hard, her expression blank as usual, her body rigid.
She had apparently mastered that wall well at her childhood home.
I had learned she had also become quite comfortable with the estate’s head gardener, Felipe.
He was an older gentleman, in his early sixties.
I would catch her talking and laughing with him while she watched him work around one of the flower beds near the lounge area on the open patio.
Felipe would tease her and she would respond back in kind.
I was still trying to determine if she was hiding something from me, had her own plans for not fighting more with the arrangement. But I had an opportunity present itself that would allow for me to find out more of my wife’s intentions. Or so I hoped.
A month after the gala, I called Marco to my office. I had a mission for him, that would include my wife. Marco sauntered in as he usually did and stood alert.
“Yes Boss?”
“Marco, I have a job for you.”
His body straightened more. “Okay Boss. Whatever you need.”
“Have you heard about the plan of the Fire Dragons MC kidnapping my wife?”
His whole posture went rigid. “I heard. Does that mean it's legit?”
“Yes. Yes it does.”
Marco’s voice took on a more serious tone. “Okay. What do you want me to do, Boss?”
I hesitated because I wasn’t sure how Marco would take this.
“I got word that it’s planned for two days from now.”
“Okay. Should I get a bigger security detail on her?”
“No. That won’t be necessary.”
We maintained eye contact. I noticed a twitch of his eyebrow before it was gone. I knew his tells, and he knew mine.
“I want you to suddenly have to fill in for Gregor that day. And I’ll have you wearing a wire.”
His eyes narrowed at me. “Why?”
“I want to find out what my little wife is really up to. Put her in a life or death situation, I’m sure I’ll find out the truth.”
Marco looked agitated now. “What truth, Dom?”
Dom. Not Boss. That was my friend speaking to me now. Not my Second in Command. And I didn’t like it one bit.
“Do the job, Marco,” I gritted out. “They know you’re my second and won’t kill you because they’ll know you're a better bargaining chip than she is.”
Now he really looked pissed. “And what if they try to harm her?”
Marco didn’t approve of violence against women. Normally I don’t either. I hesitated. They wouldn’t hurt her. They know she’s just an arrangement.
“They won’t.”
“Then why would they bother grabbing her to begin with?”
“I would be forced to do something if her father found out about the kidnapping. He would expect me to save face so he could save face.” I paused. “Besides, of all my men, you are the best at getting out of sticky situations.”
He glared at me. Marco had been quite vocal, at least with me, of my treatment of Sophie.
He had tried to persuade me to try to get to know her, even if only as friends.
What Marco didn’t know is that I had been trying for weeks and I can’t get past her damned walls.
I still didn’t know if she was a traitor for her father, or if she had her own agenda tied into our arrangement. I needed to find out.
“Just do it!”
He stared at me hard for a long moment, then responded. “Yes Don.”
That’s when I knew I did not have his full backing on my decision.
??????????
Two days later, I ensured Marco had a wired device sewn into his boxer briefs.
I was in an SUV with a team following me around as we ensured we were constantly on the move and ready to get in place for when the time was needed.
I was listening to Marco and Sophie as they headed to the dress gallery to pick up her dress for another upcoming event.
I began insisting she go and find her own dresses if she didn’t like the ones that were picked for her.
Probably not the smartest move on my part because then she would likely find the most boring and dark colors to wear.
We could hear their conversation surrounding us in the car. I had it coming out of my cell phone on speaker.
“How did you get suckered into coming with me today, Marco? Don’t you have more important things to do than being my babysitter?”
I flinched. She knew what the guards were for. Hearing her say it out loud didn’t make it feel any better, but it had to be done.
“Gregor got some stomach bug and couldn’t get more than a foot away from the toilet so you're stuck with me today.”
Sophie giggled. She giggled. For him. I was fucking pissed. My hand clenched into a fist on my lap, while my other hand gripped the phone tighter.
“I bet he’s grateful for the break, even if he does have a bug. Poor guy got the crappy job. Not sure what he did to piss off Dominic.”
I clenched my jaw.
Marco laughed. “It’s considered an honor to guard the Boss’ wife.”
In some families that was true.
Sophie snorted. “Not his wife. I’m just a fake wife. But I understand having to put on pretenses for the other families.” She was very matter-of-fact about it which rubbed me the wrong way.
Marco’s voice softened. “You could try to get to know him. Actually have a decent conversation with him.”
My fist clenched tighter, my knuckles hurting. The asshole knew I was listening.
She sighed. And it made my cock hard.
“What’s the point? This is temporary. Whenever he’s done with me, for whatever reason he has me as his wife, it won’t make a difference. If Serena hadn’t been such a slut, I wouldn’t even be in the situation.”
Marco’s voice came quieter. “No. You would probably have been paired with someone worse.”
That made me hold my breath. The thought of Sophie with another man. Any other man.
Her voice was quieter now too. “True.” I could tell they were walking outside now. “I guess it could be a blessing that we won’t have to be together permanently. Maybe Dominic will divorce me and allow me to go live my life somewhere else.”
That thought made my chest tighten. What was wrong with me? Once I got what I wanted, I was going to let her go. But why does that thought make me angry?
I had to shake it off. Focus on the plan. Find out what she’s after.
Suddenly there was noise, a vehicle speeding towards them, Marco yelling, “Get behind me!”
Screeching tires, shouting, “Get the bitch! Make sure you get him tied and gagged real good too. Demon’s gonna want him unharmed.” A thump, and shuffling.
A deep gravelly voice, “What’s the matter, little bitch? Cat got your tongue? Aren’t you supposed to be screaming, shouting for help, asking what we want from you?” His voice was laced with sarcasm.
In a strained, but controlled tone, Sophie said, a bit farther off, “Would that make a difference?”
Deep voice growled out, “Fuckin’ bitch. Get her in the car. Let’s go! We got what we came for.”
For the first time in a long time, I was second guessing what I had done. What if she was innocent? I possibly put her directly in harm’s way.
What the fuck had I done?
I began barking out orders to my men, to trail them, but keep a safe distance. Luckily, all of my higher ranked men had a tracking chip inserted in their skin on the heel of their foot. I was ready to move as soon as I had to.
I could hear the conversation among Demon’s men, and it made my stomach clench.
“Why’d we take the bitch? She’s useless. Could just get rid of her?”
The deep voice man said, “Nah she could come in handy.” I felt a bit of relief from that, but it wasn’t much to sustain the growing fear and agitation I was feeling.
“Her daddy is that bitch Don Sanchez. If Dom doesn’t sit pretty for Demon, we could use her to get to daddy to get to Dom.
Pretty sure he doesn’t wanna rock that bread and butter boat.
” The asshole laughed loud and hard. “Too bad it wasn’t the other sister.
I hear she gets around and knows how to throw a party. ”
The first guy sounded disgusted. “Are you fuckin’ kidding me? That bitch gave one of their men chlamydia. Apparently she’s had a round with most of the men. Even the older fellas. Fuckin’ disgusting.”
Damn, Sophie had been right. Something to remember moving forward.
Deep voice spoke again. “No shit. Huh. Well maybe I’ll take little sister for a round when they’re done with her. She’s got some ass to grab.” He laughed obnoxiously loud, and I was ready to put a dagger to his throat. Better keep his fucking hands off her!
I heard some muffled sounds then Sophie’s soft voice. “Marco, you okay?”
He muffled a sound, likely had his mouth gagged.
There was silence for the remainder of the drive.
After some time, there were muffled voices, the car stopping and turning off, then car doors opening and closing.
We stayed back a few miles, but came up on the warehouse they had stopped at. I made sure to get my men in place immediately so when things moved, we could go without any hesitation.
Once we got into place, I went back to the audio. I had been half listening while they moved Sophie and Marco around.
Deep voice dragged a chair, very slowly, screeching loudly across the floor.
“So little bitch. Got anything useful to share with us?”
Shit! Would she tell them anything about me and my men? She was observant. She could tell them about some information. I waited, holding my breath.
In a soft, calm voice, she asked “What kind of information are you asking for?”
I could hear how smug the man with the deep voice was. “What kind have you got to offer?”
I hold my breath, my body rigid. Is she going to tell them something that would make me have to kill her?
“What can you tell me about Dominic Gutierrez and his clan?”
“Second biggest clan. He’s an up and coming, second only to Maximo Ruiz.”
The man snorted. “I know that shit. What else?”
He’s American Italian?”
“I know that too, you stupid bitch! Give me something I don’t know.”
“Hmmmm. He hates granola bars.”
Slap.
“You fuckin’ bitch!”
“Diesel, knock it the fuck off! If she’s Sanchez’s daughter and you manhandle her, he’s gonna send his fuckin’ goons on us. And you know damned well they’re crazier than a shit storm.”
The deep voice man, apparently named Diesel, muttered cuss words under his breath. I heard chairs screeching on the floor, stomping feet heading away, and then a slamming door.
Marco spoke up softly, “You okay, Sophie?”
The motherfucker!
“Fine. Nothing I haven’t experienced before.”
What. The. Fuck?
Marco’s voice took on an edge to it. “What do you mean?”
“My father used to slap me around until I was fourteen years old.” I was livid.
That motherfucker! “He stopped only because I hit puberty and I think it weirded him out. Funny, because he still slapped my mother around. Go figure.” Her voice was again matter-of-fact.
“Besides, Serena kept up after my father stopped. She was more ruthless than he was. Never turn your back on a girl, Marco. They can be scarier than any man.”
Marco’s voice came out tight. “Why didn’t you tell them anything about Dom?”
She snickered. Life or death moment, and she snickered. “I did tell them something. Now they can go buy Dominic a truck load of granola bars and have it delivered to his office. Imagine his face.” She giggled.
Marco sighed. “You need to take this seriously, Sophie. We are in deep shit right now.”
“No we’re not.”
Here it is. She’s finally going to admit what she’s after.
“You’re in deep shit. I’m expendable.” Calm, flat tone. My stomach clenched tight, making my breath catch.
Marco sounded agitated. “No. You're a Don’s daughter and another Don’s wife.”
She laughed softly. “I am neither of those things. I am unwanted, unneeded. I hold no value. I never have. It is what it is, Marco. I have accepted it.”
Marco grounded out, “That’s bullshit.” He was breathing heavily. I could tell he was really pissed now.
Shit! This had been the wrong fucking move!
“Marco? Will you do me a favor?” Her voice softened.
“I’ll do my best, Sophie.” His voice was still tense.
“If you get a chance to escape. Take it. Don’t worry about me.”
“Fuck that! Someone had better be coming for both of us!”
Marco was right. Fuck that! I wasn’t waiting anymore. I had my answer. And then some.
I gave the order to move in.