Chapter 2 - The Most Dangerous Man in the Room
Dominic Moretti did not look angry.
That frightened Derek more than anger would have.
He walked toward them with one hand in the pocket of his black tuxedo, his expression almost indifferent. At thirty-five, Dominic possessed the kind of quiet authority that made other powerful men unconsciously move aside.
Behind him came two men.
Neither spoke.
Neither needed to.
Derek released Khloe completely.
“Mr. Moretti.”
The transformation was astonishing.
Thirty seconds earlier Derek had been threatening his pregnant wife.
Now he was smiling.
“Good to see you. We were actually just discussing—”
“Her arm.”
Dominic's eyes dropped to the red marks beginning to form above Khloe's elbow.
Derek swallowed.
“A misunderstanding.”
“Interesting.”
Dominic stopped beside Khloe.
“Because from where I was standing, it looked remarkably easy to understand.”
Vanessa attempted a smile.
“This is a private marital disagreement.”
Dominic looked at her.
Just once.
Vanessa's smile disappeared.
“Then perhaps,” Dominic said, “you should not be participating in it.”
Khloe almost laughed.
Instead, unexpectedly, tears burned behind her eyes.
She hated them.
She hated crying in front of Derek.
Dominic noticed.
“Mrs. Hale?”
“Khloe.”
She didn't know why she corrected him.
Something changed in his expression.
“Khloe,” he repeated.
Derek stepped forward.
“Mr. Moretti, perhaps we should discuss the Riverfront project. I have the revised projections—”
“No.”
One word.
Derek went pale.
Khloe knew the Riverfront project.
Derek had spent eighteen months chasing it. Landing Moretti Capital as the principal investor would transform his company.
It was why they were here.
Dominic looked at Khloe again.
“Do you want to leave?”
The question was so simple she almost didn't understand it.
Nobody had asked what she wanted in a very long time.
“Yes.”
“Then leave.”
Derek laughed nervously.
“She came with me.”
Dominic's gaze shifted.
“She isn't luggage.”
Silence.
Khloe stared at him.
Then Dominic offered his arm.
Not grabbed.
Not commanded.
Offered.
Khloe placed trembling fingers around it.
That should have been the end.
It wasn't.
Derek saw three investors standing inside the ballroom entrance, openly watching.
Humiliation transformed his fear into stupidity.
“Khloe.”
She stopped.
Derek's face hardened.
“If you walk away with him, don't bother coming home.”
The hallway became silent.
Khloe looked at the man she had loved for seven years.
Part of her still expected him to take it back.
He didn't.
Vanessa stood beside him.
Smiling.
Something inside Khloe finally broke.
Not her heart.
The chain around it.
She removed her wedding ring.
Derek stared as she placed it on a marble console table.
“Okay.”
His face changed.
“What?”
“You said don't come home.”
Khloe wiped one tear from her cheek.
“So I won't.”
She turned.
Dominic was watching her with an expression she couldn't read.
Then Vanessa laughed softly.
“Where exactly are you going to go? Your husband pays for everything.”
Khloe stopped again.
The cruelty worked because it contained truth.
Her savings had gradually disappeared into their marriage. Derek controlled their joint accounts. Even her car was registered through his company.
Dominic's jaw tightened.
Derek saw his opportunity.
“Come on, sweetheart. Enough drama.”
Sweetheart.
The word nearly made her sick.
“Come home. We'll talk privately.”
He extended his hand.
Khloe instinctively stepped backward.
Dominic saw it.
So did everyone else.
Then he did something nobody expected.
He stepped between Khloe and Derek.
His hand settled gently at Khloe's waist.
He looked down at her.
There was a question in his eyes.
Not possession.
Permission.
Khloe understood without knowing how.
Her breath caught.
She gave the smallest nod.
Dominic lowered his head and kissed her.
It wasn't obscene.
It wasn't prolonged.
But it was unmistakable.
And because half the ballroom had gathered behind them, it might as well have happened beneath a stadium spotlight.
Derek looked as if someone had struck him.
Vanessa's champagne glass slipped from her fingers.
It shattered.
Khloe heard gasps.
Then silence.
Dominic slowly pulled away.
Khloe stared at him.
His face remained close enough that only she heard his next words.
“Forgive me.”
Her heart hammered.
“For what?”
“Tomorrow morning, every person in Chicago will be talking about that.”
Khloe glanced over his shoulder.
Phones were already appearing.
She should have panicked.
Instead, for the first time that evening, she smiled.
“Good.”
Dominic's eyebrow moved.
“Good?”
Khloe looked directly at Derek.
“Yes.”
Then she took Dominic's arm.
“Can we leave?”
Dominic's mouth almost curved.
“Absolutely.”
They walked through the ballroom.
People separated before them.
Khloe felt every stare.
But the whispers no longer sounded like ridicule.
Outside, cold Chicago air hit her face.
A black sedan waited beneath the hotel canopy.
Dominic opened the rear door himself.
Khloe hesitated.
“I don't know you.”
“No.”
“You could be worse than him.”
Something dark crossed Dominic's face.
“I could.”
That answer surprised her.
Most dangerous men insisted they were misunderstood.
Dominic didn't.
“So why should I get into your car?”
“You shouldn't, unless you choose to.”
He pointed across the driveway.
“My driver can take you wherever you want. I can sit in another vehicle.”
Khloe studied him.
“Why are you helping me?”
For the first time, Dominic looked away.
“Because nobody helped my mother.”
The answer carried a history she didn't understand.
Before Khloe could ask, a sharp pain ripped through her abdomen.
She gasped.
Dominic caught her before she fell.
“Khloe?”
Her hand flew beneath her stomach.
Another pain came.
Then warmth spread down her thigh.
Khloe looked down.
Blood stained the emerald silk.
Her face emptied.
“No.”
Dominic's calm vanished.
“Call Northwestern.”
One of his men already had his phone out.
Dominic lifted Khloe into his arms.
“Dominic—”
“I've got you.”
“My baby.”
His grip tightened.
“Stay with me.”
The sedan tore into Chicago traffic.
Khloe barely noticed the lights passing outside.
She noticed only Dominic's hand around hers.
May you like
And three words he repeated all the way to the hospital.
“You're not alone.”
