Chapter 7 - The Secret Dominic Never Told Her
“You are not going.”
Dominic removed his jacket.
They were back at Eleanor's estate, surrounded by twice the original security.
“I am.”
Audrey blocked the library door.
“Then apparently infidelity damaged your brain.”
Under any other circumstances, Marcus might have smiled.
Dominic did not.
“Adrian wants me, not you.”
“And you think walking into whatever trap he's prepared fixes that?”
“It gives Marcus time.”
“To do what?”
“Find Serena.”
Audrey stared.
“You're risking your life for Serena?”
“No.”
Dominic's eyes met hers.
“I'm risking it because Serena knows Adrian's entire network. If we get her out, we end this before he gets another chance at you.”
Audrey hated that the logic made sense.
She hated more that she still cared whether Dominic returned.
“What aren't you telling me?”
He looked away.
Audrey laughed bitterly.
“There it is again.”
“Audrey.”
“No. Every disaster in our marriage starts with you deciding there's some truth I'm too fragile to hear.”
Dominic became silent.
“Tell me.”
He finally sat.
“When Adrian disappeared eleven years ago, I knew he was stealing from my father.”
Audrey waited.
“I confronted him the night of the warehouse fire.”
“You were there?”
“Yes.”
“He didn't die.”
“No.”
“But you thought he did?”
Dominic's jaw tightened.
“For years.”
“What happened?”
“We fought. Adrian said our father planned to cut him out because he'd been secretly working with a rival organization.”
Dominic stared at his hands.
“He pulled a gun.”
Audrey's breath caught.
“I knocked it away. During the fight, a fuel line broke. Fire spread. I got out.”
“And Adrian?”
“I went back.”
Audrey looked at him.
“I couldn't find him.”
The guilt on Dominic's face suddenly made sense.
“You've blamed yourself.”
“For eleven years.”
“Dominic—”
“My father told everyone Adrian died. I accepted it because believing he was dead was easier than asking whether he'd escaped.”
Audrey sat opposite him.
“And Serena?”
“She was Adrian's girlfriend before the fire. I didn't know that when I met her years later.”
“He sent her.”
“Apparently.”
“So your entire relationship with her was manipulation.”
“Partly.”
Audrey heard the distinction.
“Partly?”
Dominic didn't hide.
“I loved her once.”
Pain flickered through Audrey.
He continued before she could turn away.
“But not the way I love you.”
“Don't.”
“I'm not saying it to make you forgive me.”
“Then why?”
“Because if I don't come back tomorrow, I refuse to leave you with another truth I was too cowardly to say.”
Audrey stood.
“You're coming back.”
Dominic looked at her.
“That sounded dangerously like an order.”
“It is.”
For the first time in days, his mouth almost curved.
Audrey hated herself for noticing.
The following night, Dominic drove alone toward an abandoned freight terminal on the South Side.
At least, Adrian believed he was alone.
Marcus had trackers hidden in Dominic's watch, shoes, and belt.
Chicago police had received an anonymous tip about illegal weapons at the location.
And Audrey had done something Dominic specifically forbade.
She followed.
Not closely.
Maya drove.
“This is a terrible idea,” Maya said.
“Yes.”
“Potentially the dumbest thing we've ever done.”
“Yes.”
“And we're doing it anyway?”
Audrey stared through the windshield.
“Yes.”
Maya sighed.
“I hate your marriage.”
“So do I right now.”
They parked four blocks away.
Dominic entered the warehouse.
Adrian waited beneath a single hanging light.
For the first time in eleven years, the brothers faced each other.
Adrian's scar ran from his temple to his jaw.
“Little brother.”
Dominic stared.
“You look terrible.”
Adrian laughed.
“You always were sentimental.”
“Where's Serena?”
“Still choosing women over family.”
“You stopped being my family when you targeted my wife.”
Adrian's smile disappeared.
“She wasn't supposed to matter.”
“She matters more than everything you spent your life trying to steal.”
That struck something.
Adrian pulled a gun.
Dominic didn't move.
“You took my life.”
“No. You burned yours down.”
Adrian raised the weapon.
Then Serena appeared on an overhead walkway.
Her hands were bound.
“Dominic!”
A second man grabbed her.
Adrian glanced upward.
That distraction was enough.
Dominic lunged.
The gun fired.
Outside, Audrey heard the shot.
Her heart stopped.
Then police sirens erupted from every direction.
Maya grabbed her.
“Don't.”
Audrey was already opening the car door.
Inside the warehouse, Dominic and Adrian crashed into a stack of crates.
Another gunshot.
Then another.
Serena kicked her captor and ran.
Police entered from the eastern doors.
Adrian broke away.
Dominic followed.
They reached the river loading platform.
Adrian turned with the gun.
Dominic stopped.
“You know what the funniest part is?” Adrian shouted.
“What?”
“You think Audrey will forgive you.”
Dominic's expression didn't change.
“I don't expect her to.”
“Then why destroy everything for her?”
“Because loving someone isn't a transaction.”
Adrian's finger tightened.
A shot exploded.
May you like
Dominic staggered.
And from twenty yards away, Audrey screamed his name.
