Page 66 of Vicious Vows

"What hurts? Everything hurts Dominic. Wasn't that the plan?" She chuckled humorlessly.

"At the moment it was but right now I just want to make sure you're okay."

"I'm fine. I'd be better if you'd leave."

I tilted my head and smirked at her, "You think you're going to get me to leave my own room?"

"I think I don't need to engage with you." She sighed and got in the bed turning her back to me.

This was not going how I wanted it to go and I didn't know how to get it there. I wasn't one for apologies but I knew that's where I needed to start. Slowly, I climbed up on the bed with her. She stiffened the second she felt the bed dip.

"Faye, I'm so fucking sorry."

She jerked and made it seem like she was about to get out of the bed, I placed a hand on her shoulder to keep her lying down. I needed to get this out even if she didn't want to hear it yet.

"Don't." She gritted.

"I have to. I'm sorry Faye. I didn't have the right information and was only working on my gut instinct. The same instincts that always told me people were out to get me. I've had to fight my entire life against people that have had it out for me. I should've listened to you but I've got years of experience telling me not to. I know my words don't mean shit to you right now but I'm telling the truth. I'm sorry Faye." I squeezed her shoulder and she turned to look at me.

"So am I. I'm sorry I thought there was a speck of decency in you. I'm sorry that I thought I was safe from your savagery even for just a moment. Most of all I'm sorry I managed to get myself into this position in the first place. I'll do what I signed up to do. Pretend to be your wife when I have to be. I'll lay here and let you pump a baby into me. I'll give you everything you want but the minute it's over I want you out of my life. I want all of you out of my life." She stared at me for another second before she turned her back to me again.

She meant every word of what she'd said to me. She would become a husk of a woman before she let me be close to her again. That fire that intrigued me so thoroughly before was all but wiped out in her eyes and it was my fault.

I lifted my hand to grab her again but I knew that would do no good. I'd already broken her and touching her now would only add to her hatred of me. Now I was going to do exactly what she wanted me to do in the first place. I would leave my room and her space.

Sliding out of the bed, I walked around making sure not to make eye contact with her again. I didn't want to see the defeated look on her face. Instead, I pulled the figurine I'd carved and put it on the nightstand where she would see it.

It was only a small token but right now it felt like it was a key directly to my soul.

CHAPTER 29

Dominic

"Dominic, how nice of you to come by for a visit," Micha smirked at me before he turned and walked with me to the back room. It'd been a long while since I've had to come source from him.

Micha was an arrogant fuck. After I'd finally gotten some footing in the underworld I hadn't reached out to him to get any more supplies from him mostly because I hated even being in his same space. It always seemed like he wanted to one-up whoever he was working with. I wasn't here for a competition between him and me. I was here because I couldn't find the arms I needed for Kumar without him.

Hopefully, it would be the last time I'd have to do business with him.

"Yeah, I'm sorry I can't say the same thing. Do you have the merchandise?" I asked taking a step forward trying to get this interaction over with as soon as possible.

"You know I do, Dominic. Come this way." Micha gestured with his hand for me to follow him. I glanced behind me making sure Yuri was still keeping guard. He nodded once to let me know that everything was still all good. I swear once I made it out of here I would give Yuri a raise, out of everyone he was the only one who really took his job seriously.

I followed Micha to the back room where he showed me the crates of small arms that I would need to buy from him in order to get to Kumar.

"Good, now let me get those packed up so I can get out of here."

Micha put his hand up and stopped me from closing up the crate. "Wait a minute, not so fast. We still need to talk about our deal."

I clenched my jaw and crossed my arms over my chest. There was nothing more for us to talk about. We'd already agreed on a payment before I even got here.

"What the hell are you going on about now Micha? I've got your money, there's no other parts of our deal that we need to go over." I grunted in annoyance.

"I happen to think there is. I don't know what happened before or why you decided that you and your family didn't want to work with me anymore but I don't think that arrangement is going to work for me anymore. If you want this shipment I want a guarantee that you'll be buying from me at least once a month from here on out."

Micha stepped closer into my space and before I could even comprehend what was going on, three other men walked in from the other side of the room. All of them on Micha's payroll. All of them with fucking death wishes.

I stared at Micha for a second before I burst into laughter, wrapping my arm around my stomach to stop the stitch that pinched me there.

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