Page 333 of The Trouble With Bad Boys

Long black coat flapping behind him, revealing an impressive suit underneath, he blew into her life again like a thunderstorm, filled with swagger and heft and power. He was way bigger than she remembered, his shoulders shockingly broad. Almost intimidating. His deep blue eyes were harder, his features sharper, more angular than the fun-loving bad boy she’d once known.

But still tall, dark, and sinfully handsome.

In any other scenario, she might’ve swooned. At that moment, she felt lightheaded with relief.

His intense gaze landed on her. “Lara.”

He rushed to her and swept her into a crushing embrace that lifted her off her feet. His powerful strength surrounding her felt comforting, anchoring her in the moment.

As he set her down, one hand clasped her face, the other swept her hair back. “You have no idea how worried I—Isaac has been.” He clutched her closer, whispering into her hair, “Talk to me. Get me up to speed.”

“Not here.” She nodded toward his car.

Dominic ushered her outside into his Charger, shut the door once she was safely tucked inside, and then rounded the car to slide into the driver’s seat. Glancing at the mayhem of emergency vehicles and flashing lights in his rearview mirror, he said, “I take it that torched car belongs to you. And you haven’t talked to the authorities yet.”

“Yes, it is. And no, I haven’t.”

“Good.”

“Dominic… What are you doing here? With me?”

“I work with Isaac now. Long story, but that’s for later. Give me the gist of what you’re up against, and we’ll go from there.”

Anxiously bunching her hands along the hem of her skirt, she recounted the miserable list of experiences she’d endured that day, even sharing what her helpful local bartender had mentioned about the charges against her boss.

Dominic ran a hand through his dark hair and exhaled. “This is worse than I thought.”

“It is?” She gripped the seat as her panic grew.

He sent her a long look. “I’ll lay it out. Tell me if any of this rings true. Your boss has run his own financial services company for around ten years. Long enough to have a hefty clientele and credibility. From what you’ve told me, I’ll wager that everything seemed above board until about a year ago. Then he started to make a transaction or two that didn’t seem right. He gave you a solid explanation, and you ignored your instincts for another six months, wanting to assume the best. Why would you assume the worst? He’s given every reason to trust him. He’s a pillar of the town, he wouldn’t wrong the families and close-knit community who’ve invested in him.”

Amazed at Dominic’s spot-on insight, she nodded. “He’s an alderman. Everyone knows him and trusts him. The wealthiest families have investments in our firm.”

“But your instincts told you something was off. Over the past six months, he’s made more transactions that weren’t in line with the norm.”

“Right.” She swallowed. “He kept leaving at lunchtime saying he was going to the post office to mail envelopes to clients. But until then, we rarely mailed anything until tax time.”

“My guess is, he has a P.O. Box there. Do you know anything about a key?”

She chewed on her lower lip. “Sometimes, when he returned from his ‘lunch breaks’ he slid something into his top drawer, then locked it. He never used to do that.”

“What about recent transactions he made? Did he ever ask you to make one for him?”

She gasped. “Actually, yes.” She hadn’t thought about that for weeks. “One night I was leaving work when he called my cell and demanded I conclude a transaction. He was on a business trip, and for some reason, the wire transfer wouldn’t go through.” She gulped. “Dominic, I know it went to an offshore account. The account number didn’t align with anything we’d normally transfer.”

“I’ll bet it’s not the first time.”

She grudgingly shook her head and lowered her chin.

“He’s been using you to do his dirty work.” Dominic clenched his hand and bounced his fist off the steering wheel. Jaw tight, he nodded over his shoulder. “And tonight, he tried to tie up a loose end.”

“What? No. Mark wouldn’t…he…” Everything in her wanted to deny Dominic’s claim. But hadn’t she come to the same reluctant, fearful conclusion? Even if she didn’t want to believe it?

Burying her face in her hands, she let out a sob. “My God, what am I going to do?”

“You’re coming back to my place.”

Startled by his demand, she brushed her cheek and dismissed the idea. “I couldn’t. I mean, I can’t interfere with your life. I’m sure you have a wife, kids…”

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