Page 27 of Dominic

But she never did. Never once asked to go anywhere. She’d been here nearly two months and she hadn’t left the grounds. Anything she’d needed from the grocery or drug store, she’d had delivered to the front gate of his property.

If Dominic didn’t know better, he would’ve said she was afraid to leave. Almost as if this was the only place she felt safe.

Given the fact that he’d used a spreader bar linked to the headboard to spread her legs high over her head this morning, folding her nearly in half while he’d stuffed his cock in her ass and slapped her pussy until she’d cried — and come — her feeling safe here seemed a little odd.

But it was still true.

She was reading now on the couch while he worked. Lukas had come over and they were looking over security plans for the “Taste of Sicily” gala coming up this weekend. Normally neither of them would be involved with security matters, but since many of the pieces — art, jewelry, historical artifacts — were owned by their extended family or friends from their homeland, they were looking over the plans themselves.

Especially since there had been a string of robberies at the events like this over the past year.

“The most important piece is the Giovanni Boldini painting, of course,” Lukas said.

“And the sapphire necklace.” Dominic looked at the pictures of the valuables that would be at the exhibit. “We fully vetted the security team, so I’m pretty confident that we won’t get hit.”

Lukas shrugged. “I’m sure all those other events felt just as confident.”

“True. The thing I hate about doing legitimate business and PR events is that we can’t broadcast that it’s La Cosa Nostra. I doubt anyone would try to steal from us if they knew who we were, but since they don’t…”

Lukas look down at the building plans. “I just don’t know how a thief’s mind works. Do you go for the big pay off even though it’s more secure?”

“No, you go for one of the smaller items, something that’s not drawing any attention.” Cassandra’s soft voice startled them both. Dressed in her yoga pants and a fitted green tank top, She was standing a few feet from the conference table where they had all the papers spread out.

Lukas’ eyes met his, brow raised. They needed someone who thought like a thief; who better than a thief?Although Dominic couldn’t escape the part of his mind that wondered if this was part of Cassandra’s end game. Was she trying to steal from him again?

If so, he wasn’t going to give her the opportunity.

Dominic stepped to the side, giving Cassandra space to join them at the conference table. “Okay, little thief, what would you do if you were going to hit this place?”

She didn’t answer for a long time while she studied the floor plans, the information about all the different artifacts that would be on display, and the security measures that would be utilized during the gala. She seemed more focused and interested in this than she had about anything else in the last two months except for sex and her garden.

“This,” she finally said pointing to the picture of the bracelet. “That’s what I would go for. It would be easy to get out with, easy to fence, and it’s being displayed closest to the kitchen door.”

“Really?” Lukas asked. “You wouldn’t get very much for that. Not nearly as much as some of the other pieces.”

Cassandra gave a half shrug of her slender shoulder. “It depends on how big the team is. If it’s someone working alone, you have to choose: risk versus reward. Better to make it out scot-free with something only worth a few thousand then to go for the bigger item but get caught.”

She glanced at Dominic then back down at the table. “If it was a team, like the Clemens, the tactics would be different, but probably not much.” She pointed to another two pieces of jewelry and a Fabergé egg. “The team could get out with these four items, probably right underneath security’s eyes. Especially if they had replicas. All in all they would make about $100,000.” She shrugged again. “Worth the risk, especially if everybody else is focused on the million dollar items.”

Dominic shook his head. “It takes a pretty hardened sort of person to steal from a charity event.”

“Money is money, to a thief,” Cassandra responded. “Regardless of whether the rich people are giving a little bit of it away to a good cause doesn’t matter. Easy pickings are easy pickings.”

“You’ll come with us,” Dominic said. “You’ll know what to look for, more than any law-abiding citizen would.”

Cassandra backed away from the table shaking her head. “No. I don’t want to. You don’t need me there.”

Dominic stepped forward so he was right in front of herand grasped her chin with hard fingers, forcing her to look at him. “Are you planning to steal from me? Is this gala part of some play for you?”

“No.” She shook her head. “I swear.”

He believed her. He might be a fool, but he believed the sincerity in her green eyes. “Then you’re going with us.”

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