Page 47 of Dominic

Chapter Twenty-Four

They finally foundher by tracking Gordon Clemens’ phone. The fact that he was in the New Orleans area wasn’t a surprise to Dominic, especially considering his son Darrell had been following Sarah yesterday.

They were back in the Michoud Blvd area, not far from the warehouse where Dominic had found Cassandra bound and bruised a few months ago.

So help him God, if she had been hurt by her stepfather’s hand, the man would not live to see another day. He might not live to see another day anyway.

Dominic categorically refused to allow himself to think about the fact that Cassandra, even if he got her away from her stepfather, might not want anything to do with him. The things he said to her were unforgivable. He’d known what would hurt her most and had twisted the emotional knife in the most cruel way possible.

He only hoped she would give him a chance to make it up to her. He would, no matter what it took.

The relief he felt when he heard her voice from where he hid around the corner, even as angry as it was, almost overwhelmed him. She was talking to her stepfather.

“I’m out, Gordon. Dominic told me to leave. I can’t go back.”

“You stupid bitch,” Gordon spat. “Do you know how much you’ve lost? I saw the pictures of you two in the paper. Saw you for myself at that gala. He would’ve given you anything.”

Cassandra’svoice was much smaller now. “Looks are deceiving. Dominic never loved me. Never trusted me. He was never going to give me anything. So stay away from him and his family. Leave them alone. Leave Sarah alone. Hurting them won’t help you.”

“Yeah? Well, maybe hurting you will help me. I can’t believe you got in with Dominic Rinaldi twice and walked out empty-handed both times. You’re beyond useless. Obviously the only way I’m going to make money from you is to whore you out.”

“I don’t even know if she would make much money as a whore,” Darrell’s voice chimed in.

Dominic had had enough. He stepped out from around the corner, Titus at his side, two other of his men coming up behind Gordon and Darrell.

“I don’t imagine I’m going to want my wife to be whored out. But I do wonder what sort of price I could get for the two of you.”

Gordon and Darrell both drew their weapons, but when Dominic’s men placed the muzzle of their guns directly on the back of their heads, Gordon and Darrell lowered theirs, obviously realizing they couldn’t win. Cassandra just stood there staring at Dominic with wide eyes.

“I feel like the last time I was in a warehouse like this it was also because of you,” he said, doing his best to give her a gentle smile. She just continued to gape at him.

“Why are you here?” she whispered.

“My wife and I had a fight this morning and I said some pretty dumbass stuff. I was hoping I could beg her forgiveness.”

Cassandra looked down at the floor andbegan scratching her arms, the skin already raw from previous abrasions.

“Cass. Look at me.”

Relief flooded him when she looked up.

“Don’t hurt yourself, baby. We can work through this.”

Gordon scoffed. “She’s such a freak with the scratching. She’s useless, Rinaldi. Deadweight. Can’t close a deal. I’m doing you a favor by taking her off your hands.”

“She’s my wife. And if there’s anything I know it’s that she’s not a deadweight.”

“Really? She can’t even have kids. Why would you want someone like that for your wife?”

He saw Cassandra’s flinch and knew it was true. Dominic mourned for just a second a future that could never be, then walked over to Cassandra and drew her next to him, kissing her on the forehead and stopping her hands from hurting herself further.

“And why is it that Cass can’t have children, Gordon?” Dominic’s voice was quiet. Deadly.

The older man immediately realized his mistake. He held out his hand in front of him in supplication. “Rinaldi, I run a crew, just like you do. If someone isn’t performing, I use whatever incentive that person understands to motivate them. Cassandra here understands pain. I didn’t know she was pregnant when I was giving her the incentive she needed.”

Dominic tucked Cassandra closer to his side. “So why don’t you tell me exactly what happened seven years ago.”

The skin across her cheekbones was drawn and pale. “Dominic…”

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