Page 20 of Defy

I feel my old self slide into place as I’m given a role and progress my mission here. I shed the man I’d become like an animal sheds its winter coat in the spring. The beast in my chest is dying to taste blood again so I don the required masks: Obedience. Appreciation.Trustworthiness.

I nod at my parents. “Thank you for this opportunity.”

“Dominic, the Dutch haven’t calmed down much. I’m holding them at bay as best I can, but eventually this is going to come to a head. Make sure you’re ready.”

“Understood.” I understand that this time I’ll be cleaning uphismess.

The Dutch aren’t your biggest problem. I’m coming for all of you.

~

I’M A LITTLE ON EDGE from trying to figure out if I’m being played or if I’m doing the playing and I need to make sure I have my head on straight, now more than ever. Luis has asked me to accompany him to our most popular club tomorrow night to go over layout, protocols, upcoming meetings, etc… and I plan to use that time to do a little recon of my own. Our parents remain tight lipped about Libby’s identity but I’m hoping after a couple of drinks, Luis will spill the beans.

For now, my thoughts turn to the ocean.

That’s what I need to clear my head. No way are my parents giving me access to a boat, so our small private beach along the edge of the property will have to do.

I make an attempt to locate Libby and make sure she’s okay but she’s not in any of the main rooms and I can’t be more obvious than I already am, so I give up the search.

Instead, I make my way down the overgrown trail to the sandy beach. It looks like no one’s been through here for some time although if I look closely, a few of the overgrown weeds have been snapped, causing me to slow my pace and take more caution. I’m still really in no position to fight so being caught off guard could be deadly.

Quietly peering through tall grass before it turns to barren dirt and then sand, I see Irina pacing on the beach, her back to me. She’s biting a nail and keeps throwing furtive glances between the path I’m standing on and the water to her left. My heart breaks again. Irina was always more like a sister to me which I can’t explain because she used to be a knockout. Everyone wanted her. But she never came on to me, either. Where Camila was a safe place for me to get loud and rough, Irina provided the opposite. She was content just sitting and sharing a cup of coffee, talking about anything other than what job I had just done, the money we had, or the expectations put on us.

She understood me because her family is just like mine.

I step out of the bushes, not wanting to startle her. “Hey, Irina.”

Her head whips around and her eyes are a little wild, her voice panicked. “Shit. Dom, you can’t be here!” She’s waving her hands around wildly. They match the crazy look in her eyes.

“Why? Irina, what’s wrong?” I close the gap between us in three strides and take her hands, trying to get her to calm down. She starts talking but she’s getting angrier.

“No, no, no. You’ll ruin everything! You can’tbehere because then he won’t come here! You have to go!” She pushes against my chest trying to get me to go back to the house.

I hold up my hands in surrender. “Okay, Irina, calm down. I’ll go. Are you going to be okay?”

“Yes! Now, go!”

Of course I’m not leaving her down here alone but I’d rather watch and see the truth unfold versus have her lie to me and lose her shit. I make my way back into the weeds and crouch down out of her line of sight. If I separate the tall grass, I can see her and the water.

She goes back to pacing and checks her cell phone screen a hundred times when finally, about six minutes later, I hear a boat engine.

This beach is outside of the marina gates so if you know this beach is here, there is nothing to stop you from getting to it. A definite security flaw.

The guy throws the anchor for his small boat over the side and hops out, embracing Irina like a lover. When he pulls back, he takes something out of his pocket. For a brief second, I think it’s a ring.

It would make sense that Irina would have to hide that from her parents, as well as my own. In our families, love plays no role in marriage. It’s for connections, power, and duty that you marry.

If it had been a ring, I would have offered to help them get out of here and live their happily ever after, but when I see multiple small bags of white powder, I launch myself from the weeds onto the beach with a growl so loud, they both look up before I’m even fully visible.

“Dominic! I told you to go!”

The dealer looks at me and reaches for his waistband. He’s armed, no doubt.

“Franco, no! Both of you, stop!”

He hesitates.

I don’t.

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