Page 307 of Hate Mates

“No,” I said definitively, stepping before him and blocking his path. “I won’t let you do this to our family. I won’t let you throw away everything Father has worked for. I can’t let you ruin everything.”

In one swift move I’d practiced a thousand times, I delivered a well-placed kick to his solar plexus, causing him to double over in pain.“Don’t make me hurt you, Rico!”

He gasps for air, clutching his stomach as he falls to his knees. “You’re just like him!” he spat out between coughs. “Both of you! You're both fucking been playing me the entire time.”

I turned around, leaving him there on the floor as I walked away, hands shaking and heart pounding in my chest. I knew I should feel regretful for hurting him, but all I could think about was the look in his eyes when he threatened to ruin us. No one—not even my own brother—would stand in the way of taking the Saviano’s down. Not doing that would mean defying my father, and I was not ready for that war. Dominic was fun. But he was a distraction.

“Know this, anything that happens from here on. You brought it upon yourself,” he shouted as I continued down the hallway.

SEVEN

Dominic

Iknew something was wrong the second we arrived at the docks. The air felt off—like it harbored secrets I wasn’t meant to know. The sharp scent of saltwater mixed with the faint smell of gasoline, but the uneasy silence gnawed at my gut.

I was fucking certain I saw a capo from the Santoro Clan talking to one of the Deluca soldiers. There was something too casual about it, something that didn’t sit right. Santoro men weren’t supposed to be here, not this deep in DeLuca territory, and a capo... Well, they didn’t speak to soldiers unless something bigger was going on, something off the books.

I scanned the dimly lit area, the low hum of engines echoing off the rusty steel of the warehouses. Nothing looked out of place, but I could feel the tension creeping up my spine. I reached for my gun, instinct kicking in. If this was a setup, if the Santoro’s and Deluca’s had teamed up behind our backs…

“Dominic,” one of my men whispered, eyes wide with warning.

I didn’t look back. My focus was on the two men now shaking hands, their conversation too low for me to hear, but howthey exchanged glances—quickly—and that told me everything I needed to know.

This was bad. Real bad.

“Get ready,” I murmured. “If things go south, we’ll have to take them all down.”

The air was thick with the weight of betrayal, and the only thing worse than a war between families was the kind of treachery that started quietly behind closed doors, only to erupt when you least expected it. And I had the feeling that’s exactly what was about to happen.

All hell broke loose in an instant. The sound of gunfire echoed through the night, sharp and relentless. My heart pounded in my chest, and before I could reach for my Glock, the cold steel of a blade was suddenly pressed against my neck.

“Don’t move, Dominic.”

His eyes widened in disbelief.

Isabella.

The woman he’d had in his bed a few nights ago.

Just as the weight of that betrayal sank in, the shadows shifted, and two figures emerged from the dark. Mateo Santoro. His smile was cruel, a predator’s grin. And standing beside him was Carlos Deluca. Mateo's voice broke through the tension, smooth and dangerous.

“Mi amore,” he said, his words dripping with possessiveness as he addressed Isabella. My jaw clenched. That hit me like a slap to the face. The pieces clicked into place. Isabella had been playing me all along, never once on my side. She was never mine to trust. She was my enemy.

Rage surged through me, a tidal wave of fury that blinded me to everything else. I didn’t hesitate. In one swift motion, I gripped her wrist and tugged her in front of me, using her as a human shield. I didn’t want to do it. Fuck, a few minutes ago,I would burn the fucking world down for the woman. But now. Now, she was as good as a stranger to me.

“Let me go, Dominic.” Isabella struggled, but I held firm. There was one thing Isabella needed to learn, and that was that I was in control.

“You're going to regret this,” Mateo growled, but my men were already behind him and Carlos. Gunfire continued to rain down, but my men had the upper hand.

I ripped off my tie, binding her hands behind her back, and then backed away. “Not as much as you are. You crossed me for the last time, Santoro.” I didn’t want to think about the last time he’d fucked me over. “So will you, Deluca.”

As they reached the car, I threw her in, slamming the door shut behind her and sliding into the driver's seat.

The engine roared to life, and I sped off into the night, my mind set on one thing only: revenge. The city’s lights blurred around us as I drove, Isabella’s presence beside him nothing more than a reminder of the vengeance that awaited.

“You have no idea what you’ve done,” she hissed.

No, sweetheart, I thought.You have no idea what you’ve done.She’d betrayed me, and now I would make her pay. I would make her father sorry he’d crossed us.

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