Page 11 of Murder & Mayhem
The pounding in my head started to slow down at the sincerity in his tone. I still didn’t trust his ulterior motives, but maybe they were a different direction than I’d been thinking.
I glanced over at Joey. He hadn’t woken up, and I was starting to wonder if he ever would. Maybe that was it! Maybe he was afraid I’d tell the cops what I’d seen here.
“I swear I won’t say anything about you or what I saw. Trust me, no one is mourning this loss. I-I just want to find my brother.”
“I’m not worried about that.” My heart sank. Oh no. Maybe he’d be willing to accept a blow job or even my ass to let me go? I haven’t let anyone near there in . . . a long time, but I thought I could manage to get through it without being sick. I-I could do that. It was better than the alternative.
Dominic was in between me and the front door, but I might make it out the back before he could catch me. He was in bomb shape, but I was fast, and he’d probably be hesitant to leave Joey like this, so maybe it would give me the advantage I needed.
Except . . . they knew exactly where I was headed. It was my only fucking lead. I wasn’t going to blow it and risk Bailey getting hurt or being moved because I was freaking out.
I wasn’t sure what expressions my face was making—Bailey always said I couldn’t hide what I was thinking—but Dominic’s eyes darkened.
“Whatever you’re thinking, boy, stop. Believe me when I say I get it. I get the distrust. I get the fear. My brothers and I—let’s just say I know what it’s like to go to sleep praying that maybe tonight would be the one when he didn’t show up. Then inevitably realizing that if there is a God, he’s not listening to us. Nobody was. We had to rely on each other. Like you andBailey. It’s why we do what we do. But let me tell you, kid, you’re not finding Bailey on your own. You go to that house without me? You’re not coming out alive, and maybe not at all. Not trying to be an asshole, but you need me.”
Fuck him. Fuck this fucking cocky, narcissist asshole for thinking so little of me. Fuck him even more for being right. “So what? You had a shitty childhood so now you go around killing pedophiles and helping poor victims that can’t help themselves? Yeah, right. No one is that good.”
Dominic laughed, dark and cold. “Oh, trust me, honey, I’m so far from good that even hell would be reluctant to have me.”
A shiver ran down my spine, but it wasn’t only from fear. The way Dominic watched me now, how he stepped closer, crowding me without touching me . . . My breath hitched and I tilted my head up until our eyes locked.
“What I do? It’s not about ridding the world of scum. That’s an added benefit, but the truth is, I like it. Fuck, I love it. The only time I feel alive is when I watch the life drain from my target’s eyes. If Ari, Gid, and I hadn’t made an oath to honor the code we came up with, it might not only be bad guys I kill. But Ari knew that, which was why he made me swear to him, and I’d never break my promise to my brothers. Never.”
I swallowed, unable to even think of a response for that. I was fucking terrified, but it wasn’t just that. There were nerves that were beginning to fire. Need pooled in my belly, a feeling I wasn’t used to. But fuck me if Dominic’s cold tone and dark eyes weren’t awakening that long-dead feeling of attraction.
Thankfully, if Dominic noticed, he didn’t say a word. He kept me locked in his hold, both of us breathing heavy likewe’d run a mile instead of standing still. What was happening here? Why wouldn’t he look away?
Finally, the spell broke, and Dominic took a step back. “Fuck.” He turned away from me and ran his fingers through his hair.
“Not a fucking word, Ari,” he whispered, but I still heard him.
If I was going to try to make a run for it, this would be the time. But I didn’t move. I stayed right where I was, with my back pressed up against the doorframe, my eyes glued to this intriguing stranger.
Finally, he turned toward me. “Honestly, sweetheart? I don’t know why I feel compelled to help you, only that I do. I understand why you don’t trust me, but it doesn’t change a damn thing. I’d never hurt you, but you’ve caught my interest, beautiful, and unfortunately for you, I tend to hyperfixate when that happens. You need me to find Bailey, and even if you didn’t, I’m not going anywhere.”
“And if I told you to leave me alone?”
Dominic shrugged. “I won’t hurt or touch you. But I’m not an angel, Jamie, and I’m too fucking selfish to walk away until I know what about you got under my skin. Besides, Ari has a soft spot for kids, and he’s not turning a blind eye now that he knows about all this. So, you can either accept our help, which you need, or you can keep fighting me, wasting precious time Bailey doesn’t have.” He shrugged and smiled, a dangerous smile that rang all kinds of alarm bells and had me internally whining with need.
It was his comment about Bailey that made me relent. All I was doing was wasting time that we were desperately short of. Everything I did was for Bailey. I’d have to push aside my fears and whatever the fuck else was going on and concentrateon what was best for him. Right now? That seemed like Dominic and his brothers.
As far as the rest of the stuff he’d said, well, I wasn’t immune to whatever this instant attraction was, but I had every intention of doing fuck all about it. Dominic was hot—I wasn’t blind. I was staying far away from that walking red flag, thank you very fucking much.
“Fine, you can help,” I agreed, like I had power over any of this. Dominic looked amused and his lips twitched as if they were thinking about smiling.
“Thank you. Now, do you want to kill this fucker? Or leave it to me?”
CHAPTER 5
DOMINIC
Jamie had very pretty eyes. I hadn’t paid much attention to them up till this point because I’d been focused on a million other things, but now that I was waiting for his response, they were all I could see. They were sage green with specks of gold and thick long lashes that Ari would be jealous of. Eyelashes that were blinking rapidly as he tried to process my question. I wasn’t sure if the boy had “killer” in him, but I wanted to at least give him the chance. After everything this fucker had done to him, no one deserved the kill more than Jamie. Well, besides possibly his brother.
As I waited for the boy to get it together, Ari was busy trying to track O’Malley and therefore Bailey. Best-case scenario, he’d be at the address that the car was registered to, but since nothing ever went according to plan, I wasn’t very optimistic about that. Either way, we’d spent way too long at this house and needed to get a move on.
I was about to gently prod for an answer when Jamie finally spoke. “You do it. But, um, can I watch?’
I grinned. Maybe the boy wasn’t as innocent as I’d assumed. I mean, he had watched me cut the asshole’s dick off and he hadn’t even puked.
