Page 33 of Corrupted Heir (Mafia Kings: Corrupted 1)

He took my hand and led the way toward the entrance. It was a building, not much more than a shack, but it was locked, and there were no lights inside.

I was just about to sigh with relief when he withdrew a key from his pocket and slipped it into the door’s lock.

“Do you own this place?” I asked as the key turned in the lock and clicked open. It seemed like a strange business venture for an investment banker.

He laughed. “No,” he answered simply as he pushed open the door and led us inside.

“Then how…?”

If he’d stolen the key, I’m walking home. It’s not like I haven’t done it before. There was no way I was going to spend the night in jail for an ass-hat.

“Let’s just say I’m borrowing it for the night,” he said with a wink that made my insides quiver.

I relented, following him inside, trying to prepare myself for an hour of humiliation. And just like I’d expected, Isucked.Tennis, racquetball, or even basketball, I could have held my own, but miniature golf was not my sport.

We’d made it through the first half dozen holes of the course, and whatever was par for each one, Dominic had come in way under. I, on the other hand, had a score that was approaching the triple digits. He hadn’t laughed once, but I could almost feel it bubbling up in his chest, and the mirth in his eyes was just too damn happy for what I’d seen from him thus far.

What was worse was that minute by minute, I was becoming less interested in the sparring match and more cognizant of the pull of the fabric across his chest and the flex and bunch of his shoulders and biceps with every swing.

All right, pull it together, Moore.I’d hit the ball four times, and it had sailed right past the hole every time. This was hitting an all-time low on the humiliation scale. One stupid ball in one stupid hole—was it really so much to ask?

I lined up the club, ignoring the man who was grinning from ear-to-ear beside me—I could just feel it. I exhaled, then swung the club and hit the ball, but right away, I could tell I’d hit it too hard. The ball sailed past the hole, rolling to a stop a good twelve inches beyond it, glinting cheekily at me in the moonlight.

I glared at the traitorous ball. “’He’s still alive. They hit him with five shots, and he’s still alive’,” I quoted aloud.

Dominic’s head shot up. “You’ve seen ‘The Godfather’?”

I laughed. Dominic didn’t strike me as the kind of man who surprised easily. “Of course. Who hasn’t?” Did he think I’d been living under a rock for the past two decades?

“What did you think of it?” he asked, his eyes searching my face.

It felt like I was wading into another sensitive topic, though I couldn’t imagine how. Dominic didn’t strike me as a die-hard movie fanatic. “I don’t know,” I said cautiously. “I guess I thought it was all kind of sad.”

“Sad?” he asked, and for the first time, it didn’t feel like there was an argument hiding behind his question. He looked genuinely perplexed.

Still, I was going to tread carefully. As much as I’d been looking forward to sparring with him, I liked this more. “I mean, they spend their entire lives worrying about absolutely everything. Enemies, police, even the people closest to them. Not to mention the guy inherited a ‘kingdom’ he didn’t even want.”

The furrow between his brow deepened. “But what about family?”

“What about it?” I wasn’t following.

“It was paramount to the plot. They fought for each other, died for each other. Theytrustedeach other.”

I’d never thought about it. “That’s true,” I conceded. I’d always paid attention to the murder and the fighting and the gunfire in the movie. I’d never given much consideration to the theme of family loyalty that was inherent in the movie’s plot.

Dominic’s jaw dropped open exaggeratedly. “Holy shit, did you just agree with me?”

I smiled. “Well, I wouldn’t go quite that far. I didn’t completelydisagreewith you. My father is the chief of police, though, so it would kind of be a disservice to him to speak too highly of loyalty among criminals, right?” I laughed, but he didn’t join in. Just like that, it felt like I’d pressed some invisible button.

“Cops aren’t all heroes,” he said with a shrug, but his shoulders seemed more tense than they’d been a moment ago. “Sometimes they’re worse than criminals.”

Tension shot through my body, straightening my spine. “Now you’re kind of making jabs at my father. He may never win ‘best dad of the year award’, but he’s still a good person. Deep down,” I said, though even I could hear the lack of conviction in my voice.

“See? That’s exactly what I mean by loyalty, Fallon. No matter their flaws, you defend family to the end.”

Dominic, the family man? I never would have suspected that. and somehow, the revelation had me lowering my gloves. “Yes,” I said. “I see your point.”

There was no overexaggerated jaw-dropping this time. He smiled, but there was something that looked an awful lot like gratitude in his eyes. Could it be he was thanking me for the concession I’d made?

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