Page 112 of The Daredevil

I walked up to the bar, browsing for Dominic. Spotting him chatting with two men in crisp white shirts and dark slacks, I studied how he talked with suggestive hands. He’d always wanted to be the center of attention. A respected high school athlete. A popular kid who had most boys wanting to be him. All except me. I didn’t have friends in high school, except my video game boys. I kept pretty much to myself, although the football coach had approached me several times, trying to recruit me. Maybe that was another reason Dominic hated me.

As though he sensed a foreign energy on his turf, he turned, met my gaze, and said something to the other men.

Walking toward me, his blue eyes glared. He’d gained some weight and muscles. He still wore his brown hair short, but he was balding. I went to a public high school and had always wondered why Dominic wasn’t in private school. Apparently, his family had owned several properties in Providence and wanted to save money by keeping Dominic in a public school, not that there was anything wrong with public schools. Some of the most successful people I’d encountered attended public schools.

Education was important, but the drive to succeed determined a person’s success.

Dominic’s jaw tightened as he came up to me. “Follow me.Now.”

“Are you talking to me?’ I looked around. “I don’t answer to you, Dominic.”

Dominic flared his nostrils and changed his demeanor as more men approached the bar, wishing him a happy birthday.

After he chatted with his friends, he turned to me and forced a smile. “Let’s have a discussion in the back office. Shall we?”

“We shall.” I slapped his back playfully. “Happy birthday, man! It’s been a long time. You’re the same asshole I knew from high school.” I grinned at the bartender. “We go way back.”

“It’s nice to have good friends,” said the bartender as he made a drink for someone. “My friends and I used to pound on each other for fun.”

“Oh, ‘friends’ isn’t the right word to describe us.”

Indignation flashed in Dominic’s eyes as he gestured to the hallway. I stepped into the spacious office, and Dominic closed the door. A desk sat in one corner with several file cabinets. Dominic stalked over to a round mahogany coffee table surrounded by dark brown leather couches and armchairs.

“What are you doing here? Who the fuck let you in?”

“Manners dictate you ask me to sit down, Dominic.” I stared at him, no amusement in my voice. “We’re no longer high school boys, but grown men with social status. I’d like to think we can resolve our issues maturely,Chief Bryson.”

His jaw tightened as he jabbed a finger at the armchair. He took a seat, and I folded into the one across from him, needing to see his face.

“Just like you, I also have friends who can buy me a ticket. Besides, I’m here to wish you a happy birthday. To ensure you have plenty more to celebrate, I think it’s wise to leave me and mine alone.”

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about,” he said, looking smug.

I glanced at my watch. “Well, check your email right now.”

The PI should have already sent Dominic a file with embarrassing images of him with several women in Las Vegas. He’d been drunk with his friends—some of which were in his department. All were married.

He gaped at his phone, and his fingers tensed an angry white. “Where did you get these? These are fake! You want me to arrest you, fucker?”

“You know they’re not fake. I also have a video if you’d like. There’s also clips of it on social media with your face blocked out. That’s what you get for cheating on your wife with some girl who was obviously pissed. I like her sass, though.”

“What do you want?” he barked.

“Why are you trying to destroy my business?” I eyed him. “I know you hired Oskar to sabotage my excursion site, but he failed and died for it. You also hired an ex-con to kill James McNabb at my resort in Oregon.” He opened his mouth to deny it, but I held up a hand. “I tracked the ex-con down and offered him triple the amount of money for the truth. He’s living comfortably in another country right now.”

“You have no proof.”

“I have enough to destroy your career. Your family.”

He sneered with contempt. “You ruined my life.”

“How?”

Dominic lifted his arm, pulled it back, and winced before he pitched an invisible ball. “You broke my arm, injured my shoulder, and destroyed my dream of playing baseball. I had a full-ride athletic scholarship, but I couldn’t go.”

“Don’t blame me for somethingyoustarted,” I reminded him. “You and your friend jumped me. It’s called self-defense, Chief. Wasn’t that part of your law enforcement exam? I sat in a jail cell because ofyou.”

He balled his hands into fists.

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