Page 34 of The Don's Hidden Heir

She inhales deeply. “I have Lucas. He’ll be a good son to me.”

“I’ll be good to you, too,” I say. I don’t care what she says or what she thinks. I want to be good to her, because she’s the mother of my child and the only woman I’ve ever loved.

Her gaze is intense, her silence louder than words.

“Why, you don’t want me to be good to you?” I ask. I straighten my back from the chair and lean against her mahogany desk. “Are you in love with anyone else?”

Her eyes drop to a silver ballpoint pen on her desk. She picks it up and starts to fiddle with it. “It’s not that, Dominic.”

“What is it?” My stomach twists with anticipation. I’m not sure what her answer will be, but it already tastes bitter on my tongue. If she’s in love with another man, then, he’ll have to go.

“I’ve heard too much about the mafia,” she says, her voice etched with worry. “It scares me and you’re the head of one of the families. I’m not sure I’m built for your world and the dangers that seem to come with it…”

She pauses to breathe. “I also don’t want our son mixing up with men in that world. They’re all murderers, criminals and everything I hate.”

“Hey.” I reach for her hand and squeeze it in mine. “Do you hate me?”

She lifts her eyes to meet mine. “No, Dominic. I don’t. Even after seven years, I still can’t bring myself to hate you.”

The air around us is palpable as I rub her hand. I’ve missed touching her soft and silky skin. “We’re not all heartless bastards, you know. Sure, I’m one, but not all of us are. You can’t judge us until you’ve seen a glimpse of our world.”

She pulls her hand from mine. “What if I don’t want to see a glimpse of your world? What if I’m that much of a coward and I don’t have the courage to see it?”

“Then I won’t force you. I just want to be a part of your life and Lucas’s.”

She rolls her bottom lips between her teeth. “Dominic….” She’s cut off when my phone rings.

Whoever it is better pray what they’re calling me for is serious.

Marcus’s number flashes on my screen when I remove my phone from my pocket.

“Brother,” he says the minute I answer. Marcus is usually calm, but I pick the almost undetectable panic in his voice.

“What is it?”

“Something’s wrong, you need to come over to the warehouse.” He drops the call before I can ask any more questions, not that I would have.

Concern mars Elena’s face. “Is there a problem?”

I shoot up to my feet and smoother my shirt. “Tell Lucas I’m sorry I can’t pick him up today. I’ll call you tonight.”

My phone buzzes just as I walk out of Elena’s office. I just received a picture from an unregistered number. When I tap on it, my eyes widen.

There’s a woman in the picture, I’m not certain who she is yet, but my stomach twists from the puddle of blood around her.

Sightless eyes stare back at me when I zoom in on her face and I see there’s an obvious incision on her neck from where her blood is pouring out like water from a fountain.

That is when I recognize her. It’s Caterina, and she’s been murdered.

Chapter Nine

Dominic

“Another shipment went missing last night,” Marcus says, twirling his gold knife between his fingers. He doesn’t mention Caterina, but I know he is pissed off about her death about as much as I am.

Caterina was just a whore to Marcus, but she was also a woman, and one that had nothing to do with the mafia. Whoever killed her must have done so to send a message.

“Someone’s fucking with us, boss. I have a feeling it’s those fucking Bratva bastards,” Dante says, fists clenched.

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