My Everything, page 32
Dominic tensed, looking over his shoulder at me. Then he turned back to the bar, took a long swallow, refilled, and finally spoke as he came to join me at the table. Bottle in hand. “Yeah, why? What do you know about her?”
I couldn’t stop the gasp. Fuck. It was worse than I thought. Dominic was not supposed to know her name. She was just a waitress from Michigan. A sweet girl I met while staying with Johnny on location for a film. But she was not, though… The grim look on Dominic’s face said it all.
“You first,” I growled.
He gave me a sardonic sneer, but nodded. “She was Max’s sister.” He shifted in the chair, leaning back, and I caught a flicker of discomfort on his face before it settled into that cold dead nothingness that he normally sported. The level of detachment only increased the unease I felt around him. He was a fucking machine. Did he even feel pain like a normal human being? It sure as fuck didn’t look like it.
“It killed Max to stay away from her. But he did it to protect her. Even if that meant letting her believe he was dead.” He shook his head, locking those dark orbs on me. “What we sacrifice for—” he cut himself off. “We’re not bad people, Maddox. We may not follow the law, but we do justice.” He scoffed, downing the bourbon, and setting it aside with a force enough to crack the glass. “She’s dead. So is her baby. Max doesn’t know, and it will stay that way.”
He fixed me with a hard glare, as if intimidation worked on me. But he didn’t need to worry. I wasn’t going to tell Max. He spoke again, but I stopped listening. Asking about Julie was a fucking mistake when I wasn’t ready to hear the answers. What were the odds? How was it possible? Max’s sister. Fuck. No wonder the man looked familiar. He had her eyes. The same soft brown gaze. The same hair color. The same kind smile…
“She had a life.” Dominic’s voice was hard, cold, and that coldness seeped into me, making me shudder under his dead stare. “A good life. And they ruined it.”
“They?” I choked out, earning a strange look in return.
“The Reapers. What else?”
I squeezed my eyes shut, allowing myself a few moments of composure.
“Why do you ask about her?” His voice was tinged with caution.
I hesitated, then went for it. No need to lie now. “I was that life.”
The brief stillness that settled over us as he stared at me squeezed the air from my chest.
He cursed in what sounded like Spanish, and I waited, not sure what to expect.
“I should have realized.” He moved to fill my glass, then watched me gulp it down. Instead of refilling, he placed the whole bottle in front of me. I couldn’t help but chuckle.
“It makes you family. You and Kaylie.” He gestured to the liquor. “Knock yourself out.”
I shot him a glare but grabbed the bottle as Dominic’s lips twitched into a sardonic grin. “After this day, we fucking earned it.”
He was right.
*
We spent the next six weeks locked up in Dominic’s fortress, and despite everything, I felt less like a prisoner than I thought I would. When he said we were family, I thought he was bullshitting. A result of too much pain and alcohol. The man was fucking shot. Yet here we are. Me, free from the goddamn sling and able to move my arm without the risk of blacking out.
Izzy’s prediction was correct, and as much as it made me want to kill someone really slowly from the frustration, I had to accept it. I would never be back to normal. The stiffness was there as a reminder of the crushed bones never putting themselves back together. And the pain as I pushed those limits was merciless. So were the goddamn nerves shooting pain down my arm at any wrong move. It was as unpredictable as it was unbearable. But it was better than immobility.
Physical therapy was a bitch. And so was Izzy as she pushed me miles past my comfort zone. Sweat coated my skin, and my breaths were quick as I tried to stay ahead of the pain.
“What kind of doctor are you?” I rasped, pushing the fucking rod one more notch, and screamed from the tension.
“You want your strength back or not?” she asked, gesturing to the machine I was sweating under. “One more lift.”
“Fuck you,” I gritted out, but did as she said. It left me panting as my left arm cramped with tension.
Collapsing onto my back, I lay there for a few moments of well-needed rest, looking at a thread of spider’s web attached to the stone ceiling. Of course, they had a gym in their basement. They even had their own medical room—a fucking mini-hospital right at their hands. How they stocked up on supplies was one more thing I didn’t want to know.
Located under the infirmary, connected with a flight of uneven stone steps, was a gym equipped with everything a man could need to stay fit. And judging by Dominic’s appearance, he used it well. So did Izzy. And now me.
I spent hours here, under Izzy’s strict instructions and Kaylie’s concerned gaze.
“Kaylie, come here,” Izzy said.
I sat, wiping sweat off my forehead while watching Kaylie practice punching a sandbag and wincing at the impact.
“Someone needs to teach me how to fight.” She rubbed her hand as she joined us. “I want to be able to defend myself.”
A sudden strong urge to wrap her up and shield her from this shitty life surged through me. I gritted my teeth, keeping the words to myself. She shouldn’t have to defend herself. She shouldn’t be involved in this.
“Kaylie.”
She shushed me with a kiss, and the irritation vanished at the feel of her soft lips against mine.
Izzy cleared her throat, and Kaylie jumped away.
“I’ll teach you.” Izzy grinned. “Right after I teach you—this.” She stepped behind me, putting her hands on my shoulders, making me tense from the unexpected move. “Relax,” she huffed. “What’s wrong with you?”
I shot Kaylie a look, catching her stare at Izzy as well.
“Jesus!” Izzy clamped her hands down harder, squeezing my sore muscles until I cursed under my breath. “Kaylie, he’s yours.” She stepped away, and Kaylie’s hands replace hers. She taught her how to loosen the stiffness from my muscles, and her soft hands felt like heaven on my sore body.
“You sure it’s not too soon for this?” she asked, as if I wasn’t there. “It’s hurting him.”
“Of course, it’s too soon,” Izzy stated with a knowing wink my way. “But he’s tough. Besides, it will always—”
I pushed to my feet, shooting her a glare. The permanent damage to my shoulder was nothing Kaylie needed to know about. I could deal with the pain. What I couldn’t deal with was her guilt. She blamed herself. If she knew the truth about my healing, she’d feel worse.
Izzy gave me a long look, then addressed Kaylie. “It will hurt, but it’ll get better with training. It looks rough, but trust me—I’m a doctor.”
Kaylie didn’t look convinced, and to be honest, neither was I. If I took this to any other practice, I’m sure I’d be told to lift a milk packet max. But I didn’t mind. And Izzy knew the importance of getting rehabilitated fast rather than traditionally. In her line of work, being slow, being injured, meant danger. That was now my reality, too. Whether I wanted it or not. I had to fucking learn that the hard way.
“Have you heard from Dominic?” I asked, changing the subject before Izzy slipped up and revealed too much. “Has he had any luck?”
Izzy sighed, sitting on the bench. I sat down again too. “Nothing so far. I’m beginning to think Alex lied.”
“To save his own ass?” I winced as Kaylie’s hands were back, rubbing the bony part of the shoulder.
“Sorry,” she breathed, and Izzy nodded for her to go on.
“You’re doing good. He’s just being a wimp.”
I huffed. She had no fucking clue what this felt like. She’d fucking cry if it was her.
“What about the boyfriend?” I asked to distract myself. “He’s still alive?”
“They both are,” Izzy said. “Dom never breaks a promise. I just wish he’d get something in return. It’s been six weeks. He’s out there. Risking his life because he’s too stubborn to let anyone else handle it.”
“He wants revenge,” I said. It wasn’t stubbornness or distrust in his men. It was cold revenge, and I knew damn well how consuming it was.
It led me to Julie’s killer. Made me look him in the eye and put a bullet in his head. No hesitation. No regret. Just icy-cold revenge. A life for a life. It didn’t take the pain away as I had hoped, but it gave me some sort of closure. Dominic needed that, too. Even if it meant taking his brother’s life.
“Wait.” Izzy’s large eyes were wide. “He told you?”
“What Mr. X did to him? Yeah.”
“Wow,” Izzy breathed. “It’s not like my brother to open up.”
Dominic’s words drifted back to me. My question.
“Why do you hate your brother so much?”
A dark look came over his face, hardening his features into chiseled stone. “He destroyed my life.”
“You were in prison?”
His dark eyes locked on me, and brief confusion flickered in those dead orbs.
“Rumors travel fast,” I added with a sneer. Alex told Kaylie. Kaylie told me.
“Yeah,” Dominic confessed. “Xander put me there. He took everything from me. I won’t rest until he’s dead.”
I blinked Izzy’s stunned face back into focus. “We had a moment.” I chuckled, adding with a twisted grin, “And bourbon.”
“I see.” She smiled. “That makes more sense.”
“Don’t do this.” Izzy caught her brother by the front door the following night, and I stood back, watching. “He’s not going to show. It was a lie, and God knows a distraction.”
“No,” I spoke up, taking a few hesitant steps closer to the twins. Dom’s vibes screamed danger. He not only looked lethal dressed all in black, but the energy surrounding him made cold needles prickle my skin. “Alex was telling the truth. I felt it. How hard it was for him to say it. He knew he was selling out his own father, and he did it, anyway.”
A shadow of a smirk twisted Dom’s lips and Izzy groaned.
“It’s been over a month,” she said. “You can’t go on like this. You’re not sleeping. Not eating.”
“Don’t tell me what I can’t do,” he hissed, and Izzy took a step back as he pinned her with those dead eyes. “He’ll come crawling out of the hole he’s hiding in,” he added. “And when he does...”
I hated to agree, but it made sense. After Dom’s men got Alex and the boyfriend to safety, Mr. X would have gone into hiding. He was smart enough to survive as long as he had with so many enemies wanting him dead. He’d lay low until the dust settled. But what he wouldn’t count on was Dom’s unwavering persistence. For him to be waiting with that gun ready to take him down. I couldn’t help but shudder as my eyes drifted to the weapon, creating a visible bulge under his tight leather jacket.
Dom gave us one last look, then nodded toward the guards, who opened the door and let him out. A whoosh of warm air swept over me, bringing a longing to step outside myself. It was still summer, even though it was hard to feel it, trapped inside the stone walls of the twin’s fortress. Dom’s orders to not let me or Marc outside not only frustrated him, it also made me wish to defy those orders and sneak out through some bottom-story window.
Well, I could have, if they weren’t rigged with black bars keeping potential enemies out—and me in. Since we were attacked, there wasn’t one room without a guard melting into the walls somewhere. Sneaking outside for a forest stroll wasn’t only risky, it was impossible.
Izzy cursed under her breath, pivoting to face me. “I want our brother to pay just as much as Dom does, but I hate what he’s doing to himself.”
“He’ll be fine,” I said. “He’s strong.”
Izzy chuckled, but I caught the sorrowful glint in her dark eyes. “You don’t know the half of it.”
“Tell me.”
I walked with Izzy to the dining room, jumping up on one of the bar stools lining a dark marble counter while she prepared drinks. A tall glass with something pink slid in front of me, and I tasted it. “What’s this?”
Izzy grinned. “Cosmopolitan.”
“It’s delicious.”
Izzy took a long sip from her glass, then chuckled as I did the same. “But strong, take it easy with that.”
I rolled my eyes. “I can handle it.”
Izzy lifted a perfectly trimmed brow in challenge. “Really?”
“Really.”
She grinned, but shook her head. “Marc will kill me if I get you drunk.”
I laughed, somehow not doubting it. I was surprised he let me wander off on my own. Since we were attacked, he, too, never left my side, and if I didn’t know him better, I’d say he was only doing his job as a bodyguard. But it was more than that, and I loved him for his protectiveness.
“Where is he, anyway?” Izzy asked. “Not like him not to be glued to your side.”
I snorted. “On the phone. Something with Johnny.”
Wasn’t it always? When Marc said Johnny was a huge trouble magnet, I thought he exaggerated. He didn’t. I took another gulp of the drink, letting the cold sweet flavor caress my throat, then grimaced at the sting it left in its wake.
Izzy smiled at me, then she looked down at her own glass. “You know, I—I only have Dom.” She looked up, meeting my gaze. “He’s the only family I have left. I don’t want to lose him again.”
Her words touched something deep in me, wakening a sorrow I tried to put to sleep. Izzy and I were a lot alike, and I’d lie if I said I didn’t feel her pain.
“I spent eight years alone while he suffered in jail. Eight years!”
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “It must have been hard.”
She nodded. “I mean, I had people around. We moved into this place and renovated it. Me, Max, Roni. But… I think the worst was knowing he was going through hell there, every single day, and there was nothing I could do to help. I felt him. Dying inside.”
I knew prison could be tough. But the way she described it… A shiver rushed down my spine. I didn’t want to know, but I heard myself ask, anyway. “What happened to him?”
“You must have seen his scars?” Izzy said, and I shook my head while my belly twisted into a knot. I saw a few when he was shirtless in the infirmary, but I didn’t think too much about it. Now when she mentioned it… I swallowed the unease.
“Being a Ramirez in a Black River prison is bad.” She swirled the pink liquid in her glass. “I tried to get him transferred to a safer location, but no one listened. No one wanted to. He was nearly killed. Until they realized torturing him was more fun than killing him.”
I kept my eyes on my drink, knowing that if I looked at Izzy, I’d cry too. I didn’t need to see her tears. Her voice betrayed her.
“Eight years. Torture. Rape.” She shook her head. “Dom was full of life. He wanted nothing to do with his brother’s business. He wanted to travel, party, and have fun. I lost him, Kaylie. He’s not the same person anymore.”
I finally looked up, and the tears I held back rolled down my cheeks.
“Why are you crying?” Izzy laughed through her tears. “He’s not your brother.”
I shook my head, wiping the moisture from my eyes. “It’s just so sad,” I whispered. “Poor Dom.”
Izzy choked back a sob, then emptied the drink in one long gulp. “Don’t let him know I told you this,” she said. “Not many know.”
“He told Marc?”
“I bet my life not that many details.”
I could bet mine, too. That wasn’t something you talked about. I almost wished Izzy hadn’t told me. How could I look at him and not see the broken man he tried to hide inside?
I saw through Marc. His stone-cold exterior. Felt the pain he hid underneath. But I never saw beyond Dom’s tattooed skin. Maybe I just didn’t look hard enough, and why would I?
The room swayed as I moved across the stone floor several drinks later, and if Izzy wasn’t holding me, I would have tripped over my own feet. Her arm around my waist was not only for me, though. She needed me just as much to keep her on her legs.
We stumbled into the foyer in time to see Max step through the door. His light brown hair was wet from rain, dripping down his forehead. I did a double-take. The abrupt weather change didn’t surprise me. But that Max got himself wet, did. As far as I knew, he was the driver. The assistant who never put himself in unnecessary danger. He stayed in the car. Made sure there was an escape route. If it was his choice or Dom’s order, I didn’t know. But the man protected his property with his life, and that included Max. If he was out of that car, it could only mean one thing. Trouble.
“Are you okay?” Izzy asked, clearly picking up on the odd event as well.
Max didn’t have a chance to speak, and before Izzy could ask again, Dom stepped into view.
Izzy pulled me to a halt, her body quivering against mine as she stared at her brother. I stared too. Her revelations fresh in mind. He looked so far from a man tortured and raped by a gang of inmates. But maybe that was the point. He made himself strong, not just mentally, but physically, too. He survived by becoming someone no one could beat.
“Dom?” Izzy took a few wobbling steps toward him, dragging me with her.
His dark eyes met hers, and I tried to read them. To understand what he was thinking. A shadow of a bruise adorned his jaw, and one bloodshot, swollen eye narrowed at us gave me all the info I needed.
“It’s done,” he said at last, voice just as cold as his features. “The bastard is dead.”
Izzy and I gasped in unison.
“Aren’t you happy?” she asked, picking up on his closed-off mood. I did too. For someone who waited so long to get his revenge, he didn’t look satisfied. In fact, he looked somewhat… sad.
Dom flashed us a stiff smile. “I will be.”
“Hey—” Izzy took one step closer, and I didn’t understand why she hesitated. Then I remembered her story. His past. His tense posture made me ping-pong my gaze between them, and I was suddenly worried for her. Would he snap? Could he hurt her?
