Chapter 2
607words
When I pushed open the door to the private room, I found a girl beside him, mascara running down her cheeks.
Dominic was gently wiping her tears away, his voice softer than I'd heard in months.
"Nobody's gonna mess with you while I'm around, sweetheart. C'mon, don't cry—you'll ruin that pretty face."
Something bitter twisted in my gut, but my face stayed perfectly blank.
I jangled the car keys. "Ready to roll?"
Dominic patted the girl's head. "Be a good girl. I'll get you home safe."
The girl clutched his sleeve, eyes wide and vulnerable.
"Dom," she whispered, "will you come inside with me?"
"Of course I will."
Watching Dominic's gentle expression, I felt myself drifting into memories.
It had been ages since he'd looked at me with such tenderness.
The last time he'd spoken to me that way, I was still a teenager with fresh bruises.
My father died when I was young. Mom, desperate for love, shacked up with a monster.
The bastard was a junkie who pimped my mother out to feed his habit.
Later, Mom got arrested and stupidly took the fall for him. She rotted in prison while he walked free.
When Mom's nightmare ended, mine began.
When I refused to "earn my keep," he'd beat me until I couldn't stand.
One night, high out of his mind, he chased me through the house, fists flying, all the way into the street.
I collapsed in the middle of the road, right in front of a sleek black sedan.
The man who stepped out was Dominic Hayes.
He looked at my bloody, battered body and clicked his tongue.
"Beating women?" he'd said. "What a fucking hero you are."
He scooped me up and tossed some cash at the scumbag.
A week later, the scumbag was found dead from an overdose in his shitty apartment.
I knew Dominic had arranged it.
Back then, he'd stroked my hair so gently, kissed my scabbed wounds.
The pain in his voice had seemed so real: "Nobody's ever gonna hurt you again, Liv. I promise."
And damn if he hadn't kept that promise.
Since I'd been with him, no one had dared lay a finger on me.
A blaring horn yanked me back to reality—the light had been green for ages.
I hit the gas, catching another glimpse of Dominic and the girl in the rearview.
She was nestled against his shoulder while he dozed with his eyes closed. My throat closed up, but I swallowed the feeling down.
He hadn't taken the passenger seat beside me but had slid in back with the girl. Message received, loud and clear.
Right now, to him, I was nothing but his chauffeur.
He had a professional driver on payroll, but he loved putting me in my place like this.
A silent reminder of exactly where I stood.
When we reached her place, she clung to Dominic like a drowning woman to driftwood.
Only after he promised to visit tomorrow did she finally climb out.
Before leaving, she turned to me. "Sorry for the trouble, miss."
I kept my face blank. "I came for Dom."
"Well, thanks anyway."
She squeezed Dominic's hand and bounced out of the car, all smiles now.
I didn't start driving right away, just watched her silhouette disappear into the building.
"Client's daughter. Some assholes were getting her drunk, trying to take advantage. You know how I feel about men who prey on women."
Dominic's tone was flat.
I put the car in drive. "You could've called Jack."
"But I wanted to see you."
