Chapter 13
856words
Back in the day, Marcus had pinned his charges on some patsy. Barely did any time.
Several of Dominic's old lieutenants stood with him, all running their own operations now.
Jack had made the calls. They'd all shown up.
Marcus's face broke into a wolfish grin when he spotted me. "Liv! Not cool keeping Dom's homecoming to yourself."
I offered a thin smile. "Dom just got settled in."
Someone spotted Dominic in the car and yanked the door open.
"Well, well! The king has arrived and nobody's rolling out the red carpet?"
He made an exaggerated welcoming gesture.
Dominic's face was stone, but he didn't budge.
"Dom, your old pal Tony came all this way, and you won't even step out? That how you treat family now?"
Marcus stepped forward, smiling, and suddenly grabbed Dominic's right arm and pulled hard.
Dominic tumbled out of the car, hitting the pavement with a sickening thud.
"Oh shit, Dom! You okay?"
Marcus crouched down, not bothering to hide his delight.
"My bad. Didn't realize how strong I am. You're not hurt, are you?"
Blood trickled from a scrape on Dominic's forehead as he tried to push himself up.
Marcus pressed him down. "Stay still!"
He turned and barked, "What are you idiots gawking at? Can't you see he's crippled? Help the poor bastard up!"
Each word twisted like a knife.
They hauled him back into his wheelchair. His jaw clenched, nostrils flared, rage barely contained.
Marcus brushed dirt from Dominic's clothes, chuckling. "Let's be civilized here, Dom, what do you say?"
I bit my lip, suddenly annoyed.
Jack squeezed my hand and stepped between Marcus and Dominic.
"Marcus, how about you show some class too? We came to eat, right? Let's sit down."
He grabbed the handles of Dominic's wheelchair and pushed him inside.
The bar was closed to the public tonight. Marcus had set up two tables.
As he passed me, Dominic's eyes burned into mine. "This what you wanted?"
"Yes."
I held his gaze.
This was only the beginning.
Jack tried steering him toward a table, but Marcus blocked the way.
"Who are we to sit at the same table as the great Dominic Hayes? I've got something special for him."
He pointed to the corner where a dog bowl sat, filled with a disgusting mixture of food and garbage.
Dominic's teeth ground together. "Marcus, what the fuck is this?"
"It's dinner. What else would it be?"
Marcus flicked his eyes, and two of his guys yanked Dominic from his chair.
I looked away, nails digging crescents into my palms.
Jack's hand covered mine gently.
They forced Dominic's face toward the bowl as he thrashed and roared.
The more he fought, the louder they laughed.
"Make him eat it! Push his face in!"
"Get your phones out! This is gold! The mighty Dom eating garbage!"
Their laughter cut through me. Cold sweat broke out across my skin.
"If you can't stomach this, just say the word."
Jack's voice was low in my ear.
I met his kind eyes.
This tenderness—Dominic had never once shown me anything like it.
As tears burned my eyes, Dominic's voice cut through the noise: "Olivia!!"
I flinched and turned toward him.
His eyes were red, wet with unshed tears.
I opened my mouth, then closed it. Turned away.
I remembered the night he'd asked me to "entertain" the fat pig Maxwell Pierce.
He'd kissed my hair, saying it was just one uncomfortable night to lock down the South Side property deal.
I'd run that night, only to bump into Dominic at the elevator, some model draped over his arm.
My clothes were torn, bruises already forming on my skin. He'd just frowned.
Pierce had followed me, mocking Dominic for not delivering what he'd promised.
I'd clutched his sleeve, begging with my eyes. He'd shaken me off and laughed.
"Mr. Pierce, if she's playing hard to get, you just haven't named the right price."
The shame that night cut deeper than anything my stepfather had ever done to me.
The next day, he'd stroked my cheek and told me I'd done well.
I'd tried to hold him, to cry against his chest. He'd pushed me away. "I'm busy."
The memories crashed over me. My fists clenched.
Did he understand now?
That desperate feeling when I'd begged him not to leave me behind?
His humiliation now was no worse than what I'd suffered.
I hadn't hated him then. What right did he have to hate me now?
Dominic's shouts grew hoarse, then faded.
Afraid my resolve would crumble, I grabbed Jack's hand and fled the bar.
Outside, fine snow drifted down. I couldn't stop shaking.
Tears fell onto the snowy ground. Jack draped his coat over my shoulders and pulled me close.
"March already and still snowing…"
He spoke softly. "Let's go to Atlanta. You said it's like spring all year round there."
"Okay."
I thought, it's time I found out what real spring feels like.
I couldn't spend my whole life just clearing snow from my doorstep.
