Page 35 of Sinner's Vows

As he nudges me to walk inside, I cup my hands to my face. I need to do something to stall the emotions wrecking me from the inside out and calm the panic that rises in me every time I think back of the weeks I lost, forgotten and dying. And my team… I can’t tell Dominic anything—he’ll see right through my words, whether they’re truth or lies.

His eyes are on me, reading me like a book.

“Fuck it, Ariana,” he says softly as he gently twists me into his arms. “I know you’re not ready to talk, sweetheart, but I justwish…fuck it, I just wish I can reverse everything he’s done to you.”

He feels so safe, his arms a haven, and I press deeper into his chest, letting the fear and pain flow out of me. For that, we’d have to go back so many years… My tears wet his shirt as he softly rubs my back, letting me cry it out. Why does it feel as if I’ve only started?

“Do you always cry this softly?” he murmurs against my ear, almost reverently as if he doesn’t want to disturb the quiet of my pain, his lips soft and warm and sparking goosebumps down my neck.

“Force of habit,” I say as I try to push free, ashamed I’m falling apart in front of him.

“Stay put,” he says as he holds me close. “It’s okay. It’s just your body dealing with what it’s gone through.”

Something in his tone, his voice, or just his comforting warm scent where I’m pressed to his torso, makes me cave in. My head tells me to woman-up, to be stronger than this, but every other part of me only wants to stay put because it’s finally safe to let go.

I lean against him, against his chest that’s akin to a wall of warm comfort like I’ve never known before, allowing his hands to roam over my back, caressing me in rhythmic strokes and circles that are more than calming. They seem to be healing in a way. In me, that thing I’ve suppressed for twelve long years turns in its sleep.

No.

No-no.

Not this man.

I can’t.

As if he feels the turmoil in me, he stops, and with a finger on my chin, tilts my face up so I’m forced to look at him.

“We haven’t checked with you,” he says as he runs a thumb along my tearstained cheek in a gesture so tender, more tearscome out of nowhere. “Is there anybody you need to call to let them know where you are? Someone you trust and want to tell you’re safe?”

I blink, then peel away from his body to wipe at my face with both hands.Safeis so objective and subjective at the same time. Safe for me, or safe for them? Now he offers me the one thing I clung to those weeks in Franco’s dungeon. If only I could get hold of my team, they would come for me. Dominic hands me the opportunity on a platter, but if I do, he’d surely track the number, figure out exactly who I am, and kill me just as Franco had planned to.

Only, he’ll be kinder and give me a quick, quiet bullet to the head. Dominic doesn’t seem like the type who likes someone to suffer.

Bruno twitches his ears where he’s been lying close on the floor and lifts his head. Far off in the house, the front door opens and shuts. Bruno gets up, but not in haste. Now a man is calling forNicky, and with that, Bruno slumps back to the floor. It’s clear the dog knows the voice and chooses to stay with us.

Dominic continues to stare at me, not distracted at all. I have hesitated too long in my answer, and he is going to read between the lines.

“It’s only my brother, Luca,” he says when I still say nothing. “We’ve got some work to wrap up here so you’re going to be alone for a bit.”

“Okay.” I don’t want to be alone. Not when he could be here, helping me deal with this tailspin I’m in. With a swallow and a shake of my head, I tell him my truth. “I’ve been gone so long now, they’ll assume I’m dead.”

“And you don’t want to?—”

“No. It will only put other people in danger.”

19

DOMINIC

With a sigh, I leave Ariana standing in the middle of the small guest room. Those words implied so many things, but I don’t have time to digest them now. I still have shit to deal with today, and the time has come.

I close the door and activate the electronic lock with my phone. It whirrs, and with a clink, secures the room. I’m not a fan of keeping her contained, but after this morning, I’m not taking any chances. I mean…why did she want to run in the first place? Weren’t we being nice? And where did she hope to go?

I make my way to the foyer where Luca is rolling on his heels.

“For a minute I thought you weren’t here,” he says in greeting.

“Just contained our rogue guest,” I huff as I walk over to the stack of DNA tests on a console.

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