Page 17 of Dominance

Footsteps.

Then a snort that has my face burning hot in a flash.

“Gloria. You need a hand?” Adriano asks, laughter in his voice.

3

ADRIANO

After the most awkward breakfast of my life, I hop in my Mercedes, feeling the drag of last night’s drinking like a fist to my face.

But it’s still better than having to sit in a room with Dom and my fiancée and pretend I’m not supremely irritated. Not to mention the fact that I had to sleep at Dom’s house last night.

That’s what I get for drinking.

And to be fair, my real intention was to pursue Gloria when I got there and let her have it after embarrassing me. But I passed out on the ride there and woke up in a guest bedroom, hungover as shit.

All that said, seeing Gloria at breakfast still got me riled up.

She’s got a way of turning things around in my head. I can’t make sense of her.

One minute she’s sweet, smart.

The next she’s razor sharp and cutting deep.

And still after that, she about-faces and acts like her father.

That, I am convinced, is for his benefit, to show him she has what it takes to survive in this life.

Except that I’m still not even sure how much she knows about everything we do. I mean, she has to, right?

Managing money, assets, legal, for a crime boss would have so many red flags built in.

Unless Dom was extremely careful to keep her in the dark.

So that’s why my plans for the day formed while Gloria and Dom chatted about the early heat rolling in for the summer and what that might mean for the wedding in a few months.

A roundabout drive and a few swigs from my flask later, I’m feeling slightly more lucid and a lot less frustrated, trotting up the steps to the office. Glancing around, I let myself in the side door.

I have every right to be here, even on a day off, but I’d rather not attract undue attention.

Because I want to continue my search through the backlogs.

Somewhere, there is evidence of what Dom is up to.

More than that, though, I’m looking for…something else.

First, I need to make sure that the records haven’t been altered to incriminate my brothers and I. Turn us into scapegoats if Dom has to cut and run.

We were always supremely careful to keep things looking above board.

But there are files, copies hidden somewhere that hold the dirt on all of the leaders that owe us. The politicians that needed favors. Dirty cops. Celebrities who wanted the hottest new drugs for their parties.

And Alessandro and I kept them stashed among the rest of the books.

Encoded.

I have to hope that they made their way here to this new office when Dom moved our holdings.

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