Page 26 of Dominance

Which is funny, because he doesn’t very often when we’re all together. Mostly because Ciro driving means Ciro’s occupied. I swear the kid’s ADHD. Not that we ever got him diagnosed.

“You should have seen that coming.”

“I did!”

“Don’t even try to say you let me win.” I point one finger at him accusingly before hopping up and crossing to my brothers. I take a moment to hug each of them tightly. “You look good.”

“I always look good, Nonna! You look like you always do too, tired, worried. I’d have thought having a fiancée would shake you out of your grandmotherly ways.”

“This grandma could kick your ass.”

“Shall we?” Ero tips his head toward the door.

“Not today. Being seen talking here is one thing. I don’t want to give away the safehouse if Dom’s people are tracking us.”

Even if they are, at this distance, there’s no way they’ll be able to hear. But just to be safe, I head out to the waterside, kicking on an old generator that basically only makes noise anymore.

“First, tell me how things went. We’ll talk about…other stuff in a bit.” I wave my hand noncommittally.

“Typical. Ero got sent to Amsterdam, the lucky bastard.”

“Not for fun.”

“And you got it?” I raise my eyebrows.

“Yep. Broke into the safe, got the bonds…” Fiero leaves it there, just in case, tilting his head in smooth affirmation to let me know he succeeded at his other mission too. Whatever we don’t have to say are things unsaid and unheard. And every mission Dom sends them on that I can add to benefits us.

In this case, a hack of several people that assisted Dom while he was MIA the past few years from one of Dom’s lawyers in the EU. Ero is a genius when it comes to that stuff. Never leaves a trace.

“Good. DV will be pleased.”

“Who gives a shit if he’s pleased?” Ciro scoffs, shaking his head and popping the top off a small bottle he produced out of nowhere. “Sip?”

“Yeah, sure.” I take a nip of the rum, suppressing a shiver. Still a little pickled from last night. “And we should be. The happier he is, the less likely he is to keep sending the two of you all over the world.”

“What’s the difference? I like staying out and about. Except when he sends me to Thailand. Fucking. Sweatbox.”

“And absolutely a hotspot for you to go wild,” I snicker. I see him grin and start to elaborate but I hold up my hand. “There will be time for inappropriate stories later. Thing is, I would like to have both of you here to have my back. And the reason I don’t like you so far afield is that…I worry. Dom could so easily double-cross you, have you taken out on a mission. And I wouldn’t know for days, weeks.”

“Not likely,” Fiero argues, twisting his lips in a rare show of criticism.

“Yeah, I mean, who else can do what we do?” Ciro wags his eyebrows.

“Good point. I just…”

“It’s okay to say you miss us, bro.” Ciro grins, taking a swig and knuckling my arm.

All I can do is grimace. Because he’s not wrong.

It was always the four of us.

And now it’s just me. Stuck dealing with an adversary that I am so not equipped to handle. Surrounded by Dom’s people on all sides. Kept close, but blind to so many things.

“You’re doing what needs to be done,” Ero reassures me.

“Yeah, well. I don’t like a bit of it. This arranged marriage, the bullshit street work collecting taxes.”

“Whydidyou agree to marry her?” Ciro leans back against the wall. “Not that I blame you for caving, she’s stunning.”

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