Page 74 of Hard Wired

Chapter Twenty-Two

Dominic had thought Sylvie riding his cock by moonlight had been pretty damned spectacular. But Sylvie half asleep in his bed while morning sun streamed through the windows? Breathtaking.

He reached for her hand and brought it to his mouth, pressing a kiss to her knuckles.

She yawned. “What time is it?”

It was late enough that he didn’t want to tell her. She’d rush off. “Around breakfast. We can stay here a while longer.”

“If you say so.” She put her arms around his neck and cuddled against him. Her eyes closed like she was dozing.

He pretended that she was just a girl he liked, and that he was just a guy. A guy who didn’t have a stupid fucking ankle monitor attached to his leg.

She had called him Nic. He’d never asked another woman to call him that, not even his girlfriends. It felt intimate. Not in a sexual way, but deeper than that. More true. It was a name only people who cared about him had ever used.

Assuming Sylvie cared about him. He was fairly sure she did, and that was pretty amazing. It felt like winning the lottery on his birthday, nothing he’d ever expected or thought he deserved.

Some of his exes had called him “Dom” as a nickname, thinking he’d like it. That kind of a name went with the sex dungeon image, which Sylvie had laughed at because it was so ridiculous. He didn’t have any problem with other people getting kinky. More power to them. But it just wasn’t his thing. It didn’t fit him, like clothes that belonged to somebody else.

Sylvie saw that. She saw him.

He had no idea what he was going to do to fix the mess he was in. But he liked to think Sylvie would stick around through the hard parts and then... What? He couldn’t even imagine a life past the current crisis. His life had always been the Syndicate. But whatever it looked like, he wanted Sylvie to be there.

“What are you going to tell Max?” Dominic asked.

He didn’t want to inject reality into the little fairytale they had going this morning. But it was getting late, and they’d have to leave the refuge of his bed before long.

“I need to explain about the flash drive Sandford gave you, and what he expected you to do with it. But there’s something I need to know.” She lay on her side to face him. “Are you planning to go back to the Syndicate?”

He chewed the inside of his lip.

“Planning on it? No.”

“Dominic, I’m going to take down those Russian hackers, but the endgame is going after your uncle and the Syndicate itself. Max and I aren’t working with law enforcement yet, but we will if we have to. And I’m going to tell Lana what Sandford’s been up to. I’m not keeping any secrets for you.”

“I know. I expected that.”

“But you can’t play both sides. I can’t…” Sylvie sat up against the pillows, grabbing the sheet to cover herself. “I can’t let how I feel about you cloud my judgment on this. The only way I can help you is if I know you won’t interfere.”

“How do you feel about me?”

Her eyes slid over to meet his. “Like I’d do pretty much anything to make sure you’re safe. That’s what scares me.”

Dominic rested his head against her shoulder. She’d asked him serious questions, and he owed her serious answers.

Taking down the Syndicate… Every time that idea had crossed his mind before, he’d dismissed it. But maybe he’d been holding onto the idea of the Crane “family business” more than anything else. The Cranes hadn’t been a real family since he was a kid. So there was nothing real for him to hold onto at all.

Dominic was afraid his older brother wouldn’t forgive him for betraying the Syndicate, but what stake did Warren have in the business at this point? Once Warren got out of prison, Charles would probably put a hit on him. It might even start another war.

Dominic’s father barely knew his own name because of the dementia. His mom had given up on their old life years ago. And Raymond was never going to get started on that path in the first place.

Sylvie had said she’d do anything to keep him safe. Had anyone ever felt something like that for him before? He doubted it. Not even Warren.

“We agreed last night that we’ll trust each other,” he said. “I meant it. I’m going to keep you safe, too. You and Raymond. Even if I have to destroy the Syndicate to do it.”

“Does that mean testifying against them, like Lana wants?”

Nausea welled up in his throat, but he only hesitated a moment. “If that’s what it takes, I will. I guess I’ll need to reconsider that safe house she offered.”

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