Chapter Thirteen

 

Faith

 

Dominic wouldn’t tell me where we were headed, but he hinted about it being a tropical paradise. That was why I packed all my bathing suits, sun dresses, and floppy hats into one big suitcase. It was going to feel good to get away. The past couple of days were almost like a vacation. Dominic and I stayed hidden in his suite, watching movies, eating Francis’ amazing food, and spending every other free moment in bed. I couldn’t get enough of him.

Someone knocked on the door, and I raced over to it, thinking it was Dominic, but when I opened the door it wasn’t him. “Reed,” I squealed, throwing my arms around his neck. “Long time no talk.” I hadn’t spoken to him since before I saw him in the pit. Dominic had made it clear he didn’t want anyone bugging us over the weekend.

Reed hugged me back. “That’s because you’ve been a little busy.”

My cheeks burned and I could feel them reddening by the second. I let him go and hoped he couldn’t see my embarrassment. “The weekend went by too fast,” was all I could say. I motioned for him to come inside. “What’s going on?”

He reached for a black duffel bag that was on the floor and stepped inside. “With you leaving town with Corsino, I thought I’d go home for a couple of days to see if my brothers need help with anything. Micah and Connor are staying here to keep training with Taylor and Darius.”

I nodded in understanding, but he kept his curious gaze on mine, almost as if he was studying me. “What is it, Reed?” I asked.

He shrugged. “Just curious as to what you think about all of this. I haven’t been able to talk to you about it since you found out.”

“You mean about the pit?”

He nodded. “Does it bother you?”

“Not really,” I lied. “Dominic promised that the fights were fair. No weapons and no fights to the death.” The only thing that bothered me was the clientele like the Cartwrights. Friends to your face, but secretly plotting your demise. It was another world, a world I wasn’t used to. It was obvious Dominic didn’t tell Reed about what Cadoc said to me. If he had, Reed would’ve demanded I leave town. It was a fight I surely wanted to avoid.

Reed sighed. “As long as he keeps it that way, I’ll be fine. The second Corsino steps out of line, I’m coming straight to you. I don’t want you getting caught up.”

That made me smile. “He’s not going to do anything stupid. Trust me.”

By the look on his face, he had doubts. “We’ll see about that.” He glanced down at his watch and picked up his bag. “I should get going. There’s a flight leaving for Wyoming in two hours. I want to see if I can get on it.”

I grabbed his arm and pulled him toward the door. “I’ll walk you down then. I need to grab a coffee from the café.” There was a café connected to the hotel that had the best coffee. With the late nights Dominic and I had been having, I needed the boost. We walked out into the hall and got onto the elevator.

“I know you’re sick of me asking you this, but are you sure you’re going to be okay?” Reed questioned, his voice concerned.

I squeezed his arm. “I’ll be fine, I promise. Will you be back on Saturday?”

A small smile spread across his face. “Of course. I’m not leaving you alone here.” The elevator door opened, and we stepped off. “Just be careful, Faith. Dominic’s playing a dangerous game. You may not see it, but I do.”

“It’ll be okay,” I assured him, hugging him one last time. “Go home and send my love to Layla. She’s probably almost done with her video conference with Philip’s lawyer.” My goal was to be on a plane before word got back to Philip.

Reed squeezed me tight and let me go. “I will. I’m sure she’d love to see you. Maybe you can get Corsino to fly you out there on his private jet.” He winked and lifted his bag onto his shoulders. “Call me if you need me.”

“Of course,” I said, winking back.

I watched him walk out the door before heading over to the café. My nerves were shot. Any minute, I kept waiting for a phone call from Layla. I had no doubt Philip had tried calling me over the past few days, but I had every single one of his numbers blocked. That wouldn’t last long, especially after today.

The morning rush of people had obviously come and gone so I was happy there wasn’t a long line from what I could see. However, before I could even make it through the door, a sharp pain shot up my arm as I was drug to a secluded corner. The breath whooshed out of me as my back slammed against the wall. It all happened so fast I didn’t know what was going on. At least, not until I met my attacker’s eyes. I’d looked into them many times over the years, but never had I seen them so dark and angry.

I sucked in a breath and jerked out of his hold. “So help me God, Philip, that’s the last time you’ll ever put your hands on me.”

He reeked of alcohol and looked as if he’d been through hell. His wrinkled white button-down shirt wasn’t even buttoned properly, and his tie was loose around his neck. He grabbed both my arms again and squeezed, bringing me closer. Out of all the years we’d been together, he’d never used force on me. He held me so tight my hands started to go numb. “You took everything from me, you stupid cunt. First, you sell my things from the condo, and now, I find out that Randall went to the judge and said I falsified papers. This will ruin me.”

I stared right into his eyes, hoping he could see that I was in no way afraid or intimidated by him. “Maybe you should’ve thought about that before you decided to screw me over,” I spat. “Your firm would be nothing if it wasn’t for me.”

He slammed me against the wall again. “You think you’re so high and mighty now that you’re with Corsino, don’t you? You’re nothing but a whore to him.”

“And you’re nothing but a pathetic piece of shit,” I hissed.

There was no one around to help me, not unless I screamed, but I wasn’t about to be the damsel in distress. Philip thought he’d married a push over, but he couldn’t have been more wrong. He burst out laughing and pressed his body to mine, the smell of liquor on his breath sickening me. The way he stared at me and licked his lips infuriated me even more.

“You know what? You’re sexy when you’re mad. How about another round in the sheets for old time’s sake?” The man had lost his mind. Still holding my arms in his vice like grip, he tried to kiss me, but I turned my head and he ended up kissing my neck. My stomach rolled with not only disgust, but a feeling of rage I’d never felt before in my life, not even on the day at court when I found out he’d tricked me. The anger gave me all the strength I needed.

“I tried to warn you.” And with those words, I kneed him as hard as I could in the balls. He doubled over, and then I kicked him on the ass for good measure, fully enjoying the sight of him falling him to the floor. He clutched his stomach and groaned, cursing at me as he suffered. By now, we’d garnered the attention of others, and I breathed a sigh of relief. But then, I got sight of Dominic who looked like he was about to kill and headed straight for us.

Philip glared at me and slowly got to his feet, but he had yet to see Dominic charging up behind him. “What the fuck’s going on here?” Dominic demanded.

Philip jerked around, still hunched over in pain. “This is between me and my wife, cocksucker. Stay the hell out of it.”

Dominic growled. “She’s not your wife anymore. If you don’t take your sorry ass out of here right now, I’ll throw you out myself.”

Philip burst out laughing. “Go ahead and try. I’ll have you put in jail on assault charges within the hour.”

Dominic’s fists were so tight by his sides, I was afraid of what he’d do if he gave in to his anger. Philip stood between us, but I slowly moved out of the way. Dominic’s eyes met mine and I shook my head, hoping he could rein in his rage. “Let’s go,” I murmured softly. “I’m ready to get out of here.”

The muscles in his jaw clenched, but he held out his hand and I reached for it, not realizing the damage that was on my arms. They’d already started to turn purple from Philip’s rough grip.

“Dominic,” I warned.

It was no use. He charged right over to Philip and punched him so hard I heard something crack. People rushed over to see what was going on, but Dominic didn’t care. He lifted Philip up by his neck and drug him toward the door where Isaiah waited on him. Heart racing, I ran out the door after them to see Dominic toss Philip to the ground. Everyone on the street stopped and stared while some even pulled out their phones to record it.

Philip’s nose had been broken and blood dripped down his face. Dominic bent down and grabbed him by the shirt, snarling in his face. “Don’t you ever lay your hands on Faith again. If you show back up here it’ll be the last thing you ever do. Understand?”

Dominic huffed and didn’t even bother acknowledging the crowd of onlookers as he headed straight to me. Even though he radiated violence, he gently took my hand and led me inside the hotel and straight to the elevators. Once we were inside, he pulled me protectively into his arms.

“Are you all right?” he asked, his voice desperate and full of agony. He let me go and searched over my body. His eyes darkened when he got a good look at my arms. “I could’ve killed him, Faith. Holy fuck, I wanted to and still do.”

I grabbed his arms. “I’m okay, I promise. Philip doesn’t scare me. He caught me by surprise, but I let him have it.”

The elevator doors opened, and we stopped right outside his suite door. Dominic cupped my cheeks and blew out a shaky breath. “I’m just glad you’re okay. Security called and said they thought they saw Philip enter the hotel. When you weren’t in your room, I knew I had to find you.”

His hands slid down to my arms and I frowned as I looked at the purple marks. “Guess I can’t wear my bathing suits wherever we’re going. People will think you abuse me.”

Dominic gently lifted my chin. “Where we’re going is private. You can go naked if you want.”

That made me smile. “I just might.”

He grinned, but then it disappeared. “Before we leave, we need to get you a restraining order against Philip.”

I nodded. “I agree. I’m sure the videos of you beating the shit out of him are already circulating. Knowing Philip, he’ll say it was unprovoked and out of a jealous rage on your part.”

He scoffed. “I’m not worried about that. My concern is for you. You have the bruises on your arms. You could put him in jail for assault.”

I shook my head, even though I really wanted to make Philip’s life miserable. “He’s already going to lose his credibility at the firm. That right there is punishment enough. He’ll have nothing.”

Dominic sighed and placed a gentle kiss on my lips. “All right. If that’s what you want.”

“It is,” I murmured, kissing him again. “Now let’s get this restraining order stuff done so we can leave. I’m ready to get out of here.” I was way past ready to leave.