Chapter Eighteen

 

Dominic

Faith and I had stayed in Virginia a lot longer than expected. She wanted to see her parents again and then we got caught up in another poker game. It was a good time, and it killed me having to take her away from them, but I had no choice. In return, I promised Faith that she could use my jet anytime she wanted to visit her parents.

We’d arrived back in New York with only an hour to spare before the fights. The second we landed my phone beeped nonstop with missed messages and calls from Marco.

“Aren’t you going to call him back?” Faith asked as we stepped into the elevator to head up to my suite.

My phone started to ring again. “Nope. I’m pretty sure we’re going to see him the second we get off this elevator. Isaiah sent a text saying that he and Marco were waiting for us.” I didn’t want to risk her hearing what he had to say, especially anything concerning Cadoc Cartwright.

The elevator opened and she stepped out first. “What about Reed, Micah and Connor?”

About that time, Isaiah opened my suite door before we could get there. “Reed and Micah will be up in about ten minutes. Your uncle is already in the elevator and Connor is down in the pit warming up with Taylor.”

“Good,” I said, following Faith into my suite. She headed straight to the bedroom but I noticed a letter on the kitchen counter in Francis’ handwriting. I picked it up and walked down the hallway to the bedroom, setting our bags on the bed. “As soon as the fights are done tonight, I’ll be right back up here.”

She nodded and glanced down at the letter. “What’s that?”

I shrugged. “Don’t know. It’s from Francis.” I opened the letter and smiled as I read it. “I think it’s for you.”

I handed her the paper and she slapped a hand over her chest. “I swear that man knows the way to my heart.”

“Hey,” I said, grabbing her around the waist. “What about me?” I tickled her as we fell onto the bed, and refused to let her go. She laughed so hard she got the hiccups. Chuckling, I let her go.

She stood and smacked me on the arm. “Every man should know that chocolate is the way to any woman’s heart.” In the letter, Francis had written that he’d left her some of his chocolate mousse. He used to do the same for my sister when she lived at the hotel.

I pulled her back down onto the bed. “I’ll remember that next time.”

Down the hall I could hear Marco’s voice. Faith sat back up and reached for her bag. “You have to go, don’t you?”

With a heavy sigh, I sat up and straightened my tie. “Probably. I need to see what all Marco wanted.”

She kissed me and smiled. “Go. I’ll see you later tonight. I’m going to rinse off in the shower and change clothes before Reed gets here.” She fumbled in her bag. “Have you told him that he’s staying with me?”

I stood. “No, but I’m sure he’ll have questions,” I said, knowing there was a hint of annoyance in my voice.

Faith looked up at me, her gaze narrowed. “Why do you say it like that?”

Huffing, I threw my hands in the air. “Reed is Reed, Faith. His concern is for you and you only. The man may be part of my family now, but he won’t hesitate to take you away from me.”

She burst out laughing. “I don’t think so. I’m not going anywhere.”

“What if I asked you to?” I said in all seriousness.

Her smile faded and she stared at me, her eyes searching mine. “Do you think it’ll come to that?”

Taking her hand, I pulled her in close. “I don’t know,” I lied, already knowing it would. “If it does, I need to know you’re safe.”

She waved me off. “Let’s just hope it doesn’t. I don’t want to think about that right now.”

Neither did I, but it was about to happen. All I wanted was a few more days with her. “In the meantime,” I began, “can we tell Reed you weren’t feeling well?”

Her lips pulled back. “I can do that.” She kissed me and let me go. “I’m getting in the shower. It’s a shame you can’t join me.” Walking backwards, she slowly took off her clothes and my dick grew so fucking hard at the sight of her. Memories of our last shower together flooded my mind. She giggled when she noticed what she’d done to me.

“You better be ready for me tonight when I get back,” I claimed, shifting my cock to the side.

She stepped into the bathroom and smiled. “Oh, don’t worry … I will be.”

Once the door shut, I took a few deep breaths and waited for my dick to go down before leaving the room. I’d never been so turned on by a woman in my life. Around her I was a walking hard on. We’d been together nonstop for days and I still hadn’t gotten enough of her.

As soon as I was ready, I walked out of the bedroom to the living room. Isaiah stood by the front door while Marco waited for me with an impatient look on his face, holding a glass of whiskey in his hands. “Phone broken?” he snapped.

I glared at him. “I didn’t want Faith hearing anything about Cartwright.”

Marco huffed and tossed back the last of his liquor. “Speaking of that son of bitch, he met with that woman again.” He stormed over and showed me his phone. “Her face is still covered, but I got a picture of her.”

There was a black scarf over her head, but I could see strands of her red hair underneath. I didn’t recognize her either. “Save that for now. Maybe we’ll see her again.”

Marco nodded and slipped his phone away. “Is Faith coming tonight?”

I walked over to the bar and poured me a glass of bourbon. “I told her I didn’t think it was a good idea. The farther I can keep her away from Cadoc, the better.” I turned to face him. “I’m sending her away next week before the meeting. If he wants to bring her into the middle of our war, I’ll have no choice but to do what has to be done.”

Marco’s eyes widened. “And what is that?”

I could feel the rage burning in my gut. “He needs to go.” Saluting him with my glass, I lifted it to my lips and let the smooth, amber liquid slide down my throat. I poured me a little more and met his gaze. “I’m going to kill him.”

Marco didn’t approve by the look on his face, and I honestly didn’t give a shit. I was sick of the Cartwrights using the people I loved to get to me. If he wanted the city’s power, he needed to come after me and me alone.

Isaiah cleared his throat. “Reed and Micah are here.” He opened the door and they walked in.

Dressed in jeans and a black tank top that showed off his tattoos, Micah had the biggest smile on his face. “We’re going to kick some ass tonight. Taylor’s on fire.”

He walked down and I shook his hand. “Good. We got a quarter mil riding on this fight. Have you seen the Rossi fighter yet?”

Micah nodded. “He’s a good one, but we’re better. I say it’ll be over in the first round. Connor and Luca are with Taylor right now. I told them I’d be right back.”

I slapped him on the shoulder. “That’s what I like to hear. Thanks for helping out. I’ll be down there in a few minutes.”

Micah turned on his heel and hurried out the door. Out of him, Reed, and Connor, Micah was the one who surprised me the most. He was made for my kind of world. There was a certain level of darkness that people like me had in them and Micah had it, hidden underneath that not giving a shit demeanor of his.

Reed glanced around the room. “Where’s Faith?”

Drinking the last of my bourbon, I quickly glanced over at Marco and set my glass on the coffee table. “That’s what I want to talk to you about. Faith’s not coming tonight.”

“Why not?” he asked.

“She’s not feeling well,” I lied. “I was wondering if you could stay with her.”

He nodded. “Of course. Is she okay?”

“She’s fine,” I assured him. “She’ll be out in a minute.” I looked down at my watch and sighed.

Marco stepped up to my side. “We have to go. It’s almost time.”

I placed a hand on Reed’s shoulder. “Keep her safe.”

He stared right into my eyes. “Always.”

Marco and I left the suite with Isaiah right behind us. Once we were in the elevator, I looked at them both. “Keep an eye on the Cartwrights tonight, especially Cadoc.”

They both nodded. When we arrived on the basement floor, the elevator opened and the bouncer stepped out of the way so we could pass through the red door to the pit. The place was packed. As I looked around, I saw members of all the different mafia families in the city, except one. Cadoc Cartwright was nowhere to be seen.