Chapter Twenty-Two

 

Faith

 

Dominic’s estate was like a castle you’d see in a fairytale. It was where he and Layla grew up. There were even hidden passageways all throughout the house. Layla had used them to sneak out when she was younger. I’d always dreamt of having a house like theirs with a ton of land and horses. But growing up on the beach was enough for me. I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.

Dominic’s land stretched as far as you could see. The driveway alone was about a quarter mile. He had guest houses where Francis and some of his other employees used to live. With his father being gone, Dominic had let everyone go except for Francis. He walked me through the house, but we stayed far away from his father’s rooms. It was as if there was a chill in the air when you got close. I could see why Dominic never wanted to visit. It was a good thing his rooms were on the opposite side of the house.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you cook anything,” I teased, watching Dominic salt and pepper our steaks. It was pretty damn sexy seeing him shirtless with only a pair of shorts on. I missed the way he was in Aruba. Even though we were in a place that had a ton of bad memories, there was still a level of ease about him I’d never seen while in the city.

Chuckling, he glanced at me over his shoulder and winked. “Believe it or not, I’m a master on the grill.”

Gazing at him skeptically, I chopped up the rest of the carrots and tossed them in the salad bowl. “Oh yeah? I thought Francis did all of your cooking.”

Dominic picked up the plate of steaks and faced me. “You’ll see.” He winked again and took the steaks outside to the grill.

Grabbing my phone, I called Philip again for the fiftieth time. During the night while Dominic slept, I snuck away to another room to call him. I thought for sure he’d answer eventually, but nothing. I was afraid Cadoc had already gotten to him. If Philip sold his half, I was going to kill him. When he didn’t answer, I slammed my phone down on the counter. Just then, a text came in from Layla.

Layla: Hey! Have you tried the secret passageways out yet?

I had, but I didn’t have time to talk about that. Instead of texting, I called her back. “Hey,” she answered. “What’s up?”

I peeked out the window at Dominic who was putting the steaks on the grill. “I can’t get a hold of Philip,” I huffed. “I’ve literally called fifty times.”

Layla sighed. “Seriously? What the hell?”

“I know.”

“Where’s my brother?” she asked quickly.

Glancing out the window, he was still by the grill. “Cooking our steaks. Why?”

“Call Reed. He’ll be able to track down Philip. Tell him what’s going on. And I mean everything that’s going on. If Cartwright does anything remotely scandalous, they can bust his ass. It’ll get him away from you and the firm will be safe.”

She had a point, a very good one at that. My only problem was telling Reed, and then Dominic finding out. They’d never forgive me for going behind their backs. Also, Dominic would blame Reed because it was under his watch that I slipped away to meet Cadoc in the first place.

“Fine,” I gave in, “I’ll call Reed. He’s going to be so pissed at me.”

She snorted. “Serves you right. Never in my right mind would I have ever met any of the Cartwrights by myself.”

It was stupid and I was thankful nothing had physically happened to me. Just the thought sent chills down my spine. “All right, if I’m going to call Reed, I need to do it now. Don’t know how much time I have.” Dominic was on his phone, sitting at one of the patio tables. My back dripped with sweat. With everything going on it was going to give me a heart attack.

“Call me back if you have time,” Layla ordered.

We hung up and I immediately called Reed. The phone rang a couple of times and my impatience grew. “Hey,” he answered after another ring.

“Oh, thank God,” I gasped. “I don’t have a lot of time.”

“What’s wrong?”

I squeezed my eyes shut. “Whatever you do, don’t get mad at me. You can save all of that for later. Right now, I need your help.”

“Fuck me,” he grumbled. “Tell me everything.”

Opening my eyes, I looked out the window and Dominic was still out there. “First off, I need you to find Philip. I’ve been trying to call him, but he won’t answer.”

He growled. “Why the hell are you trying to talk to him?”

Here we go. “Because Cadoc wants to buy out his half of the firm,” I explained, “If Philip sells, I’ll be stuck dealing with the Cartwrights. I refuse to let that family sabotage what I spent years building.”

“Hold on,” Reed snapped, “how do you know all of this? That’s the question I want to know.”

Groaning, I leaned back against the kitchen counter. “Cadoc contacted me and asked if I’d work with his nephew if they were to buy out Philip’s half.”

Reed scoffed. “What the fuck? He actually called you?”

“Yes,” I said, figuring it was best to leave it at that. He didn’t need to know that I really met Cadoc in person. I could save that for a later time. “And when I told him no, he said I’d made a big mistake, that what happened next would be my fault.”

“My God, Faith. This is some serious shit.”

My eyes burned. “I know. Please tell me you can help me.”

He sighed. “I’ll find Philip, don’t worry. In the meantime, don’t talk to the fucking Cartwrights.”

“I won’t,” I agreed, feeling relieved. I’d planned on staying the hell away from them.

“They won’t get your firm,” Reed promised. “One way or another, they’ll get taken down before that happens.”

“Thanks, Reed. You have no idea how much I appreciate this.”

He cleared his throat. “I’m assuming this is to stay between us?”

“Yes,” I gasped. “At least for now.”

“All right,” he replied, sounding not too happy. “I’ll call you as soon as I find out something.” We hung up and it felt like all the weight had been lifted off my shoulders. Reed would be able to find him; I had no doubt. At least, I hoped and prayed he could.

 

***

 

“Faith, you okay?” Dominic asked.

He squeezed my hand and I squeezed back. “Of course,” I said, peering up at him. “It’s a beautiful Monday afternoon and we’re out for a walk. What could be more perfect than that?” The realtor had come by and taken all the pictures they needed to put the estate up for sale. I had no doubt it’d be sold within the week. We were about to leave the place for good, but Dominic wanted to take one last walk around the house. He’d planned on keeping The Chateaux Hotel but shutting down the pit. It was the best news I’d heard all day.

He stared at me as if he could see right through me. “You just seem a little distracted.”

I shook my head. “Nope. I’m fine,” I lied, hoping he’d believe me. The night came and went without a single word from Reed. That wasn’t a good sign. If Philip hadn’t been found, my first guess was that the Cartwrights had him locked up somewhere until he agreed to sell his half of the practice. I’d seen my fair share of mafia movies. None of them ended well for the mobster’s victims.

“We should probably talk about what we’re going to do when we go to Wyoming,” Dominic said, jerking me out of my thoughts.

“About what?” I asked, trying not to imagine Philip’s ears being cut off as we spoke. As much as I hated the man, I didn’t wish anything like that on him.

Dominic stepped in front of me. “What’s going on, Faith? You’ve been acting strange all day.”

Plastering on a smile, I wrapped my arms around his neck. “I’m sorry. My mind’s been on the firm. I need to figure out what to do with it before we go.”

A relieved look passed across his face. “What do you want to do with it?”

As long as Cadoc didn’t get a part of it, I wouldn’t mind seeing it go for good. “I want to buy Philip out and shut it down,” I said. “I don’t see it working any other way.”

Dominic smiled. “That’s an easy fix. We’ll buy him out.”

I shook my head. “Philip’s a dick. He won’t sell to us out of spite.”

His grin widened. “Not if we offer triple what it’s worth. He’s got a price, Faith. He’ll sell to us.” That was if Cadoc hadn’t gotten to him first. When I didn’t reply, he pulled me in tighter. “That’s the last thing you need to be worried about right now.” If he only knew. “What we need to discuss is Wyoming. We’ve been living together here, but I didn’t know if that’s what you wanted out there.”

Even though we’d only been together a short time, I couldn’t imagine it any other way. Lifting up on my toes, I pressed my lips to his. “What do you want?” His grip around my waist tightened. There was a possessively raw look in his eyes that made me shiver. No one had ever looked at me like that and I loved it.

Dominic deepened the kiss. “I want you with me, Faith. It’s what I’ve always wanted.”

My body trembled with excitement. “Looks like we’ll be house hunting tonight. The closer to Layla, the better.”

He groaned, but kept a smile on his face. “Not too close to her. You forget, she is my younger sister. There’s only so much I can handle.”

That made me laugh. “Deal. How soon do you want to move?”

His eyes grew serious. “As soon as you want. I’m not going to schedule any more fights. Marco and Luca are free and Micah and Connor can go back to their lives.”

It all sounded so simple, but yet, complicated at the same time. Our walk had come to an end, and Dominic took one last look around as he opened the passenger’s side door for me. “I’m going to have to think of something to occupy my time when we move.”

I snickered. “I can think of a few things.”

He looked down at me and bit his lip. “Oh yeah? How about when we get back to the hotel you show me what you had in mind.”

Sliding my hand down his chest to his groin, I rubbed him gently. He hardened almost instantly and it turned me on. “Glad to. Although I don’t know if I can keep my hands to myself until then.”

Chuckling, he grabbed my hand and shut the car door. “Fuck that.”

He lifted me over his shoulders and I burst out laughing. “Oh my God, what are you doing?” I shrieked.

“We’re taking care of business now.” He slapped my ass and squeezed the back of my thigh. “You shouldn’t have gotten me worked up.”

I was certainly glad I did. I needed something to keep my mind off of everything.