Chapter 15

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Clear the air? What is there that needs to be cleared up? I gulp as I wait for Dominic to continue, for him to tell me what it is that needs to be cleared up between us about the job he and my brother do.

"Ell." Dominic whispers. "Do you trust me?" His eyes bore into mine as his works sound so frail, he sounds so vulnerable in this very moment and it makes my head clench.

"I... I want to." I tell him truthfully.

He nods, understanding. "I want you to trust that I'd never hurt you, nor would I ever let anyone hurt you." He tells me in a firm voice. His hand leaves mine as it comes up to cup my chin. "Can you at least believe me when I tell you that?" I nod slowly, not knowing what to say to something like that. Dominic nods too, he leans forward and presses his lips to me roughly in the way I love. "Good." He whispers when he pulls back.

"Now will you tell me?" I ask in a quiet voice.

Dominic chuckles lowly. "Of course." He tells me softly. A brief moment passes between us and his features lose all the softness behind them and is suddenly replaced with his usual hardened look I've grown accustomed to. "When Max told you that we work in finance, although that technically is true, we don't work in finance in the capacity that you think we do. We're not accountants or people who handle other peoples money."

"Then what do you do?" I ask confused.

His hand grazes against mine again which I have a feeling he's using as a distraction technique. "We work for a large branch of organised crime, we do illegal things, and we deal with a lot of bad people." He pauses as I gape up at him in disbelief. "I..." He sighs. "I am the head of the Mafia."

"You..." I shake my head. Pulling my hand away from him instinctively. I see the hurt that flashes across his eyes at my action, making me wish I could undo it. But he's a bad man, a man who breaks the law for a living. I've heard stories of the Mafia's, how they hurt and kill people, how they do bad things to anyone who crosses them or goes against them. Would Dominic hurt me if I decided I wanted nothing to do with him after he told me all this? Would Max hurt me?

"Please say something Ell." He pleads with me softly.

I let out a shaky breath. "You work for.... you are the Mafia?" I correct myself and Dominic nods his head. "You hurt people?" Another nod. "You kill people?" Dominic nods without hesitation. I shake my head. "What do you want me to say?" I ask him honestly. "Do you want me to say that I'm ok with all this? Do you want me to tell you it's all ok? What do you want from me Dominic?" I demand with a raised voice.

"Ell..." He trails off as he shakes his head. "I don't want you to say any of that, because I know it won't be the truth if you were to tell me that. I want you to tell me what's going on in your mind, what you're thinking, what you're feeling. Just talk to me."

"Scared. I feel scared." I tell him truthfully. "And betrayed. My brother lied to me, you lied to me!"

"I never once lied to you." He defends himself. "I never once discussed work with you, nor did I ever say that I did what Max had told you we both do."

I shake my head at him in disbelief. "You also never told me the truth, that Max was lying. You went along with his lie. That feels like the same as actually telling the lie."

Dominic hesitantly reaches his hand out to mine, grazing his fingers gently across the back of my hand. "Well then for that I am sorry."

"Tell me why."

"Why what?" He asks confused.

"Why now, why are you now coming clean to me about all this?" I ask with all the confidence I can find.

His eyes drop from mine and he shakes his head. "Something happened, Ell." He tells me softly.

"What has happened?" I ask, unable to keep the worry out of my voice as I begin to feel it gnawing away at me.

"Max," my stomach drops hearing his name, "was called in to handle a minor job. There was supposed to be no risk involved. Just a small job of picking something up from one of our suppliers. We've used these suppliers for years, for years and we've never had any issues with them. But tonight..." He shakes his head as if he still can't wrap his own mind around this. "Something happened, I don't know why, I don't understand it. But Max got caught in the crossfire."

"Crossfire?" I blanch, my mouth suddenly feels like the Sahara.

With his free hand, Dominic rakes his hand over his face. His eyes meet mine and I can see the pain in them, clear as day. "He got shot."

Shot? Max got shot? My brother Max who went to NYU to study finance is in the Mafia, and got shot. I shake my head. This can't be happening. I'm having a nightmare, I must be. This isn't real. This isn't happening. Max wouldn't do this, he would be a part of something like this. Kind and generous Max wouldn't get caught up in something like this. 

"Ell." Dominic whispers to me softly, bringing my attention back to him.

"This is your fault!" I want to scream at him. "I don't know how you managed to rope my brother into all of this, but it's all your fault! He got shot because of you!" I backed away from him, scrambling out of the bed to put distance between us. "This is all because of you!" I finally screamed at him. Screaming feels so good right now. 

Dominic raises his hands as he walks around the bed, approaching me as if I'm some unpredictable wild animal. "Ell, listen to me..."

"Listen to you?" I laugh. "Why would I listen to you, I'll just get hurt like Max did!"

His hands drop and so does his face. "I would never hurt you Ell, I told you that. And I sure as hell would never let you get hurt like Max did." He tells me firmly.

I shake my head at him. "How could I ever believe that? You're... you're..."

"Go on, say it. You think I'm a monster, you think I'm a horrible person."




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