Page 20

Dominic

G wendolyn!” I yell harshly as she stops in her tracks. I’ve watched her all night, forcing myself to stay calm and out of the way. There’s too much riding on the line for me to screw this up by interfering. But my blood is running hot. I can’t just let her get into a truck with these two fucks when she can barely walk.

Bash and Trey burst out the door behind me. Gwen turns, her glare slicing through me. Right now, she thinks she hates me. Hell, I hate myself for putting her through this. But it has to be done until I can do what needs to be done. She exchanges a look with Maddie before turning back toward the truck.

“So, help me God, Gwen, if you don’t get your ass over here, you won’t like what happens next.” She whirls around, anger blazing in her eyes. The douchebag with the keys glances between us. “Who the fuck is this guy?” he asks as his buddy steps around the truck, still holding Maddie’s hand.

Gwen smirks drunkenly. “No one to worry about. Let’s go.” I pull my .45 from the waistband of my dress pants and squeeze the trigger. A deafening bang shatters the night as the bullet rips through the oversized mud tire. They all duck, hands flying to their ears. I cock the gun again, this time aiming at the asshole standing next to Gwen. “The next shot will be this fucker’s brains splattered all over this piece-of-shit Chevy.” “What the actual fuck, Dominic? Have you lost your fucking mind?” Gwen screams, her voice raw with fury. Maddie sobs beside her.

I keep my sights locked on the bastard who thought he could take my girl home. Gwen’s heels click sharply on the pavement as she storms toward me, her palm cracking hard against my face. My jaw twitches from the sting, but I don’t flinch. The two fuckboys scramble into the truck and peel out of the parking lot.

Trey leans against the wall while Bash strides toward Maddie, scooping her up like she weighs nothing. She buries her face in his chest, shaking with tears. Gwen stands in front of me, her chest rising and falling, her blue eyes shining with unshed tears.

Bash carries Maddie inside, leaving us alone. “You don’t fucking want me, Dom. So why are you here? Why are you messing up my plans?” she yells, her voice breaking. She’s trying to hold back the tears, but they’re winning. “You expect me to let you go with that fucker? You can barely stand on your own.” My voice rises with my anger.

“So, fucking what? You don’t want me. He wanted me!” she screams, tears streaming down her cheeks. “He wanted you for a night. For a quick fuck. That’s all.” My voice is pure venom now. “Have some damn respect for yourself, Gwen. You were just going to throw yourself at him, let him use you like a cheap thrill?”

Her shoulders shake as she sobs. “Like that isn’t what you did?” Her voice is quieter now, but it cuts deeper. “Only you did worse. You made me fall in love with you, then you left me. You used me, made me think it was real, something that could’ve been beautiful. But the king of the streets couldn’t even tell me to my face. Couldn’t even take me home himself he had to send his best friend instead.”

She covers her face with her hands, her body wracked with sobs. I reach for her, but she pulls away. “You’re a pussy, Dominic. Worse than those guys.” She points to where the truck had been, then turns her back on me.

I don’t retaliate. She’s right I could have taken her home or told her something. But I couldn’t bring myself to actually say goodbye. She doesn’t see the bigger picture. Soon, she will, and when everything falls into place, I’ll drop to my knees and beg for her forgiveness. But for now, I need her to hate me. I need her to believe this is real until I can explain it all. So, I do the one thing I know will break her.

I look into her bloodshot eyes. “I may be a pussy in your eyes, but in mine, you’ll never be good enough for me.” The color drains from her face, and she drops to her knees on the cold ground. She looks up at me, tear-filled eyes wide with disbelief. Wiping her cheek, she whispers, “I hate you.”

I know, baby. You should. Hate me. Let me be the bad guy in your story for now. Her face falls into her hands, broken sobs filling the night air. I turn away, swallowing down the ache in my chest. “Trey, take her home for me.” I pat him on the shoulder, open the door, and walk back into the Chophouse.

Later, in my office, I watch the security cameras, my jaw clenched. Trey lifts a broken and bruised Gwen off the ground. She doesn’t fight him I took all the fight out of her. But I know my girl. She’s tough, resilient. After everything I found out she’s been through, she’ll recover. She always does. By the time my plan is set in motion, she will come out of the fire even stronger.

Now that every drunken mess has stumbled out of the bar, I shut down the place, locking up. Bash took Maddie to his place, and Trey is standing guard outside Gwen’s. As much as I hurt her, it hurts me just as much. I pull out my phone, staring at the screen before opening a contact I really don’t want to text. I type out a message to meet me tomorrow. Within seconds, dots appear on the screen before a thumb-up pops up.

I exhale, close the phone, and head to my car. Sliding in, I throw it into gear and speed off into the night. After this, I need a good sleep. The next morning, sunlight blinds me as I throw the covers off. Heading to the kitchen, I grab a bottle of water from the fridge. My phone rings, buzzing against the counter. Bash’s name lights up the screen.

Hitting the button, I put him on speaker. “Yeah?” “What’s the plan?” Bash asks. “Step one is in progress.” “Alright,” he sighs. “I’m going to go through the computer system and see which address they’re using this week.” In all seriousness, Bash exhales heavily. “This has got to work, right?” I smirk, confidence threading my tone. “When you leave a trap with bait, a rat will come.”

“We have one week.” I hang up, heading to the shower. Dressed in black slacks and a silk dark blue dress shirt, I look at my reflection. Sharp. Unshaken. It’s time to let the games begin.