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I couldn’t breathe and the hood over my head was tight as hell, smelling like sweat, Baccarat and motor oil.

My wrists were zip-tied in front of me, and the same for my burning ankles and every bump the car hit damn near rattled my bones.

As bad as I wanted to think this was a prank I knew better.

I wanted the cameras to pop out any minute yelling that I’d been punked, however, it wasn’t shit fake about this and it didn’t feel like a warning either.

It actually felt real, too real. I could smell Dom; however, I knew it was just my imagination playing tricks on me because I desperately needed him to be here right now.

My heart was pounding so loud, I could barely hear anything else over it.

Whoever had me hadn’t said one word since throwing me in the back of the car, the van, the truck, or whatever we were in.

I ran every play in the book in my head trying to figure this out while knowing that I had to remain calm.

Who would take me? El Blanca? The Dorados?

Was it someone we crossed? I quickly tossed that last thought out because we were always clean and never crossed anybody who didn’t cross us first. The possibilities alone stretched miles long, but none of them would have a happy ending once Dom found out that I was gone.

As a woman, no matter how much I may have been in my feelings, I knew one thing was for certain, and that was Dom didn’t play about his Carmen Royal, despite what he did with his personal life or how many little spoiled bitches stuck his dick in their mouths.

I shifted my weight in my seat trying to ignore the object underneath me that was causing my ass cheeks to become sore.

It was either ammo, or a jack or something in that nature but I couldn’t be sure.

Fuck! Focus, Carmen. I thought to myself counting the seconds between turns.

Every time we made a left, a right, or a U-turn, I knew and kept track of the seconds from every turn because at least if I ever got free it would help me to figure out exactly where I was, and again, that was something that Dom himself taught me.

We were on the highway a good while before we were hitting the roads again.

It had been almost 45 minutes when we finally stopped, and the doors flew open.

It was a relief to get some fresh air, but the unknown was inevitable.

A pair of rough hands gripped my arms and dragged me out like I was a piece of fucking luggage and then set me down hard on what felt like dirt and gravel.

The air smelled like pine. Just when I was about to start asking questions it was a deafening silence and then there was a low, smooth, familiar voice.

“Take the hood off.” He demanded. On his order, the rough fabric was yanked from my head, and the sun shined down in my eyes while kissing my skin which immediately turned hot.

I blinked hard a few times because, my vision was blurry at first before it cleared and there he was, my fucking husband, Dom, standing there in all black looking as sexy as any other day.

His black Amiri T-shirt was tight across his chest; the sun caused the diamonds in his Patek watch to glisten on his wrist. I could tell he had a fresh, crisp, line up around his perfectly tapered edges as well as his low goatee.

Of course, he had that same unreadable expression on his face that could’ve meant either one or two things: mercy or murder.

At this point I didn’t know whether to scream or slap his ass.

“What the f?—”

“Shut up.” He hissed cutting me off. His voice demanded respect but still had that tone that made a woman’s pussy start to moisten.

I froze, and not out of fear, but because I couldn’t believe he actually had me kidnapped leaving me utterly confused.

He stepped closer, looking me over like he was inspecting his property of something he left in the wrong hands.

“You good?” He finally asked once he was satisfied that I was in one piece.

His people stood around us like this was just a casual fucking Cartel meeting, or just another day in the world of the Royals’.

We weren’t surrounded around anything besides tall palm trees and dirt. I yanked at the ties on my wrists with anger in my eyes. I never raised my voice but now was the perfect exception because Dom was crazy, but his little Visa wife was crazier if I ever had to be. “You had me kidnapped?!”

“Nah,” he said coolly. “I reminded you who the fuck you are, and who the fuck you married to.”

My chest heaved. “You call that a reminder? While you’re out here getting your dick sucked by your lil Cartel princess?” I sassed, pissed, yet still poised refusing to crack.

“Not sayin’ it’s right, but the difference is, I never let my guard down even when I’m dirty, and you lettin’ your guard down got you right here where you at ‘wifey’ .

” He stepped even closer kneeling down in my face and I could really smell him now.

His cologne mixed with the smoke from his blunt and his glare was powerful.

Dom had the kind of scent that entered your nostrils and shot in between your thighs.

“You out here actin’ like this life don’t come with rules.

Like you forgot the weight of that last name you married into. ”

I shook my head and dropped my eyes into tiny slits. “You’re fucking insane.”

He slowly grinned at me. “That’s funny, shit, I was just thinkin’ the same thing about you.

Dressin’ up, lettin’ that square ass nigga buy you drinks like we not at war and like I’ma go for that shit.

” He signaled one of his people with the nod of his head and another car rolled up; it was a matte black Charger.

One of his other people jumped out and popped the trunk without a word.

I followed Dom with my eyes as he walked over and lifted the trunk.

My stomach flipped a million times seeing Dru still in the same exact suit he was in hours ago when we were at Opus.

He was knocked out and his hands were tied behind his back.

I also peeped the little blood that was dried up near his temple.

I gasped and immediately frowned at my fucking husband, since that’s what he wanted to act like today. “Is he dead?”

“He alive,” Dom said. “Well, barely. I could’ve killed that bitch ass nigga.”

I tried to step forward, but Dom grabbed my arm with a firm, yet possessive grip. I nearly fell forward since I was still tied at the ankles and wrist. My eyes shot daggers at him. “Release me dammit!” I growled out of frustration, plus, the gravel and dirt had the bottom of my feet hurting.

Once again, he gestured for one of them to release me. Roman pulled out a sharp pocketknife and within two snips I was free, and now my eyes focused back on Dru as Dom held his grip on my arm.

“Don’t do that,” he said.

“Do what?” I quizzed mad as hell at him right now. How dare him fucking kidnap me to teach me a lesson. I didn’t need to be taught; I needed him to fucking love me out loud; that’s what I needed.

“Make me jealous and then play innocent when it’s smoke,” he replied like it was nothing. The entire time he had this little crooked smirk on his face, yet his demeanor was still hard.

I stared at him, pure furious. I wanted to say I couldn’t believe he also kidnapped Dru, but then again, I could.

He was right, I knew exactly who I was married to and while I should’ve remained furious, his antics turned me on, and I hated it yet loved it at the same time.

“You’re out of your damn mind,” I hissed and shook my head.

“Maybe,” he said. “But I ain’t wrong.” He leaned down, with his full lips, inches away from mine.

“You almost got that nigga killed. All it took was one more smirk from him, or one more second of you lettin’ him lean too close to what’s mine, and I swear on everything I love…

” he paused for a second and his grip tightened just enough to make me feel it, “his wife would’ve been identifying his body in a fuckin’ morgue. ”

I swallowed hard, and he finally released me.

Before I could say anything or attempt to walk away, he looked down at my feet knowing they had to be getting tore up by the rocks and gravel.

Dom scooped me in his arms cradling me like a baby as one of my arms loosely looped around his neck.

He started walking towards one of the black trucks like this entire situation wasn’t insane and honestly, in our world, it wasn’t.

What was insane was him kidnapping us. I didn’t fight against Dom, and not because I forgave him, but because there was no way that I couldn’t.

There was something about Dom and how he fearlessly took control of situations, even when he was dead ass wrong, that pulled me in like gravity.

He opened the car door for me like a gentleman and all I could do was stare at him. I was looking into the eyes of a man who was not only dangerous, but he was also slightly manipulative right now, while being a gentleman at the same damn time… just toxic as hell.

“Let’s go,” he said once he secured me inside before hopping in himself. His driver was waiting for the words giving him permission to pull off.

“I hate you.” I groaned not meaning it at all. It wasn’t him that I hated, I just hated the way I loved him because it was in a way that I wasn’t so sure he would ever love me.

Instead of taking my insult, he winked at me. “I know. I don’t share Carmen. Not my name, not my business, and not my woman.”

Once again, I narrowed my eyes. “You don't want me,” I snapped. “You just want toownme Dom.”

He slightly furrowed his brows. “Same difference in my world, baby.”

I damn near swung on Dom as I balled my fist with my lips tight. However, deep down, I still didn’t want to run because no matter how mad I was… I understood. I understood because I knew what I signed up for, and I knew the game.

“Listen, it could be anybody in the world, just not her.” I sighed.

“I don’t want her…”

It was more I would’ve said, but I chose not to, instead I thought about Dru. I really liked him, and he seemed like a decent guy. I couldn’t let him get killed behind this cat and mouse game with Dom and me.

“Let him live Dom,” I said in a whispered tone with tightened jaws.

“I’ma let him live ‘cause I still trust you, but the second I see a faulty line again-” He leaned in, whispering against my ear as his sexy voice vibrated off my earlobe.

“You won’t recognize what I do to him or the next nigga who forgets who you belong to.

” He then kissed my lips causing a chill to run down my spine in a good way before signaling for the driver to pull off.

We left some of his people with Dru, but I felt better knowing they were going to let him go.

The rest of them followed us as we rode off into the Miami streets in silence.

The fact that Dom was jealous told me everything I needed to know, and hopefully those barriers of walls would continue to break.