Page 106 of Sweetest Sin

“Where’s Matteo?” I ask as Dominick flits between making calls and barking orders and texting.

“He can handle himself,” Lorenzo says.

“Fuck! The warehouse at the port is on fire as well,” Dominick hisses, glancing at Lorenzo. “Lorenzo, you drove here?”

“Yeah,” he says.

“Daniil, I need you to take the women home.” He looks at Hillary. “Her too. I want the house on lockdown. I’ve already told Ricky to stay with Damien.”

Daniil nods, and then we’re rushed into the town car without Dominick. I want to tell him I love him, to stay safe, but it all happens too quickly, and before I can get a word out, we’re being whisked away.

The ride home is filled with tension. I wish I could be with Dominick, but I know I would only be a distraction. He’d be too worried about keeping me safe, and he wouldn’t be able to focus on dealing with whatever was going down.

The second we arrive at the house and step inside, I know something is off. I can feel it. For one, the house alarm didn’t go off, and it’s pitch-black, like the electricity is out.

Brielle must feel it, too, because she pauses at the doorway and glances at Hillary and me, putting her finger to her lips for us to remain quiet.

And then I hear it.

Damien’s cries.

Without thinking, I gasp loudly and take off toward the stairs.

Only Brielle stops me and shakes her head. “Whoever is up there is armed.”

My heart pounds in my chest.

This can’t be happening again.

Someone has my baby.

Daniil is outside.

Ricky should be protecting him. Where is he?

Brielle walks quietly over to Dominick’s office, and I follow while Hillary stays frozen in her spot near the door.

“Here,” Brielle says, handing me a gun. “It’s loaded. Don’t shoot unless you need to. We don’t want to risk hitting Damien.”

I nod in understanding and then follow her upstairs, gasping in fear and heartbreak when we find a body lying on the floor, bleeding out.

Ricky.

Whoever is in here shot and killed him.

“Enough,” a man says, forcing me to look away from Ricky to see where the voice is coming from.

I hear Damien’s muffled cries, telling me whoever has him has covered his mouth.

His room is empty, so Brielle and I follow the sounds that lead to the other wing of the house. There are two sets of stairs—one that stems from the living room and the other that leads toward the back of the house. If you’re planning to go to the backyard or pool, you can take the back stairs instead.

We both must realize this is what whoever took him is doing because we pick up our speed, racing down the steps. I can hear whoever has my son descending, his footsteps loud against the marble.

And then we see him. A man I don’t recognize is holding my son in his arms.

He reaches for the back door when Brielle yells, “Stop!”

I’m not sure why she made our presence known, but when the guy stops, I’m assuming it was just for that. To catch him off guard. He turns around, not even bothering to hide who he is, but I don’t know him.