Page 21 of Sweetest Sin (Tempting Love #1)

Dominick

“Dominick,” Brielle says, her tone ice-cold, “I thought we talked about this.”

I step into our grandparents’ house—which Brielle owns since they left it to her—and close the door behind me, setting my overnight bag on the ground.

“No, I told you that it was time to come home, and you hung up on me.”

“I thought my hanging up made it clear that this is my home.”

She juts out her chin, and I can’t help but grin at her defiance.

“Bri, I flew twelve hours. How about you give me a hug, and then we can talk?”

I open my arms, but she stays where she is.

Stubborn fucking woman.

“Talk?” She scoffs. “Fuck you and your talking. I have nothing to say to you. I told you I wasn’t going back to Harbor Point, and I meant it. It’s not my fault you didn’t listen.”

I drop my arms, confused as to where all this hostility is coming from.

If anyone else spoke to me like this, they’d already have a bullet between their eyes.

But my sister isn’t anyone else, and I’m starting to see a pattern with the women in my life.

My mom, Peyton, Brielle—all of them are strong and tenacious and not the least bit scared of me.

“Apparently, we have a lot to say.” I walk past her and into the sitting room.

The place is exactly like it was the last time I visited after our grandmother passed away. It’s as if Brielle barely even lives here.

“For starters, why the hell are you so pissed at Matteo and me? You wanted to live here, so we let you go. But, shit, Bri, it’s been over four years. Our grandparents are gone, and you’re all alone here. Don’t you think it’s time to come home?”

It’s taking everything in me not to pick her ass up and haul her out the door, but the businessman in me knows if I can make it seem like it’s her idea, she’ll go easier.

“That place isn’t my home,” she says, crossing her arms over her chest. “And I’d rather be alone here than anywhere near you.”

“What the fuck did I do?” I bark, losing my patience.

“Don’t yell at me!”

“Then, stop speaking in goddamn riddles and tell me what your fucking problem is.”

“My problem is that I’ve watched both you and Matteo kill men for something as stupid as speaking to you wrong, yet I was raped, and instead of killing him, you merely cut ties with him and let him go about his merry way. I just don’t fucking understand, Dominick. Make me understand!”

I watch as tears fill Brielle’s eyes and then spill down her cheeks while I try to wrap my head around what the hell she’s talking about.

Raped? “Who the fuck raped you?”

I would know if someone raped her. Nobody does anything in our city without me knowing. Even if I didn’t know, if it somehow got past me, Matteo runs the fucking streets. He would’ve heard something.

“Brielle!” I bark when she doesn’t answer me. “Who fucking raped you?”

Brielle’s eyes go wide. “What do you mean, who raped me? You know?—”

“No, I fucking don’t.” I step toward her, but then stop myself. My heart is beating rapidly, and my blood is boiling in my veins. “Who. The fuck. Raped. You?”

“Anthony,” she whispers. “Anthony raped me. I … I thought you knew.”

“Anthony was here?”

I glance around, as if he could suddenly pop out, even though there’s no way he could possibly know where our grandparents lived. They made sure nobody knew, which was why we let Brielle live with them. We knew she’d be safe.

“No.” She shakes her head as more tears slide down her face. “In the States. I … oh my God, Dominick, are you telling me you didn’t know?”

“Know what?” I bark. “When the fuck did he rape you?”

I clench my fists, trying to contain my fury, when all I want to do is destroy everything in my sight. Because what the fuck?

“A month before Dad died. Anthony was pissed that the wedding was taking so long. He showed up at my school and saw me with Owen. I’d thought I was being careful, but I hadn’t known he was following me.

He waited until I was alone in my apartment, studying, and then he broke in and raped me.

” She sobs. “I begged him not to, but he was so mad, saying that I gave Owen what was promised to him.”

Red … all I see is fucking red.

Anthony Rothschild raped my little sister.

And instead of killing him, I let him go.

I. Let. Him. Go.

“And Andrey knew?” I ask slowly.

She nods. “I ended up pregnant. I wasn’t sure who the father was because Owen and I hadn’t exactly been careful, but it didn’t matter because the moment Andrey found out, he forced me to have an abortion.”

Her hands go to her belly, and my gut twists inside of me.

“He said I was damaged goods,” she cries. “That I was a disgrace to the family. I told him that Anthony raped me, and he said that I got what I deserved. That I shouldn’t have been with Owen.”

How the hell did all of this happen under my nose?

“I had no idea,” I tell her, rushing across the room and pulling her into my arms. “I had no fucking idea.”

“I thought you knew.” She weeps into my chest. “I mean, you were Andrey’s right-hand man.”

“Only because I had no other choice. If I wanted the company, I had to do what he said. But I’d never have gone along with any of that.”

“I just … I didn’t understand,” she cries, tightening her arms around me. “I didn’t understand why him raping me wasn’t enough for you to end his life. I know I’m just a woman …”

“You’re not just anything,” I tell her. “You’re our flesh and blood.

Our sister.” I step back and lift her chin and then frame her face with my hands.

“You really believe if we knew that Anthony had raped you, that Andrey had forced you to have an abortion, we wouldn’t kill both of them with our bare hands? ”

“Oh my God, Dominick.” She bawls harder.

“I was in such a bad place, and I assumed you knew. Andrey had killed my boyfriend, and then he forced me to have an abortion. He was spouting out stuff about you guys needing to do damage control, and I thought you knew. I wasn’t thinking clearly.

I’m so sorry. I didn’t know! I shouldn’t have?—”

“Shh. Stop.” I pull her to me and kiss the crown of her head. “We should’ve fought harder to find out why you didn’t want to come home. We thought it was because you’d lost your boyfriend and then Andrey had died. We didn’t know.”

I tip her chin and look into her blue eyes, the same ones as our mom. “I promise you, when Matteo and I find that asshole, we’re going to make him pay. By the time we’re done with him, he’ll be begging for us to kill him.”

“Thank you,” she says, stepping back. “But, Dominick, please don’t make me go back there. I like it here.”

“No, you like hiding here,” I correct her. “And I get it now that I know what you went through. But you have no reason to hide anymore. Andrey is dead, and Matteo and I are running shit now. The house has been renovated. You won’t even recognize it.”

“Since when is he Andrey to you and not Father ?” she asks.

“Since he lost the right to that title. He did a lot of stupid shit in his life, but he’s lucky he’s dead, or I’d be burying him six feet under. He was a shitty husband and father, and he doesn’t deserve to be called either.”

She nods in agreement.

“I just … I don’t know if I can go back to that city and that house. The memories … Harbor Point is tainted with everything Andrey was and what he did to me.”

“The city is ours, not his,” I tell her. “It’s like he never even existed. Please, come home and give it a chance. We miss you and want our family back together.”

She stares at me for several seconds and then finally says, “Okay, I’ll come home.”

My phone vibrates, and I pull it out in case it’s Matteo. After I saw Peyton on the flight and she mentioned this Damien guy a couple of times, I texted Matteo to investigate her, wanting to know if she was with someone and whether it was serious.

Since finding info on someone is child’s play for my brother, I’m sure it won’t take him long to get me the info I need.

Matteo: We need to talk.

Fuck, this can’t be good.