Page 49 of Sweetest Sin (Tempting Love #1)

Dominick

“Are you fucking kidding me?” I bark as I watch our warehouse, filled with millions of dollars’ worth of product, burn down.

“Four of our guys are dead,” Matteo says, rounding the corner. “Whoever did this …”

His voice is drowned out by the sound of my phone, notifying me that our home security just went down. I stare at it, trying to make sense of it all, when all the pieces click into place.

“The warehouse fires were a distraction,” I tell Matteo, running back to the car. “The house is under attack!”

While Lorenzo drives, I call Daniil, who answers on the first ring.

“Boss, we have a problem,” Daniil says, confirming my suspicions. “Anthony took out a portion of the security system. He had to have known what he was doing because the guard gate wasn’t touched, so nobody suspected a thing.

“I was checking the perimeter when I heard a gunshot. By the time I made it inside, Brielle had shot Anthony. Everyone is okay. But … Ricky is dead, and Martha is hanging on by a thread. He must’ve shot them when he got in.”

Fuck. I hate that the people I care about, who care about my family, are dead or injured. But the relief I feel, knowing that my sister protected my fiancée and son, is strong.

“He was acting alone?”

“We’re doing a sweep of the house now, but according to the cameras, he was.”

“We’ll be there in ten minutes. We’re across town.”

I hang up and shake my head. Since I had my phone on speaker, I don’t have to repeat anything to Matteo or Lorenzo.

“This was a fucking setup,” Matteo growls. “We underestimated that fucker.”

He bangs his hand against the seat next to him, and I feel his frustration tenfold.

My family was depending on me to keep them safe, and I failed. This should be the moment when I admit that they’re better off without me, but I can’t live without them, so that means I’m just going to have to work that much harder to keep them safe.

“I don’t believe it,” I say. “Anthony isn’t that smart or resourceful. He’s working with someone.”

And when I find out who, I’m going to end their fucking existence.

When we arrive at the house, I go straight for Peyton and Damien, who are sitting in the living room, hugging each other.

“Daddy!” Damien yells, flying into my arms when he sees me. “The bad man got me while I was sleeping, but Auntie Bri shot him dead.”

Fuck, I hate that my kid has been through this. That his innocence has been ripped from him because of my fucked-up world. He should be in bed, dreaming about happy shit, not getting kidnapped and witnessing murders.

“I’m so sorry, buddy,” I tell him, sitting next to Peyton and pulling them both into my arms. “Nobody is ever going to hurt you again.”

“Dominick,” Peyton chides, “you can’t make promises like that …”

“Yes, I can,” I hiss. “Because neither of you is ever leaving this fucking house again. We’re upping security, and you’re homeschooling Damien.”

I give Damien a kiss on his forehead, then give Peyton one. “I need to handle the police, and then we’re going to go to a hotel for the night.”

“Thought you just said we’re never leaving the house again.”

She raises a brow, and I glare at her.

Smart-ass.

“Dominick, there’s something you need to know,” Brielle says when I walk over to where she’s talking to my team of men.

We need to call the police. Too many deaths occurred. But before we do that, we need to make sure we have our ducks in a row.

“When Anthony was dying, he said we might think we’ve won, but that we have no idea what we’re in for.”

Her words are confirmation that he wasn’t working alone. I was hoping I was wrong, that Anthony’s death meant my family would be safe. But someone else is out to get us, and because they were using Anthony as a front and he’s dead, we have no idea who it is.

“You did good,” I tell Brielle, pulling her into a hug. “I can never thank you enough for saving my son.”

“It felt good to be the one to end that bastard’s life,” she murmurs against my chest. “I just wish I could’ve gotten more info out of him before he died. But I did get this …”

She slips something into my pocket, and without looking, I know it’s his phone.

I thank her and hope that it will unlock some answers to our questions.

After calling the police and having Peyton, Brielle, and Hillary give their statements, I take my family over to Hotel Blu to stay in the penthouse suite while the police turn the house into a crime scene investigation.

Damien insists on checking on Martha, so I call the guard I have there, and he informs me that she pulled through surgery and is recovering in the ICU. After what she’s been through, I’m going to insist she finally retire. She deserves some peace and quiet.

With the knowledge that Martha will be okay, Damien thankfully falls asleep quickly, and Brielle excuses herself to her room. Matteo stayed behind to oversee things at the house, and Lorenzo took his fiancée home.

“What are you doing?” Peyton asks, looking up from the book she’s been reading for the past half hour.

“Searching for new houses.”

There’s no way I’m moving my family back into that house. It has too much history, too much corruption hidden in the walls. My son witnessed a murder there, and I’ll be damned if I bring him back.

Besides, we need somewhere safer. The way Anthony and whoever he was working with was able to get in proved that it wasn’t as safe as I need it to be.

Peyton nods in understanding, and her lack of argument tells me that she agrees. I pull her into my side, and we scroll through listings. She comments on certain ones, and the ones she seems to like, I note to look into them further.

When she falls asleep, I put the laptop away and carry her into bed, holding her in my arms and praying that nothing ever touches her or our son. I finally got them back, and I’ll be damned if I lose them.