Page 42 of The Ecstasy of Sin (Brutal Brotherhood #1)
Wren
The room is bathed in darkness, and I’m cocooned in the luxurious warmth of Dominic’s enormous bed.
My bladder is screaming at me to get up and take care of business, otherwise I wouldn’t budge from this ridiculously comfortable nest that smells like him.
I can’t remember the last time I experienced comfort like this. It’s been forever since I’ve had a bed of my own, and the cots at the shelter can hardly compare to what you can have in a real home.
Not to mention the cold, hard ground I was forced to sleep on when I didn’t manage to secure a place for the night.
I roll to my side, expecting to find Dom asleep beside me—only to be met with an empty, cold stretch of mattress.
Frowning, I sit up and glance toward the bathroom. The light is off, and the door is cracked open, so I know he’s not in there.
Hunter isn’t in his bed either. Which means the two of them are likely together somewhere in the house. Maybe Hunter needed a potty break, too?
I slide out of bed, instantly missing the warmth, and tiptoe into the bathroom. I take care of business, wash my hands, and take the opportunity to brush my teeth and comb out the tangles from my slightly damp hair.
When I walk back into the bedroom, I’m surprised to find Dominic still hasn’t returned. Wandering over to his closet, I grab the first t-shirt I can find, pull it over my head, and head for the bedroom door.
The only light I see glows faintly from beneath the door that leads to the basement. The closer I get, the more clearly I hear voices coming from below. Curious, I slowly ease the door open and peer through the crack.
I can’t see anything at the bottom of the stairs, but Ryker’s voice drifts up from somewhere deeper in the lower level.
“Dimitri isn’t going to let this go. He’s going to come after all four of us, and Wren will be caught in the crossfire. The shit he’ll do to her if he gets his hands on her… he’s going to want revenge for what you did to Maksim’s face.”
My breath hitches, heart pounding so violently it echoes in my ears.
Ryker continues talking. “He’s done worse to women in his own family. He’s not going to make it fast. If he takes her, he’ll mutilate her body while she’s still alive. He’s fucked in the head.”
Then Dominic speaks, and the brutal edge in his voice makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
“He can try, but I’ll rip him to fucking shreds with my bare hands.
I’ll slit him from navel to throat and see what falls out,” he snaps.
“The reason he never tried to intimidate me into working for him is because he knows damn well that my psycho tops his. His death would be one more body added to the mountain of dead men at my back.”
“You really are an addict,” Ryker mutters, followed by a low whistle. “What’s your kill count at now, anyway?”
Dominic’s response is clipped. “I lost count years ago. Well over a hundred.”
My stomach churns as I process this conversation, one I’m certain Dominic didn’t intend for me to overhear.
Exactly how many people has Dominic killed—and for what? What kind of man racks up a body count that high?
One hundred lives.
My head swims. Surely a man capable of killing that many people can’t possibly value human life. And if the man that now owns me—body and soul—doesn’t value human life… what does that mean for me?
Between Dominic’s apparent addiction to murder, and the looming threat of Dimitri to torture and rape me to death, am I truly safe here?
Would I rather die a quick, meaningless death on the street—or risk days, maybe months, of agony at the hands of a monster like Dimitri?
Do I really understand what Dominic is capable of? Now that I’m standing here and listening to him talk about killing people like it’s his drug of choice, I’m not so sure.
Tears sting the corners of my eyes, and the strange ache blooming in my chest feels too much like heartbreak.
Ghost’s voice slices through the tension. “We knew what we were risking when we asked Dom to kill Maksim. All we need to do now is stick to the plan. Dimitri and his crew die next, and we’ll let Killian handle the Russian fallout.”
Torin’s gravelly voice follows. “Killian’s in agreement. The Kinahan syndicate will fill the void, and he won’t fuck with us or our business.”
“He knows we bow to no one.” Ryker adds confidently.
Dominic exhales sharply. “If you all had agreed to let me scratch my itch and butcher Dimitri’s men when they first landed in Toronto, we wouldn’t be dealing with this now.”
Ryker’s chuckle cuts through the quiet, sudden and loud enough to make me flinch. “You actual fucking serial killer.”
“Keep your fucking voice down,” Dominic snaps.
Ryker lowers his voice, but his words still sting. “At least Torin gets paid for that shit. You just kill for pleasure.”
I feel like I can’t breathe.
Dominic’s reply is low and lethal, like he’s stepped right into Ryker’s space. “Does that make you afraid of me, brother?”
Ghost sighs. “Let’s not pretend any of us have clean hands.”
Ryker laughs again, dark and rich, filling the uncomfortable silence. “You’re an evil motherfucker, Dom. Like, next level shit.”
“Maybe his girl will even him out,” Ghost offers, dry amusement bleeding into his tone.
Torin’s voice follows, gravelly and sardonic. “You know damn well there’s no fixing what’s corrupted in us.”
Dominic sighs. “Are we done here? I’ve had a long fucking night. ”
“Almost,” Ghost says. “I’ll start tracking Dimitri’s properties. Once we pinpoint his location, we sweep in and wipe him out.”
“You’re going to have your work cut out for you, Ghost,” Dominic replies. “I want the Bratva’s accounts drained and laundered into our offshore pool—then frozen. Put together a compendium of all Volkov assets. We’ll leak everything to the authorities the night after we kill Dimitri.”
There’s amusement in Ryker’s voice. “Multiple strategic strikes will bury them before they even have a chance to retaliate.”
“Yes,” Dominic confirms. “They’ll learn that fucking with the Brotherhood ends in death and loss. The kind you don’t recover from.”
I’ve heard the brothers refer to themselves as “the Brotherhood” multiple times now. Fear of what that could truly mean has me chewing the inside of my cheek, anxiety curling low in my gut.
Who exactly have I gotten involved with?
“This’ll be fun,” Ghost murmurs, like he’s already savoring the chaos to come.
“When we find Dimitri, are we all hitting this together?” Torin asks, his voice low.
Dominic’s laugh is dark, but quiet. “His death belongs to me.”
I’ve heard enough.
I close the door as quietly as I can, then turn and speed-walk back toward the bedroom, my footsteps careful and silent .
When I reach the bed, I sink into it, clutching at the sheets like they can hide me from the reality of what I just heard.
My heart hurts, and fear has wrapped it’s hand around my throat. There’s a lump forming there, reminding me of all the danger surrounding me every time I swallow.
I need to get out of here. I need time to think, to sort through everything I’ve just heard.
I need space to think through the chaotic emotions swirling inside of me like a category five hurricane—threatening to tear apart whatever fragile sense of safety and happiness I’ve found here with Dominic.
I need to evaluate everything I know about him. And I need to do it without being caught in his orbit. Without his voice, his touch, and his magnetic presence clouding my ability to think clearly.
The problem is… I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that Dominic won’t let me leave. After everything I’ve seen, after everything we’ve done, he’s already warned me: I belong to him, and there will be no escaping.
Which means that tomorrow I need to find a way to slip out of this house. Just for a few days. Just to breathe. To sort through the colossal mess my life has suddenly become. To distance myself from Dimitri until I can figure out how to keep myself safe.
I know he’ll be furious, and I know he won’t just let me walk away. But if I can get some distance, I can call him. We can talk. I’ll give him a chance to explain, and then I can make my decision.
Do I stay, or do I run?
All I know for sure is this: Dominic Kael will never let me go.