Page 102 of The Ecstasy of Sin

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?