No Greater Loyalty (24 page)

CHAPTER 38

The first thing to penetrate Dominick's subconscious was a white hot pain so intense it felt like a torpedo had imploded in his skull and blown it to kingdom fucking come.

Dom swallowed, trying to keep the nausea at bay. With his eyes still closed, he fought to calm his mind and piece together where he was and exactly what the hell happened to get him here. He was sitting in a hard, wooden chair, his hands tied to the back. He tried to inhale a deep breath then immediately regretted doing so when the agonizing pain that resulted told him his ribs were possibly fractured or broken. 

Wincing, he squeezed his eyes closed and gritted his teeth as he struggled not to succumb to the darkness that threatened to overcome him. The events he was able to remember played out behind the screen of his closed lids. They unfolded in slow succession: the hotel room...opening the door for the housekeeper...men bursting in...guns...fighting...Melania...
Keisha
...

Dominick inhaled swiftly. Ignoring the pain that almost caused him to black out, he lifted his head. Squinting, he looked around to get his bearings.

Where in the fuck
was
he? How long had he been there, and most importantly,
where was Keisha?
If they'd done anything to hurt her...

"Well, well, well. Our guest has finally awoken from his slumber.
Hola
, Dominick."

His eyes darkening like a brewing storm, Dom fixed them intently on Melania Cruz when she sauntered confidently in front of him. "Where's my wife?"

Melania laughed and threw a look towards her men, who were standing behind her. "Awww, isn't it sweet that his first concern is for his little wifey?"

Laughter accompanied by lewd comments sounded out in the room, but when Melania turned back to Dominick, there was no amusement on her face. "Let me give you a bit of advice, Dominick. Your wife is not the one you need to be worried about right now.
Comprende
?"

"You can take your advice and ram it up your ass," Dominick snarled, straining against the confines of the ropes. "
Comprende
that. Now where’s my wife?"

The words had barely cleared Dominick's mouth before someone rushed forward and slammed a fist in Dominick
’s face.

His jaw throbbing, Dominick spat out the blood that gathered in his mouth and cut his eyes back to the man who had hit him. He was the one Dom had trained a gun on in his hotel room, the tall, skinny one.

Surprising everyone there, he let out a jovial guffaw of laughter as he spit again. Shaking his head, he lowered his lashes and chuckled underneath his breath.

Frowning, Javier glanced at the others in the room, then at Melania. "
Loco bastardo.
"

But Melania ignored him as she continued to study Dominick. She'd noticed a calculating gleam flash in his eyes for the briefest of moments. Melania knew that look well because it was one she was intimately familiar with from Angelo. Dominick was up to something.

"Do not make the mistake of thinking he is crazy, cousin. What is it the Americans say? Crazy like a fox, eh?" Melania walked closer to Dominick, her astute gaze still on his face. "Believe me, this one is far from stupid."

"Melania-"

"Have you forgotten who his brother is? This is no ordinary mark off the street, I tried to tell you that. The bruises on your face should be a reminder if you need one,
sí
?"

Javier bristled at the slight, feeling blatantly disrespected at being talked to in such a manner in front of his men and Spain. "I have not forgotten, Melania, but
he
is not Angelo LaCroix," he spat out in a surly tone.

"Aye Dios mio!"
Impatience emanated from every inch of Melania's body as she whirled around, eyes visually slicing Javier into thin pieces.

He hastily lowered his gaze, belatedly realizing he may have overstepped. Family or not, Melania was famous for her temper and lack of tolerance for those around her. She was already displeased with Javier's handling of things so far, and the more he talked, the worse it became.

"Taking him from his hotel room should have been a simple task, devoid of any problems such as the ones we encountered. Instead you all looked like a bunch of bumbling amateurs!
Especially
you, Javier." Melania's words pierced his pride like a sharp edged knife. "You made the mistake of underestimating him
then
and you do so
now
, even after I warn you not to. You would do well to take heed to the lesson he has already delivered to you."

Javier's gaze shifted to Dominick as Melania continued her rant, his furious thoughts running rampant in his mind. Before drawing his last breath, the
bastardo
would suffer dearly for making him look like a fool. "We should have killed his woman, Melania. It was a mistake to leave her alive only because of your desire to taunt Angelo."

Hearing confirmation that Keisha was indeed alive, Dominick closed his eyes for a brief second and released a quiet sigh of relief.

Melania rounded on Javier, her tongue delivering scathing lashes of words intended to put her cousin in his place.

"You do
not
question me, Javier! If you had been strong enough to lead our
familia
after my brother died, my
papa
would've have appointed you as such. But you are in exactly the position you should be in
. You
take orders from
me!"

Javier did a slow simmer at the treatment he seemed to constantly receive from Melania, but he was an expert at hiding the hatred he felt for her. When they were kids, she'd worn a sense of entitlement and superiority with ease and comfort. It had only gotten worse the older they became.

Seeing her waiting, he did as was expected. "
Lo siento
, Melania. I beg your pardon."

Melania's eyes lingered on him for several moments still, her anger so palpable no one dared to even move until she turned her attention back to Dominick.

Studying him for a moment, her mood changed lightning quick. Trailing a hand over his chest, her fingers glided over the defined muscles she encountered. Greedily seeking more, she continued downwards until she got to his stomach. Splaying her fingers over Dominick's abs, Melania paused for a brief moment before slipping her hand beneath the waistband of his sweats and curling her anxious fingers around his manhood. She literally purred as she caressed his length, impressive even at rest.

"Mmmm,
mi Dios
. I have to say I can somewhat understand my sister’s obsession with you, Dominick Spain. If you are anything like your brother, you make the act of fucking a memorable one that a woman would find hard to forget," she laughed.

Dominick tensed, but knew it wouldn't do any good to show how repulsed he was by Melania's touch. If anything, it would amuse her all the more and prolong the little cat and mouse game she was determined to play with him. For the time being, he had to keep a cool head and wait for an opportunity that would allow his escape...or die taking as many of them with him as he could.

CHAPTER 39

Javier watched in outrage as Melania groped Angelo's brother.
Punta!
Had she no decency?  It wouldn’t surprise him in the least if she fucked the asshole before they killed him.

Javier looked away in disgust. They were spending way too much time and energy on this thirst for revenge she harbored against this man. Melania could have killed Dominick Spain any time she desired. Instead, she chose to treat this as if it were some type of game. To add insult to injury, she had insisted on the two of them coming to Las Vegas personally to finish him off.

Melania's perspective had become seriously tainted. Her father would’ve never let emotions determine their course of action this way. He had no idea what his uncle was thinking when he chose Melania as the cartel’s leader.

Javier's eyes went back to Spain. Something about the motherfucker irked the hell out of him. It seemed as if he found Javier amusing. Hands clenched tight, he vowed to show him just how funny he could be.

He continued to stare at Dominick but directed his statement to Melania. "Again, my apologies, cousin. But please, allow me to rectify my mistake,
por favor.
Before I put a bullet in his head, I promise to make his screams of pain echo throughout this building for what he has done to your sister."

"Speaking of which, I
’d like to ask you a question, Melania." Dom smoothly interceded as if Javier's opinion held little or no relevance whatsoever when it came to making decisions.

Furious, Javier's face reddened. He moved as if to carry out his threat right then and there, but Melania held up a hand to stop him.

“Let him speak. I’m curious as to what he has to say.”

Ignoring Javier, Dominick kept his eyes on Melania. "I think I at least have a right to know what I'm accused of doing. Isabella committed suicide, and I
’m sorry about that. She was a beautiful person. But I fail to see how that makes me responsible for her death."

The lustful gleam slowly faded from Melania's eyes. She released Dominick, her face hardening like chiseled stone. "You and I both know how your actions and treatment of her pushed her to the edge. Do not attempt to play me for a fool because I assure you I am not. "

"I cared for your sister, but she and I...it was a relationship born of circumstance."

"You used her like a whore then threw her away as if she were common trash when you no longer had any use for her," Melania sneered.

Dominick's eyes narrowed, truly curious about Melania’s reasoning. For her to go to these lengths and pursue this vendetta against him like this was fucking crazy.

"Things were not as cut and dried as you would like to make them seem," Melania continued. "I witnessed the downward spiral she took after the pregnancy. It was not an easy one, especially knowing that the father of her baby did not care about his own son."

Dom's eyes flared with quick anger. "That's not true," he growled in a low voice. "I didn't even know she was pregnant.  If I had-"

"Save your lies," Melania snapped. "I read her journals after she died. Isabella was unable to understand how the man who had seemed so kind and caring to her suddenly turned into a monster as cold and unfeeling as the one he'd freed her from. You didn't even have the decency to tell her to her face that you didn't want to be with her anymore. Instead, you arranged for one of your henchmen to do your dirty work."

Dominick shook his head. "The last couple of times we spoke, we discussed her plans for the future once Julio Garcia was no longer a threat to her. It was understood that we would go our separate ways and she was okay with that. But after Garcia was killed, she just stopped coming to visit me. I figured it was her way of making a clean break."

"She did come back, was planning on telling you that she was pregnant with your child. My sister had a gentle spirit but an addictive personality. She constantly replaced one obsession with another. First it was Julio. After he was gone, it became you. But I think you know this. You manipulated the blind adoration she felt for you to your advantage. There were other ways you could've gotten your revenge but you chose to use my sister because you knew it would add insult to injury and make the end result that much sweeter,
sí
?"

Dom
’s eyes flickered because her words hit entirely too close to home. He'd known that Isabella's feelings had become involved, and although he'd made his own position very clear, he hadn't done anything to discourage her growing infatuation with him. His only focus had been making Garcia pay. The fact that Bella considered herself in love with him had only added to his leverage. Dom had taunted Garcia about his and Isabella's sexual encounters every chance he got.

As for someone telling her not to come back to see him, the sinking feeling in his stomach told him there was probably some truth to that. Dominick had no doubt that Angel had known about Isabella; it wasn
’t too much of a stretch to believe he’d stepped in and warned Bella to stay away.

Melania's voice sounded distant, as if her body were physically there with them while her mind remained ensconced in the past. "Not long after Armando was born, Isabella started using drugs again as a way to cope with her depression. The doctors tried to diagnose it as that postpartum nonsense, but I knew better. All she talked about was you. She had no interest in her baby. I tried everything to help her get clean, but..." Melania shrugged, bringing herself back to the present. "Eventually she just gave up, tired of fighting whatever demons tormented her day in and day out. A little over a year ago, she hung herself in the closet of her bedroom. Armando was the one who found her."

Dom's head shot up with such force, it intensified his pain, but he barely flinched. "He...my son found his mother's body?"

A somber voice answered from the doorway. "
Sí
."

Dominick's eyes followed everyone else
’s until they landed on the boy stiffly walking towards them.

His son.