“All done,” I announce as I close the suitcase. “My men will take care of everything,” he says as he takes a hold of the suitcase leading me into the living room. He hands it over to Dario who’s waiting in my living room.
I’m then ushered out of my apartment and into the back seat of a black SUV. Dominic enters after me. Jimmy is waiting in the driver's seat. Dario gets in the passenger seat next to him.
Chapter 12
~Dominic~
Elle is sound asleep in the seat next to me in my private jet. Dario and four other members of my personal security are seated behind us. They all appear to be using the opportunity to get some shut eye. I left a couple of my men to pack up the rest of Elle’s belongings.
I’m overwhelmed with guilt and remorse. My God! I was almost too late. That scum was about to rape her. When I remember the terror she experienced I wish that I had not ended that monster so quickly. But I had to in order to get Elle out of there and to safety.
She is currently curled up in the seat next to me; her hands tucked protectively against her throat where there are bruises from being choked. Her left cheek is bruised and swollen where she was struck.
I believed her to be safe. That’s why I pulled the guards a few days ago who were keeping an eye on her. My failure to realize that my enemies were biding their time until Elle was unprotected almost cost her her life.
It’s still unclear how the connection between us was made. My gut feeling is that Salvatore is somehow involved and its top priority is to locate him. The fucker was going to hold Elle as leverage to get to me.
If it wasn’t for Pavlov I might have been too late. The possibility of losing her makes me go crazy. I was wrong to cut off contact with Elle. She was left open to danger. The only way to keep her safe is by keeping her with me.
As she unconsciously leans against my left shoulder, I slide my hand around her, cradling her head in the crook of myneck. Caressing her cheek gently—I remember how I found out that she was in danger just a few hours ago.
Being the first major shipment of weapons to the Chicago Bratva I was at one of my Brooklyn warehouses with Dario. To personally oversee the loading of the crates onto the trucks to be taken to the docks. After the last truck pulled away from the warehouse I was about to enter my Porsche when my phone rang.
Seeing that it was Dante, I answered. “Brother, the last truck is on its way to the docks. Everythi—” Dante interrupts me. “Dom, we have a problem. I just got off the phone with Pavlov; he says that he was contacted by the man he had sent to infiltrate the Albanian mafia. He was told that Alban had ordered a group of men to Upstate New York to snatch a female doctor. Dom, they were told that she works at Mercy Hospital, the hospital where Elle works. It can’t be a coincidence, Brother.”
“Shit! That bastard knows about her. We need to get to Elle.” I slam my hand on the roof of my Porsche and almost fling my phone. But I stop when I hear Dante’s voice.
“Dominic, I’ve already instructed our pilot to be ready. Jimmy is waiting at the airfield with our men.” My brother's calm voice penetrates the cloud of anger that is hovering around me. Tempting me to explode.
“I’ll stay here to ensure that the shipment continues without a hitch. Take Dario with you.” Dante says before hanging up the phone. Dario is standing beside me looking on with concern. “What’s going on Dominic?” I was already sliding behind the wheel before answering him. “We need to get to the airfield now. Elle’s in danger. The fucking Albanians are after her.”
Within minutes we are both in the vehicle rushing towards the airfield. Recalling that I have her contact, I attempted calling Elle multiple times. All my calls went directlyto her voicemail. “Why the fuck isn’t she answering?” Flinging the phone onto the dashboard I ‘burn rubber’ to get our destination.
“Don’t worry Dominic, we'll get to her before they can. She is probably at work right now and is unable to answer.” Dario tries to calm me down to no avail. Why did I pull my men from watching her? The thought of her being hurt, or God forbid killed causes me to lose my cool.
Within two hours we had arrived in Upstate New York and were on our way to Elle’s apartment building. When we got there it was after midnight. We parked in front of her building and there were multiple cars parked along the street. Their owners were probably asleep in their beds.
On exiting the vehicle, a scream had broken the eerie silence of the night and caused my heart to race. It originated from the alley two buildings away. We rushed towards the screams of terror. Several men in dark clothing and ski masks had suddenly jumped out of a black van to engage us. It was parked near the building.
A fist was swung at me and I ducked. I then swiped out my right leg knocking my attacker to the ground. He jumped to his feet to swing again. I grabbed his hand, bent his wrist backwards and twisted his arm behind his back. I then stabbed him in the chest. On the move again even before his body hit the ground as I rushed towards the alley. Dario trailed behind. My other men were left to fight off the remaining Albanians.
When we entered the alley, Dario took care of the idiot who was holding his face and screaming. I was filled with rage when I saw the dirty dog lying over Elle’s body in the shadows near the wall. He was attempting to get her clothes out of the way to rape her. I was upon him in seconds; I grabbed the back of his shirt and wrenched him away from her body. A fist thrown into his face.
“You… fucking… bastard! You.. hurt… my… woman!”Each word followed by another blow to his face.
The bastard’s face became my punching bag as I unleashed my rage. Satisfaction was derived from every crunch of bone. I then slit his throat with the flick of my wrist. The piece of shit fell to the ground as he tried to stem the flow of blood with his hands. But it kept seeping through his fingers.
Finally, I let myself look towards Elle, whose back was against the wall, while she stared in horror at the dying man. I remember Dante speaking to me as I focused on Elle.“Boss we’ve taken care of all the shitheads, who jumped us from the van.”
“Good, get a cleanup team here as soon as possible.” “Already on the way.”I approached her slowly and got down in front of her.
“Are you okay, Elle?”After she threw herself into my arms crying, her sobs gutted me because I knew that she was not okay.
I did my best not to expose her to the evidence of violence by blocking her view of the bodies lying in the alley and in the street. Elle was in shock after being attacked and almost raped.
I know that her easy acquiescence to my demand that she leaves with me was only because of the shock and trauma that she experienced. No doubt when she comes to her senses she’d be livid—when it hits that she could never return to her apartment or her job. The implications of the attack will sink in once the shock wears off.
After seeing her injuries, I wanted to march back into that alley to desecrate the bodies of the fuckers that dare to touch my woman. Her neck bore the marks of the bastard's fingers which were obviously around her throat. Her face is red and swollen from being struck.
