“We’ll bring you out left-overs,” Zoey promised him, elbowing Dominic.
Romano’s face lit up. “Wait, are you guys going on an actual date? Did Dominic stop acting like an ass?” he asked Zoey. “When I come get Dominic in the morning, am I going to not-smell sex and – awwwkkk!” he struggled to breathe, which was hard to do with Dominic crushing his wind-pipe.
“Dominic, please don’t break your friend,” Zoey said, sliding into the back seat of the car. “You might regret it later.”
“Doubtful,” he grunted, but released his hold on Romano’s neck.
Romano coughed and wheezed dramatically from the front seat as their limo driver headed to Sergio’s until Dominic kicked the back of his seat and he stopped.
“You guys are like brothers who fight all the time,” Zoey laughed.
“He’s adopted,” Dominic said promptly. “His real mother was a troll.”
It was about a half hour drive, but traffic was light and Zoey sank into a warm haze of contentment. Dominic’s massive arm wrapped around her shoulders, and she leaned against him in companionable silence. This felt good. This felt right. Like she was exactly where she was supposed to be.
Suddenly a blinding sense of panic choked Zoey. “Obstacle. Turn back!” she cried out.
“You heard her!” Dominic yelled. He wrapped his arms around Zoey protectively, as the driver tried to make a quick turn in the middle of the street.
A massive explosion rattled the air, and everything went dark.
Chapter Eighteen
Dominic’s ears rang and his mouth tasted like blood. He tried to shake Giuliana’s hand off him, and she tightened her grip on his wrist.
“Hold still so I can heal you, you ass!” Giuliana barked.
“I’m healed enough!” Dominic groaned and stumbled to his feet. “We’ve got to find her. And you need to go back home.”
He was in the middle of a scene that echoed a long ago nightmare.Did the Bianchi pack know? Was that why they’d attacked him when he was with his mate? She was gone. He’d failed to protect her.
He’d failed – again. Despite everything, despite being bitten, training as a foot soldier, working his way up through the ranks – he still couldn’t protect those he loved.
The twisted wreck of the limo was sideways in the middle of the street. The scene was crawling with cops, but they were very careful to stay out of Dominic’s way. Most of the cops were on the Blood Oath Pack payroll – and they also needed to be able to call in the pack members whenever things went magically sideways.
The explosion had sent their car spinning, and then the door had been ripped from its hinges. Their driver was dead. When Dominic lunged from the car, he’d been stunned by a hail of silver bullets. They couldn’t kill a warrior class shifter, but they’d knocked him out, and he’d sprawled on the ground, fading in and out of consciousness, until Giuliana showed up.
Romano was being healed by Dante. The stream of blood from his nose had slowed, and his eyes were back in focus.
Other pack members were on the scene too, some in wolf form, sniffing around. Unfortunately, Zoey had been pulled into a van and his scenters had no idea where the van was.
The only good news was that Dominic – right before he passed out – had called headquarters, and they’d been able to seal off the roads that bordered their territory. The van had tried to cross back over to the east side, but they’d run into a roadblock and driven off.
The van had vanished, though. It could be anywhere.
And now more bad news was storming up – in the form of Arturo, with Ottavio and Carlo on his heels.
Giuliana stepped away from Dominic, folding her arms defensively in front of her face.
“What the hell is my niece doing out here at the scene of an attack?” Arturo bellowed. The bones on his face rippled and his ears were pointy and fur-tipped.
“I came without asking him. He was semi-conscious when I got here and started healing him. The minute he gained consciousness, he tried to push me away and send me home.” Giuliana was pale her voice was weak.
“You’d say anything to cover for Dominic,” Ottavio snapped at her.
“Bite me, asshole,” she spit at him. “You’d say anything to get another Capo in trouble.”
“You are coming home,” Arturo growled at her, “and you will not leave the house without a squad of bodyguards. Ever again.”
