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“It sure is, kiddo.” Frankie chuckled and unpaused the show with a flick of her wrist. “Doomed, I tell you.”
The show continued and cut to a brief clip of the guy in the interview room, pretending that he was struck by Cupid’s arrow.
Munching on popcorn, I considered the implications of what Frankie was suggesting. If she was right, then Dominic wasn’t playing me. He genuinely wanted to date me.
Evidence supported that theory, what with the insane amount of tulips decorating the gym and basement, plus all the time spent getting to know me via text and phone calls. That was quite the investment just to convince some poor girl she was special enough to win the attention of a Sato.
I knew all this to be true, but I wasn’t convinced.
Well, that wasn’t true. I was convinced his desire to date me was real. But I wasn’t convinced he didn’t know about his family’s involvement in the debt. He was Ichiro’s right-hand man, the most likely to take over the entire empire.
So if he did know, then I was confused about why he hadn’t told me about owning the debt, at the very least. I was also angry he hadn’t paid it or forgiven it, knowing that the gym was home to my sister and me.
If he truly cared about me, he would have done or said something.
But he didn’t.
His family didn’t need this paltry amount any more than I needed a new book.
Wait. Scratch that. I always needed new books. Books were one of the very few pleasures I had in life.
Okay, they didn’t need our money any more than Marissa needed more clothes. Stuffed to bursting, her plastic dresser drawers hadn’t closed all the way in years.
The Satos already had wealth and fame in spades. What more could they possibly gain by holding this over our heads?
Whatever the reason, I couldn’t waste my time figuring it out until after Friday’s fight. I wouldn’t let my emotions interfere, which meant no more Dominic. And just in case my first theory was correct and Nic was playing me for a fool, I would keep my involvement in the fight a secret.
Grabbing another handful of popcorn, I focused on the show and did my best to ignore the uneasy feeling settling around my shoulders.
CHAPTER 24
Dominic
The sun crept over the horizon, casting a soft glow across my weary face. I stared at my reflection in the antique mirror hanging in the hallway of my grandfather’s estate. Dark circles enveloped my bloodshot eyes, and the lines of exhaustion etched on my brow mocked me like thin scars left by an invisible enemy.
Gods, I looked like hell. It’d been another sleepless night. Another night spent reminding people to pay what they owed or face the consequences. This was what happened when one was tangled up in mobster shit.
My family’s legacy pressed down on my shoulders like I carried the weight of the world. At this rate, my death would come far too quickly.
To make matters worse, I hadn’t been able to see Bree again. Not since the motorcycle ride, and there was only so much satisfaction I could get from my hand and sexy messages or pictures of her.
I wanted the real thing, craved her scent and taste nearly to obsession. I dreamed about how good she would taste coming against my mouth and woke with an aching need to be deep inside her.
Worse still, she’d hardly messaged me over the last two days and hadn’t answered my calls. She claimed she was simply exhausted from prepping Subliminal for the upcoming fight that night, which made sense. It would be a full house.
Except something about her messages hadn’t sat right and had triggered a concern for her safety. I wouldn’t put it past Ichiro to ruin something good in his bastard grandson’s life, so I’d asked Rin to keep a close eye on her.
So far, everything was as it should be. She was working longer than normal hours, exactly as she’d said.
And yet.
Perhaps she’d finally realized just how much of a monster I could be and did the smart thing—run.
I ran a hand through my hair and sighed. This world of luxury and power came at too high a cost sometimes. Enough was enough. I had to put an end to the pyrocrystal dealings. That godsforsaken drug had taken over my life.
Giving my reflection one last weary glance, I adjusted my collar and strode down the hallway.
I would claim what was rightfully mine or die trying.
