Page 41 of Maximum Bet

“Stay close,” Dominic commands. He wraps me tight to his side with his free arm and lifts his gun with the other.

The backstage door opens, and a bleeding Russian stumbles in.

“Blyad!” he curses, gripping his arm.

He never even sees us.

Dominic pulls the trigger of his gun, sending a bullet through the man’s skull and putting him out of his misery.

From outside the door, his friend lets out a stream of Russian obscenities before taking off in a sprint down the hallway.

“Fuck!” Dominic is off before I have time to process his departure. He jumps over the dead body on the floor and races after the other man.

“Oh, God.” I hurry to the doorway and peek my head through, but I can’t see a thing.

Then there’s a pop.

A wail of agony.

Silence.

My heart thunders behind my ribcage as my panic builds. I don’t think about what I’m doing as I step over the corpse on the floor and follow the path Dominic and the Russian took.

I turn a corner and gasp at what I find.

Dominic crouches over the wounded Russian.

The man has a bullet lodged in his abdomen, and he’s slowly bleeding out. But that’s not enough for Dominic.

“Who the fuck sent you here?” Dominic growls as he sticks the barrel of his gun in the man’s wound.

“Fuck.” The man coughs up blood. “You.”

Dominic twists his weapon. “Was it Anatoliy Kozlova? Esteban Perez?”

The man grimaces as his face pales. “You already know.” Blood trickles from his mouth.

“How many of you are there in Vegas?”

The man’s head lolls to the side.

“I asked you a fucking question!” Dominic punches the man in the face, earning a weak grunt.

I’m horrified, but not by Dominic. No. It’s my reaction to my fiancé’s knack for violence that has my gut churning.

Because, right now, covered in another man’s blood, adding two kills to his count, Dominic could not be more attractive.

I’m no longer listening to him abuse his victim. All I can think about is the way he held me close as he kept a steady arm and made a perfect shot.

In the direst of situations, Dominic protected me—kept me safe.

Dominic has rescued me before, but I’ve also rescued him. It’s not until now that I realized exactly how powerful he truly is.

Dominic stands and wipes the dead man’s blood on his slacks.

He slips his gun in the back of his waistband and takes a deep breath.

“I’m sorry you had to see that.” He hangs his head, surveying the damage he inflicted on the lifeless body. “I never wanted you to see that side of me, Cassandra.”