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“Eight years. Torture. Rape.” She shook her head. “Dom was full of life. He wanted nothing to do with his brother’sbusiness. He wanted to travel, party, and have fun. I lost him, Kaylie. He’s not the same person anymore.”
I finally looked up, and the tears I held back rolled down my cheeks.
“Why areyoucrying?” Izzy laughed through her tears. “He’s not your brother.”
I shook my head, wiping the moisture from my eyes. “It’s just so sad,” I whispered. “Poor Dom.”
Izzy choked back a sob, then emptied the drink in one long gulp. “Don’t let him know I told you this,” she said. “Not many know.”
“He told Marc?”
“I bet my life not that many details.”
I could bet mine, too.Thatwasn’t something you talked about. I almost wished Izzy hadn’t told me. How could I look at him and not see the broken man he tried to hide inside?
I saw through Marc. His stone-cold exterior. Felt the pain he hid underneath. But I never saw beyond Dom’s tattooed skin. Maybe I just didn’t look hard enough, and why would I?
The room swayed as I moved across the stone floor several drinks later, and if Izzy wasn’t holding me, I would have tripped over my own feet. Her arm around my waist was not only for me, though. She needed me just as much to keep her on her legs.
We stumbled into the foyer in time to see Max step through the door. His light brown hair was wet from rain, dripping down his forehead. I did a double-take. The abrupt weather change didn’t surprise me. But that Max got himself wet, did. As far as I knew, he was the driver. Theassistantwho never put himself in unnecessary danger. He stayed in the car. Made sure there was an escape route. If it was his choice or Dom’s order, I didn’t know. But the man protected hispropertywith his life, and that included Max. If he was out of that car, it could only mean one thing.Trouble.
“Are you okay?” Izzy asked, clearly picking up on the odd event as well.
Max didn’t have a chance to speak, and before Izzy could ask again, Dom stepped into view.
Izzy pulled me to a halt, her body quivering against mine as she stared at her brother. I stared too. Her revelations fresh in mind. He looked so far from a man tortured and raped by a gang of inmates. But maybe that was the point. He made himself strong, not just mentally, but physically, too. He survived by becoming someone no one could beat.
“Dom?” Izzy took a few wobbling steps toward him, dragging me with her.
His dark eyes met hers, and I tried to read them. To understand what he was thinking. A shadow of a bruise adorned his jaw, and one bloodshot, swollen eye narrowed at us gave me all the info I needed.
“It’s done,” he said at last, voice just as cold as his features. “The bastard is dead.”
Izzy and I gasped in unison.
“Aren’t you happy?” she asked, picking up on his closed-off mood. I did too. For someone who waited so long to get his revenge, he didn’t look satisfied. In fact, he looked somewhat…sad.
Dom flashed us a stiff smile. “I will be.”
“Hey—” Izzy took one step closer, and I didn’t understand why she hesitated. Then I remembered her story. His past. His tense posture made me ping-pong my gaze between them, and I was suddenly worried for her. Would he snap? Could he hurt her?
He lifted a hand in a back-off gesture. “We will celebrate,” he said. “Right now, leave me alone.”
Izzy nodded, mouthing the wordsI love youand a ghost of a smile flashed over his hard features. Then he brushed past us and disappeared up the stairs.
“What happened?” Izzy asked Max.
He shrugged off his wet jacket, letting it drop to the floor. “Nothing good.” He spoke while unbuttoning his shirt, and my eyes bulged. It wasn’t until I saw the bulletproof vest under the clothing that I understood.
Max nodded his answer to my unspoken question. Those dents were from bullets. Max would have been dead if he hadn’t worn that piece of protection.
“Does Dom know you risked your life for him?” Izzy’s voice dripped with disapproval, and Max shook his head.
“He has enough on his plate,” he said. “Him thinking he can do everything alone would have gotten him killed. If I hadn’t been there…” He left the sentence unfinished, and I shuddered at what he implied.
“He can’t lose you, too.” Izzy slurred, and Max grinned.
“You’re a wonderful sister, Isabelle. Dominic’s lucky to have you.”
