Page 88 of King of Greed
However, the more time passed, the tighter the rope of dread wound around my chest. Old me would’ve rationalized his absence. The DBG buyout was a record-breaking deal that needed to be completed within a tiny window of time;of courseDominic should prioritize it over a small store opening. It made practical sense.
But that was the problem. Our marriage fell apart because we’d focused too much on practicality and not enough on our feelings, including how I felt about always coming in second place to work.
He knew how I felt now, and he’d promised time and again he would change. But this was his first big test since we got back together and he wasn’t here.
A fist closed around my heart. I would be okay with a quick drop-in. Even if he showed his face for two minutes before he rushed back to work, I would understand because at least that meant he’d remembered and taken the time to see me.
But as the minutes ticked by, and the party wound down, it was clear that Dominic wasn’t coming at all.
CHAPTER 41
Dominic
I REACTED ON INSTINCT.
I grabbed Roman’s arm a split second before he pulled the trigger; the shot went wide, the bullet pinging against steel as we fell back into the elevator and the doors slid closed.
His gun clattered to the floor. We lunged for it at the same time, but Roman drove his elbow into my ribcage right as my fingers brushed the metal.
Thuds and grunts, fists against flesh. The air evacuated from my lungs, replaced with a desperate, primal need for survival.
I didn’t allow myself to think. If I did, I’d have to confront who the gun belonged to. Whose number I’d called when I needed someone to talk to. Whose reemergence in my life I’d accepted despite misgivings because I’d slipped up once and allowed sentimentality to get the best of me.
Unlike our fight at the penthouse, this one didn’t shed blood, but it bruised harder than any of our previous blows.
Roman finally got the upper hand when my phone rang and split my attention for a fraction of a second. A twist of his arm, and I was pinned against the wall with a gun pressed under my chin.
We stared at each other, our breaths heavy with exertion and something deeper than physical struggle.
My phone stopped ringing. The ensuing silence was so vast and charged it warped the tenor of my voice.
“Nice seeing you too, Rome,” I rasped. Somewhere, in the dim recesses of my mind, I realized the elevator had stopped moving. We must’ve hit the emergency switch. “Now can you tell me, exactly, what thefuckis this?”
The fog of shock had gradually dissipated, giving way to a thousand unanswered questions. For example, why the hell my brother was trying to kill me and why, if he wanted me dead, he hadn’t attempted to finish the job earlier. He’d had plenty of opportunities over the past month when my guard was down.
Why now? Why here? And why the look of regret in his eyes when he’d pulled the trigger?
Roman’s jaw ticked. “I can’t let you go through with the deal.”
What—realization threaded through the sense of betrayal simmering in my gut. “DBG? This is about a goddamnbank?”
“I tried to warn you.”
Don’t buy the bank. If you do, you’ll die.Last night’s strange call resurfaced with razor-sharp clarity.
“You said you weren’t behind the unknown calls.” I recognized the absurdity of my accusation. If he wasn’t above murder, he certainly wasn’t above lying.
“Not the ones from the fall.” Roman’s eyes flickered beneath the lights. “That was them. They were…displeased about me making contact with you. The calls were a warning to me more than you.”
My blood drummed in my ears.Them.“Who do you work for?” I had my suspicions, but I wanted him to say it.
“I can’t tell you.” His grip tightened around his gun. “Let’s say I fell in with the wrong crowd.”
“Classic Roman.”
He didn’t smile. “I wish I didn’t have to do this.”
“So don’t.” My eyes stayed on his. “Whoever they are, they’re not here. It’s you and me. That’s it.”