“Yeah. That.”
“It is.” But he had to get me in while I was still too young and terrified to say no. He shivered. “My uncle pushed me through because he knew I’d be untouchable after that. No one would fuck with me without serious consequences.” Dom pushed out a breath. “What about you?”
Sergei cocked his head. “What about me?”
“What will you do after this?”
His eyes narrowed slightly, and he drew back. “After… after what?”
“I mean, you’re not planning to work in that club forever, are you? There’s got to be something else out there for you.”
He studied Dom, a hint of suspicion in his eyes that Dom wasn’t sure how to interpret. But then he relaxed—a little—and offered a taut shrug. “I’ll think about that when I have enough money saved to go someplace else. Wherever I go or whatever I do, it won’t be in this shit town.”
“Good,” Dom said with a nod. “I don’t want you getting tangled up in all this shit. The farther you are out of the way—”
Sergei laughed dryly, though his amusement didn’t last. When he spoke, his accent sharpened the edges of his words, but his voice was soft enough to counter it. “I’ll be all right.” He squeezed Dom’s hand. “But I do appreciate that you give a shit.”
“Of course I do.” Dom smoothed Sergei’s hair. “You’re about the only thing I do give a shit about these days. Just you and staying alive.”
Sergei swallowed. His eyes were unreadable. Then he pulled his mask down, and before Dom could tell him to put it back on, Sergei drew him down into a soft kiss. Goose bumps prickled Dom’s neck, and it wasn’t because of the cool air blowing out of the mask. This was the first time they’d kissed when they knew damn well it was as far as things would go, and though he wanted Sergei, this kiss was enough. More than enough. Some tender reassurance that yes, Sergei was okay, and yes, Dom really did care.
When Dom broke the kiss and lifted his head, their eyes met. Sergei’s hand slid off his neck, but Dom didn’t pull away. Heart thumping and lips tingling, he held Sergei’s gaze.
Clearing his throat, Dom gently pushed the mask onto Sergei’s mouth and nose again. “You should keep that on,” he whispered.
Sergei found his hand again. “I know.”
“Are you starting to feel better?”
Behind the mask, Sergei smiled, and squeezed Dom’s hand. “Yeah. Feeling a lot better now.”
Dom kissed his forehead. “Good.”
*
Another summons from Corrado. Fuck.
After worrying over Sergei all night, and then trying to work while simultaneously daydreaming about Sergei and wondering if Sergei was really okay, Dom’s morning had come to a screeching halt with a phone call from Biaggio.
A meeting with his uncle. Right now. Of course.
So he’d dropped everything, as always, and driven over to his uncle’s place. Biaggio was otherwise indisposed, but Dom knew the way to the office, so he showed himself upstairs.
Before he made it to the office, though, Felice met him in the hall.
“There you are!” His cousin threw up his hands. “Where the fuck have you been?”
Dom halted, schooling his expression, though it took work. “Why?”
“Because I’ve got people breathing down my neck asking what the fuck happened yesterday.” Felice narrowed his eyes. “Then you step off the boat and just disappear? Dad’s hammering me for answers left and right, and I’ve got the Coast Guard getting curious after they found that fuck floating out by—”
“Maybe you should’ve thought of that before you killed him, you fucking idiot,” Dom said in a harsh whisper. “Or before you threw him in the water for the Coasties to find.”
“Before I killed him?” Felice laughed, stepping closer, and stared right into Dom’s eyes. “I seem to recall you were the one who killed him.”
“Yeah, to put him out of his misery after you decided to put a bullet in his gut.”
“And did you really want to sail back into the harbor with a body on the deck?”
Dom gritted his teeth. “I’m not the one who decided to shoot the—”
“It’s done,” Felice snapped. “But that doesn’t explain why you dropped off the face of the earth after—”
“Because I wanted to lay low,” Dom threw back. “Keeping a low profile seemed like a good fucking idea.”
“Yeah? Somebody’d almost think you were hiding. Got a guilty conscience or something?”
Dom held his gaze, and slowly narrowed his eyes. “Are you making an accusation?”
“Depends. Am I hitting a nerve?”
“You think I did Privitera in?” Dom folded his arms. “Because if memory serves, I was with you from the last time you saw him alive until someone else found his body. So pray tell, when exactly did I kill him?”
Felice’s jaw tightened. “Okay, it wasn’t you. But disappearing doesn’t look good.”
“I was around. All you had to do was call me.”
“You should have been here. With everyone else.”