into doing her a favor, it’ll be done in about a month.”
“It’s not you,” he assures me, worried he offended my delicate feelings. “If I found out Parker’s cock had aimed in Codi’s direction before I knew they were in love, I would’ve threatened his life too. I think it’s my paternal right, no?”
I laugh quietly. “Not well versed on parents and how they should act, but yeah, I’d guess you’re well within your right.”
“Good.” He nods, straightening his shoulders. “Now that’s out of the way... business.”
“You have a lead on what I asked you to look into?” I struggle to hide the hope in my voice.
“No luck as of yet,” he apologizes. “Trail isn’t just cold, it’s arctic, Rocco. I’ll keep my guys on it though. I’ve increased manpower. You should know though, their focus is scouring death records.”
I fight against the tightness in my throat. “Makes sense,” I croak out, annoyed at the despair in my voice. “Keep me posted.”
He nods with a sympathetic smile.
“You found your wife then?” I clear my throat, eager as fuck to change the subject.
“Not quite. But we have a lead. Seems she’s closer than we originally thought. An associate of mine crossed her path in Tacoma.”
I sit up straighter. “The fuck? She’s only forty fucking minutes away. Why didn’t your associate put her bullet in her fucking skull?”
My voice has moved into a frenzied yell.
“You need to calm yourself, Rocco.”
“Calm?” I roar. “That cunt had a hand in murdering my mom. Fuck calm.”
“Sarah and I had an agreement that both Codi and Marcus would never know Codi’s true paternity,” Dominic speaks quietly, calmly, which only irritates me further. Fury has set itself alight in my body, sparking at my toes, gushing through my veins like a potent drug. “In turn, I offered her protection. I offered her whatever the fuck she wanted.”
This, right here, is Dominic Rein, the crime boss. The blue of his eyes flashes like a flame of murder. I can see his vision clearly in the quiet ferocity of his person. A slideshow of the revenge he would take on those that jeopardized the lives of his family. “She betrayed that. She put my daughter in the sights of an unhinged psychopath. She killed your mom. She threatened my daughter’s life,” he yells. “Whether she knew it or not,” he collects himself. “One day you’ll understand that. One day you’ll understand the anger you feel right now is at best juvenile to the storm of rage coursing through my body. It’s aimed directly at my wife.”
“She deserves a fate worse than death.”
Dipping his chin once, he acknowledges my words. “My associate understood his information was more valuable to me than her dead body,” he cautions.
Read: Dominic Rein wants to be the one to find his wife.
Read: Dominic Rein wants to steal the life from her body.
“How do we know she’s still there?”
He shrugs easily. “She doesn’t know she’s been made. She has no reason to hide. Not yet.”
I don’t know what to do with my hands. With my body. I’m itching for release and yet, I feel idle.
“I have my people searching the Tacoma area for her. As soon as she’s located. We’ll be the first to know.”
“Your people?” I spit. “You mean Dork out there?”
“York,” he corrects me. “No, Rocco, not the likes of York. My company is built with a spectrum of soldiers. York is an errand boy. Would I waste someone capable of draining a body of blood without a sign of it having been done to collect you from your home? No. That’s a waste of resources. You need the meek and stupid for menial tasks.”
He waits patiently as his words settle me.
“I’ve trusted you with this information. Which means I trust you not to run off to Tacoma waving a gun around demanding answers. You’ll send her underground. We want the same thing, son. Don’t fuck it up.”
Arching my back, I growl toward the ceiling, cracking my knuckles.
“You’re asking me to go against my nature,” I warn.
“No. I’m asking you to think. Don’t be your father. Don’t convince yourself you’re the monster the doubts in your mind attempt to tell you you are, Rocco. Don’t let your hunger for revenge blind you into failure.”
“Anyone ever tell you you’re an asshole?”
He laughs. “Not to my face.”
I groan.
“Trust can be a heavy burden to carry when you haven’t asked for it. But it’s also a strong fucking shield when you need it most. Don’t throw my