don’t care.
“Jax?” Becca’s head falls back, heavy against my arm. She shaking from the freezing water. Her skin is ice cold and pale. Her teeth chatter, and her eyes refuse to focus on me.
“He’s safe, doll. You’re both safe. I got you.”
At my words, her body goes limp. Her eyes close. Fuck no. I jostle her in my arms, but she’s still.
“Help her!” I hold her closer to me and shake her body to try to wake her as I scream. “Somebody help me get her down!”
Dom
“You sure, Dom?” Jack’s voice echoes in my head, and I scowl.
I want to smash his fucking teeth in. I get that his woman, his wife, was ready to rat on him. I fucking understand that. But this isn’t his woman. Becca isn’t a rat. I got her into that shit. She’s not at fault in any way.
And what he’s implying is unforgivable. My voice is low and deadly as I turn to face him and stare straight into his eyes with my hard gaze. I want what I say to be heard and understood. “If anyone touches her, or implies that any harm should come to her or her son, I will slit your fucking throat open.”
“Just calm down, Dom.” I look at my father like he’s the one who said it, because he’s keeping me from destroying Jack. My fists are clenched so tight my knuckles are white. How could he fucking imply that we should kill her?
“She’s just seen a lot is all.” He leans back against the bookshelves in the office, and I turn my head slowly to stare him down. Vince, Pops, Jack and I are in the office. Pops' office. It’s a dark room with thick curtains and dark chestnut bookshelves lining the walls. They’re filled to the brim. Pops loves to read, but he also likes to hide shit. I know some of the books are for his secrets. I just don’t know which books, or which secrets.
Vince paces by the door with his hands in his pockets, head bowed, staring at the antique rug as he walks. He doesn’t look up to respond to Jack, “She hasn’t even come to. We don’t know what she’s seen.”
“She was conscious when we were shooting. It doesn’t matter that we saved her. She could blab. She could sell us out.”
My father’s hands come down hard on my chest and then move to my shoulders, shoving me into the seat in front of his desk. My breath is caught in my throat, and adrenaline courses through my blood.
“That’s enough, Jack!” he yells at Jack, but his eyes are on me. I can feel them boring into me, but I’m not looking back at him. My eyes are shooting daggers at Jack. I fucking told him to shut his mouth. I don’t give a shit that he’s the underboss. Pops knows it. Jack’s days are numbered. I won’t allow it. I won’t allow anyone to keep breathing if they so much as think of touching my girl.
I shove Pops away and sit back in my seat, crossing my arms. I can’t turn my face neutral. I look pissed 'cause I am pissed. But I’ll bide my time, I’ll wait. But I’m not going to let De Luca live.
“You need to calm down, Dom; just think this through.” My father’s voice is calm and even. My brow furrows, and I glare at him. He can’t be fucking serious. A look of shock crosses his face as he says, “Between you and Jack. Just calm down, think it through.”
My tense shoulders relax slightly. I nod my head. He means me fucking up Jack. Thank fuck. I don’t know what I would do if he was talking about my doll. I swallow thickly and spear my hands through my hair and then grip it while I lean back in my seat. I stare blankly at the office ceiling.
I just can’t get the image of her hanging there out of my head. Her face is bruised. Her eye, her cheek. She obviously hit her head more than a few times trying to balance herself on the edge of that industrial steel sink. But it’s more than that. The bruises, the blood, they really fucked her up. All because of me.
She’s in my bedroom. My old bedroom at my parents' house. Just a few doors down from Pops' office. She hasn’t woken up yet, and that scares the shit out of me. Her skin was ice