Chapter 1 - The Devil’s Embrace
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The jazz band played a slow, mourning saxophone melody that seemed to mock the violent tension crackling in the air. Dominic Russo’s hand was warm, his grip firm but strangely gentle as he pulled Chloe against his charcoal Brioni suit. The scent of expensive cedar and danger wrapped around her, suffocating her panicked thoughts.
“Breathe, Chloe,” Dominic murmured, his lips barely moving as he guided her into a slow, rhythmic step on the polished dance floor.
“You’re telling me to breathe while three hitmen are staring at my spine?” she whispered back, her voice trembling.
“They aren't hitmen. They are scavengers,” Dominic corrected, his dark eyes fixed on the three Volkov men standing at the edge of the floor. “And scavengers do not attack when a predator is holding their meal. Keep your eyes on me. Do not look at them.”
Chloe forced herself to look up into Dominic’s face. Up close, the King of Boston’s underworld was terrifyingly handsome. Sharp jawline, eyes like crushed coal, and a scar cutting faintly through his left eyebrow. He moved with the effortless grace of a man who owned every shadow in the city.
“Why are you doing this?” she asked, her black work shoes stepping clumsily in time with his polished leather Oxfords. “I’m just a waitress. I spilled a drink.”
“You are Tommy Adams’s sister,” Dominic said, spinning her gently so his broad back was now facing the Volkov men, shielding her completely. “And right now, your brother is the most wanted man on the East Coast. Victor Volkov doesn't want his fifty thousand dollars, Chloe. He wants the encrypted drives Tommy stole from his private safe. Drives that contain the financial bloodlines of every corrupt politician in New England.”
Chloe’s stomach plummeted. Tommy had always been a mess, a gambler with bad luck, but corporate espionage? Stealing from the Russian mob?
“He’s an idiot,” she choked out, tears burning the corners of her eyes.
“He is a dead man walking,” Dominic corrected coldly. “Volkov knows Tommy will never surrender the drives to save himself. But Tommy loves you. Volkov sent those men to drag you out of my club, put you in a basement, and film what they do to you until Tommy hands over the ledger.”
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Chloe stumbled, her knees turning to water. Dominic’s arm instantly banded around her waist, holding her upright with a grip of iron.
“I’ve got you,” he whispered. “The song is ending. When the final note hits, we are going to walk to the VIP elevators. Do not look back.”
