“How come you didn’t like that color on me?” Maria asked, her perfect brows slightly drawn together.
Taking the champagne glass from her hand without permission, Dominic gave her a wicked smile. “Princesses don’t belong in black.”
As soon as the last words left his lips, the door opened.
Kat slowly emerged, this time with a smile. Finally, she looked like herself.
Maria whispered what they were all thinking, “It’s perfect.”
Staring at his baby sister, he forgot why they were here. All he could see was how beautiful she looked, and how she suddenly wasn’t that little baby in her pink cat onesie.
Feeling his eyes getting wet, he blinked, only able to say, “Wow,” afraid he might cry if he said anything else.
While Maria started accessorizing and Ken began the alterations, they kept Kat distracted.
Dominic stood up, going to where the lady kept the champagne.
The woman politely smiled. “Would you like some mor—”
Grabbing the opened bottle that was already halfway empty, he started to walk away.
“Sir, you can’t do that …” She gave up when he gave her a “watch me” look.
Dominic didn’t give a single fuck. Lifting the bottle to his lips, he let the shitty liquid wash down his throat, as he headed to the front of the store, staying far enough away from what they were doing in the back but close enough to make sure they were safe. While watching to make sure no one entered the store, he pulled his phone out of his pocket, took a big swig, before he regretfully dialed a number.
“Yes?” a cold voice answered.
He took another drink. “I want a meeting.”
“I’ll have to get back with you. Dante is bu—”
“No,” Dominic stopped him. “With you.”
There was silence at first.
“Tomorrow night, at my home office, nine o’clock.”
“Thanks. Listen …” He gripped the phone, looking back toward the dressing room, contemplating.
“I don’t have all day.” The cold voice was harsh.
Dominic cracked his neck from side to side. “Never mind. See you tomorrow night, Lucca.”
When the dial tone clicked, he was happy he didn’t rat Maria out.
Dominic had called to do the right fucking thing, to tell him where he could find his sister without Caruso protection. He thought it would show some sort of respect to the underboss. That way, when he had the meeting he wanted, Lucca might show some mercy. But then he decided to fuck it. The boogieman hadn’t shown mercy a day in his goddamn life. Lucca didn’t even know the meaning of the word mercy.
When Dom returned Maria, the wrath of hell would exponentially increase since withholding that information from Lucca.
At first, he didn’t know why he did it, knowing the consequences would be harsh, but when the girls emerged from the back of the store almost an hour later and he saw Maria’s face, he knew.
Her emerald eyes sparkled the longer she was away from her Caruso bodyguard. Maria looked content, like she was genuinely enjoying herself. He didn’t want to take that away from her just yet.
Dom also might’ve had selfish reasons for wanting to keep her in his exclusive care … He’d already planned on driving her home much slower than when he drove them here.
Thanking God he had already tossed the bottle before they came out, he had made it up to where they stood at the cash register right when the price with far too many zeros was announced.
“Excuse me? What?” Kat’s mouth dropped to the floor.
Maria didn’t bat an eye as she went into her purse. “Don’t worry about it. It’s a gift from—”
“The Carusos.”
When a black card appeared from behind them, along with that cold voice, Dominic didn’t have to look back.
“I really can’t accept—”
“It’s okay, Kat.” Throwing an arm over her shoulders, Dominic hushed her while smoothly pulling her closer to him. “It’s the least they can do.”
Outwardly, he kept his cool, but internally…. Shit, shit, shit.
Regret seeped in at not telling Lucca where Maria was. Making sure to keep Kat close to him as they exited the store, he was ready for the underboss to unload, but was shocked when Lucca addressed Maria and not him.
“Maria, you have five seconds to tell me why you are here.”
She didn’t gave a single fuck as she flipped a blonde lock behind her shoulder. “Kat needed a dress.”
“And where the fuck are my men?” Lucca’s voice was quiet, which made it even more lethal.
Dom waited for her answer, but when she kept silent, he was surprised to find himself answering for her.
“Kat asked me to drop her off here, and when I came in, I saw Maria alone.” That part might have been a lie, but he continued with the truth, finding himself sticking up for the mafia princess. “Instead of getting her in trouble, I decided to watch her for you and was going to bring her back home safely when they were done.”