“This yacht is gorgeous,” Dominic said, changing the subject.
“It was a gift for my twenty-first birthday.”
“Seriously?”
“My father let me pick it out on my own. He was disappointed that I only got an eighty foot Hatteras, but this is what I wanted.” Like so many things, what Salazar thought she should want, and what she actually wanted, were two completely different things.
Of course, Brianna remembered her twenty-first birthday for a very different reason. The memory consumed her. She was in her bathing suit on her way to go swimming when Nick, Salazar’s Chief Security Officer, cornered her in the hallway and forced her to her knees. When Brianna refused to do what he wanted, Nick became vicious and threatening, but she didn’t give in. The commotion got the attention of a maid, who came to see if she could help. Brianna thanked her and was able to make a speedy exit. Brianna ignored the event and took her swim.
When she exited the pool, her father was waiting for her on the deck, enraged. Nick had told him he caught Brianna and Christopher, the pool maintenance guy, together in one of the cabanas, getting hot and heavy.
Salazar grabbed Brianna by the neck and threw her to the ground. With one forceful move, he stepped on her leg and twisted her body until her tibia snapped in two. Brianna screamed in horrific pain, while Nick stood with his arms crossed, giving her a smile that broke into an evil chuckle. A last kick from Salazar forced Brianna into the pool. She never found out what happened to Christopher, but after that day, she never saw him again.
Luckily Ben believed her side of the story and told her not to worry about Nick—he would make sure Nick never tried anything like that again. Brianna didn’t have any problems with Nick after that day, but the entire event taught her an important lesson about life and human nature. It revealed a lot about Salazar and the men who worked for him. Thinking back, she knew she should’ve gone straight to Salazar in the first place, instead of blowing off what Nick did to her. But at the time, she was too afraid to say anything, fearful she’d done something to deserve Nick’s abuse.
“It’s perfect,” Dominic said, gazing around the yacht, pulling Brianna out of her reverie.
The top deck consisted of a fly bridge with a wet bar, spa, sun pad, and barbeque. There was a staircase from the fly bridge down to the middle deck, which had a table and chairs on the stern and sliding glass doors to the interior. Inside had all of the amenities of a luxurious house. They traveled with two servants, a captain, two bodyguards, and their yacht was accompanied by an additional yacht carrying four more bodyguards.
As the yacht approached land, Brianna quickly realized where they were. She saw the moon shaped beach, the round casino looming off to the side.
“I thought we could have a nice and relaxing day here on Catalina Island,” Dominic said, pulling Brianna to her feet. “How about a bike ride and a picnic lunch?”
Brianna went inside to change into something more comfortable. As she searched through the dresser drawers, Dominic silently came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. She smiled at him in the mirror, and he began kissing her ear.
“I thought we were going for a bike ride,” Brianna said as he pulled her over to the bed. They hadn’t had sex since Dominic returned from his business trip with Salazar.
“Eventually.” Dominic pushed her down and started to undress her.
Brianna was unprepared for this. “You should save yourself for tonight,” she responded.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be ready again tonight,” he said. Then he grabbed Brianna’s waist, sliding her down under his body. He smelled faintly of alcohol.
She tried to relax but the bedroom door was open and there were other people on the yacht. Dominic held of her wrists above her head. She could barely move. He was never this aggressive with her. His body was hot and suffocating. Dominic’s head was turned to the side, not even looking at her.
There was an unexpected noise at the door as Ben entered the room, holding a piece of paper. Ben’s eyes widened and his face turned red. He quickly put down the paper and left the room, closing the door behind him.
When Dominic was finished, he released her hands and rolled off the bed. He walked over and picked up the paper, reading it. He crumpled it into a ball. After slipping on shorts, he said, “Get dressed. I’ll be on the deck.” Dominic left.
Brianna wrapped the bedspread around her naked body. She’d never felt so used before.
***
Once onshore, they rented bikes and rode around the island. At the top of a secluded hill, there was a grassy spot off to the side of the road, overlooking the ocean. It was the perfect spot to have a picnic lunch. Dominic laid out a blanket and sat down.
“You’ve been quiet since we left the yacht. Everything okay?” Dominic asked. There was a wall between them. When Dominic had sex with Brianna, he kept thinking about Claire. But he had needed Ben to see them together, so Salazar would know Dominic was trying to produce an heir.
“Yes, thank you for this,” Brianna responded. She sat down at the other end of the blanket, putting as much space between them as possible.
It was time to put Salazar’s plan in action. Ben hovered close by, ready to report Brianna’s every word to Salazar. It made Dominic sick—the games Salazar played.
“Has Matt attempted to contact you since the wedding?” Dominic asked. He opened the basket, pulling out two sandwiches. He handed one to Brianna.
“Matt?” Her eyebrows pulled in, confusion on her face. She glanced at Ben, then back to Dominic. “No. Why?” She unwrapped her sandwich, taking a bite.
Dominic hoped she was lying. He wanted her to work with the DEA so she could get out of this life, instead of going down with Salazar. Dominic moved behind Brianna and sat with his chest to her back, a leg on each side of her. He then wrapped his arms around Brianna, resting his chin on her shoulder.
“I want you to know that I love you,” Dominic spoke softly. “Now that we’re married, there shouldn’t be any secrets between us. We have to be honest with one another.” Her body went stiff in his arms. It was awkward not to see her face. It always revealed more than her voice.
“I understand,” she said.
“Don’t forget we’re married, we’re a team. We’ll figure this out together.”
“What’s there to figure out?” she glanced at the bodyguards surrounding them.
Whispering ever so softly in her ear, “It’s clear you don’t like your father. On our honeymoon, you hinted at us getting away from him. What do you want me to do? Do you want your father in jail?” Brianna was smart and she’d seen enough of Salazar’s games. Dominic prayed she’d figure out this was a test.
“Jail doesn’t do us any good. He can still control everything, including our lives from there.” She leaned back into Dominic. He pulled her tighter to his body, keeping his lips near her ear.
“What do you want then?” he asked.
“I just want a life separate from his. I don’t want to live in the same house. I want our own family—just the two of us.” Brianna shook in his arms.
“Do you want him dead?” Dominic whispered. He kissed her earlobe, wishing he could tell her this was a test. She didn’t respond. “Well, Brianna, what do you want?” Dominic asked.
“He’s my father,” she said, loud enough for Ben to hear. “Regardless of what he’s done, I don’t want him killed.”
Dominic’s body relaxed. Glancing over at Ben, Dominic nodded. She passed.
Now it was time for Dominic’s own plan. All he had to do was scare Brianna enough to push her away from their marriage, her commitment to him, and ultimately Salazar. He wasn’t even her father. If anyone deserved to be set free, it was her.
Sunbathing on the fly bridge of the yacht, Brianna replayed yesterday’s conversation over and over. Did Dominic really offer to kill Salazar for her? Was he testing her? Or was Salazar testing her, through Dominic? It was bad enough having her life controlled by
Salazar, but now Dominic? The situation kept getting worse.
A shadow fell over her body, blocking the sun. Brianna opened her eyes. Dominic loomed over her. She ignored him as he lay on the chair next to her, not saying a word.
Unable to stand it any longer, Brianna peered over at Dominic. He was staring at Ben with hatred radiating from his eyes. His cell rang. Tearing his eyes away from Ben, Dominic answered and went inside. Brianna lowered the back of her lounge chair, then flipped over on her tummy.
“Your shoulders are burning,” Ben said, leaning against the wet bar.
“Would you mind spraying lotion on me?” she asked.
Ben’s eyes darted to the sliding glass door. Dominic was inside pacing around, still on the phone.
Brianna reached under her chair, pulling out a bottle of lotion. She handed it to Ben. “Just spray the middle of my back. I can reach the rest.”
Dominic burst onto the deck and shouted, “Get your fucking hands off of my wife!” Brianna jumped up. What the heck was going on? Dominic ran toward Ben. When he reached him, Dominic kicked Ben in the face, throwing him on his back.
“Stop!” Brianna yelled, grabbing Dominic’s arm.
Dominic turned and shoved her. She landed against the barbeque, hitting her head. The remaining bodyguards went inside. Brianna held onto a chair, pulling herself to her feet.
Dominic reached down and picked Ben up around his throat. “It’s bad enough that you’re always watching my wife, undressing her with your eyes you mother fucker. But touching her? I don’t ever want to see your face again!”
Ben’s eyes were large and his face slightly blue. But he didn’t fight back. He couldn’t—even though Brianna was positive he had it in him. Dominic shoved Ben over the side of the yacht.
“What the hell are you doing?” Brianna yelled. She stumbled to the railing, searching the ocean. Ben’s body was already behind the yacht. She ran inside to the captain. “Man overboard, turn the boat around!”
Dominic was close behind. He grabbed her wrist. “Keep the boat on course,” he spat. “Radio to the other crew not to pick him up.” Turning to Brianna, his eyes narrowed, making him look like Salazar. “I don’t ever want to see him again. He was touching you. Who knows what would’ve happened if I didn’t show up.” He twisted her arm and she screamed in pain.
“You sound as crazy as my father,” she cried. “Let me go.”
Dominic laughed, pulling her body against his. “I will never let you go. Never.”
Ignoring the threat, she begged. “He’s going to drown. We can’t leave him. Please, turn the boat around.”
“Keep the fucking boat on course,” he commanded. “No one is to stop for him.” He released her wrist and stormed out of the control room.
After Dominic left, the captain whispered, “I think the other boat threw him a life jacket. He’s an excellent swimmer. I’m sure he’ll be all right.”
She understood the captain’s hands were tied.
Brianna walked outside and found Dominic leaning against the railing. “You are just like him,” she screamed.
“If you mean that I’m like Salazar because I protect you, then yes, I am like him.” His hands clutched the railing, his knuckles turning white. “What’s done is done. Let’s forget it ever happened.”
“Are you delusional? You just threw Ben overboard, and you want me to act like everything’s okay?” Brianna’s head throbbed from hitting the barbeque. Her wrist was already black and blue.
“What did you expect me to do? You shouldn’t have let him touch you.”
“I asked him to spray lotion on my back. That’s it. He didn’t lay a finger on me.”
“You know he’s in love with you. Asking him to put lotion on your back practically gave him an orgasm.”
Brianna stood there not knowing what to say. There was no point in arguing. Her father controlled Dominic now. He was ruined.
“Don’t look at me like that,” Dominic said. “I’m your husband and you’re my wife. Don’t ever forget it.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I don’t ever want to see another man’s hands on your body, are we clear?”
Brianna left without responding.
***
When they arrived home, Brianna claimed her head throbbed so she was going to sleep. Dominic tried kissing her, but she sidestepped away from him and went to the bedroom, locking the door. Lying alone in bed, she was consumed with the image of Dominic throwing Ben overboard. What happened to the Dominic she met all those months ago? Did Salazar destroy him completely?
Sadness swelled inside her heart. Brianna thought Dominic would’ve been strong enough to stand up to Salazar. But Salazar had already managed to get Dominic to kill another human being and lose all sense of his moral boundaries. In other words, Salazar had turned Dominic into his clone. There was no way she would survive both Salazar and Dominic. She would be destroyed—just like her mother, Christina.
There had to be a way out.
Brianna always knew her father had the ability to hurt or even kill her. However, she always thought he needed her alive for something. But Dominic? The temper he unleashed today was almost more frightening than Salazar’s because of Dominic’s lack of control.
She drifted off to sleep.
A noise awoke her. There was a creak in the floor. Brianna opened her eyes and saw Dominic, naked in the moonlight, walking toward the bed. She closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep. He pushed back the sheet and slid into bed. Luckily her back was facing him. She didn’t move a muscle. Dominic took his hand and gently ran it down the side of her body, giving her the chills.
He whispered close to her ear, “You awake?”
Brianna didn’t respond.
He kissed her back and neck. Brianna swore she’d find a way out of this.
Brianna sat on the couch in the living room, in the exact same place she officially met Dominic. It seemed like only yesterday, and yet so much had happened, so much had changed. The room was the same. The furniture, piano, artwork, all untouched. It was a beautiful house. Timeless, unchanging. The only difference was that Dominic now lived there. Salazar insisted.
Brianna’s entire life had been plotted and dictated by her father, including where she went to school, what she wore, how she cut her hair, and who her friends were. During her childhood, she clung to the notion that when she grew up, she could finally do what she wanted. Well, here she was, an adult, and things were still the same. Although there was one big difference, instead of just one man controlling her life, now she had two.
Brianna wasn’t like Salazar. Whether it was by sheer will or her disposition, she clung to the fact that she must be like her mother. She always had a vision of Christina as a strong and steady woman, devoted to her husband and a loving mother. Now Brianna realized that this vision of Christina was just that—not reality. Her mother was seduced by Salazar, not knowing the kind of man he really was. She married him, loved him, and then discovered his true character. And what did she get for it? He killed her. Brianna was sure of it.
She knew her father well enough to not be surprised by what he’d done. If he wasn’t capable of killing someone he loved, then she wouldn’t be so afraid of him. She’d seen enough of his killing. She had a duty to turn him in to the DEA. A responsibility to her mother and to all of the other people he’d killed through the years. And now he had managed to devour Dominic. The man she met all those months ago no longer existed. The sweet guy who fell in love with her was now a sadistic, controlling man with an unimaginable temper. She couldn’t believe how her father was able to transform him. Brianna needed to do something before she ended up dead like her mother.
She walked to the windows. It was wonderful to feel the heat penetrating through the glass and see the sky transform from a pale orange to a pink glow. The end of another day.
“Breathtaking.”
Brianna jumped. She hadn’t expected Dominic back yet. After
they had returned from Catalina, her father and Dominic went on a business trip and had been gone for the past three weeks. Dominic came up behind her, resting his hands on her shoulders.
“Yes, it is.”
“I meant you,” he said, giving her a kiss on the cheek.
It took a good amount of will power not to shove him away. She needed to stay in character in order to pull this off. Something big was going on. If Salazar was coming back into the country with a shipment, and if Brianna could get the date and location to the DEA, then perhaps she would be able to make a deal with them.
“I’m glad you’re back. I missed you,” she said. Dominic seemed rather pleased. “Is my father back too?” She tried to act casual, feigning indifference.
“No, we have the place all to ourselves. We should christen another room.”
Was Dominic serious? Her father was so determined to have his heir. Well, she wouldn’t breed like an animal for him.
“Is everything all right?” Brianna asked. Dominic looked confused and irritated by the subject change. She clarified, “With Salazar. Why didn’t he come back with you?”
“Nothing’s wrong. We just had a few security issues. He’ll be fine.”
“So when will he be back?”
Now he was thoroughly irritated. Good. Now he wasn’t thinking about sex.
“Does it matter?”
“Yes, it does. First of all, he’s my father—and secondly, Phillip called. He said he couldn’t get through to Salazar. There was some problem with the phones. In any case, Phillip said he wasn’t feeling well and asked me to get a message to Salazar.”
“Give the message to me—I’ll get it to him.” Dominic tensed, acting like the message was a matter of life and death.
“Phillip said it’s a go.”
Dominic’s eyes bulged and his upper lip lifted like a mad dog ready to rip something apart. “I need to go see Phillip.” He grabbed his jacket, heading toward the front door. Before he left, he turned around. “Salazar will be home one week from Tuesday, late at night.”
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