by Measha Stone
“Let’s start at the beginning.” He traces the little marks again. “First, did you do this when you were talking to your father?”
I sigh. “Yes.”
He drags his eyes up to mine, there’s concern there. “No more, Kasia. If he gets you on the phone, you hang up on him. Promise me.”
Promises and commands, it’s all everyone throws at me.
“Fine.”
“Look what he makes you do to yourself,” he says, tapping the little cuts. There’s a trace of blood in one of them. It will bruise, I’m sure.
“He didn’t—” I cut myself off. “What else did you want, Dominik?”
“I want you to tell me about the accident. Why do you think there’s more to it?”
Can I trust him with this? Or will he tell me to drop it like my father had when I brought my thoughts to him.
His grip intensifies on my wrist. I’m not going anywhere until I give him what he wants.
“It just didn’t seem right. The car that hit them didn’t even slow down.”
“Okay?” He pushes, letting go of my wrist. “He was high, Kasia. That makes sense.”
“It’s not just that, they’d seen him following them. It was like he was tailing them, driving ahead of them to get in front and then he’d come out of an alley and be behind them again. Like he was trying to find a way to get to them. It’s not right. And no one was arrested. Not even a traffic violation.”
“The driver of the other car died too,” he points out.
“The drivers of the other cars on the street didn’t even stick around to give a statement. They just left.”
He narrows his eyes. “Then how do you know they were being followed by this car?”
I lower my gaze, take a shaky breath.
“I was on the phone with Diana.”
“During the accident?”
I flick away a tear from the corner of my eye. “She was complaining about the traffic and about the weird guy following them. Mom told her to just calm down, it was just traffic. That the guy was probably just lost.”
He holds my hands, and for a moment I can feel the strength seeping from him into me.
“You heard everything?” His voice dips, like he’s afraid I’ll run if he talks too loudly.
I swallow. “I heard my sister scream and my mom yell. I heard the crunch...” I blink a few times and suck in air. “I heard my mom...”
“What did she say?” he asks, brushing my hair from my face. “Kasia, what did you hear her say?”
“She said she was sorry.” I finally turn my gaze to him. “What would she be sorry for?”
“Did you tell your dad this?”
“No,” I shook my head. “Not that part. He was...upset about everything. He’d told me to pick her up. It should have been me, and then it wouldn’t have happened. I would have been on time; we wouldn’t have been there at that time.” The same guilt runs on a loop, tearing apart my insides.
“Your dad didn’t want to look into it, so you went and hired this DeGrazio guy.” He fills in the rest for me.
“You looked through my phone and my computer, didn’t you?” I ask, straightening my spine. “Of course, you did. You know, you don’t like my father, but you two aren’t that different.”
He raises his brows. “We can talk about that later if you want, but right now, I want an answer to something else.”
He’s a man on a mission and won’t be derailed.
“What?” I’m tired of all the inquiries.
“How are you paying him?”
“When my grandmother died, she left a fund for me and Diana. When I was eighteen it rolled into my control and my dad couldn’t touch it. I’ve been using that.” And it’s almost gone now. “You didn’t tell him to stop looking, did you?”
“He doesn’t need to be involved. I have men much better than that washed-up piece of shit.”
I pull back from him to take in his expression. He’s serious. He’s not playing with me.
“You’d have your men look into this for me?”
He cups the side of my face. “You’re my wife, Kasia. If it’s important to you, it’s important to me. But I don’t want you to ever go behind my back, do you understand? Never on your own, you don’t have to do that anymore.”
I doubt he understands the weight of his words. How easily he can crush me with a few syllables.
“You talked to him.”
“I did.” He surprises me with the truth. It shouldn’t. As far as I know, he’s never lied to me.
“He found something but hasn’t told me, is that it?” I’ve suspected DeGrazio wasn’t giving me information he had, but all I could do was keep pushing. Seeing the truth on Dominik’s face, I realize what a pathetic fool I’ve been.
“I know everything he knows, and now my men will take it from here. But Kasia, you have to swear to me no more playing detective. No paying anyone else to do it, and no talking with your father until we figure this all out.”
“You can’t think he had anything to do with it.”
He pauses a moment. “I don’t know.”
“So, I just sit here while you go off every day.” As much as I love reading in this gorgeous yard, there’s more for me out there.
“If that’s what you want, then yes. Or you can start looking for a teaching job.”
I blink. I couldn’t have heard him right. Dad never let Mom even think of working. He’d only let me get my degree to dangle the carrot of some sense of freedom. I don’t think he ever intended to let me have a life free of him. The more control he has the more he can punish me for ruining everything for him.
“How would that work? You won’t even let me go shopping without two of your men trailing around me.”
He nods. “That’s true. But we’ll figure something out.”
I’m not sure who this man is sitting with me beneath the tree. Where’s his steely demeanor? It’s unsettling.
“Speaking of shopping. Did you get anything else besides that funeral dress for the wedding when you were out with Margaret?”
The wedding dress was petty, I can admit that.
“No, just that.”
He pats my knee. “Then you’ll have to wear something in your closet.” He gently moves me off his lap and stands with me. He picks up my discarded kindle and takes my hand.
“You want me to wear a dress? Why?”
“We’re going out.”
It’s the only answer he gives me.
And once again, I find myself obeying him.
Chapter Sixteen
Dominik
Techno music vibrates the walls of the club as I walk through the side doors with Kasia at my side. She kept to herself on the drive into the city. It took a lot out of her, I think, to tell me what she did. I wonder how many times she’s replayed that phone call in her mind over the years. I wonder how many times she tortured herself with the last words her mother spoke.
Marcin Garska is a fucking prick. I was never disillusioned on that fact but seeing Kasia has shown me how fast his trip to hell will be.
I’d gotten home with the intent of forcing her to answer questions. I was willing to do whatever I needed to in order to get the truth from her, expecting her to fight me. But as I marched across the lawn and saw the tension in her body, saw how tightly her eyes were squeezed closed and her fingers pressing into her flesh the way they were, the only thing that mattered was getting her off that fucking call.
Marcin threw a few threats at me when I got on the phone, but they mean nothing. He cares nothing for his daughter. The more I find out, the clearer that has become.
Jakub greets me at the entrance to the main floor. He smiles at Kasia and kisses both of her cheeks. I don’t like it — him touching her, but I don’t say anything. He’s being polite. They’re family now.
“You want the VIP room upstairs?” he shouts the question in my ear.
I glance down at Kasia. She’s wearing a sparkling dress tha
t hugs her body, showing off the curve of her hips, the small swell of her breasts. My instinct is to hide her away. Not to let anyone see her. She’s mine.
“Leave it open for us,” I say, as a slow melody begins to play. Kasia leans forward to see around me toward the dance floor. She’s left her long, blonde hair down but I see the pearl earrings dangling. A constant reminder of who she lost. I wonder if she’s wearing them because she misses her mother or if she’s trying to punish herself by never forgetting.
Jakub walks off to tell the staff to leave the room open for me and I tug on Kasia’s hand, pulling her toward the dance floor. She hesitates, but it only takes a small tug to get her compliance. I may not have punished her for talking with her father, and for keeping her secret, but things haven’t changed. If I want her with me, she’ll be with me.
Once on the dance floor, I spin around to face her, putting my arms around her waist and pulling her to me. She looks uncertain but wraps her hands around my neck. It’s been years since I’ve moved on the dance floor with a woman, but I find my feet quickly. Kasia, to my surprise, follows my lead easily as we make our way around the floor.
She turns her cheek and presses it to my chest. The music pours over us and all I can feel is her against me. There’s so much more to this girl than being a pawn for her father to maneuver. For men like me to move about.
I tuck her under my chin and continue to move to the beat. She’s not wearing high heels like the other women in the club. Even though she’s so much shorter than me, and fits perfectly in my arms, she wears flat shoes. Such a contradiction, my wife.
We turn once more around the floor and I’m distracted by two men standing near the stairs leading up to the VIP section. I tense. I wasn’t looking for a meeting tonight, but it seems business follows me everywhere.
“I have to speak to someone, Kasia.” I stop our dance and slide my hands down her arms until I capture one hand in mine.
She follows my gaze to the men and frowns.
“Okay.”
I kiss the top of her head. “Do you want to wait down here at the bar, or do you want to go to the office. It won’t be long.” A few minutes only. Enough to get the information I’ve been waiting for.
She looks over at the bar. “I’ll wait out here. I’ll get a drink. “
I walk her to the bar, settle her on the high stool and gesture for the bartender. “Anything you want, Kasia. But not too much of it, okay?” I kiss her temple and move my mouth down her to ear. “I have plans for you when we get home.”
She bites down hard on her lip. “I don’t know, Dominik. I might be tired. It’s been a long day,” she teases me, and the simpleness of it lightens my chest.
I cage her against the bar with my arms, and bite down on her earlobe. “Try to deny me, Kasia. I dare you.”
It’s loud in the club, but I still hear the little gasp my words have caused. My cock is already steel hard in my pants.
“I won’t be long.” I kiss her once more, and gesture to the bartender she’s ready to give her order. Straightening up, I pull the cuffs of my shirt from under my jacket.
Jakub meets me at the edge of the dance floor, and we take the men up to the VIP room. I’ll be able to keep an eye on Kasia from there. She’s a grown woman, and I have men in the club watching out for her, but I don’t like the darkness rolling through me at the idea of leaving her at the bar.
“What can I get you?” Jakub asks as we all sit down at the table.
“Nothing.” I put my hand up and set my firm gaze on the Kominski brothers. “What do you have for me.”
“I talked to my father this afternoon,” the older of them, Christopher, says. “You know he’s ill.”
“I do.” I nod. The old man is on death’s door, but that’s not what interests me.
“He wants to be sure you understand we had no idea the Garska girl was promised to you.” He continues, adjusting his tie.
“No formal announcement was made.” There hadn’t been any reason to; it was a simple marriage for alliance.
“Okay, just—” He glances at Jakub then back at me. “As long as you know, we had no idea she was connected to you in any way.”
“Understood.” I give a firm nod. Whatever he’s going to tell me is bad. He wouldn’t be so damn nervous if it was nothing.
“When we heard you were asking around about it, we came right to you,” James, the younger brother interjects. The Kominski family has a small territory on the south side. There’s no rivalry or competition here. But to offend my father could still cause them trouble. Our community isn’t large; word spreads like wildfire between families.
“I appreciate that.” I glance over the railing to where Kasia sits at the bar. She’s nursing a glass of wine, swirling it around the glass, seemingly lost in thought.
“So?” Jakub knocks his knuckles on the table. “What do you want to tell us.”
Christopher eyes him briefly then concentrates on me. “My father’s accounting is that he was ordered to take out that car,” he says, switching to Polish for this part of our conversation. Christopher leans back in the chair, as though getting the words out has lifted some weight off his chest.
“Take out the Garska car?” I clarify, schooling my features.
“Yes. He was given information of when it would be at that intersection and he was to take out the car.”
“So the asshole driving, he was just one of your own targets?” Jakub asks.
Christopher nods. “He was on the hook with my father, he was gone one way or another. He chose the right way to go out.”
“Chose? You mean he was alive when he drove into them?”
“Yeah.” Christopher’s brows crease. “How else would we have gotten the accident to look so good?”
“The brakes were cut,” Jakub points out.
“We needed to make sure he didn’t puss out last minute,” James answers. His fingers drum on his knee.
“And how did you convince this prick to do such a thing? Kill an innocent girl and her mom?” I ask, sensing the dark clouds on the horizon.
Christopher moves in his chair again, tugs on his tie. “That’s it, Dominik.” He leans closer. “That wasn’t the job. The job was to hit the car. There was only supposed to be one driver. We were never told who the driver was.”
My chest twists.
“Walk me through this. What was supposed to happen?” Jakub picks up the conversation while I’m letting this information seep into my mind.
“That morning we got a call with where the target would be. We got our guy out there and he waited until he saw it. He followed the car until he could find a spot where he could get ahead of it and make a turn, so he’d be coming at the side.”
“How’d you get him to do it, he had to know he could die?” Jakub asks, but I think it’s more from curiosity than anything.
“He was dead one way or another, he was saving his family,” James says. I look back at my wife; she’s waving down the bartender for a second drink. The colored lights from the DJ wave over the dance floor, blues and pinks run over her skin here she sits.
“Who gave the order?” I tear my attention away from Kasia.
Christopher’s jaw clenches.
“Give me the name.”
“We had no idea you were connected,” he reminds me.
“The name,” I say with more force.
“Marcin Garska.”
And with that, all sound around me stops.
“He never said it was his daughter. For fuck’s sake, who does that?” James quickly says, leaning toward us.
“Marcin Garska ordered the killing of his own daughter?”
“And his wife?” Jakub adds.
“There was only supposed to be one person in the car. We got our guy at the place Marcin told us at the time he said. This wasn’t our fault.” Christopher’s hand is fisted.
“Tell your father I’m grateful for the information. He didn’t have to come forward with it
, I appreciate the honesty,” I say to the brothers. “There will be no retribution,” I assure them and they both sink back into their chairs. The Kominski family holds no power. Petty theft rings mostly. They’re good for hiring out a dirty job, like Marcin did.
“We heard you married the other Garska girl, is that right?” Christopher pushes his luck.
“I did.” I stand, ending the meeting. “And I need to get back to her. If I have other questions, I’m sure I’ll be able to get hold of you.”
“Yeah, of course. No problem, Dominik.” He holds out his hand, and I shake it. There’s no bad blood here.
But there will be bloodshed by the time this is through.
Marcin Garska dug his own grave, and it will soon be time to lay him in it.
Chapter Seventeen
Kasia
Dominik’s quiet on the drive home from the club, so I’ve left him to his thoughts. Whatever his meeting was about has left him in a dark mood.
He pulls his phone out and grumbles while he’s firing off text messages.
“Has something happened?” I ask as the SUV parks in front of the house. It’s late, and I’m tired. Dominik didn’t keep me at the club for much longer after his meeting. His mood had soured, I think.
The driver gets out of the car once we’re parked.
“Nothing new,” he says, but I sense there’s more. He’s not telling me everything.
I don’t push. It’s been a good night. I don’t want to ruin it with anger. There’s been so much of that over the years in my life, I don’t want to carry any more of it into my future. I won’t delude myself with the idea that I’ll have a happy, love-filled marriage, but we don’t have to be enemies.
It’s that idea I’m grasping onto. I just don’t want to be hated anymore.
Dominik climbs out of the car and grabs my hand, tugging me out with him.
I watch him as we walk up the stairs to the house. His jaw is tense, his back is locked up. There’s more tension than when we left home earlier.
Home. That’s what this place is for me now. My home.