I expected Dominic Costantini to explode.
He didn’t.
That was worse.
The moment Antonio said Mason was trying to sell information about me, Dominic became so quiet that every man in the apartment seemed to straighten.
“Exactly what did he offer?” Dominic asked.
Antonio checked the message on his phone.
“Her schedule. Address. Banking details. He also claimed she has access to internal Echelon information.”
I laughed once.
Not because anything was funny.
“I serve cocktails.”
Dominic’s jaw tightened.
“Mason knows that?”
“Yes.”
“Then he’s lying.”
“Mason lies when breathing.”
Antonio continued.
“He told Salerno Emma could get access to executive offices.”
I stared.
“Why would anyone believe that?”
“Because,” Dominic said slowly, “you were photographed holding my arm in the middle of my casino.”
My heart sank.
Of course.
Mason had seen an opportunity.
It had taken him less than an hour to turn it against me.
“So because I asked you to pretend to be my boyfriend, he’s now telling criminals I’m close to you?”
Dominic’s gaze remained unreadable.
“Yes.”
“This is insane.”
“Yes.”
“I hate you.”
Antonio coughed.
Dominic raised an eyebrow.
“I’m aware this wasn’t my idea.”
“I know. I hate that too.”
For a second, I could have sworn the corner of his mouth moved.
Then his expression became serious again.
“You can’t return here.”
“I’ll stay with my sister.”
“Where does she live?”
“Phoenix.”
“Does Mason know?”
I closed my eyes.
“Yes.”
“Then no.”
“You don’t get to decide where I go.”
“No. But Salerno might decide for you if you choose badly.”
I hated that he was right.
Dominic held out his hand.
“Pack what you need.”
I looked around my destroyed apartment.
Someone had already taken everything that mattered.
I filled one suitcase.
Three days of clothes.
My mother’s photograph.
A worn sweater that still smelled faintly of her cedar closet if I imagined hard enough.
The small jewelry box containing nothing valuable except her wedding ring.
Dominic watched from the doorway while I packed.
He didn’t rush me.
When I struggled to close the suitcase, he stepped forward.
“I’ve got it.”
“I can carry my own bag.”
“I’m sure you can.”
He picked it up anyway.
I followed him downstairs.
Twenty-five minutes later, the Las Vegas lights disappeared behind us as the SUVs headed west.
“Where do you live?” I asked.
“Summerlin.”
“Of course you do.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means mafia bosses apparently have good school districts.”
Antonio made a strangled sound from the front seat.
Dominic glanced at him.
“Do you have a problem?”
“No, boss.”
I stared out the window.
I was exhausted enough to stop being afraid.
That was probably dangerous.
Dominic’s home sat behind a private gate guarded by men who clearly were not there to hand out visitor passes.
The house itself surprised me.
It was large, obviously.
Stone walls.
Tall windows.
Courtyard.
But it wasn’t some ridiculous palace.
No lion statues.
No gold fountains.
No sports cars displayed like trophies.
Inside, the rooms were elegant and quiet.
Dark wood.
Cream walls.
Books.
Actual books.
I stopped in front of one shelf.
“You read?”
Dominic looked offended.
“No. I bought eight hundred books to intimidate guests.”
I glanced at him.
“Your sense of humor is weird.”
“So I’ve been told.”
A woman in her sixties walked into the foyer.
Silver-streaked dark hair, black slacks, soft sweater.
She looked at me, then at Dominic, then at my suitcase.
Her eyebrows rose.
Dominic sighed.
“Rosa.”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“You didn’t have to.”
Rosa smiled at me.
“I’m Rosa Bellini.”
“Emma.”
“I know.”
Of course she did.
Rosa took my hand warmly.
“Are you hungry?”
“No, thank you.”
“You look hungry.”
“I’m mostly traumatized.”
Rosa nodded as if this were a reasonable dietary condition.
“Soup, then.”
Dominic said, “She doesn’t have to eat.”
Rosa stared at him.
He fell silent.
I looked between them.
“Who is she?”
“My housekeeper.”
Rosa scoffed.
“I raised him after his mother died.”
Dominic pinched the bridge of his nose.
“You don’t need to tell her my life story.”
“She’ll learn eventually.”
My pulse stumbled.
Eventually?
Dominic noticed my expression.
“We need to talk.”
Rosa pointed toward the kitchen.
“You talk after soup.”
And somehow the most feared man in Las Vegas obeyed.
That was the first truly comforting thing I learned about Dominic Costantini.
At the kitchen island, Rosa placed chicken soup and bread in front of me.
I hadn’t realized how hungry I was.
Dominic sat opposite me with coffee.
Black.
Naturally.
Antonio arrived ten minutes later carrying another folder.
I stopped eating.
“I’m beginning to hate folders.”
“Fair,” Antonio said.
Dominic opened it.
“Salerno refused Mason’s offer.”
I blinked.
“That’s good.”
“No,” Dominic said.
“How is that not good?”
“He refused the price.”
My stomach tightened.
Antonio explained.
“Mason asked for fifty thousand dollars in exchange for delivering you.”
My spoon fell against the bowl.
Delivering me.
The phrase sounded inhuman.
“What did Salerno say?”
“He offered ten.”
I stared.
“My ex tried to sell me for fifty thousand dollars, and they negotiated?”
Dominic’s eyes darkened.
“He won’t touch you.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Yes.”
Something in his tone made Antonio look at him.
Dominic continued.
“I do.”
I pushed the soup away.
“What am I supposed to do? Hide here forever?”
“No.”
“Then?”
Dominic leaned back.
“We give Salerno a reason not to touch you.”
“And what reason is that?”
“You become valuable to me.”
I frowned.
“You just said Mason lied about that.”
“He did.”
“So?”
“We make the lie believable.”
I stared.
Then it clicked.
“No.”
Dominic said nothing.
“No.”
“You haven’t heard the plan.”
“The plan is pretending we’re together.”
“Yes.”
“Absolutely not.”
Rosa quietly took the soup pot and left.
Traitor.
Dominic folded his hands.
“Mason already started the story. Salerno believes you might be close to me. If I publicly deny it, he’ll assume you’re expendable.”
“And if we pretend I’m your girlfriend?”
“Then touching you becomes an attack on me.”
“That sounds less like protection and more like putting a target on my back.”
“You already have one.”
I hated that answer.
“How long?”
“A few weeks.”
“Until?”
“We get evidence clearing your name from the shell company and dismantle the accounts tied to Mason.”
“Dismantle?”
“Legally.”
Antonio examined the ceiling.
I pointed at him.
“That reaction did not look legal.”
Dominic almost smiled.
“We’ll use lawyers, financial investigators, and law enforcement where appropriate.”
“Where appropriate?”
“Emma.”
“Fine.”
I stood.
“I want rules.”
Dominic’s eyebrows rose.
“Rules?”
“If I agree.”
“You’re negotiating?”
“You seem like a man who appreciates contracts.”
Antonio muttered, “This should be good.”
I counted on my fingers.
“Rule one: you don’t tell me where I can go unless there is an immediate safety threat.”
Dominic considered.
“Agreed, provided security accompanies you.”
“One security person.”
“Two.”
“One.”
“Two.”
I glared.
“Fine.”
“Rule two?”
“You don’t touch me unexpectedly.”
His expression changed.
A small thing.
Understanding.
“Agreed.”
“Rule three: no lying to me about danger.”
“That may be difficult.”
“Then the deal is off.”
He studied me.
“Agreed.”
“Rule four: this ends when the threat is over.”
“Yes.”
“And rule five…”
I hesitated.
Dominic waited.
“No pretending when we’re alone.”
His gaze held mine.
I suddenly wished I hadn’t said it.
“Explain.”
“No pet names. No fake touching. No romantic acting unless someone else is watching.”
Something unreadable crossed his face.
“Understood.”
Antonio said, “Any rules for her?”
Dominic looked at me.
“Yes.”
I crossed my arms.
“Let’s hear them.”
“You tell me immediately if Mason contacts you.”
“Fine.”
“You do not leave security.”
“I already agreed.”
“You don’t investigate anything yourself.”
“I wasn’t planning to.”
“And if you feel unsafe with me, you say it.”
That surprised me.
Dominic’s expression was completely serious.
“Immediately.”
I nodded slowly.
“Okay.”
He stood and offered his hand.
“Then we have an agreement.”
I looked at his palm.
The same hand I had taken earlier at the casino.
I shook it.
His grip was warm.
Strong.
Brief.
The next morning, photographs of us were everywhere.
MAFIA KING’S MYSTERY WOMAN.
DOMINIC COSTANTINI SEEN WITH CASINO EMPLOYEE.
WHO IS EMMA CARTER?
I nearly choked on coffee.
Dominic glanced at the tablet.
“Could be worse.”
“How?”
He scrolled.
“This one says we’re engaged.”
I snatched the tablet.
“What?”
He was joking.
Mostly.
Rosa walked in.
“You two look good together.”
“We’re not together,” I said.
Dominic drank his coffee.
“Rule five.”
I looked at him.
He was teasing me.
The mafia boss was teasing me.
“This is not funny.”
His phone buzzed.
His expression changed.
He answered.
“Speak.”
Silence.
Then his gaze shifted to me.
“When?”
More silence.
“Send it.”
He hung up.
“What happened?”
Dominic didn’t answer immediately.
Rule three.
I reminded him.
“No lying about danger.”
He nodded.
“Mason contacted a reporter.”
My stomach dropped.
“What did he say?”
“That you stole money from him.”
I laughed in disbelief.
“Of course.”
“He also claims you seduced me to gain access to the casino’s finances.”
“That doesn’t even make sense.”
“It doesn’t need to. It only needs to spread.”
My phone started ringing.
Unknown number.
Then another.
Messages.
Coworkers.
Old friends.
A cousin I hadn’t spoken to in six months.
I opened social media.
Mason had posted a statement.
I read the first two lines.
My hands began shaking.
Dominic took the phone gently.
“What did he write?”
I couldn’t speak.
Dominic read.
His face became colder with every line.
Mason said I had stolen from him.
That I had invented abuse allegations.
That I had targeted Dominic.
That I had a history of manipulating men.
Hundreds of comments already appeared underneath.
Some believed him.
Of course they did.
Dominic set the phone down.
“I’ll handle it.”
“No.”
His eyes narrowed.
“No?”
“I’ve spent years letting Mason tell everyone who I am.”
I picked up my phone.
“I’m done.”
“What are you doing?”
“Going public.”
“That could expose you further.”
“He already exposed me.”
I opened the camera.
Dominic watched me.
“You don’t have to defend yourself to strangers.”
“No.”
I steadied my hands.
“But I want to.”
I recorded a short video.
“My name is Emma Carter. Some of you have seen claims about me today. I’m not going to discuss an active financial investigation, but I will say this: I left Mason Reed because I was afraid of him. I have documentation of financial theft, threatening messages, and physical injuries. I won’t be bullied into silence anymore.”
I stopped recording.
Dominic said nothing.
“Too much?”
“No.”
“Too little?”
“No.”
“What?”
His gaze softened.
“You stopped shaking.”
I realized he was right.
I posted the video.
Within an hour, everything changed.
Not because the internet suddenly became kind.
It didn’t.
But three women messaged me.
Women Mason had dated before me.
One wrote:
He did it to me too.
Another:
I thought I was the only one.
The third message came with photographs.
Bruises.
Bank transfers.
Threatening texts.
I showed Dominic.
His jaw clenched.
“How many women has he done this to?”
“I don’t know.”
Then another message arrived.
Not from a woman.
From Mason.
YOU JUST MADE THE BIGGEST MISTAKE OF YOUR LIFE.
Dominic read it over my shoulder.
His face went still.
My phone rang.
Mason.
I declined it.
He called again.
Dominic held out his hand.
I shook my head.
“I can handle him.”
“I know.”
That answer gave me courage.
I accepted.
“What?”
Mason’s voice exploded through the speaker.
“You think Costantini is going to save you?”
I said nothing.
“You don’t know what he is.”
“I know what you are.”
Silence.
Then Mason lowered his voice.
“You were nothing before me.”
For years, those words had worked.
This time they didn’t.
“I was happier before you.”
Dominic’s eyes met mine.
Mason laughed.
“You’ll come crawling back when he gets bored.”
“No, Mason.”
I breathed slowly.
“I’m never coming back.”
I hung up.
My hands were trembling again.
But I was smiling.
Dominic looked at me.
“Little bird.”
“Rule five.”
“We’re not alone.”
I glanced around.
Antonio had quietly entered the kitchen.
Rosa stood near the stove.
Two security guards were visible outside.
I rolled my eyes.
“That’s cheating.”
Dominic smiled.
Then Antonio’s phone buzzed.
The smile disappeared.
He looked at us.
“We’ve got a problem.”
Dominic stood.
“What?”
Antonio turned the screen toward him.
A security-camera image.
Mason.
Outside my sister’s house in Phoenix.
My blood froze.
And suddenly our fake relationship was no longer about saving me.
Mason had gone after my family.