Chapter 26

CHAPTERTWENTY-SIX

Dom woke slowly to the smell of old wine, dirt, and salt. He blinked open an eye, his chest hurting and mouth dry as dust.

"Domenico, my baby, thank God." Carmella’s words drifted toward him as though through a thick fog.

Slowly, Dom’s vision cleared, and he realized he was chained to a brick wall. Gold flashed in the corner of his eye.

"Stella." Dom flung himself toward her, but the manacles around his ankles caught him. He couldn’t touch her, and she wasn’t moving. My mate.

"Calm down, Dom. She’s still alive, just unconscious."

Carmella looked like a wrinkled flower in the dim light. She must have come from a party because she was still dressed in a red satin gown. Her lip was busted, the dress ruined.

"What’s happening?" Dom asked.

"Rodrigo is finally making his move on the Doge’s seat, it would seem," she said, her voice a soft snarl.

"Is he insane?"

She moved her skirt and showed him her ankles and the shackles around them. "You have to ask?"

Dom rubbed his face, trying to remember what had happened. There was a boat and a gun. Ciro. Then he was going down, Stella screaming above him. The last thing he’d seen was the door filling with Rodrigo. He shot her.

He shot my mate. Dom was going to kill him for that, but first, he needed Stella.

"Wake up, Stella!" Dom strained against his chains, stretching out to touch her.

"Dom, you can’t reach her, but try to think clearly like I taught you," Carmella said sharply. "She wouldn’t be down here with us if she were dead. Now, tell me, who is she?"

Dom looked up at Carmella. All his rage and sorrow and fear threatened to choke him.

"Mama, she’s my mate," he sobbed.

Carmella’s face softened. "Then he’s got you by the balls, my son."

"Where are we?" Dom asked, trying to think.

"At home, in the cellars. Where no one can find us or hear us. I knew something was off tonight when I gave Rodrigo his letters. It was like a switch turned on. I wasn’t ready for the blow." Carmella’s eyes filled with tears, and she looked up so they wouldn’t fall. "I’m worried about what he’s done with Caesar."

"Why is he doing this to us? We are family!" Dom snarled.

"Are we? I have something that says otherwise." Rodrigo’s voice cut through the darkness. Dom squinted as oil lamps were turned on.

"Father, what is going on?" Dom demanded, getting to his feet.

"I could ask you the same thing, Domenico. You were the one snooping in my business with this little tramp." Rodrigo nudged Stella with his boot, and she groaned.

Don’t react, don’t react. If you do, he’ll use it against you.

"We are investigating missing people cases. Why were you at the docks, and with guns no less?" Dom had to keep him talking, had to keep his attention off Stella.

"I was protecting my investment." Rodrigo helped Stella sit up unsteadily, her head lolling to one side. Dom strained against his chains again as Rodrigo sniffed her. His mouth opened in startled surprise before he smiled.

"Oh, Dom, the little tramp is your mate."

"Leave her alone. She has nothing to do with this."

"Yes, she does. She’s an extension of you, and she’s seen too much. For both reasons, she has to die." Rodrigo clicked his tongue. "A shame. She is so pretty, and with curves to die for."

Dom could barely believe his ears. He knew Rodrigo was starting not to trust him, but to go this far...

"Why? What did I do to deserve this? I was a good son to you. I didn’t step up and push the alpha issue. I never tried to steal the seat from you. You are my father!"

Rodrigo laughed and looked at a silently fuming Carmella.

"That’s not precisely true now, is it, beloved?" he said. He grabbed her face tightly. "I bribed the right people this time, and I have the test results you’ve spent the last thirty-five years hiding from me. Time to tell the truth."

"He’s your son, Rodrigo. Don’t do this to him. Make a deal with him. You are both reasonable—" Carmella’s head snapped back as Rodrigo struck her hard.

"Stop lying to me!" he shouted over Dom’s roars of fury.

"Why take all those people?" Stella asked, trying to distract Rodrigo from Carmella. Dom almost fainted with relief to see her awake. Rodrigo’s dark gaze rested on her.

"You are going to kill us, right? What do you have to lose? It’s driving me crazy. You’re already rich and powerful. What more is there to gain?"

"There is always more to gain. I’m a businessman first and a politician second. The Varangians wanted magic users, so I provided them," Rodrigo said, pacing the floor.

"And they had to be unregistered so no one would know they were missing. At least not in the beginning. Clever," Stella said, with a nod.

What are you doing, Stella? Stop attracting his interest. Dom tried to get her attention, but she wouldn’t look at him.

"It was clever. Then Ciro took the courtesan and fucked up a good thing. You can never trust a shrike and their appetites. It doesn’t matter. With this last shipment, I’ll get exactly what I want," Rodrigo said, pulling a dagger from his jacket pocket.

"And what is that? More money? A wife that actually loves you?" Stella provoked.

"My ambitions are greater than money and women. The Varangians are good businessmen, and they know the value of having someone on their side. I’ll give them a way into the Republic, and in return, they will make me Doge. I won’t have to suffer wearing another man’s name any longer."

Carmella laughed, and blood dribbled down her chin. "Oh, Rodrigo, you are still jealous of Gio after all this time."

Rodrigo snarled and went for her, but Carmella shifted, swiping at him with her claws, making him rear back. He dodged around her, grabbed one of her wings, and snapped it in a sickening crunch.

Carmella yowled and Dom shifted, roaring loud enough to shake the dust from the roof. Betrayal, anger, and bloodlust surged through him, urging him to protect his mother.

"I couldn’t give a fuck about that pathetic human!" Rodrigo shouted, kicking Carmella hard in the ribs. "I just need his office, and I will have it."

Rodrigo turned and walked towards Dom. He could smell Rodrigo’s rage and sweat. Dom was going to kill him for this, he just needed him to get close enough.

"I didn’t want to have to kill you, Dom, but I don’t trust you anymore, and that’s a real problem. Who else knows about the Princess of Zadar?"

"Everyone. I sent a messenger to every Council member before we went to the docks," Stella hissed. "You are fucked. Don’t make it worse for yourself by killing us on top of human trafficking."

"Is that so? Tell me, Dom, is your mate telling the truth? Or will I have to beat it out of her?"

Stella laughed. "His mate? You’ve got the wrong girl, Rodrigo."

His father’s smile was ice. "He didn’t tell you? Well, congratulations. I can smell it, and so can probably every other shifter in Venice. Such a shame you won’t get a chance to see how special such a bond can be."

Stella’s eyes went wide. "Dom? Is it true?"

Rodrigo grabbed Stella by the hair and breathed her in. "It definitely is, and I have the perfect way to prove it to you." He drove his fist into her gut twice and dumped her to the ground.

Dom’s vision hazed red, and he lost his mind.