19. Dominic

CHAPTER 19

Dominic

T he music in Carly’s ballroom is a little more subdued for now, soft jazzy notes drifting under the hum of conversations and occasional laughter. I stand by Madelyn’s side near the drink table, watching her sip from her champagne flute, her face lit with a warmth that makes my chest feel tight.

Her dress clings to her in all the right ways, elegant yet sexy. She’s glowing, effortlessly holding her own amidst a sea of ostentatious décor and extravagance. Madelyn’s a social butterfly who has no qualms about speaking to strangers; she’s currently talking to some lady who complimented her on her dress.

I still think this party is excessive. Everything feels loud except for the steady, calming presence of Madelyn next to me.

She looks at me when the other woman excuses herself. When her gaze locks with mine, her eyes sparkle with warmth, a quiet radiance that makes my chest feel impossibly tight.

“You look like you’re having the time of your life,” she teases with a grin.

“Oh yeah. I’m totally in my element,” I say sarcastically. “We should attend more of these.”

“Be careful what you say, babe. There’s still the FBI Christmas party in a couple of days.”

My lips pull down in a frown at that, but before I can retort, a blur of platinum blonde hair appears in my peripheral vision right before arms wrap around my neck.

“Dom!”

I stiffen for a moment before relaxing and hugging her back. The hug’s a little dramatic considering I just saw her two days ago, but I guess she was more worried about me than I thought.

I step back slightly to introduce her to Madelyn, who’s staring at us with wide eyes. She glances at me, then at Camila, her express shifting into something carefully neutral. Her fingers tighten slightly on her champagne glass, it takes me a second to realize she’s jealous.

I smirk at the fierce, possessive look in her eyes. And I’m guessing Camila must see it too, because when I look at her, she has a mischievous glint in her eyes.

“And who’s this?” she drawls.

I cough to mask my laugh when Madelyn’s eyes narrow.

“His girlfriend,” she supplies. ‘Who are you?”

“His cousin,” Camila replies smoothly.

Madelyn blinks, her lips parting in surprise. “What?”

Camila laughs, breaking character as a warm expression takes over her face, “I’m so sorry, Madelyn. But you should have seen your face. It’s cute how possessive you are over Dom. Never lose those claws, okay?”

Madelyn visibly relaxes, though her brows knit slightly. “You didn’t tell me you had a cousin.”

“I’m full of surprises,” I reply dryly, earning me an elbow jab to the stomach from Camila.

She steps toward Madelyn, offering her a handshake. “You and I both know how annoying he can be. I’m Camila, his cousin on his mom’s side, and it’s so nice to meet you. I’ve heard so much about you.”

“It’s nice to meet you too,” she says gently, accepting the handshake.

“Camila and I were raised together,” I state, moving to stand beside Madelyn again. “The two of us don’t get to see each other often, but we’re pretty close. And I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about her, Flowers.”

She frowns a bit before nodding. I take her hand in mine, rubbing small comforting circles with my thumb. I can tell she doesn’t like that I hid that from her, but in the grand scheme of things, my having a cousin is nowhere near as bad as my other secrets. I need to tell her the truth soon. It’s only a matter of time before everything blows up in my face.

“Where’s that husband of yours?” I ask Camila, who’s openly staring at us both with intrigue.

“Lukas is in Moscow. He had business there,” she informs me, and I catch the hidden meaning behind her words.

He must be working on finding Scepter. She and I share a look that tells me everything I need to know. I’m grateful to my brother-in-law for going to such lengths for me.

“Russia must be freezing this time of year,” Madelyn says innocently. “Are you Russian too, Camila?”

“My husband is, but I come from an Italian family. My dad was Italian, and my mom and Dom’s mother were sisters,” she informs her.

I can see Madelyn trying to make sense of everything. “Complicated family tree, huh?” she asks with a smile.

“You have no idea,” Camila drawls.

The tension eases as the two of them start talking, their conversation flowing more naturally than I expected. I stay quiet, letting them bond, though I remain hyper-aware of everything happening around us. Joshua appears out of nowhere, holding a beer and looking like he just escaped a particularly grueling conversation.

“Couldn’t get laid?” I ask with a smirk.

I briefly saw him with an energetic brunette who was talking with her arms as much as her mouth. He looks slightly disturbed by what she was saying.

“She was telling me about her interest in necromancy and how she’s always had a fascination with dead bodies,” he says, shuddering in disgust. “Not touching that, thank you very much.”

“You’re such a dick, Benson,” Camila says, rolling her eyes.

His smile turns up at the sight of my cousin. “Well, well, well, if it isn’t my favorite blonde. How’s it going, Vitelli? Are you ready to leave that husband of yours and give me a chance?”

Camila scoffs.. “No way in hell.”

He shrugs. “Worth a try.” Then he turns to my girlfriend. “Hey, Maddie.”

“Boss,” she says on a short nod.

“Please, don’t call me that outside of work,” he says on a frown. “I’m currently not FBI but Josh, sweet, charming, laid back, fun-loving Josh.”

“You got it,” Madelyn says with a smile, although she looks a little confused.

I’m sure she’s not used to seeing him outside of work. Joshua changes stripes like a chameleon. He’s always so serious at work, but to be honest, he’s a bit of a goofball. An annoying one. Joshua joins our little circle and soon enough the four of us are laughing and talking. Carly also makes an appearance for a while. They particularly enjoy telling Madelyn stories about me from when we were kids.

When the music shifts, transitioning into something softer and slower, couples begin making their way to the dance floor. I can already feel Madelyn’s gaze on me.

“Don’t even think about it,” I warn, taking a step back.

Her smile turns mischievous. She sets her champagne glass down before placing a hand on my arm.

“Come on, Dom. We have to dance.”

“No,” I say stubbornly.

“Yes.”

I glance at Joshua and he’s grinning, obviously enjoying this.

“Come on, don’t make me beg,” she asks, her voice dropping to a whisper.

She gives me a look that I’m pretty sure she knows I can’t say no to and that does it. With a sigh, I take her hand, ignoring Camila’s knowing smirk.

“Simp,” Joshua coughs into his fist.

I subtly flip him off as I lead Madelyn to the dance floor. The moment I pull her into my arms, the rest of the room fades. She fits against me perfectly, one hand resting lightly on my shoulder, the other hand on mine. And then we start to dance to the band’s rendition of “All I Want For Christmas Is You.” It’s actually nice, comforting.

“You’re a pretty good dancer,” she murmurs.

“I’m full of surprises, remember?”

She laughs, her eyes lifting to meet mine. “Well, I can’t wait until nothing you do or say surprises me anymore.”

The words are simple, but the way she says them makes something in my chest tighten. I know what she means, but I really don’t want to get into that. Not right now. Her eyes search mine and I can see the questions there, the unspoken words hovering between us.

“You on the other hand, will probably never cease to surprise me,” I say teasingly.

“Of course not. I like being spontaneous.”

We move together in slow, measured steps, the music wrapping around us like a cocoon. I’m aware of every point of contact—her fingers brushing against my shoulder, the warmth of her hand in mine, the soft fabric of her dress under my palm.

“You know, it’s crazy, but I just realized we’ve only known each other for a couple of weeks,” she says with a fond smile.

“You only just realized that?” I ask dryly.

“Shut up. I just mean that it feels crazy how far we’ve come in a month. I feel like I’ve known you forever.”

I know what she means and I definitely share the sentiment. Also, if you really think about it, we’ve known each other for a long time in some way. We shared the same trauma long before we met. And she was on my mind for a long time before I found her. The threads that connect us date back decades.

It hits me that somehow we would have still ended up right by each other one way or the other. And that’s comforting, in a sense. It makes me not so afraid of what I know is coming.

“I would have always found you, Madelyn. Nothing would have been able to stop me from reaching you eventually. You’re mine and you always will be.”

Her eyes lock onto mine with an intensity that makes it hard to breathe.

“So, you’re a bit of a romantic, huh? Who would have guessed?” she whispers before leaning upward.

Our lips meet, soft and tentative at first, then deepening into something more. Madelyn melts against me completely, her mouth opening and welcoming me home. She means everything to me. She’s my home, my heart. The woman I love. The woman I’ll love until my last breath.

We kiss for what feels like hours. When we finally pull back, her cheeks are flushed and her eyes bright.

“Who needs mistletoe, right?” she asks, grinning.

“Exactly,” I murmur.

I pull her closer, resting my forehead against hers as the music swells around us. Eventually, we make our way off the dance floor. I notice Joshua’s on his probably fifth can of beer so I grab it from him.

“If you’re going to get drunk, at least do it with something sophisticated,” I say. “Or don’t get drunk at all.”

“Like what? Wine?” he asks, rolling his eyes. “You’re such a snob.”

“I know, right,” Madelyn jumps in. “He has such weird taste.”

I simply sigh, ignoring them both. Until Madelyn leans in to whisper in my ear.

“Hey, I need to use the bathroom.”

“Alright, let’s go,” I say easily.

She wrinkles her nose. “You’re not following me to the bathroom, Dominic.”

“I’ll wait outside.”

“Were you planning on following me inside in the first place?” Madelyn asks, laughing. “Anyway, no. Stay here, caveman. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

My lips thin and a part of me wants to argue but I also don’t want to be too overbearing. It could end up pushing her away.

“Fine. Just be careful, okay?”

I know she thinks I’m being overprotective. But the Specter is still running loose, and he’s got his eye on us both. I can’t risk her getting hurt. I watch her leave and soon get distracted by Joshua telling me about one of his exes that he’s sure is a stalker. He’s able to distract me and it isn’t until about twenty minutes pass that I start to wonder where Madelyn is.

“She should be back by now,” I say out loud, pulling my phone out to text her.

“I’m sure she’s fine,” Joshua tells me. “You need to chill out, Dom. Nothing’s going to happen to her here. Security’s tight.”

He has no idea who I’m dealing with. If the Specter really wanted to, he could get in here without any problem. I dial the number of one of the bodyguards I hired a couple of days ago. After the threats made, I wasn’t going to take any chances. They’ve been trailing Madelyn everywhere since.

“Where is she?” I ask in a low tone once he picks up.

“Sir. I watched her head in the direction of the bathroom twenty minutes ago. But she still hasn’t reappeared,” he informs me calmly.

My heart starts to thud in my chest. Something’s not right.

“Go and make sure she’s still in there. Just knock on the bathroom door and call for her,” I order.

He does as I asked and I stay on the line with my heart racing, waiting for confirmation that she’s okay. The bodyguard, Rufus, calls out for her from outside. He does so twice and she doesn’t reply. I listen as he asks another woman to enter and check for Madelyn.

“Sir,” he says a couple of painful minutes later, “she’s not in here.”

A second is all it takes for my heart to drop.

“Find her. Fucking find her now!” I growl.

I hang up and check the tracking device I installed on her phone a week ago. It’s still showing that her location is in the building.

Where the hell are you, baby?

I hope with everything in me that Specter hasn’t gotten to her.