Chapter 117 

Chapter 117 

Dominic’s arms were around me before I even realized he’d crossed the hall. 

He didn’t ask. Didn’t hesitate. 

He just scooped me up, lifting me off the blood–slick floor, holding me so tightly I could barely breathe–but for the first time, I didn’t want to fight it. I buried my face in his chest, shaking so badly I thought my bones would rattle apart. 

“It’s okay,” he murmured against my hair, his voice low, rough. “You did what you had to do.” 

I sobbed once, harsh and broken. 

“There was blood, Dom.” My voice cracked, barely above a whisper. “It’s on me. I can’t–I can’t get it off.” 

He cradled the back of my head, swaying a little like we were standing in the middle of a storm. “You did what I told you to do, Aria. You stayed alive.” 

J 

I clutched at his shoulders, fingers digging into his bare skin. “I killed him.” 

“You saved yourself.” He pulled back just enough to look at me, tipping my chin up gently. “You hear me? You saved yourself, Aria.” 

My eyes were wide, wet, unfocused. 

His thumb brushed over my cheekbone. “You were amazing.” 

I blinked at him, stunned. “Amazing?” 

“You didn’t freeze. You fought back. You made sure he didn’t take you.” His jaw tightened. “I couldn’t have gotten here fast enough if you hadn’t. You saved your own life.” 

I shook my head, tears sliding fresh down my cheeks. “But it feels wrong. It feels-” 

He pressed his forehead against mine, grounding me. “It’s never going to feel right.” 

The lights overhead buzzed faintly, still shaky, but at least they were on. For a moment, it was just us, breathing the same ragged air. 

Dominic pulled back slightly. His eyes locked to mine. 

“But we’re not done yet,” he said quietly. “There could be more. We need to move out of this place. It’s been compromised.” Fear shot through me all over again. He seemed to feel it because he cupped my face, thumbs brushing away the tears even as more kept spilling. “You’re strong enough, Aria. I am sure you would be able to understand that what you did was out of a necessity not because you enjoyed it.” 

I swallowed hard nodding. “Where do we go?” 

“Safehouse,” he said. “One of mine. We regroup, rearm. Then we start thinking of a plan.” 

I nodded shakily. “Okay.” 

Dominic glanced at the gun lying abandoned on the floor. He shifted me slightly in his arms, one hand keeping me steady while the other bent down to grab it. He tucked it into the waistband of his pants. 

“You keep it next time,” he said. “You might need it again.” 

My stomach twisted. 

He must’ve seen it on my face because he kissed my forehead, brief but fierce. “First kill’s the worst.” 

I gave a shaky little laugh. “You sound like you’re talking about losing virginity.” 

He smirked. “Similar rules. It’s messy, fast, and afterward, you feel like the world’s not the same.” 

Despite everything, a tiny snort escaped me. 

He grinned, just for a second, and it made something inside me ache. 

“Stay close to me,” he said, voice dropping. “No more hero stunts. No running. If we get separated-” 

I tensed. 

“-you shoot first, ask questions later.” 

I nodded quickly. 

He shifted me again, easing me down onto my feet but keeping a firm hand on my waist. I wobbled. My legs felt like they were made of jelly and wet sand. 

Dominic’s gaze softened slightly. “Can you walk?” 

“I think so.” I bit my lip. “If you don’t mind me hanging onto you like a damn koala bear.” 

1/3 

Chapter 117 

He laughed, a real rough, low sound, then kissed my temple. 

“I don’t mind at all.” 

Gunfire cracked in the distance. 

His body went rigid.. 

“We have to move. Now.” 

I grabbed the hem of his shirt my makeshift shield and stayed glued to his side as he led me down the hall, every step calculated, every glance a warning. 

His body was pure tension–tight, coiled, dangerous. Every time a board creaked or a door swung slightly in the draft, he shifted his gun toward it, finger brushing the trigger, ready to kill without hesitation. 

My heart hammered against my ribs like it wanted out of my chest. Every muscle screamed at me to run, but I didn’t. I clung to Dominic, one hand fisting his shirt so tightly my knuckles burned white. 

The smell of gunpowder still hung thick in the air. 

Blood, sweat and smoke. 

The ground shook as a second, smaller explosion rattled the far wing of the house. The chandeliers swayed dangerously above us. 

“Secondary charges,” Dominic muttered under his breath. His voice was clipped, hard. “They want to bring the house down.” 

“They’re not just trying to kill you,” I realized, my voice shaking. “They want everything you built. And your men too. The servants.” 

I thought of Emilia. Where was she? Did she know about this. 

No. That was irrelevant now. 

His jaw clenched so hard I thought it might shatter. 

“I know Aria, I know.” 

We moved faster now, Dominic practically dragging me as alarms blared somewhere deep in the walls. His bare feet made almost no sound against the marble, while mine slid awkwardly, the floor slick with dust and water from broken pipes. Around the corner, two of his guards lay crumpled blood pooling thick beneath their bodies. I turned my face into his back, nausea clawing up my throat. 

Dominic didn’t pause. Didn’t even blink. He just tightened his grip on my hand and kept moving. 

Down the servant’s stairwell. Through the shattered remains of the kitchen. Every door had been blown off its hinges. 

“This isn’t just Mikael’s anger,” Dominic growled under his breath as he shoved aside a burning chair blocking the back hallway. “He is leaving me fucking messages and he is petty. 

“Just to you?” I asked. 

” 

“To everyone,” he said grimly. “To the city. To every goddamn man who ever swore loyalty to me. That I…am failing fhem. My reign is falling. The fucking bastard..” 

He stopped abruptly at a side door half hanging off its frame. Listened. The wind whistled through the gaps. No footsteps. No breathing. 

He yanked it open. 

Moonlight poured in. Cold. Pale. The gardens stretched out before us–ruined, trampled. The black SUV was about fifty yards away, half hidden in the trees, engine idling. 

But something was wrong. 

Too quiet. 

No guards. No movement. 

Dominic’s hand shot up, halting me. 

“Wait.” 

I barely breathed as he scanned the darkness, senses straining. He grabbed a piece of broken mirror off the ground and used it to flash a quick signal toward the SUV’s side mirror. 

Nothing. 

No flash back. No signal. 

“Fuck,” he hissed. “It’s compromised.” 

Gun up, he dragged me backward into the shadows, backing toward a different path that ran along the side of the house. 

Chapter 117 

“What do we do?” I whispered, 

He glanced down at me, his face grim. “New plan. Secondary car. Backup route” 

He pulled a key fob from his pants pocket and pressed a button. Far in the distance–another engine roared to life. A different car. A different escape. 

But the gunfire started first. 

From the treeline. 

Pop–pop–pop! 

Bullets tore through the air. One hit the brick beside us, spraying shards into my hair. 

“Go!” Dominic roared, shoving me ahead of him down the path. 

I ran, heart in my throat, the stolen gun clutched uselessly in my hand, the hem of his shirt flapping around my bare thighs. Dominic fired back, short controlled bursts, dropping into a low crouch, moving like liquid death. 

“Keep low!” he barked. “Stay behind cover!” 

The backup car came into view–a sleek black Range Rover hidden behind a cluster of hedges. Its door was open, the engine revving. 

We were ten feet away. 

Five. 

Then I heard it. 

The sharp crack of a sniper rifle. 

Dominic jerked sideways with a grunt, one hand going to his side. Blood bloomed instantly through his fingers. 

“Dom!” I screamed, reaching for him. 

“Get in the car!” he shouted back, voice hoarse.. 

I stumbled, caught myself, and wrenched open the passenger door. 

He shoved me inside, slammed the door, and fired one more shot toward the trees before diving into the driver’s seat. 

Tires screeched. The world blurred. 

Dominic drove one–handed, blood dripping onto his jeans, face pale but locked with furious focus. 

“I’m fine,” he muttered, even as his hand shook on the wheel. “It’s a graze.” 

“Dominic, you’re bleeding-” 

“I’ve had worse.” His voice was iron. “I’m not fucking dying tonight, Aria.” 

I nodded, swallowing hard. “Neither am I.” 

He shot me a quick look, his eyes dark and proud flashing in his eyes. 

“Good girl.” 

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