Chapter 2 - The Debt That Had My Name on It
I stared at the number.
$86,000.
“No.”
Dominic slid the papers toward me.
“There are three loans.”
“I never signed these.”
“I know.”
“How could you possibly know?”
The general manager answered.
“Because two signatures don’t match your employment forms.”
My knees weakened.
Dominic pointed toward the chair.
“Sit.”
“I don’t want to sit.”
“Then don’t.”
He didn’t order me again.
That somehow helped.
I picked up the papers.
A Nevada address.
My Social Security information.
My previous employer.
Even my mother’s maiden name.
Mason had known everything.
“We lived together,” I whispered.
Dominic leaned back.
“He had access.”
“Yes.”
“When did you leave?”
“Four months ago.”
“Why?”
My fingers tightened around the documents.
Dominic noticed.
“You don’t have to answer.”
I looked at him.
Most men who asked questions like that expected answers.
Dominic apparently expected boundaries.
“Because he kept controlling my money,” I said. “Then my friends. Then where I went. Then who I spoke to.”
“And eventually?”
I touched my wrist.
“Eventually this.”
Dominic’s jaw tightened.
His manager quietly left.
I looked toward the door.
“He’s leaving?”
“You look uncomfortable.”
“I’m alone with you now.”
“He’ll be immediately outside.”
Dominic opened the door wider himself.
“You can leave whenever you want.”
I believed him.
That worried me almost as much as if I hadn’t.
“What happens with the loans?”
“My attorneys can help establish identity theft.”
“I can’t afford your attorneys.”
“They work for me.”
“I’m not taking charity.”
“It isn’t charity.”
“Then what is it?”
He studied me.
“A favor.”
“From a mafia boss?”
One eyebrow lifted.
“You’re unusually direct.”
“Am I wrong?”
“Depends which newspaper you read.”
“Dominic.”
He almost smiled.
“No payment.”
“Nothing?”
“Nothing.”
I shook my head.
“Nobody does things for nothing.”
“Maybe I’m buying satisfaction.”
“From what?”
“Watching Mason Reed discover consequences.”
Despite everything, I laughed.
A real laugh.
It surprised both of us.
Then a voice came from the hallway.
“Mr. Costantini?”
His security chief stepped inside.
“Mason Reed hasn’t left.”
Dominic’s expression changed immediately.
“Where?”
“Employee parking entrance.”
My stomach dropped.
“He’s waiting for me.”
Dominic stood.
“No.”
“You don’t know that.”
“He’s standing beside your car.”
I looked toward the security chief.
“How do you know which car is mine?”
The man glanced at Dominic.
Dominic said, “Security cameras.”
Of course.
“I can handle Mason.”
“No,” Dominic said.
My temper sparked.
“You don’t get to decide that.”
His eyes met mine.
“You’re right.”
That stopped me.
He continued.
“So decide. You can take the employee exit alone. Security can walk you out. Or I can walk you.”
I looked at the bruise on my wrist.
Then at him.
“Walk me.”
“Done.”
---
Mason leaned against my battered Honda like he owned it.
When he saw Dominic beside me, he straightened.
“This is ridiculous.”
Dominic said nothing.
Mason looked at me.
“You’re really doing this?”
“Move away from my car.”
“I came to talk.”
“I don’t want to.”
“You owe me that much.”
“I owe you?”
He lowered his voice.
“Claire.”
Dominic stayed two steps behind me.
Close enough.
Not interfering.
I finally understood what he was doing.
He was letting me speak.
Mason noticed too.
“You think having some rich guy standing behind you makes you tough?”
“No,” I said. “Leaving you did that.”
His face tightened.
“You think you can embarrass me?”
“You emptied our bank account.”
“That money covered expenses.”
“You opened loans in my name.”
The confidence vanished.
Only for a second.
But Dominic saw it.
“So that part’s true,” Dominic said.
Mason looked at him.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I know that wasn’t surprise.”
Mason pointed at me.
“She gave me permission.”
“I absolutely did not.”
“You signed documents.”
“Forgery.”
“Prove it.”
Dominic smiled.
It was the first genuinely frightening thing I saw him do.
“We will.”
Mason stared.
Dominic continued.
“My attorneys already preserved the relevant records.”
“What records?”
“Now you’re asking better questions.”
Mason’s eyes moved between us.
“This is insane.”
“No,” I said.
I stepped closer.
“This is the first sane thing I’ve done around you in years.”
Mason’s face hardened.
“You’ll regret this.”
Dominic moved then.
Only one step.
Mason backed away automatically.
Dominic didn’t touch him.
“Don’t threaten her.”
“I wasn’t talking to you.”
“You are now.”
Mason looked toward the security cameras.
“You think you scare me?”
Dominic replied softly.
“I think you’re scared already.”
Mason got into his car.
Thirty seconds later, he was gone.
My legs started shaking.
Dominic noticed but pretended not to.
“Can you drive?”
“Yes.”
“That wasn’t convincing.”
“I’m fine.”
“Another terrible lie.”
I looked at him.
“You always this annoying?”
“Frequently.”
I almost smiled.
Then my phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
I opened the message.
A photograph loaded.
It showed me entering Dominic’s office twenty minutes earlier.
Another message appeared.
You should have kept your mouth shut.
Dominic saw my expression.
“What?”
I showed him.
His face went completely still.
“That isn’t Mason’s number.”
“No.”
Another message arrived.
Ask your new boyfriend what happened at Harbor Point six years ago.
I looked at Dominic.
His eyes were fixed on the screen.
For the first time all night, the dangerous man beside me looked genuinely disturbed.
“What happened at Harbor Point?” I asked.
He took a slow breath.
May you like
“Something Mason Reed should know absolutely nothing about.”
---
