Merger (Triple Threat Book 3) (6 page)

***

“…game you’re playing, Rinaldi, but you’ve crossed the line. How can you drag an innocent child into this mess?”

Dominic laughed at Philip’s words. “I’ll do what I have to in order to protect my family, but I should note that Lily wasn’t innocent, and she definitely isn’t a child. I can attest to that after having her in my bed for the last ten days.” He was slightly concerned by the way Philip’s face reddened, and the man looked like he was on the verge of a heart attack.

It made him unaccustomedly compassionate for a moment, and he thought about going easy on the other man. Then he remembered the months’ long investigation the police commissioner had instigated against the Rinaldi family, trying to find all their mafia ties and throw him, his brothers, and his father in prison. It wasn’t just their lives at stake. There were his sisters-in-law and sister, mother, and a niece and nephew to consider as well. Reminding himself of that hardened his resolve to be as blunt and brutal as possible with Philip, hoping to convince the old man to call off his bulldogs.

“How dare you? I don’t know what you’ve convinced Lily to do, but it’s over now. I want you out of my house, and I’ll have the last laugh when I see you behind bars. It’s clear now that you know about the investigation, so I might as well lay it all out on the table for you. We’re so close to search warrants and an indictment that I can taste it. Whatever you’re pulling here has made me all the more determined to bring you and your entire family down.”

Dominic was slightly startled to hear they were that close to closing in, but he struggled to hide any hint of reaction to the news. He kept his tone even, though nothing close to friendly. “I think it would be in your best interest, and mine too, to find a way to divert that investigation, Commissioner Faulkner.”

Philip glared at him. “I have a job to do, and I’m not going to be swayed by someone like you.”

Dominic ran his fingers across the platinum band on his left hand, being obvious in how he twisted it around his finger. “Are you considering the fact that we’re technically family now, Philip? You don’t mind if I call you Philip, do you? Unless you prefer Dad?”

“You son of a—”

Dominic clicked his tongue. “You really don’t want to finish that sentence, do you? After all, we don’t want Lily to realize there’s friction between us. We’re trying to protect her here, aren’t we? We don’t want anything to happen to her.” He pushed aside the vaguely disquieting sense of guilt that accompanied his words as he issued a veiled threat. The idea of hurting Lily was abhorrent, but he couldn’t tip his hand to Philip and allow the other man to know he would never do such a thing to Lily, even if it was the only way to end the criminal investigation.

Philip swayed, his skin looking completely gray. “You expect me to just look the other way? I know you’re running guns and who knows what else through the city. You seem to have been responsible for offing an FBI agent, and I’m not convinced you didn’t have anything to do with Senator Randall Adams disappearing.”

Dominic shrugged a shoulder. Technically, his brother Luka had been the one to do away with the FBI agent, but the man had been crooked and a danger to Luka’s wife. Dominic had been very hands-on involved with disposing of the senator, and he was confident that body would never be found. “Since we’re both aware of what I can do, I’m sure you don’t want to leave Lily in a vulnerable position.”

The older man swallowed thickly, looking helpless for a moment. “What do you want? You want me to cancel the investigation in exchange for you annulling the marriage?”

Dominic laughed softly. “I’m afraid an annulment is not possible, and it’s not happening either.” A surge of possessiveness swept through him, and he had to clench his teeth to fight through it, shocked by his response. After a moment, when he had calmed down, he cleared his throat before speaking again. “After all, I’m not releasing my bargaining chip. Lily stays with me, and you can be certain she’ll be safe as long as your investigation dies a quick death. I’ll take care of her and our children.”

Philip let out a small gasp. “Is she pregnant?”

Dominic shrugged. “Not for lack of trying on my part, but I don’t know for sure.”

“I’m an honest man, Rinaldi. I’ve always held out against corruption and bribery. I’ve even stood strong in the face of threats. You’re asking me to put aside my reputation and my ideals.”

Dominic shrugged, keeping his expression hard. “I’m just asking you to think about Lily before you make your next move. You need to decide which is more important to you—your reputation, or your daughter? And any future grandchildren,” he added with a small smirk, wanting to drive home the point. If he had his way, he’d never have this discussion with Philip again. It could disappear into the background, and having the other man aware of the power he wielded over him would be enough. He didn’t have to beat Philip over the head with it on a continuing basis as long as the old man fell in line tonight.

He could see Philip crumble along with his resolve. The older man’s shoulders slumped forward, and his expression was one of utter defeat. It was a disquieting sight, and Dominic felt a moment of pity for the other man. He couldn’t act on it, or show any signs of doubt or weakness, but he was surprisingly sympathetic to the position in which he had shoehorned Philip Faulkner. It was the other man’s attention to his family and dangerous intentions toward them that had prompted this response, but he was still capable of feeling some compassion for the other man.

With that in mind, he softened his tone slightly. “I promise you I will take care of her, and I won’t deliberately hurt her as long as we’ve reached an understanding.”

Looking weak, the other man nodded. “You’ve gotten what you wanted, Rinaldi. My daughter’s the most important person in the world to me.”

He inclined his head as he got to his feet. “You should pull yourself together then, because Lily will be expecting us to have reached some sort of accord. I suggest neither one of us give her the details of the situation surrounding my marriage to her. It’s for the best, and there’s no reason to hurt her.”

Philip nodded again, still looking devastated. It was as close to an agreement as he was going to give that evening; of that much, Dominic was certain.

With a small sigh, he moved away from the couch where he’d sat, planning to retrieve Lily from her room, where she’d gone with obvious anger at being dismissed. He was going to have to work for it to make it up to her, and he stumbled for a moment when he realized he actually cared about doing so. As long as he had Lily, he controlled the situation with the police commissioner, so it was in his best interest to keep her happy. That was all there was to it, and the only motivation for wanting to make up with her.

He couldn’t blame her for being angry with him anyway, because he’d been a high-handed bastard, though marginally less so than her father with his demand that she go to her room. He had to hold back a chuckle as he remembered the glare she had given both of them, and he was surprised that she had actually given in without an argument.

He was even more surprised when he opened the door to the den and found her in the hallway with her arms crossed over her chest, glaring at him. Apparently, the earlier show of docility had been just that. He cursed softly under his breath, closing the door behind him so Philip wouldn’t see her. He grabbed hold of her arm and dragged her down the hallway when she tried to resist him. She opened her mouth, clearly intent on protesting, or perhaps even screaming. He held up one finger, giving her a stern look. “Don’t push me.”

If possible, her eyes darkened further with anger, and she dug in her heels more insistently. Unfortunately for her, the laminate flooring provided no easy resistance, and he was able to drag her along with only a sharp tug. She let out a sharp cry of outrage when she realized he was dragging her to the front door. Lily renewed her determination to fight, and he had to tighten his grip as he cursed.

“I’m not going with you. Get out of this house. I never want to see you again.”

As she continued to kick and hit at him, he let out an impatient sigh before he finally bent over and picked her up, slinging her over his back in a fireman’s carry. She pounded on his back, not holding herself in check it all, and he winced under the force of her blows. She would probably leave bruises, which he was certain would please her to no end.

He shook her just hard enough to get her attention before slamming his hand on her buttocks. “Quiet down before you get you and your father hurt.”

She went completely still, and though he wasn’t foolish enough to believe she’d lost the will to fight, his thinly veiled threat had gotten through to her. She obviously didn’t want to risk her father being injured, either in the process of trying to rescue her or as retaliation from Dominic. Anger radiated off her in waves, and he strode to the front door, realizing the night ahead of him was nothing like he had anticipated. He’d figured it would be a short, heated confrontation with the police commissioner, followed by a stilted and awkward dinner, and culminating with a night in his new bride’s arms. Everything had gone to hell, but at least he had the problem with the investigation solved.

As he reached the front door, he heard Philip rushing after them. Dominic turned slightly in his direction, careful not to whack Lily against the wall in the process. “Thank you for your hospitality, but I think we’ll have to take a rain check on dinner.”

“Put my daughter down.”

Lily had ceased fighting, and now she spoke in a level tone. “It’s okay, Dad. I’ll be fine. I’ll be seeing you soon too.”

Dominic watched the commissioner, waiting to see his response. A moment later, his shoulders slumped, and his posture screamed defeat. “I’m here if you need me, Lily.”

“I know, Dad. I’m going to work this out myself though. It’s between me and my husband.” She spat the last word as though it was the most detestable thing ever.

Phillip’s shoulder straightened, and he looked at Dominic with renewed determination. “If you hurt her, I won’t stop with arresting you. I’ll tear you apart with my bare hands.”

Dominic shrugged the shoulder that wasn’t supporting Lily. “Fair enough. For now, I think we have an understanding, and I need to reach the same situation with Lily, since she can’t follow a simple direction to stay out of something.” He gave his father-in-law a small grin. “I guess she’s like you in that regard, always minding other people’s business.”

Lily let out a cry of outrage. “This is my business too, you Neanderthal.”

He didn’t bother to respond as he stepped through the doorway, not looking back at Philip as he marched to the waiting car. His driver betrayed no trace of concern or surprise to see him carrying his wife like a sack of potatoes. The man just opened the back door and stepped aside as Dominic dropped her in, ensuring she landed on the plush seat of the limousine before sliding in behind her. After he had engaged the locks, using the panel that was easily in his reach but not hers, he crossed his arms and braced himself for the explosion. It was certain to be a nuclear one.

Lily glared at him, trying to hide any trace of fear. If someone had told her an hour ago that she would fear her husband, she would have thought they were insane. She’d seen the bossy and stubborn side of him, but she had never realized there was a deeper, darker core to the man she’d fallen in love with.

No, it had to be lust. It was just a simple case of infatuation that he had twisted into something he wanted her to believe was more. Now that she knew the truth, she couldn’t continue to love him and be able to respect herself. She wasn’t that weak and pathetic, and she was determined that the first thing she would work on would be eradicating any soft feelings for the man who had manipulated her. “I want a divorce.”

He didn’t even flick an eyelash. “No.”

Her mouth dropped open, and she leaned forward a little bit more to glare at him. “You don’t get to say no. Marriage is a mutual decision, but anyone can leave it. I don’t need your permission to get a divorce.”

“No,” he said again in that same infuriatingly calm tone.

She let out a small cry of annoyance, frustrated beyond belief. “No, what? I just told you you can’t stop me.”

He arched a brow, giving her a look that was completely serious. “Lily, I can stop you from doing anything, and I can make you do anything.”

She glared at him. “Oh, is that because you’re my husband?” She didn’t hold back the bite of sarcasm in her tone. “Those kind of marriages went out in the ‘fifties.”

He was perfectly calm as he poured himself a drink, lifting the bottle in her direction and waving it slightly in an unspoken request to find out if she wanted some. He shrugged when she shook her head before returning the bottle to the bar. “I can do anything I want, or convince you to do anything I want you to do, because of who I am. I’m your husband, but we both know I’m more than that. You had to eavesdrop and learn everything, which is probably for the best. Now you know what’s at stake, and why you’re going to comply.”

She glared at him. “I’m not staying with you. There’s nothing that can make me do that.”

He sighed. “I guess I was wrong then.”

He wasn’t the type to admit such a thing, and she eyed him skeptically. “Wrong about what?”

“I thought you loved your father more than you clearly do. I meant it when I told him I wouldn’t hurt you unless absolutely necessary, but I didn’t promise you the same thing about him. To be blunt, you’re my bargaining chip, and you’re going to stay right where I put you. If you don’t, it won’t be just your life at stake. It’s your father’s too. Of course, you also have a mother and siblings too…” He trailed off with a shrug, allowing her to fill in the blanks.

She shrank against the seat, glaring at him as a sense of futility swept through her. “I hate you.”

He shrugged again. “Perhaps it’s easier for both of us if you really do, Lily. Approach this as a merger of our two companies, and we’ll both be on more solid footing. Try to remove yourself from any emotions like love or hate. It’s just business.”

A sharp pang shot through her chest, and she forced herself to acknowledge it was just business to him. She’d known it from the moment he had made his revelations to her father, but hearing him confirm it himself was heartbreaking on a new level. It didn’t help that she shouldn’t love him, because at that moment, she still did. Her goal was to cut away that love as quickly as possible, and one of the best ways to do it was to remind herself that it had all been a lie on his side. “Did you ever feel anything for me?” She forced herself to ask the question, needing to hear his cold and ruthless reply to help harden her heart.

He hesitated for a moment, taking a long drink before he looked at her. He appeared sincere, but she couldn’t trust anything that came from his mouth. “I feel more than I expected to, but I’ll do what I have to do to protect my family.”

It wasn’t the harsh verbal slap she had hoped for, and she looked away from him. “I really do hate you, Dominic.”

“Hate’s better than love,” he said, sounding completely unconcerned as he looked away from her. They finished the rest of the ride in silence, and when they returned to his house, he made no move to stop her when she went to a guestroom instead of the room they had shared until tonight. She’d never return to that room, and she’d never be in his bed again.

***

For most of the next week, they lived separate lives, though they shared the house. They barely saw each other, and Lily knew that was for the best. It was giving her the time she needed to separate her hormonal reactions from the anger she experienced every time she saw him. The anger was what she wanted to focus on, and it seemed to grow naturally.

At first, she had been surprised when he had allowed her to continue with her regular schedule, including attending classes. She’d expected him to lock her away somewhere, but quickly realized he already had her exactly where he wanted her. As long as he was threatening her father and her family, she was forced to do what he wanted, at least on the surface.

It was an unpleasant surprise to come home from class that afternoon and find Dominic already home as well. He usually left early and stayed out late, presumably at his club he ran with his brothers, but she hadn’t bothered to ask. She didn’t really care, and she reminded herself of that whenever she had the urge to ask anything about him. She figured he would be evasive and untruthful anyway. He was probably seeing other women in that time too, though she tried not to care. After all, it was a business merger, and nothing more. She just wished she had known that going in, rather than having him twist everything around and seduce her senses into feeling like she had fallen in love with him. It would have made life easier.

She set her backpack on the chair, looking at him with a mixture of anger and coldness. “Aren’t you home early?”

He shrugged. “My parents want to meet you, so we’re having a family dinner tonight.”

She arched a brow. “That sounds like torture. Why don’t you just tell them I’m sick. I have cramps or something.”

He rolled his eyes. “You have to go. They’re expecting to meet you.”

She shrugged. “I don’t care to meet them, and I don’t care to help you out here. I have studying to do.”

Dominic slammed his hand on the table, which inadvertently made her jump, though she hated revealing the weakness to him.

“I don’t want to go either, but we’re going. I’m not going to let down my mother when she’s looking forward to meeting you.”

She stared at him in disbelief, shaking her head. “Does your mother know the circumstances surrounding our…merger?”

He looked irritated. “Just be ready at eight, and try to behave yourself.”

As she watched him walk away, she was certain his family didn’t know how she’d ended up being his wife. At least they didn’t know yet. The idea of revealing the circumstances to them made her want to giggle, and she started carefully planning her campaign as she went upstairs to finish her homework before preparing for dinner with a family of which she wasn’t part.

***

His parents had an opulent apartment, which didn’t surprise her. She tried to suppress any hint of nerves as she stepped inside, handing her shrug to Dominic without looking at him. His mother had come to greet them, as she took the other woman’s hand and gave her a pleasant smile, deciding she could play along for a little bit anyway.

“It’s so lovely to meet you. I’m Avriella, and Dominic is in big trouble for not telling us he was getting married.”

The idea of this small, slender woman being able to discipline Dominic was what made her laugh before she said, “It was a shock to me too.”

Avriella swept her along down the hallway and into a sitting room where several people had gathered. Immediately, she saw Dominic’s brothers, and they truly were identical triplets. It was startling to see three copies of the same man for just a moment, though she was able to detect some subtle differences between them all.

After exchanging introductions, she realized Roman had a slightly crooked nose, suggesting it had been broken at least once. The other brother, Luka, was just a little bit heavier than his two brothers, but he still looked lean and elegant. They were a lot of male for a woman to take, and she had to ruthlessly remind herself that she felt nothing for her husband. It helped her withstand the charm of his brothers, and she kept her expression cool as she exchanged greetings with their wives.

It was difficult to maintain her stony façade when she saw the infants held in Sarah and Abby’s arms. Perhaps infant wasn’t the right word for the baby Abby held. He seemed to be older, sitting up and grabbing at things, while cooing and making sounds that almost resembled words. The one in Sarah’s arms was certainly an infant though. She didn’t look to be very old, but she had a head of thick black curls and startling blue eyes when she opened them to look in Lily’s direction.

Having the babies to focus on made it easier to avoid Dominic, which she successfully did until they moved through to the dining room, and he held out her chair for her. She didn’t look at him as she nodded in his direction to give a tepid thanks before settling back in her chair and looking at the table around her. Since her stomach was rumbling with hunger, she waited until the maid had brought out the first course of minestrone and took a few bites before she broke the silence. “Sarah, how did you and Roman meet?”

Sarah blushed slightly, and she was clearly being slightly untruthful when she said, “We ran into each other at his club, Triple Threat.”

She nodded before turning her attention to Abby. “And how did you meet Luka?”

Abby laughed, clearly amused by the memory. “He ran me over with his car.”

Her eyes widened in shock. “What? Why are you laughing about that?”

Abby waved a hand. “It was actually my fault. I was jaywalking, trying to get to a class for which I was late. I don’t know why I’m laughing, other than the memory just gives me a warm glow, other than the actual collision with the car and pavement. Luka swept me off my feet, literally—first to the hospital, and later, into a relationship.”

She turned to Avriella, asking her the same question. “How did you meet Mario?

“He was a friend of my father’s, and when he came to our house for dinner, I told him that night that I was going to marry him.”

Mario chuckled. “I didn’t argue. I knew better than to try, and I didn’t want to anyway.”

She was aware of Dominic stiffening slightly beside her when Abby asked, “How did you meet Dominic?”

She gave the woman who was technically her sister-in-law a sweet smile. “He rescued me from a handsy friend, who wasn’t really a friend. I was in Mexico for spring break, and I had nowhere to stay after the falling out with my friends, so he kindly offered me a room in his suite.” She waited until he had exhaled, relaxing slightly, before she added, “Of course, I didn’t know at that point he was manipulating me into marriage so he could get my father to end some investigation against your mafia family.” To reigning silence, she took a sip of her white wine before nodding to Avriella, ignoring her stunned expression. “This wine is excellent.”

The silence shattered a moment later as they all began talking at once. She was most tuned into Dominic, so she heard him curse long and low, which made her smirk. She took another sip of the wine while she waited to hear the fallout.

“What’s Lily talking about, Dominic? asked Luka.

Dominic muttered something before raising his voice to be heard over the others. “I told you I had a plan, and she was it.”

Avriella shook her head. “Don’t tell me you tricked her into marrying you?”

Lily answered for him, enjoying the moment. “Oh, absolutely. He wined and dined me, seduced me, and convinced me he couldn’t live without me. We eloped at the end of spring break, and I didn’t learn the truth until a couple of days after our return, when I overheard him threatening my father with doing away with me if he continued the investigation. To be fair, he also threatened to do away with my father if I didn’t cooperate with our little marriage. I mean merger.”

Dominic was clearly angry, glaring at her. “You call this cooperation?”

She fluttered her eyes at him. “I don’t see the problem, Dominic. Clearly your whole family is in on the mob thing, so I’m just being upfront about it all. It’s good for business.” She finished her glass of wine, hoping the maid would return to refill it quickly, since the bottle was in the other room. Despite her cool exterior, she was still a mass of nerves on the inside, and the wine was certainly helping to relax her.

“That’s terrible,” said Abby, glaring at her brother-in-law. “How could you do such a thing, Dominic?”

He snorted. “I did it to protect you as much as any of the rest of us. Don’t think I don’t know that you were trying to get Luka to run away, to take Lukas with you guys and start over somewhere else.”

Luka held up a hand. “Hey, I said that in passing, not to complain about the idea or have it thrown back at me.”

Abby turned her ire on her husband. “You told him what I said?”

Luka looked flustered. “I did, but I was just telling him because I wanted him to see how concerned we all were. I didn’t know he was going to take this course of action though.”

Dominic slammed his hand on the table, apparently a favorite technique of his to dominate the conversation. She rolled her eyes at the theatrics as she reached for his glass of wine, downing half of it in a long swallow. Lack of food was starting to catch up with her, and her head was swimming a bit, but the wine was also providing a boost to her confidence, and she had no intention of stopping before she’d finished at least the second glass.