Chapter 2 - I Tried to Escape the Billionaire Mobster’s SUV—What He Showed Me In The Glovebox Stopped Me Dead
The rain battered the tinted windows of the black Escalade as it tore through the narrow streets of Beacon Hill.
Chloe sat in the backseat, her heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird.
Dominic sat beside her, perfectly composed, while Leo drove in heavy silence.
"You're kidnapping me," Chloe whispered, her voice finally breaking through the shock.
"I am saving your life," Dominic corrected, not looking at her. "The man in the restaurant works for the Rossi family. They don't leave witnesses."
"I won't tell anyone!" Chloe pleaded. "Just let me out. I have a shift tomorrow."
Dominic finally turned his head.
His eyes were entirely unreadable.
"You don't have a shift tomorrow, Chloe. You don't have a job at The Brass Lantern anymore."
"You can't do that!" she snapped, anger briefly overriding her terror. "I have bills. I have rent."
"I know what you have," Dominic said softly.
He reached into the sleek leather console between the seats and pulled out a thick manila folder.
He tossed it onto her lap.
Chloe stared at it. "What is this?"
"Open it."
Her trembling fingers flipped the cover back.
Inside were copies of her hospital bills. The crushing, suffocating debt from her mother’s cancer treatments. There were bank statements, eviction warnings, and a perfect, detailed summary of her miserable financial life.
"How do you have this?" she gasped, feeling violently violated.
"I know everything that happens in my territory," Dominic said. "And I know everything about the people who serve my food."
"You investigated a waitress?"
"I investigate everyone who gets within striking distance of my throat," he replied evenly.
He leaned closer, the scent of expensive cologne and gunpowder filling her senses.
"You are a quarter of a million dollars in debt, Chloe. You live in a freezing apartment. And tonight, you risked your life for a man you don't even know."
"It was basic human decency," she shot back.
"In my world, decency gets you killed."
Dominic tapped the folder. "Your debt is gone. Paid in full as of ten minutes ago. Consider it a tip."
Chloe's breath hitched.
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"I don't want your dirty money."
"It's not an offer," Dominic said, his voice hardening into absolute authority. "It's a transaction. I bought your debt. Now, you belong to me until I say it's safe for you to leave."
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