Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 89840 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 449(@200wpm)___ 359(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89840 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 449(@200wpm)___ 359(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
I gasped when I spotted a figure sitting in a chair in the corner. A side table had been pulled in front of him.
Dominic.
He was shirtless with black sweatpants on. His eyes were locked on me like I was a target.
“Dom,” I said, aiming to keep my voice steady. In the dark, his eyes were dark and serious. The look he wore terrified me. Where was the smiling, upbeat man from earlier? The fun, charming one? “What are you doing? Why are you sitting in the dark?”
“Just waiting for you to wake up.” He had something in his hand that was long, thin, and silver. I reached for the lamp on the nightstand, switching on the lightbulb, and saw a pen in his hand. On the table in front of him was a small stack of papers.
“I need you to sign these,” he stated, pointing the end of the pen at the papers. There was no life to his voice. It was empty and without sympathy. It made my skin crawl.
“Sign what?”
He slid the papers across the table, and I approached cautiously, wrapping my arms around myself. It hurt to walk. My ass was so sore. I wanted to cry because I’d never felt so much pain in one place. I scanned the paper and the words NON-DISCLOSURE AGREEMENT popped out in bold font.
“What the hell is this?” I demanded.
“For you to sign. Not sure if you’re aware, but there will be big things happening for me soon. I can’t have mild affairs interrupt that.”
I narrowed my eyes as he placed the pen down on top of the papers. “Mild affairs? What the fuck are you talking about, Dominic! You drugged me and had someone come in to rape me!”
“Lower your voice.” It was a command, one that felt threatening.
“You don’t tell me what to do, motherfucker. Where is my purse? I’m leaving!”
He eyed me a moment before rising from the chair. I backed away as he walked around the table with the papers to open the top drawer of the dresser. I’d never put my purse there. He must’ve hidden it on purpose, so I’d wake up to this—forced to face him.
Withdrawing my purse, he carried it with him to the table and sat with it on his lap. “You’ll get your purse when you sign the papers,” he said,
“I’m not signing shit,” I snapped.
“Damn it. I knew you’d make this difficult. It’s like high school all over again. You’re so fucking annoying.” He pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head. “Just sign the goddamn papers, Brynn. Once you sign, I’ll hand you fifty thousand dollars and it’ll be a done deal. We’ll never speak of this night again.”
The fifty thousand dollars made me pause. My mind went back to Franco’s, how Dominic smiled at me, charmed his way back in, left his number. He sat across from John, who didn’t seem to have the least bit of interest in me at the time. What did these men discuss when I walked away? Was John asking about me, pushing Dom to reel me in and liquor me up so that he could have his way with me? It made no sense that they’d dragged me into this. I had nothing to offer them. I was just a waitress.
I swallowed, remembering Dominic say someone else’s name before I blacked out.
“Reba,” I whispered. “Who is Reba?”
Dominic grimaced. “Don’t worry about it.”
“I’m not signing those papers,” I said. “I don’t even know what they’re for.”
“It’s to protect myself and second parties in case you decide to go around blabbing about the events from tonight.”
“I will be blabbing, asshole. Right to the cops.” I felt my eyes watering, but I bit back the tears because I was not about to let this asshole see me cry. “Give me my purse so I can go.”
“Sign the papers.”
“Does your wife know you go around drugging women and letting men rape them? Does she know you throw fifty grand at them then hide behind nondisclosures?”
That calm demeanor of his faded, only a little. His mouth twitched, eyes more like steel. Talking about his wife struck a nerve. Good.
“Sign the papers,” he said again.
“Fuck you,” I spat. “You think you’re some kind of god—that you can do whatever you want to people now because you have a little money in your pocket? I don’t know who the hell you think you are, Dominic, but I’m not rolling over and taking your shit!”
“You wanted to be with me, Brynn. You agreed to meet me at the lounge. You shared drinks with me. You agreed to come with me to continue the night and there were plenty of people who witnessed it who will happily attest to it. Whatever you say to the police won’t be enough for what everyone saw a few hours ago.”