He chuckles. “Wait until you meet my brother's wife. You’ll see I know that better than most.”
There’s silence again, and I’m thinking about what else we can talk about when he asks, “So, what did you say you want to study in America?”
“I want to become a digital artist,” I explain, and when he scoffs, I frown. “What’s wrong with that?”
“You get irritated that I say women have no place in family business, but you want to study something that cannot help your family. Why not become a lawyer or doctor?” He glances at me.
I shake my head. “I said womencanhandle messy. I didn’t say Iwantedto.”
He grins. “Ah, I see.”
“What did you study?” I ask curiously.
“I didn’t. I trained with private elite forces to hone my skills to assist the family.”
“Is that what you wanted to do?” I ask curiously, wondering if he had alwayswantedto be a killer.
He shakes his head. “It doesn’t matter what I wanted. My life was chosen for me from the day I was born. Every decision made throughout my life was to groom me to be a good family member, and that’s what I am. A good son, a loyal brother, and a soldier.”
I look at him, and for a moment, I feel pity for him. I imagine it must have been such a lonely life growing up.
“I’m sorry,” I say quietly.
Dominic shakes his head again. “Honestly, it’s what I’ve always known, so it doesn’t bother me. You wonder why I don’t let killing get to me? Because I was surrounded by it my entire life. When I was seven years old, I saw a man get executed for crossing our family.”
“That’s horrible,” my eyes widen, and my mouth drops open.
Dominic shrugs. “It is what it is. It wasn’t exactly on purpose, I was spying on my father, but he knew and didn’t chase me away. So it was accidentally on purpose, I guess.”
As we join city traffic, I look at the road ahead. “You must need therapy, and like tons of it.”
“I deal with it my own way. Mostly, I compartmentalize.”
I’m surprised by his honesty, and we fall into a more comfortable silence. His honesty makes me reconsider what he has already told me, including Carmila’s involvement. What if he was speaking the truth and she had betrayed me? Would I want her dead? I mean, if she did, it’s her fault we got captured and my life nearly ruined.
I honestly don’t know what to think now, but Dominic seems to be a bit softer with me now, as though he’s afraid I’ll break.
“Can you teach me how to shoot?” I ask quietly.
“I can, but we’ll have to do it later,” he says, sighing as traffic slows to a crawl.
“Do you honestly think Carmila betrayed me?” I ask, the question almost gets stuck in my throat, and I feel as though my chest is being crushed with emotion.
Dominic doesn’t look at me, not even a glance, but he does say, “I do. She had this smile about the whole situation, and she just… I can’t explain it, but I’ve dealt with enough evil people to know one when I see one, Sofia. I’m sorry your friend betrayed you.”
The fact he uses my name and doesn’t call me princess makes me want to believe all the more. He is being genuine with me, and if it were different circumstances, I know I could probably fall for a man like him with his piercing eyes and no-nonsense attitude.
I sniff and wipe my eyes, looking out the window to my right to hide my tears.
We don’t speak again as Dominic pulls into a parking garage and finds a spot. Once we’re parked, we grab our bags, and Dominic holsters his gun. “You ready?”
“I’m ready,” I say, trying to sound braver than I feel.
I follow him toward the park, unsure of how I feel.
Chapter 17 - Dominic
I lead Sofia into Central Park, and we walk for a while before I lead her down a trail and to a park bench, where a large tree provides shade for us. “We can sit here. I’m going to make a call quick.”