“I already have.” Dominic’s expression tightened. “Riley was furious with me, but I’m working on making it up to her.”
That didn’t sound good. “What did you do?”
This time Dominic was the one to fold his arms over his chest and look defensive. “I was trying to protect your sister.”
I leaned closer and repeated my question between gritted teeth. “What did you do?”
He expelled an impatient breath. “She was vulnerable to being taken advantage of.”
I didn’t ask my question again, just held his gaze and waited. A dangerous amount of anger was already welling inside me, and I regretted not calling Riley before coming to see Dominic. I should be hearing about this from her, not him.
“She’s already forgiven me.”
My silence was my power and I used it to keep the upper hand.
Dominic continued, “I’m here on Martha’s Vineyard to choose the location for a carnival we’re planning for this upcoming weekend. Gavin intends to propose to Riley. She loves carnival games, so we thought—”
“That’s not going to happen. I haven’t even met Gavin.”
“It’s happening. And you should be there.”
I shook my head and took a step back. “Hold on, if my sister is getting engaged this weekend, I’d know.”
“We’re surprising her.”
“We?”
“Gavin and I.”
“No.”
Another silent standoff. I didn’t like that he knew more about what was going on in Riley’s life than I did. Several moments passed before I asked, “What did you do that upset my sister?”
He cleared his throat. “I paid off anyone who asked her out, made it difficult for her to work as a paid bridesmaid, and used the instability at Gavin’s company to test his loyalty to her.” He threw both hands in the air in frustration. “Before you say it, I know I went too far.”
He didn’t paint a pleasant picture. I demanded, “So, I’ll ask you again, how different are you from Antonio?”
His eyes burned with a torment that gave me pause. “On my worst day, not a whole hell of a lot—but I have never and would never hurt the innocent. I keep my rage and my demons far away from my family. My place in hell is secured, but not because I haven’t tried to make up for what I’ve done—what our father did. Both weigh heavily on me.”
These were the scars Alethea had described. Dominic was as damaged as she’d claimed. That still didn’t make him someone I wanted around my family. “Why would you pay off anyone who was interested in Riley?” Was he trying to isolate her?
“When you have money it’s difficult to know if someone wants to be with you because they genuinely like you or because they want something from you.”
“You tested them.”
“Yes.”
“And they all failed.”
“All except Gavin.” A faint smile pulled at Dominic’s lips. “He told me to shove off.”
“Good.” At least Gavin had that on his side. I might end up approving of him.
“And the job? Were you trying to get Riley to depend on you?”
Dominic looked side-swiped by the accusation. “No. Of course not. Weddings are difficult to secure without being obvious. I didn’t feel they were safe for her.”
“And my mother? How much have you been manipulating her?”
He shook his head. “So far she wants nothing to do with me.”
That rang true. “What about the man she’s with—Hamilton?”
“He doesn’t even like me.” Another small smile. “This weekend will win them both over. It’ll be perfect—every last detail.”
“My mother is as hard to impress as I am. She doesn’t care about your money.”
He cleared his throat again. “I understand that, but I’ve invited people who know me well. My hope is that she’ll see I am not a devil. Or if I am, I’m at least one that only wants the best for her.”
“That wouldn’t be enough for me.” I wasn’t sure what to say except the truth. “I don’t know what to believe about you.”
“What would be enough?”
“I don’t know.” I looked around. “You and I are very different people.”
“Are we?” He lowered his arms. “When I was my worst, and I’m not proud of who I was back then, all I really wanted was to know what had happened to my mother. I sold my soul for the power to force my father to tell me the truth.” He pinned me with a look. “What did you trade your soul for?”
My voice was hoarse when I answered, “My mother’s health.”
“I was angry for so long it nearly consumed me.”
For the first time I felt a connection to him. “I’ve battled that myself.”
“Then I met Abby.” His expression softened. “She saw something in me . . . and became a beacon, calling me back from the edge.”
I understood that as well. “I met someone special recently. She makes me believe I can be better than I’ve been.”
“Marry that one.”
I coughed. “We’re just starting out and I’m currently in no position to ask anyone to tether their line to mine.”
“Piece of advice? Just be good to her.” He waved a hand at the yacht in general. “None of this matters with the right person. In fact, I believe Abby loves me in spite of it.”
I relaxed a little. “Did you really kidnap her?”
He rolled his eyes skyward and shrugged. “Can you kidnap someone who wants to go with you?”
I chuckled at that. “Why do I think you’d be in trouble if she heard you say that?”
He smiled. “I’m in trouble with her all the time. I still stumble sometimes, but she’s right there to help me get back up and try again.”
“Stumble?”
He made a face. “The less you know the safer you are.”
What the hell does that mean? Something in my expression must have given my thoughts away because he added, “I don’t take down anyone who doesn’t come for me or mine first—not anymore, anyway.”
I couldn’t tell if he was serious or not. “So you’ve earned those enemies.”
He shrugged. “Some. Others are a byproduct of my success. If you want people to like you, don’t do too well in life. People love to see the underdog rise, but then they love to see him fall again. I haven’t fallen, and that has won me more adversaries than anything I did early on.” There was a lull in the conversation that he ended with a change of topic. “What do you think of this ship?”
Considering the fragility of the truce we’d unofficially called, I didn’t want to say.
He continued. “It’s dual purpose. On one hand it has a movie theater, a bar, a gym, several bedrooms, and an entire private floor dedicated to the owner. The thirty or so staff have quarters below, but access to their own Jacuzzi.”
The owner? Was it a new purchase of his that he was excited to share the details about or was he once again trying to impress me? “Sounds—expensive.”
“What would you say if I told you that it doubles as a research vessel? Its prior owner lent it more than once to the US government to use. It can comfortably hold two smaller boats in its hull as well as a remote-control submarine with a variety of mechanical arm attachments. I’m not into that kind of stuff, but I did enjoy testing it out.”