Chapter 243: Chapter 27 Blood Turned Molten

Dominic’s POV

Gemma’s cold shoulder was driving me to the edge of madness. The situation turned worse when my nephew Vincenzo called, demanding to know what the hell I had screwed up this time. He had encountered her during a routine family business run downtown, and she flat out told him we were finished. Like hell we were. I refused to let it end like this, not when my entire world revolved around her.

The only silver lining was her new position within Caleb’s legitimate front operations. At least I could catch glimpses of her when I visited his corporate offices for family meetings. Unfortunately, Caleb and Xavier were drowning in the same relationship hell I was dealing with.

Then came that disaster of a lunch when our women met up with some crew from a rival family’s associates. Thank God Gemma wasn’t there to witness the spectacle. Those bastards were shamelessly flirting with our women, and the girls were playing right along, probably just to spite us.

Friday night, we arranged a meeting at Xavier’s secured penthouse. I figured we could strategize our next moves while venting our frustrations. Since Gemma entered my life, no other woman existed for me. She consumed every waking thought, every plan, every breath. Now, thanks to one catastrophic misunderstanding orchestrated by my backstabbing father, I was living in pure torment.

When I walked into Xavier’s place and saw Finn and Jude already nursing drinks, I couldn’t help but laugh at Jude’s murderous expression.

"Don’t tell me you two got the boot as well?" I asked, finding dark humor in their miserable faces.

"We’re suffering because of you idiots," Finn shot back. "Zoe declared tonight was strictly girls’ night, no family business, no men allowed."

"Everything was running smoothly when I was the only one in a committed relationship," Jude grumbled. "Nora has never been this impossible before. This is all on you three for thinking with the wrong head during family operations."

"Jude, come on, it was just a massive setup by my father," I protested.

"Your family drama is costing us quality time with our women," Finn snapped back, his frustration evident.

"What if we surprised them wherever they are?" Xavier suggested, like he had just solved world hunger.

"Brilliant plan, genius. You happen to know their location? Because Nora isn’t sharing intel," Jude’s irritation was reaching dangerous levels.

"Not exactly, but you could figure it out through your connections," Xavier gave Jude that devil’s grin of his.

"Absolutely not, Xavier. The last time I used family resources to track her, it took considerable effort to get back in Nora’s good graces. That was exactly because you wanted to chase after her cousin during that Brooklyn territory dispute. I swore I wouldn’t use surveillance on her again unless someone was dying," Jude was getting heated.

"Hold up," Caleb interrupted. "What exactly are you talking about?"

"Jude can track Nora’s phone through his security network. He can locate all the girls," Xavier explained, and we all turned to stare at Jude.

"Jude, this is a legitimate security concern," I tried convincing him.

"Hell no, Dominic," he fired back.

"Maybe it’s not an emergency yet, but what if they’re with those associate crew again?" Finn commented casually. "Those losers have been circling our women like vultures. We could just verify they’re safe, and if they’re alone, we head straight back here."

"Damn you, Finn. Now I’m actually worried about territorial complications," Jude growled. "Fine. Let’s see where these stubborn women ended up."

Jude pulled out his encrypted phone, accessed some security app, typed rapidly, and when he located Nora, he cursed under his breath.

"Nora is going to pay for this security breach," Jude muttered. "They’re at Silas’s uncle’s restaurant in Little Italy. I guarantee they’re not there alone."

We all moved simultaneously, taking separate armored vehicles. Halfway there, Jude sent a group message through our secure network. The women had relocated and were now at some underground establishment downtown.

The place was absolutely packed when we arrived. We had to slip the doorman some serious cash and flash family credentials just to get inside. We watched from a strategic distance and saw the girls completely letting loose. Caleb decided to approach Ivy directly, while the rest of us chose the confrontational method - march up there and extract them immediately.

I was absolutely furious. My anger reached boiling point when Gemma claimed she owed me zero explanations for her whereabouts.

Things got explosive when they demanded to know how we had tracked them down. After a heated confrontation, they refused to leave with us. Perfect. At least Parker’s crew weren’t complete disrespectful and invited us to remain. But by closing time, none of the girls wanted rides from any of us and called their own secure transportation home.

Since we were already in relationship purgatory, the next day we encountered the girls at the Social Union, once again socializing with Parker’s little fan club. We all ended up back at Xavier’s penthouse playing some ridiculous blackjack game where kisses were the stakes.

To make everything infinitely worse, that moron Hunter won a hand and kissed Gemma’s ear. My blood turned molten. I shot up from my chair and pulled Gemma against me with barely controlled violence.

"Listen very carefully, Hunter. That’s the last time you’ll ever put your hands on my woman. We’re leaving, Gemma. And don’t even consider arguing," I snarled and stormed toward the exit, dragging her with me.

"Have you completely lost your mind, Dominic?" Gemma demanded when I stopped to unlock the car.

"Yes, I’ve lost my mind. I’m insanely jealous and completely obsessed with you. For crying out loud, Gemma, you didn’t even give me a chance to explain before you jumped to conclusions about that setup."

"Is there actually anything worth explaining?" Gemma crossed her arms defensively.

"Get in the car, Gemma. Let’s go somewhere private and discuss this properly. Beatrix means absolutely nothing to me, never has. I was involved with her occasionally, that’s it." I was attempting to explain myself to a woman for the first time in my entire life, and I had no idea how to do it properly.

"Look, you already know how Yara Rossi stalks Caleb relentlessly despite his marriage. It’s the exact same situation with Beatrix and me, except I’ll be completely honest - I did have relations with Beatrix in the past, while Caleb never touched Yara."

I was rambling without pause while Gemma studied me silently, her expression unreadable.

"I haven’t been with any woman since I met you in that shop. I swear on my family’s honor," I finished desperately.

Gemma uncrossed her arms and slid into the passenger seat without saying a word. When I walked around and got behind the wheel, she finally looked at me and spoke.

"I really hope you don’t disappoint me, Dominic. I hope I’m not making a huge mistake here."

"You’re not, my goddess." I lifted her hand and pressed my lips to her palm. "I want to take you home with me. Will you come?"