Chapter 3 - The Manager’s Mistake
Dominic's face shifted from rage to sheer, unadulterated terror.
Before anyone could move, Simon, the restaurant manager, came bustling over with a white towel over his arm, looking panicked by the sound of breaking glass.
"Is there a problem here, Mr. Pierce?" Simon asked nervously, shooting me a furious look. "Elena, what did you do? I told you to give Mr. Pierce excellent service! Get back to the kitchen and pack your things—you're fired!"
Dominic didn't even look at Simon. He reached out, grabbed Simon by his collar with one massive hand, and shoved him violently against the neighboring wooden pillar.
"Touch her or speak to her again, and I'll buy this building just to burn it down with you inside," Dominic growled, his voice trembling with a mixture of fear and fury.
Simon gasped for air, nodding frantically, his face turning pale as paper. "Yes, sir! I'm sorry, sir!"
Dominic released the manager, who scrambled away toward the back kitchen as fast as his legs could carry him.
I stood my ground, my arms crossed over my server's apron. "I suggest you take a deep breath, Mr. Pierce. You look like you're about to have an aneurysm."
Victor, who had remained quiet at the table, let out a hearty, booming laugh. "By God, Dominic! The girl has more spine than your entire security team combined!"
Dominic glared at me, his chest heaving under his expensive charcoal suit. The arrogance that had filled him ten minutes ago was entirely shattered, replaced by a dark, intense fascination. He took a step toward me, his dark brown eyes searching my face with a terrifying intensity.
"You're an intelligence operative?" he asked, his voice dropping into a raspy whisper.
"I was an operative," I corrected him coldly. "Until your associates framed my father, left him with three million dollars in medical debt, and forced me to take three jobs just to keep him alive in a private care facility."
Natalia stepped between us, handing me a small, encrypted satellite phone.
"Your father's facility was compromised twenty minutes ago, Elena," Natalia said gravely. "The people who framed him know you're in New York. They know you have the decryption keys to the Eastern European syndicate accounts."
My heart hammered violently against my ribs. "Is my father safe?"
"He is currently in an armored transport," Natalia replied. "But to keep him alive, you need protection. Real protection. The kind of protection the government can't legally provide."
Natalia turned her eyes toward Dominic Pierce.
May you like
Dominic stared back at her, then slowly turned his gaze to me. A slow, dangerous smile began to curve his sharp lips—the smile of a predator who had just realized the prize in front of him was far more valuable than gold.
"Looks like you need a bodyguard, sweetheart," Dominic murmured softly. "And it just so happens I own the entire underworld in this city."
