Chapter 40: Impaled

▪ D O M I N I C▪

Fuck!

I knew that Jade would have eventually asked to join my organisation, but I had not been prepared for her to ask so soon. Given the things that had recently happened with García, I was adamant about keeping her safe now more than ever.

After parking the car, I walked around the vehicle and roughly opened the passenger door.

"We're not having this conversation now!" I exclaimed in response to Jade's question.

With a huff, she stepped out of the car and probed, "And why not?" Holding Jade's hand firmly in mine as we walked over to the private elevator, my finger stabbed violently at the button as I replied, "Because I

don't want to talk about this right now! I'm going to end up yelling and you'll end up getting upset!"

"I'm not going into the club until we have this conversation," she argued, as she pulled her hand free.

Swear if I did not love her...

The elevator doors opened with a ping, pulling me from my thoughts. I growled softly as I grabbed her upper arm and dragged her into the lift.

Jade's back pressed against the glass wall as she watched as my free hand tightened into a fist.

Gazing down at her, my breathing was heavy as I tried to calm myself. With unhurried movements, I leaned my face closer to hers, invading more of her personal space. Jade raised her chin to look me square in the eye, her chest visibly rising and falling with each breath she took.

I loved how she was not really afraid of me. She probably was the only person alive who was not.

"Listen, I'm not about to have a repeat of two years ago! I don't want you to be upset for your birthday, can we please discuss this later?" I asked, my voice less irate.

Narrowing her eyes at me for a moment, she sighed heavily, before responding, "Fiiiine! But don't think I'm going to forget to bring this up at another time."

"You wouldn't be you if you did," I muttered as I rolled my eyes and let her go.

The elevator doors suddenly opened onto the fourth floor and I walked out alongside Jade. Her eyes lit up as she took in the interior of the area which had been adorned with various birthday decorations.

She took in the private purple room that had been opened up with the curtains drawn back and the glass walls parted to create an extension of the larger room itself. All the mafia bosses sat at a large table in the purple room while their advisers sat next to them and their body guards stood nearby, most of them just outside of the area.

The DJ had been given word of Jade's arrival, and as she stepped out of the elevator she heard the welcoming announcement which caused the entire building to erupt in cheers.

I watched as Jade's eyes scanned the vicinity, looking for familiar faces.

She immediately spotted Quintin standing next to Raeni, just outside of the purple room near the top of the short flight of five stairs. He had a big smile on his face as he chatted with her. The Jamaican towered over him with her glittering black heels, but she too was laughing with him, her hand touching a lock of his hair and I curiously raised an eyebrow at the display.

Jade could not help but grin at Quintin and sent him a playful wink when their eyes connected. Moments later, her attention shifted at the sound of a sudden excited shriek.

"Bestie!" Blaire screamed out as she jumped out of James' lap and ran down the stairs over to Jade and hugged her tightly, "Holy fuck knuckles! You look amazing! Gods look at your boobs!" she expressed as she gently groped her.

My other eyebrow raised in slight amusement as I watched their interaction. I did not like the way Blaire's hands roamed over Jade, but I knew that it was something they both did.

I did not think that I would ever understand women.

Huffing, I left them squealing and giggling as they went to mingle within the larger room. Climbing up the stairs, I walked over to where the other mafia leaders sat and drank.

"Looking sharp as ever, Dominic!" Raeni commented with a grin.

She turned back to Quintin who nodded, knowing she had to return to the table. With one last smile, Raeni ended their conversation and walked back into the purple room. I glanced at Da'mon, taking in his scowl of irritation that he was not doing a good job at hiding.

Everyone in the club was wearing a touch of purple to celebrate Jade's birthday.

The theme of the night was black and purple. Some people wore all black, while others wore all purple, and the rest wore a mix of the two.

My second in command could always tell the difference between my normal irritated expression and when something was truly bothering me.

There was no escaping the man's keen sense of observation. It was one of the things I relied upon, but I had to admit, I hated the way he could read me sometimes.

Leaning in to whisper, Vincent asked, "What's the purpose of your face?"

Turning to frown at him, I hissed out in a hushed tone, "Jade asked to join!"

"But we knew that she would though, especially with her final summer exams coming up," he countered knowingly.

Growling, I downed the purple drink that was handed to me, "Exactly! I thought perhaps she would wait to see her exam results first. I didn't think she would ask on the way over here!"

Scoffing slightly Vincent replied, "It's Jade, what did you expect? It's obvious that she would ask now, she knows that she's going to pass those exams and graduate a year early."

"Yea, yea, blasted know-it-all," I waved him off, as I unbuttoned my jacket, sat back in my seat at the head of the table, and observed the area.

From my elevated position, I could survey most of the fourth floor.

It had a fair number of people scattered around, ranging from a mix of Jade's friends to the few politicians who sat together with the Commissioner of Police at a large table just outside of the purple room.

When Thomas' eyes met mine, we acknowledged each other with a slight nod.

There were also a number of undercover policemen and women among the crowd, as well as bodyguards from each of the Aelbank mafia organisations scattered about the dance-floor.

I noted that Quintin was now talking to Cristiano, while Jee-min kept moving around, never standing more than a couple of meters away from

Jade. A few minutes later, I watched as Blaire and Jade joined Quintin and Cristiano and the four of them hugged and laughed as they chatted and drank.

The sound of a heavy Russian accent pulled me from my observation. "All is well, Dominic?" Aleksandr asked before adding, "I got word that there were a few other fentanyl laced cocaine related deaths."

Nodding, I began to address the entire table, "As all of you are aware, the situation with the Cartel has been handled. However, there's a few lingering traces of their product in the streets. I spoke with the Commissioner tonight and he'll clean things up on his end. What he needs from us is to keep an

extra eye on the city borders in case those Mexicans decide to stir up more trouble."

Everyone agreed and assured me that they would take their tasks seriously.

We briefly discussed some business, keeping each other in the loop with what was going on within our prospective turfs.

"How's things with the bikers, Leconte? Any issues since Vincent went to have that chat with them?" I enquired as I sipped from my glass.

"Besides the few cases of them trying to be a nuisance ever so often, there's been nothing major in the last few months," the Haitian replied as he smoked his cigar.

"Good. I know those idiots can be trickier than a circus when they're ready, so don't grow lax," I ordered.

Laughing deeply, Da'mon replied, "Don't worry about it, Dominic. I'm not James."

"Oi!" the Irishman exclaimed with a frown.

Everyone at the table erupted in laughter, then resumed their relaxed chatter.

I took out a deck of cards from my jacket pocket and began to expertly shuffle it so that we could play a game of poker.

"Alright! Let's see how much money I can get from you boys tonight!" Raeni teased. Her neon purple pant suit complimented her dark skin tone.

Audible groans of complaint were heard from Aleksandr, Da'mon, and James, which caused me to chuckle lightly. I reflected on how far we had all come as a group, from attacking each other to now working together.

While playing cards, a leggy redhead walked up and stood next to me.

It was Alena, one of Aleksandr's top call girls. She had been one of the regulars who used to service me whenever I visited the brothels. Alena wore a short white dress that left nothing to the imagination. Her thick bright hair was pulled back into a high and tight ponytail, exposing the delicate black tribal tattoo that was wrapped around her neck.

"I haven't seen you in over a year, Master, I miss you," Alena purred softly.

Frowning at her forwardness, I put my cards down, not bothering to look up at her. My voice was laced with annoyance as I spoke, "Alena, what are you doing? You know the rules."

The arrangement was simple. I would organize to meet at one of Aleksandr's brothels and would spend a few hours with a female of my choosing. Alena had been one of my top preferences, as she had a high

tolerance for pain and particularly enjoyed being gagged and bound.

The redhead relished in being dominated and savoured the thrill of rough sex. She was only too eager to comply with my demands, while the other call girls avoided being chosen by me. This made working with her easier, and it appeared that Alena mistook my frequency for something more. So, when I had stopped visiting, her obsession only seemed to grow.

Glancing at her, I could tell from the dilation of her pupils that the recreational drug in Alena's system had given her the courage to approach me even though she knew that she should not have. Aleksandr did not

bother to insert himself into our conversation, knowing that it was best not to interrupt.

Kneeling next to my chair, Alena said, "I'm sorry Master, it's just that I missed our sessions so much," her right hand attempted to rest on my knee.

Before her petite fingers could even touch me, my gloved hand gripped her wrist tightly and slammed her hand down onto the table. Simultaneously, I stood up, the edge of my switchblade appearing out of nowhere before it was swiftly embedded into the back of her hand, nailing her to the surface.

Alena's scream pierced through the purple room. Everything had happened so quickly that it took everyone at the table off guard. Aleksandr, who was sitting to my left, immediately got to his feet, a look of slight shock on his face.

"Wait!" Aleksandr blurted out as he looked to help Alena.

Narrowing my eyes, with a menacing tone, I promised, "If you remove that blade, the next one will go into one of her pretty blue eyes! I'll even let you choose!" I looked down at the crying woman, as I spat, "She knows the rules and their consequences."

The Russian immediately complied, taking a slight step back. They might work alongside me, but at the same time I was the boss. While they respected me, they also feared me. And for good reason, as I was as

unpredictable as I was deadly.

I was not just a criminal mastermind; I was utterly ruthless. Even though there were numerous police and onlookers present, everyone knew better than to intervene.

After all, a lot of the things that had been told about me were lies, for I was much worse than anyone could imagine when pushed too far. As a result, none of the other mafia bosses ever wished to overstep their boundaries and did their best to keep in line.

I knew that Aleksandr could not have known that Alena would have attempted to touch me. He probably thought that she was just going to beg me to visit, which in my opinion should not have been allowed either.

"Well shit..." Aleksandr muttered under his breath.

As I made a clicking sound with my mouth, I removed my blade from Alena's hand while signalling for two servers to come over.

"Clean this up," I motioned to the blood on the table and the crying woman on the floor.

Stammering slightly, Aleksandr rushed to say, "I'm so sorry."

Waving the apology off, "Looks like you'll need to give your girls a refresher on their training, Tolstoy," I stated simply, as I took the towel from the server and wiped my weapon clean, my eyes never left the Russian, as I added, "it's bad for business."

"Yes sir!" Aleksandr said respectfully.

Everyone else at the table turned their gazes towards their own subordinates, silently letting them know to take notes of the lesson demonstrated. No one was given a pass. If they messed up, they were made

examples of. Glancing over at Jade, I could see the jealousy in her eyes. Shaking my head, I sneered, wanting nothing more than to wipe the look of envy from her face. I turned towards Vincent who immediately stood up.

Whispering to him, I said, "Bring Jade up to the office."

"On it!" he replied before leaving the purple room and heading into the scattered crowd.