Between The Warning and Her Return

Between The Warning and Her Return
Dominic’s Point Of View

I pushed open the door to Marco DeGrassi’s office without knocking, completely ignoring the assistant’s hurried voice behind me saying I needed to be announced. The click-clack of her heels echoed down the hallway as she tried to keep up with me, but I was already inside before she could even finish her sentence. The dark mahogany desk occupied the center like a throne, and behind it, Marco. He stood up immediately upon seeing me walk through the door, standing beside the desk, his eyes watchful, assessing my every move.

“Dominic Volkov, you’ve barely arrived in Russia and already…”

I didn’t let him finish.

My clenched fist met his jaw with force, the impact reverberating through my arm as he staggered backward. The sharp crack of the blow seemed too loud within the controlled silence of the office. Behind me, I heard the assistant’s breath catch, followed by a high-pitched scream.

“Oh my God!”

My fist burned, the bones throbbing, but it was nothing compared to the pressure I’d felt in my chest ever since I set foot in that country.

Marco recovered quickly, just as I knew he would. He brought his hand to the side of his face, touching the jaw where I’d struck him, blinking a few times before letting out a low, almost amused laugh.

“Are you going to punch me again, or can I sit down now?”

“Sir…” the assistant whined behind me.

“It’s all right, sweetheart. You can go.” His voice was calm, controlled, but his eyes never left me.

I waited, waited until I heard the click of the door closing and silence took over the room again. Only then did I speak.

“Bastard.” My voice came out low, strained, heavy. My jaw was stiff, and I could still feel the tingling in my wrist.

He let out a snort, straightening his suit as if nothing had happened.

“I protected your wife and your son, and I helped you reclaim the bratva. Why am I a bastard?”

I smoothed my own suit with an automatic motion, trying to hold onto the control that threatened to slip through my fingers, and stepped away from him, walking over to the armchair across from the table before sitting down.

“Don’t talk as if you did anything that wasn’t entirely in your own interest.”

Marco shrugged and sat back down as well, far too relaxed for someone who’d just been punched.

“I don’t pretend to be kind, Dominic. You know that. Of course it was in my interest… but in the end, the result was still the same, wasn’t it? You got the bratva, and you have your wife and son safe and with you.”

“Yes, certainly.” My voice was laced with venom. “You were hoping for that, weren’t you?”

He snorted, as if bored by the question, and shrugged again.

“I knew you’d find out sooner or later. I was enjoying it while it lasted… and trying to get something for myself.”

My jaw tightened again.

“Stop threatening Maggie.” The words came out harsher, lower, but far more dangerous. “Any connection you have with her and my son is over. A punch won’t be the only thing I’ll do if I find out you’re in contact with her again.”

Marco blinked slowly, as if analyzing every word.

“Dominic, I was just helping…” he tilted his head slightly. “Do you think Maggie would come back to this country again without a little push? Another thing you should thank me for.”

I drew a sharp breath through my nose, fighting the urge to leap across that table and finish what I’d started.

“You want her here to use her if I back out of the Massimo Esposito operation.” The pieces had fallen into place too quickly in my head after my conversation with Maggie on the plane. Quickly enough to make me even more furious for not having seen it sooner. “My relationship with Maggie is strained, and she feels she owes you something. You know I want her here with my son. Having her here again would make me wish she wouldn’t leave again… and you’d use that to manipulate me to your advantage.”

I studied his face closely; that damn smile was still there. He knew. He knew he was still playing games. He knew he still had cards to play.

“I came here to tell you that I won’t go back on my word.” My voice came out firm. “Massimo’s operation is going to happen, and I’m going to hand him over to you to do whatever you want with him, so, damn it, stay away from my family… or I’ll start getting close to yours too.”

The effect was immediate; his smile faded. His expression hardened, his jaw tensing for a second.

I had hit Marco right where it hurt, just as he had hit me. Marco was a master manipulator, a true mime when he wanted to be… but he made the same mistake we all did.

He had something to lose.

“Looks like old Dominic is back in full force,” he said, his tone now stripped of its lightheartedness and easy irony.

I let out a small snort, completely devoid of humor.

“No. Old Dominic would tremble in the face of this.” My hands clenched slightly around the arms of the chair. “Maggie got what she wanted. Because now… I feel like I have nothing to lose.” The words came out harsher than I intended. “My wife was able to conspire with my enemy to run away from me. Being a better man clearly didn’t work out.” I tilted my head slightly. “So I think I prefer my worst version. At least that way I get the results I want.” I rose from the chair unhurriedly, adjusting my suit once more. “You’ve been warned. In the coming days, the transfer will take place, and I’ll settle my debt.” I took a step toward the door. “So you’d better be careful. Because I don’t forget what happened… and now I’m thirsty to make Russia entirely Volkov’s and the bratva’s again.” I paused for a second, looking at him. “And I’ll stop at nothing to make that happen.”

I didn’t wait for a reply. I turned my back and walked out of the office, feeling his gaze burning into my back until the very last second.

My last connection with Marco would be when I handed over Massimo. After that, if he was smart, he’d pack up all his shit, along with his damn prisoner, and head back to Italy.

With the message delivered, I now had more important things to take care of. The meeting with the Japanese was tomorrow night, a dinner at my own home. It had to be perfect; I needed a solid foundation, support, power… and, at the moment, I had a problem.

Irina.

She was the face of the foundation, the representative all these months, and as much as that irritated me deeply, her work—largely based on Maggie’s ideas before everything fell apart—was solid. The Japanese would want that. They’d want someone trustworthy, someone who represented that, and I… had no one.

I could go to the Bratva headquarters. I could have started sorting this out immediately, but I didn’t go. I didn’t want meetings, I didn’t want problems, I didn’t want to hear anything else, so I did the only thing I really wanted to do.

I went home.

Maggie and Jamie were there waiting for me, and that reality still felt almost unreal, as if at any moment someone was going to snatch it away from me again, but at the same time, it was incredible. Heavy in a good way, because no matter how fucked up my relationship with Maggie was at that moment, knowing that she and my kids were under my roof… waiting for me… that eased something inside me. It pushed away, even if only for a little while, the darkness that had been consuming me lately.

Marco had made exactly the right move. Maggie and Jamie in the United States were one thing. Distant, untouchable, beyond my control. But having my family in my country, inside my house… that shit messed with my head in a dangerous way, made me want things I’d already decided to let go of, because that wasn’t the man I was supposed to be.

The car stopped in front of the Volkov Mansion, the tires screeching slightly against the gravel of the driveway, and before I even opened the door, I saw Nicolai standing in front of the main entrance, motionless, as if he’d been waiting for a while. His eyes were fixed on the car, alert, almost anxious. I opened the door and got out, the cold morning air hitting my face as I automatically smoothed out my suit. I walked toward him unhurriedly, but with steady steps.

“Did you miss me?” I said when I stopped a few steps away.

He let out a small sigh through his nose, staring at me.

“Actually…”

“You came to see her,” I finished, before he could even finish.

I already knew; it was written all over his face. He ran his hand through his hair, restless.

“I still can’t believe it… I just want… I want to see it with my own eyes.”

I nodded once, watching his every microexpression.

“You didn’t tell Yulia.” It wasn’t a question.

If he had, Yulia would be there at the door, probably having torn half the house down to get there first. She couldn’t wait.

“No,” he replied, shaking his head. “I didn’t know… what was going to happen. I thought it best to spare her.”

I put my hands in my coat pockets, feeling the weight of it all settle back onto my shoulders.

“Is something going on between you two?” I asked bluntly.

It wasn’t exactly any of my business, and it definitely wasn’t a priority, considering everything else I had to deal with. But I wasn’t blind; I’d seen the two of them growing closer after Maggie’s supposed death, and then I’d seen the tension in my office when Yulia barely looked at him, and now… this.

He furrowed his brow slightly.

“What?”

“I know you see my sister as your own too,” I said, and he looked away. “But you don’t have to put up with all of Yulia’s bullshit, Nicolai. Even if she’s not like our mother… at least not in character… that girl’s temperament is exactly the same.”

He gave a dry cough, looking away again when I finished. What the hell was that? Nicolai stared at me in silence for a moment.

“Nothing’s going on, Dominic.”

Liar. I saw it in the way his jaw tensed, and in the time it took him to answer.

“Is there something you want to tell me?” I pressed, turning my eyes back to him. “Are you hiding something from me? Did Yulia do something?”

He held my gaze, but I saw his throat move as he swallowed hard. He was silent for a few seconds, clearly choosing his words, then sighed.

“I don’t want to lie to you or hide anything from you…” he began, his voice lower. “But can we talk about this after all this shit with Massimo Esposito blows over? You’ve got enough on your plate right now.”

I stared at him for another moment, sizing him up.

“Is it something urgent? Or something that puts my sister in danger?”

“No,” he replied immediately, firmly this time. “It isn’t. I can assure you.”

I held his gaze for a few more seconds before nodding.

“All right. We’ll talk when you’re ready to tell me.” I trusted Nicolai, so whatever it was, I knew he was protecting Yulia as if she were his own flesh and blood. I glanced toward the mansion’s door. “Shall we go in?” I said. “She… was sleeping when I left, but she must be awake by now. I don’t think Jamie will give her any break, no matter what state she’s in.”

“State?” Nicolai repeated, blinking, clearly confused.

He still didn’t know. I tapped him lightly on the shoulder as I passed and smiled.

“You’ll see.”

I walked to the door, pushing it open, immediately feeling the warmth from inside the house envelop me. I heard Nicolai’s footsteps right behind me, quick, almost impatient. My eyes automatically scanned the ground floor, alert to any movement, any sound, any presence. Now that my mother wasn’t there anymore, Maggie had more freedom… she could be anywhere in the house… but she wasn’t. The silence was almost absolute, broken only by the distant echo of our footsteps on the marble. Without a second thought, I headed for the staircase, climbing the wide, dark wooden steps, feeling Nicolai right behind me, following my every move. I reached the second floor and turned into the hallway, heading straight for the guest room where Maggie was. I had insisted that she stay in our room… it was bigger, more comfortable, more suitable for her condition, but, as with so many other things, Maggie had been adamant. She chose the room that had been hers before we existed as a “we.” Perhaps that said more than any words could.

I stopped in front of the door and knocked twice, firmly but without haste. There was a brief silence before I heard the muffled voice on the other side.

“Come in.”

I glanced at Nicolai. He looked… tense, anxious. Like someone about to confirm something he desperately needed to believe. Then I turned the doorknob and opened the door.

“Hey,” Maggie said as soon as she saw me.

She was sitting on the bed, her legs folded to the side with some care because of her belly, and she was folding small pieces of clothing. Baby clothes. They were clothes for the baby in her belly… For a second, I just watched.

“Someone’s here to see you,” I said, keeping my voice neutral.

Her eyes widened immediately, and she stood up too quickly for someone in her condition. Quick enough to make me take a half-step forward instinctively… but I held back.

I opened the door wider, making room, and Nicolai stepped inside. I saw the exact moment Maggie exhaled, as if she’d been holding her breath until that very second. Her eyes filled with tears almost instantly.

“My God,” Nicolai murmured, taking another step into the room, as if afraid it would vanish if he moved too quickly. “You’re really here.”

“I’m sorry, Nicolai,” Maggie said, her voice faltering as thick tears began to stream down her face.

“Jesus…” he let out, his gaze dropping automatically to her belly before returning to her face.

Then he crossed the room without hesitation and pulled her into an embrace. His arms wrapped tightly around Maggie, holding her against his chest, as if he needed to feel that she was real. Maggie clung to him, and the sound of her sobs filled the room, raw, heavy, impossible to ignore.

“I can’t tell you how happy I am to have you here,” I heard Nicolai say, his voice muffled because his face was buried in her hair.

“It’s so good to s-see you a-again. I’ve m-missed you so much,” Maggie said between sobs.

I stood in the doorway, watching, and for a second, my heart… sank. The memory of my own reunion with her came flooding back, all too vivid. The words I had said, the way I had looked at her, the distance I had put between us. Clearly, Nicolai was doing much better than I had.

“Maggie…” Nicolai stepped back after a few minutes, still holding her by the arms, as if afraid to let her go completely.

Her tears had subsided, but they still streaked her face.

“You… can you forgive me?” she asked, her voice small, vulnerable in a way I hadn’t seen in a long time.

“Maggie…” he replied, softly, firmly. “You’re alive and well. I know Jamie is too. That’s all that matters to me.”

He still held her hands as he spoke, as if he wanted to make sure she stayed there. I looked away; something burned inside me. It wasn’t just jealousy. It was… worse. It was realizing that Nicolai was a better person than I was. To him, it seemed simple: she and Jamie were alive. That was what mattered.

So why wasn’t it like that for me? Why did that anger come along with the relief every time I looked at her? That pain that wouldn’t go away? Why did I want to look at her for the rest of my life… and at the same time want to turn my face away?

“Dominic, I was looking for you…” The woman’s voice sounded behind me, cutting through my thoughts like a blade.

I turned my face immediately; Yulia was standing in the hallway, a few steps from the open door, her expression confused, suspicious, already laced with impatience.

“What the hell is going on?”

She couldn’t see Maggie right away; Nicolai was still in front, blocking her view.

“Nicolai, what…”

He moved. He took a step back… then to the side. And the moment Maggie became fully visible… the words died on Yulia’s lips. Her blue eyes widened, filling with tears almost the very same second, and the shock washed over her face without any filter.

“Maggie…” Her voice came out weak, broken, laden with disbelief, and then her body simply gave way.

Without warning, without time to react.

She collapsed right before our eyes.