The Billionaire’s Bet: A Final Game(14)

“I love you so much, Julie. I love how you give your all to me. I just wanted to tell you that, and I’ll keep telling you that every day.”

“I love you, too. I know I can trust you with my body and heart now.”

Dominic smiled and nuzzled me. He kissed me on my lips, massaging them softly. It was sweet and gentle. This was bliss.

Then the phone rang.

Dominic kept his lips and hands on me, pulling me closer as far as he could. Ignoring the sound of the phone completely, we kept kissing. Neither of us wanted it to end.

Until the voicemail started.

“Dominic Fury. We need to talk.”

It was my kidnapper’s voice.

“Come down to the casino floor now, or people will die.”





Chapter 5




The sound of her voice sent bile up my throat.

“Shit, shit, shit!” Dominic yelled.

He stood and helped me up, then ran out of the room. I went after him and saw him getting dressed, so I did the same. I grabbed whatever was closest and easiest to wear and put it on. Dominic barely buttoned up his shirt before he ran downstairs.

“I’m going. Stay here,” he commanded.

He opened the door, and I quickly followed him out. “No.”

“Julie!” he turned around. “Goddammit! This is dangerous. Fuck, I don’t have time for this.” He wanted to slam the door shut so I couldn’t get out, but I wedged a foot in between and jerked the door open.

“I’m going with you, and you can’t stop me. I’m not going to let them hurt you. I need to know you’re safe.”

He snorted, and his nostrils flared. “Fine, but stay out of the way!”

Dominic stormed out and in to the elevator. I could only just keep up and threw myself inside before the doors shut.

Frantically, he pressed some buttons and off we went. His face was only inches away from the doors, as if thought the distance would save him time walking. He was raging, like a bull ready to charge.

My heart raced when the doors opened. The lobby was filled with people, and not anyone looked up. Everything seemed normal. Nobody looked hurt. There was nothing out of the ordinary.

We walked inside, and Dominic’s head turned from side to side, scanning every part of the lobby. My legs were shaking, and I tried to regulate my breathing, but it was out of control.

“Sit down in a corner and don’t be conspicuous. Pretend you’re one of the guests,” he whispered.

I nodded and sat down somewhere in between an old couple in the middle of the lobby, but not too prominently visible. Dominic walked toward the open ground and started turning around, watching people move. His eyes were like those of a hawk, scouting the area, noticing every move, calculating if it was a dangerous one.

A man approached him. Dominic winced.

“Someone told me to give you this,” the man said. I could barely make it out.

Dominic read the note and crumpled it in his hands that were forming fists. He walked toward the roulette table and stood in between a man and a woman, watching the game. I couldn’t see clearly enough what they looked like.

Shit! Why did I have to sit down here?

I didn’t know what they were doing or what they were saying, but something told me this was bad. The lady whispered something into his ear. Then she walked sideways, still unrecognizable to me.

Suddenly the man next to him rummaged in his pocket and pointed his jacket in an awkward way at Dominic.

I heard a bang and fell off my stool. My eyes were closed and my hearing was one big beep. The sounds were muffled, but I could hear the high pitched voices of the people beside me. They were screaming.

I blinked and lifted myself off the floor. I looked around and tried to focus. At the roulette table was a body. Blood stained the carpet below him.

It was Dominic.

I screamed, but I don’t know if any sound came from my mouth. My throat was dry, and I couldn’t hear anything but my own unruly heartbeat. The people around me ran away, but they seemed like blurry shadows to me. My body grew cold as I crawled toward him.

When I reached him I could only see red blotches on his clothes that grew bigger and bigger. His hands were clenched tightly on the wound. He winced and closed his eyes, cursing and screaming at the same time. Then he coughed up blood.

“Dominic!” I yelled, and I pried away his fingers to look at the wound.

An alarm finally went off. It seemed like hours before the casino staff had noticed someone was shot.

I held his hand and brushed away the blood spatters on his face. My face was wet with tears. I cried so much, but it didn’t help. The hands that were once firm, weakened their grip on mine.

“Dominic? Dominic, stay with me!” I said, and I shook him a bit, but to no avail.

His eyes closed shut, and his head dropped to the floor. Sharon came running up beside me.