Page 71 of Man of Honor
“I made a promise to protect my family, no matter what,” Dominic said, ice-cold and steady. “Even if that means protecting them from themselves. Gage will cry when you disappear, but then I’ll make sure he never cries again.”
His fist swung toward my face, blindingly fast. I didn’t even have a chance to brace myself. Not that it would have done any good. It felt like getting hit with a baseball bat. The brass knuckles smashed into my face with sickening force.
I waited for another rush of darkness, but it didn’t come. Dominic had checked his strength just enough to keep me conscious. That was the thing about him; he never let his emotions get the better of him. I wasn’t sure he even had them. He stuck to body shots after that. The first few blows knocked the breath out of me, but I stopped bracing. There was no deflecting, no protecting my soft points, no escape. Just embracing the suck. All I could do was clench my teeth and keep my groans behind them.
When he finally paused to catch his breath, I was so lost in pain I barely noticed.
“You can scream, you know.” His voice was so garbled it sounded demonic. “I don’t respect you more for staying quiet.”
I gagged on a mouthful of blood, coughed, and spat onto the floor. “F-fuck you, Dominic.”
“How original.” He grimaced and slipped off the brass knuckles, shaking out his stinging fingers before retrieving a phone from his pocket.Myphone. “Let’s cut to the chase, Deputy. I want you to call Gage and confess. Give him the truth before you die. You owe him that much.”
The eerie blue glow of the lock screen nearly blinded me as he held it up to my face. I squeezed my eyes shut and turned my face away, but Dominic grabbed me by the chin and forced my head around until it felt like my neck might snap.
“Unlock it,” he growled, his whiskey-colored eyes drilling into mine. “Or we’ll take a different route, and I promise, you’ll like it even less.”
I pressed my lips into a thin line, but I couldn’t see a way out. If I refused, he’d tip the chair over and pry my eyes open himself. I flicked my gaze to the screen, and the device unlocked with a faint click.
Dominic’s smile was razor-sharp as he navigated my contacts and hovered his thumb over Gage’s name.
“Dominic, don’t,” I blurted, thrashing against the zip ties, ignoring the sting as they bit into my skin. “Don’t hurt him like this. You don’t have to do this.”
He ignored me, focused only on the screen. The phone rang once. Twice. Maybe Gage was too angry to pick up. I could only pray he didn’t. As much as I wanted to hear his voice one more time, I couldn’t bear to do this to him.
“Wyatt?” Gage’s voice was loud on speaker, confused and distracted and so, so beautiful. “It’s too late to rehash this tonight?—”
“Shut up, Gage,” I rasped, licking my cracked lips and tasting iron. “J-just…just shut up and listen to me for a minute, okay, baby?”
His tone sharpened in an instant. “What’s wrong?”
Dominic’s eyes flicked to mine, sharp with warning, daring me to clue Gage in. But we both knew I wouldn’t. Dominic was ruthless, but he was loyal to his brothers. Whatever happened tonight, I wasn’t going to let Gage lose both of us.
“Wyatt?” Gage sounded angry now…and scared. “Your reception sucks. Where are you?”
Pain and panic clouded my mind, and for a second, I wasn’t sure I could get the words out. Dominic’s hand shot out, catching my jaw in a vice-like grip. He tilted his head, gaze boring into mind, and the silent threat was crystal clear:choose carefully.
“I know it’s late, but I…need to tell you something,” I croaked, barely above a whisper. “Just listen, okay? Let me say this.”
“Okay,” Gage said warily.
“I’m sorry,” I said, forcing the tremor out of my voice. “I’m so goddamn sorry for ever making you feel like you’d let me down. That was all me. I felt stupid and helpless, like everything I’ve done amounts to nothing, but that wasn’t your fault.”
“Let’s talk in the morning, okay?” he interrupted, alarm creeping into his tone. “This isn’t the right time?—”
“No.” I clenched my fists behind my back. My fingers were slick with the blood oozing from my lacerated wrists. “It has to be now. Listen to me, Gage. You’ve got this soul…it’s the purest thing I’ve ever seen. The world has thrown so much at you, but you’ve never let it take your heart. You think it makes you weak, but it doesn’t. It makes you strong. It makes me want to be a better man…for you.”
“Wyatt—” Gage’s voice cracked. I hated that I couldn’t see him, couldn’t hold him. I hated that I’d waited too long to say this. Some tough guy I was.
“You’ve made me a better man, Gage. You made my life better in ways you’ll never understand. No matter what happens, I need you to believe that.”
Dominic’s short fingernails dug impatiently into my skin. “Tell him,” he growled, low enough for only my ears. “Tell him what you did so he doesn’t waste his heart mourning you.”
But Gage was speaking in my ear, making it difficult to concentrate on anything else. “You’re freaking me out. Are you breaking up with me? Is that what this is?”
“Never.” My breath hitched. Dominic was radiating fury like a physical heat, but I pressed on. If this was my last chance, I was going to take it, no matter the repercussions. “Just promise me you’ll remember this, okay? No matter what you hear about me in the future, remember that I love you. I believe in you. I’ll always be proud of you…even if I’m not there to tell you.”
Silence filled the line, heavy and unbearable. Gage drew a deep breath, and when he finally spoke, his tone was low and deadly serious. “Wyatt, you’re scaring the hell out of me. Just tell me where you are, and I’ll come get you.”