Unconditional (15 page)

“Get the hell away from me!” The added stress of her anguished screams and physical exhaustion made her faint.

When she woke again, she was lying in the local hospital with a tube in her arm and her gynecologist hovering over her.

“What happened?” She was completely confused as to what was going on, until she saw Dominic leaning against the wall of the room, looking on. Then she remembered it all. Water immediately pooled in her eyes and the monitors she was hooked to started going frantic.

“Stupid pregnancy hormones!” she muttered darkly, hating her emotional response to him.

“I see you’re having a very interesting night,” the doctor joked weakly. “But I must advise you to try to calm down. The baby is showing some signs of stress. Can you do that for me?”

“What?” She continued glaring over at her husband, not really paying attention to what the doctor was saying. The monitors continued to beep insistently.

“The baby was in distress and we will have to admit you overnight. I need you to stay calm, so that your baby isn’t stressed by the activities going on outside the womb.” The older woman looked down at her with concern evident in her eyes and frown lines on her face.

“Would you please get
him
to leave me alone?” Her husband’s stony face didn’t change expression. She couldn’t tolerate being around him. The impulse to get out of the bed and kick his ass dominated her mind. She had no idea her pulse had accelerated again until the doctor gasped with concern.

“Rinah, you have to stop this. Do you want to keep your baby?”

She looked at the doctor then, glaring at the poor woman. “Yes! I want my baby, but he has to leave! Can you get him out of here, please?” She could feel her stomach tighten as if in a contraction. She rubbed the taut muscle, trying to soothe her baby, begging her to hang tough.

“Rinah, you were spotting earlier. This is very serious.” The doctor was pleading with her now.

Dominic remained against the wall, stoically looking on, his jaw clenched like granite.

“No! I don’t want him near me or my baby!”

“Sweetheart—” Dominic began to reason with her.

“No! I don’t want to hear it! Get away from me! I don’t want to see you again!” She was horrified as she helplessly started sobbing. The last thing she wanted was to show any weakness. But the freakin’ pregnancy hormones were playing havoc with her control.

The doctor hustled Dominic out of the room, returning a few minutes later with an injection that promptly put her back to sleep. When next she woke, Jaden and Zara were there. However, seeing Jaden upset her because of his close relationship with Dominic. She wanted no reminders of her husband.

Jaden left soon after, telling her that Neo was stationed outside her door. As she started to protest, he gently told her that this was non-negotiable. The threat to her and Matt was imminent. Zara stayed with her until her release the next day.

Dominic regarded his best friend and SEAL mate. He and Neo had been through many hairy situations together. They trusted each other with their lives. Now that Rinah was in the hospital, he needed to trust his friend with his family’s life.

His last official mission had been a few months before he had met and married Rinah. He and a group of his ex-Navy SEALs, working with the United States DEA, were responsible for the seizure of billions of dollars in drugs and assets belonging to a violent and dangerous Columbian drug cartel, headed by Carlos Mendoza.

With the help of some Bahamian drug dealers, Mendoza had been trafficking cocaine and automatic weapons through the inadequately patrolled waters of the Bahamas to the United States mainland.

Dominic had headed the group of ex-Navy SEALs, four in total, working with DEA agents from the United States and the Bahamas, to intercept a sophisticated drug trafficking ring. They confiscated suitcases of counterfeit U.S. dollar bills, and drugs and guns worth millions of dollars on the black market. After capturing ten traffickers during the raid, Mendoza had been indicted in the United States as the mastermind behind the group. He was charged with racketeering, money laundering, two counts of murder for the DEA agents killed during the raid, and six other offenses relating to his multimillion-dollar cocaine and heroin operation. However, still residing in Columbia, the drug lord was not in U.S. custody. The Columbian government agreed that an extradition would follow as soon as he was captured.

For years the drug lord remained hidden deep in the Colombian jungles to avoid prosecution, making it impossible for the Colombian government to get close enough to him to attempt an arrest. His power among the surrounding villagers and the overwhelming level of security around him was great, making that task too dangerous for the Colombian local authorities.

Despite the seemingly untouchable position of his fortress, Mendoza was extremely angry and was determined on exacting revenge for the lives of his men, who were captured and killed in the raid conducted by Dominic’s team, and the millions of dollars lost as a result of their raid. The drug lord resented the prisoner-like existence he was forced to maintain in order to survive with the increased efforts by the U.S. to detain him.

One year after the initial raid, following the birth of his son, Dominic gave up active participation in dangerous operations for the US Government. Recognizing that he could no longer take such unnecessary risks with his life, and the need to spend more time with his growing family, he was surprised by the ease with which he was able to leave his former life behind.

After fifteen years with the SEALs, and various other branches of U.S. intelligence, there still remained a desire in him for law enforcement. However, to appease his need to assist in removing dangerous criminals from the streets, he continued to plan and organize some of the covert missions of his former team with the use of his own high-tech computers, navigational systems, and numerous international contacts. Although the team had been disbanded, and most of them now worked for Neo in his security company, his men still looked to him for leadership whenever they were called for a particularly complex assignment. He remained a valuable consultant for U.S. intelligence, whenever necessary. Although he was a resident of the Bahamas, he was still a U.S. citizen. He operated his companies from the Bahamas to take advantage of the tax-free jurisdiction.

Despite the care they’d taken during the Columbian raid in keeping their involvement and identities a secret, someone had leaked information on the team’s identity. A few months ago the attacks had begun.

“Neo, man, things with Rinah went crazy tonight. I need you to protect her while I deal with the new intelligence on Mendoza the Columbians provided.” After the assassination of their teammate and his family, Dominic trusted no one other than Neo to protect his family.

“Consider it done.”

“Good. I’m taking Sean and Rico to Columbia with me.”

Neo only nodded his head. Dominic smiled grimly, knowing he didn’t need to explain further to his friend. Normally, it would have been Neo’s job to guard his back, but his friend knew the importance of the assignment to protect Rinah and Matt.

“Jaden will provide assistance electronically.” Along with Dominic and Neo, their friend Jaden Hamilton was a partner in an international security agency. Jaden provided innovative electronic security systems and creative weapons for their guards, while they, with their service background, recruited hundreds of men, usually ex-Navy or ex-Army personnel. With the added threat, he was certain Neo would ensure the U.S. servicemen provided an impenetrable wall of security around Rinah and Matt.

Given his and Neo’s assistance with Jaden’s brother Max the week before, and the electronic capability Jaden had at his fingertips, he was confident in using the technical intel the other man could provide. Dominic knew their action in Australia would further provoke Mendoza’s temper when they disrupted his Asian cargo shipment: humans and drugs. Killing two of Mendoza’s key men in the sting operation had only made the drug lord more livid. He had hoped that the Columbian would make an irrational mistake in his anger. And he did. Now they had sufficient information to track the bastard down.

“By the way, Rinah is pregnant. She’s at the hospital now. Jaden is with her until you arrive.”

“Congratulations.” Neo gripped him in a bear hug. “Good hunting.” He left the room as silently as he’d entered. The tragic death of their teammate had affected them all. Dominic understood what Neo was saying. “Make the bastard pay!”

He, Sean, and Rico entered the Colombian jungle a few days later. They were there five months. Those were the toughest five months of his life. They had lived like animals, barely sleeping or eating. They were brought back to basics, living off the land and blending into the jungle as if they were part of it. When they did sleep, they slept high in trees with a dense foliage of leaves, ensuring maximum camouflage from predators, the crawling, walking, running, or flying variety. They had to blend in to their surroundings. No one knew that they were there, not even the local villagers.

They hunted Mendoza and his men until none were left, certainly no one to avenge what they’d done. As was their policy, the United States government denied knowledge or involvement in their vigilante-style justice. Mendoza didn’t make it out of the jungle alive.

As team leader, he took the most risk and when it was all said and done he’d walked away with three gunshot wounds, and a number of knife wounds as well. After a month of recovery in a Washington hospital, he’d left with numerous scars for his efforts.

Chapter Eleven

Present…

A
fter being back
on the island for more than a week, and having stayed with her parents for an additional three days after Dominic left, Rinah was still no closer to deciding what to do with her marriage. One minute she knew deep in her heart that she and Dominic were meant for each other and the next, she was so enraged by his arrogant refusal to discuss Flavia that she couldn’t think straight. Her indecision was exacerbated by the uncertainty of her motives.

Am I willing to ignore the evidence in front of me because I’m afraid to give him up? Do I love him so much I’m willing to accept him on any terms?

Then she would get angry at her weakness.
I have to be cognizant of the fact that he will absolutely never be faithful and it’s best to get out of this
now!

Dominic had moved back into their house as he’d promised. He was already there when they’d returned to the island. But so far, she had been able to avoid any deep conversation or intimate contact with him.

He spent most of his time at home with the children. Deliberately working out of his home office all week, he had breakfast with them, worked for a few hours in the morning, but spent the rest of the day entertaining the children. Some days they frolicked on the beach or in their massive pool, took little outings to the movies or shopped in town, and at other times went out on his yacht. He’d always loved exploring the other islands in the archipelago of the Bahamas, and he took pleasure in taking the kids on these excursions.

Rinah made it a point to not be available to take part in any these activities. She insisted on keeping as much space and as little interaction as possible between her and Dominic. She spent more time at the office, and increased her exercise regimen by running extra miles in the morning after her friends left. Dinner preparation took longer and became an avenue of therapy to help fill the void. Although she ate dinner every night with Dominic, they shied away from discussions on their marriage or anything remotely controversial. On numerous occasions, she caught him looking at her in confusion, as if he didn’t know what to say to her. It was almost as if he wanted to tell her something. But then his expression would clear and his face would once again become void of emotion.

Their conversation usually consisted of a rundown on the children’s antics that day. It created a light, humor-filled atmosphere, with them cracking up about their children’s developing personalities. Matt was clearly his father’s son: determined, inquisitive, and extremely bright, with all of the energies of a four-year-old boy.

Nikki, on the other hand, was so sweet-natured that her rosy little mouth was often stretched in a big, toothless grin. But her temper could rival anyone else’s in the family. Rinah was convinced Nikki might resemble her, but she had Dominic’s personality, no question.

Once dinner was over, Rinah went back to her home office on the pretext of work and he went into his. She had no idea what to do to get over their impasse. She was grateful that Dominic didn’t press her in any way. He allowed her the space she demanded, and focused his energies on getting to know his children better and creating a stronger bond with them.

Rinah couldn’t deny that he was a wonderful father. He handled Nikki as well as he dealt with Matt, often leaving the nanny behind on their various outings, secure in his ability to care for his baby daughter. Yes, he was a fabulous father, but then that had never been in question. What was in question was his worth as a husband.

He had denied a relationship with Flavia, but refused to explain her possessing a key to their apartment. She didn’t even bring up the kiss she’d witnessed almost a year ago. She wanted so desperately to believe him, but she didn’t understand his insistence on keeping Flavia close to him. For Rinah, each night became more restless than the next. Imagining her husband in their bedroom nearby, she craved his touch, wanting desperately to feel his strong arms holding her in their bed.

She didn’t expect her reprieve to last for long. Dominic wasn’t known for an abundance of patience. Knowing that the time for a confrontation with him was fast approaching, she tried keeping busy and well out of his way to avoid it. Unfortunately, he picked the moment when she was in the middle of breastfeeding Nikki on a Sunday afternoon. Just as she was switching the baby from one breast to the other, he walked into her bedroom.

“We can’t go on like this.” The bold statement, in an otherwise quiet room, startled Nikki from her sucking and she immediately cried out in distress.

“Shh, shh.” Rinah soothed her child, expertly reattaching the baby to her leaking nipple.

“This isn’t the time or place for this. As you can see, I’m busy,” she whispered calmly without looking at his looming presence.

“We’re going to talk today, Rin, whether you like it or not. The place and time is of no consequence to me.”

“Ya think?” She glared at him. “I have absolutely nothing to say to you.” She filled her voice with fierce conviction.

Completely ignoring her outburst, Dominic moved closer to her and crouched down to gently kiss his daughter on the cheek. All the tension seemed to leave his frame under the sweet smell of their daughter’s enchanting baby scent. Nikki whimpered, not at all impressed by her father’s interruption of her feeding. Her little, pink lips were latched on to her mother’s breast, and her tiny fists held on to the taut globe as she suckled greedily.

He lightly ran a gentle finger on the generous swell of her breast, daring Rinah to object, and grinning wickedly because he knew that she couldn’t dislodge him without disturbing the baby.

“Say what you have to say and get the hell away from me!” she muttered through clenched teeth.

“The sight of you like this is incredibly sexy. I won’t object to us having more babies. You’re the picture of an earth mother,” he said, admiration laced in every word he spoke.

She sighed and rolled her eyes at his unwanted compliment. “I see you’re anticipating Immaculate Conception.” She smirked.

He slowly removed his hand and rose to his feet. “Antoinette will look after the children in about an hour. I will receive you in my office then.” After making his arrogant command, he turned and stalked from the room.

Rinah cursed fluidly under her breath. She was through playing the victim and allowing Dominic to dictate to her. She went looking for him long before the hour was up. Unfortunately, her search ended in their old bedroom. And as soon as she burst through the door to confront him, she knew that she had made a grave miscalculation.

Dominic was coming out of the
en suite
bathroom, drying his hair with a towel, but he was otherwise completely naked.

On hearing footsteps in the hall, she quickly shut the door, belatedly realizing that she should have been on the other side of the door instead of shutting herself in with him.

He smiled wolfishly and began walking toward her.

“Stay where you are, Dominic! Or I swear—”

“You swear what? Will you attack me? Baby, I look forward to being taken down by you.” He chuckled deep in his throat, seeming to enjoy her annoyance on being in such a predicament.

“Tell you what,” he began conversationally, continuing to advance on her, as she backed away from him, until there was no place left for her to retreat. She was trapped between him and the door.

“I will make this easy for you.” He whipped the towel around her waist and pulled her forward against his blatantly aroused body. She gasped at the sudden impact of his virile hardness burrowing against her stomach.

“Dominic, please…” Her voice cracked as his steely cock pulsed and lengthened enthusiastically. His silver gaze smoldered with shimmering passion. She was pissed at her body’s eager response to him.

“I don’t want this.” She forced the words from her dry lips. She was fighting his and her own desire, and was losing badly.

“Dammit, Rin, why do you persist in making our life complicated? I’ve asked you to trust me. But I see that I’m wasting my breath!”

“Because you’re giving me nothing to trust! I found you kissing her months ago.”

“I was
not
kissing her!” he roared. “What the fuck! I told you when it happened to let me explain. But you won’t listen.”

“So what was that I saw? Sorry for misinterpreting! Were you just resting your tongue in her mouth?” she shouted back. “I found you kissing that woman, after she continuously bragged to me that the two of you were having an affair.” She continued as if he hadn’t spoken. “Now she has a key to
our
apartment, and walks in the damn place as if she owned it! Which part of that story allows me to trust you?”

He spun away from her in agitation, muttering in Russian. “Why do you constantly have to believe the worst of me? Nothing is going on between me and Flavia! Damn, that woman is a piranha. I wouldn’t touch that putrid bitch if she was the last woman on earth!” He ran his fingers through his hair, completely oblivious to his unclothed state.

She couldn’t say the same. The sight of his sculptured physique made her throb and pulse with sizzling desire. She was almost to the point of attacking him, as he’d so accurately predicted moments before.

“You know what? I no longer care if you believe in me or not.” He ground his teeth with impatience and walked into his closet. “You’re
my
wife.” His voice projected clearly. She could hear the doors of his chest of drawers being opened and closed aggressively. “You want out of this marriage?” he asked as he came back into the room, now dressed in jeans and pulling a shirt over his head. “Prove my affair with any woman! No more innuendos, no more suspicions, no more fucking accusations! Since you and Flavia are such good friends, tell her to prove my dick has been anywhere near her overused pussy. And then maybe I’ll consider letting you go.”

“I have proof!”

“No, you have lies masquerading as truth! I’m disappointed in you, baby. You were the one person who I thought would always have my back.”

His damning words pierced her like a dagger. The haunted, hurt look in his eyes destroyed her resolve. “That’s not fair, Dominic! You’re not helping me to continue believing in you.”

“You swore that you loved me.” He gazed at her with glistening emotion. She couldn’t mistake his stark sadness. “You swore that it would last always. I guess
I
was the fool for believing that fantasy.” He didn’t wait around for her to defend herself and stalked angrily from the room. “Don’t wait dinner for me,” he muttered as he walked past her.

At work, Rinah went through her morning routine on autopilot. She couldn’t concentrate on anything: the situation with Dominic and the state of her marriage were paramount in her mind. It was no wonder that by noon she found herself at another lunch meeting with Michael Fielding. Her secretary had only that morning told her of the requested lunch meeting, with the promise of pertinent information for her client’s files. She’d done such a poor job preparing for the meeting, she didn’t think to question what further information Fielding could possibly have for her.

If Rinah had been functioning with all of her faculties, she would have extricated herself from any association with this idiot. She should have insisted the additional information could easily be delivered to her office. But she hadn’t thought of it until it was too late. The last thing she needed was to be linked with him in any way. Fielding represented everything she despised. Besides being sued by a number of former clients for misappropriation of their funds, the guy was serial abuser of women. It was common knowledge that he often took advantage of the women employed at his firm. If some of the stories were to be believed, he had forced quite a number of them into unwanted sexual relationships with him. Once he was through with them, he would make a public show of discarding them. Others, who refused his advances, often found themselves out of work and then found it difficult to secure a position elsewhere.

Since meeting Rinah, he had made no effort to hide his interest in her. The fact that she was married to one of the most powerful men on the island didn’t seem to dissuade him, either. She could only conclude that he was too stupid to heed the threat Dominic posed to his health. She was annoyed at herself for letting this situation occur.

Shaking the cobwebs from her brain, she set the stage for an early exit out of this hell. “I don’t have much time today, Mr. Fielding. I have another meeting across town and we may not be able to finish this lunch.”

“But we just got here. And I’m sure we can attain mutual satisfaction for our client.” He looked at her with lowered eyelashes.

This prick really thinks he’s a Casanova!

He looked her over thoroughly, her lips, breasts, and legs, before making eye contact with her again. Rinah rolled her eyes at his obvious lecherous scrutiny. He indicated she should follow their waiter, and preceded him to their table.

Seething in silence, Rinah looked at him in disgust. She had dressed that morning with the thought of Dominic on her mind. It was too bad that he had left for work long before she’d emerged from her room. The pinstriped red suit and white silk blouse she wore beneath fitted her to perfection. The ensemble delineated her figure well, showing only a hint of cleavage from the two undone blouse buttons. The skirt, with a flirty, feminine hem that ended just above her knees, displayed her legs to their best advantage and accentuated her ass. She knew that bastard Fielding was leering at said ass behind her.

He laughed at her reaction to his leering scrutiny.

As soon as they sat, she ordered sparkling water with lime and a chicken salad. She didn’t want to have any reason to linger with this fool. Taking her cue, Fielding ordered as well. As the waiter left the table, she wasted no time in getting to the business at hand.

“So what crucial information do you have for my client’s file?”

“Information I have? You’re the one that requested this meeting. I was told you had questions for me.”