His Merciless Redemption novel Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Isabella’s POV

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If someone had told me yesterday that today I’d be walking towards a pool in Dominic Russo’s house while our son chattered excitedly between us, I would’ve laughed in their face.

Or cried.

Or both.

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The path to the pool was lined with tall hedges and pale stone, sunlight catching on the ripples of blue ahead.

It looked like the sort of place people came to relax, drink cocktails, and forget the world.

I didn’t have that luxury.

“Look, Mamma!” Mateo tugged at my hand. “It’s so big!”

“It is,” I agreed, trying to sound normal, like my heart wasn’t pounding hard enough to bruise my ribs.

The pool was long, rectangular, absurdly clear. Lounge chairs lined one side, a cluster of trees gave shade to part of the deck. Two men stood discreetly at the far end, pretending to be invisible.

Security. All the time. Everywhere.

“Stay by the shallow end,” I told Mateo automatically.

“I will,” he promised, already kicking off his shoes and practically tripping over himself in his excitement.

Dominic watched him with a faint, stunned kind of wonder, like he still wasn’t used to the idea that this small whirlwind belonged to him.

“He’s fast,” Dominic murmured.

“He’s five,” I said. “Fast comes with the package.”

That almost got a smile out of both of us. Almost.

Mateo stood at the edge of the pool in his swim shorts and too-big floaties Maria had dug out of somewhere, wiggle-bouncing like a coiled spring.

“Iz,” Dominic said, voice dropping as he turned to me. “I won’t let anything happen to him.”

The nickname hit me like a ghost from another life. I tried not to flinch.

“You say that,” I answered quietly, eyes still on Mateo, “but it already almost did. At our door.”

His jaw tightened. “Not again.”

I didn’t respond. Because if I looked at him right now, I might see sincerity, and that would be more

21:45 Wed, Jan 14

Chapter 21

dangerous than any Vitelli gunman.

“Alright, rocket,” Dominic called to Mateo, stepping towards the water. “You ready?”

Mateo nodded furiously. “Yes!”

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“First rule,” Dominic said. “We don’t just jump in. We get in slowly. We test the water. We stay where Mamma

can see us.”

He glanced at me as he said it. That did something warm and painful inside my chest.

I moved closer to the edge, kneeling, my dress brushing against the stone.

Dominic stepped into the pool first, uncaring that he was fully dressed, the water lapping at his calves, then his waist. He moved with easy control, like he trusted his body more than anything else.

“Come here,” he told Mateo, holding out a hand. “I’ve got you.”

Mateo hesitated, just for a second, then reached out.

His small fingers slipped into Dominic’s much larger ones, and my breath caught as Dominic drew him into the water with careful, deliberate patience.

It was surreal.

The man who once came home covered in blood was now coaxing our son into a swimming pool like it was the most sacred thing he’d ever done.

“You’re okay,” Dominic said, the same calm voice he used to use with new recruits, except softer. “I have you. I won’t let go.”

Mateo clung to his neck, squealing at the cold. “It’s so cold!”

“You want to get out?” Dominic asked.

“No!” Mateo said immediately. “I’m brave.”

Dominic’s expression cracked. “Yeah,” he whispered. “You are.”

He shifted Mateo so the boy floated on his back, one broad palm supporting his spine, the other steadying his head.

“Look up,” Dominic instructed. “See the sky?”

“It’s blue,” Mateo said, awed.

“You float better if you trust the water,” Dominic told him. “You fight it, you sink.”

“That’s not true,” I muttered under my breath.

Dominic heard and smirked faintly. “In this, it is.”

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Chapter 21

I watched them. My chest felt too tight.

:

He was good with him. Careful. Patient. Proud. He wasn’t faking that.

And Mateo, he laughed.

A

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The sound rang across the water. Bright. Innocent. He splashed Dominic’s face, and Dominic let him “win,” pretending to falter dramatically.

“Mamma, look!” Mateo called. “I’m swimming!”

He wasn’t. Dominic was doing most of the work. But in that moment, I didn’t care.

“I see you,” I called back, smile slipping free before I could stop it. “You’re amazing.”

He beamed. Dominic glanced at me over his shoulder.

It felt like someone pressed pause on the world.

Just for that heartbeat, it was just us. A man, a woman, and a child. A family having a morning by the pool.

No mafias. No Vitellis. No explosions. No five-year grave between us.

Almost normal.

This was what Mateo had been missing.

Small moments like this with a man he could call his father.

Luca had been there for a lot of things. He had been the only male presence in Mateo’s life and he really looked up to Luca. But Luca wasn’t his father. Dominic was. And I wanted Mateo to have that in his life.

It was why I’d let Dominic have this moment. Not for him, but for my son.

I didn’t know if Dominic was being sincere. Nothing in his actions or words so far had told me otherwise, but it was difficult for me to trust him after what had happened all those years ago.

As I looked at Mateo and Dominic playing in the water, it just felt right. Like it was always supposed to be this way. Bright. Fun. Peaceful.

But then everything shifted.

One of the guards’ radios crackled on the far side of the pool. He stiffened, bringing a hand to his earpiece, expression suddenly razor-sharp.

My stomach dropped.

“Dominic,” he called, voice clipped. “We have movement.”

And the fragile moment shattered like glass.

21:46 Wed, Jan 14 d.