His Merciless Redemption novel Chapter 34

Chapter 34

Dominic’s POV

Florence smelled the same.

Blood. Asphalt. Power.

But without them here, it felt like a tomb.

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For years, I walked into battles like this one numb, because numbness meant survival. But now every quiet moment was a battlefield on its own.

I had been away from Isabella and Mateo for less than a day.

Too little time for any rational man to unravel.

But I wasn’t a rational man. Not when it came to them.

Every five seconds, I reached for my phone.

Every five seconds, I stopped myself, because I didn’t want to seem desperate.

Except, I was.

Desperate was exactly what I was.

Images of Isabella flashed in my mind, her firelit face from last night, her sweet voice shaking with fear and hope all at once.

She said she wanted Mateo to have a father.

She never said I couldn’t be that man.

I breathed out slowly.

I missed my son.

That was simple. That was expected.

But missing her? Missing the way her eyes softened when she said Mateo? Missing the warmth of knowing she was close, even if she didn’t want me near?

That was new.

And it shook me more than a gun to my head ever could.

Eduardo joined me at the safehouse, maps and intel spread over the table.

“We found one of the Vitelli strongholds,” he said. “We can strike tomorrow night.”

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Chapter 34

I nodded.

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“And when this is over,” he added cautiously, “we will be a step closer to you having your family back.”

My jaw tightened.

“They’re already my family,” I said quietly. “I just have to prove I deserve them.”

Eduardo said nothing, but he nodded once, firmly.

We returned to business, planning death to protect life.

But every move I made was fueled by a picture of a small boy with my eyes.

And the woman I regretted losing long before I ever realized I loved her.

***

Isabella’s POV

The sea breeze brushed through my hair as I stared out at the horizon.

It was a beautiful day, the kind that begged to be lived fully.

But worry curled in my stomach like a persistent ache that wouldn’t go away no matter what.

Caterina sat beside me on a lounge chair, knitting something tiny, a sweater for Mateo, she had said. Mateo himself was building a fortress of sand with far too much determination.

Every few minutes, he’d look up.

“Do you think Dominic would like my castle?” he asked.

My heart squeezed. “I’m sure he would, sweetheart.”

He nodded, seemingly reassured, and continued building.

I watched him quietly, trying not to drown in the feeling unraveling inside me.

How had they bonded so deeply, so quickly? One shared smile, one movie night, and Mateo trusted him.

Not as a stranger. Not as a threat.

But as someone close to his heart.

I had spent five years imagining how Dominic would react if he ever learned the truth. I convinced myself he would reject the child or use him as a pawn.

Instead, he looked at Mateo like he’d been given a second chance at life.

How was I supposed to protect us from that?

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Chapter 34

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More importantly, should I?

After the discussion we’d had last night, I felt closer to him than even before. I had a feeling that this closeness would only grow as time went by. I didn’t know if I was ready to accept it all just yet.

But given the way I kept worrying about him knowing that he was out there fighting, it almost felt like I’d never left.

Caterina paused her knitting and touched my hand gently.

“He will come home,” she said, her voice steady with certainty.

I tried to breathe in that certainty, steal some of its strength.

“I used to wait like this before,” I admitted quietly. “Back then, every time he went out to handle business, I feared he wouldn’t come home. Or worse, that he would come home, but not as the man I loved.”

“You still love him,” she said softly, not as a question.

I swallowed, eyes stinging. “I don’t know what I feel anymore.”

“You do.” She smiled gently. “You are just afraid to believe in it. Because believing hurt the last time.”

I looked away, blinking fast.

“And I don’t want Mateo to ever feel that kind of fear,” I whispered.

“He won’t,” she said. “Dominic… he is different now.”

I wished I could believe it fully.

But fear was louder than hope.

Still, my gaze wouldn’t leave the phone sitting beside me.

Every vibration made my heart stop. Every silence made it ache.

God, I hated this. This waiting. This missing.

I had forgotten how consuming it was.

I had forgotten what it felt like to worry about Dominic Russo.

And I hated how natural it felt to worry again.

***

Dominic’s POV

Night in Florence was colder.

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Chapter 34

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I stood on a rooftop overlooking the city, preparing for war, but my mind was hundreds of miles away.

A message came in.

A photo from Caterina.

It was Mateo on the beach, showing off his sandcastle, grinning wide, his curls wild from the wind. Isabella stood in the back of the frame, unaware she had been caught by the camera, hair loose, sunlight on her skin, eyes distant but alive.

My heart clenched so hard I had to steady myself with a hand on the wall.

I stared at that screen like a dying man given oxygen.

Then another message followed:

“We are waiting for you.”

Just five words.

But they were everything.

I typed a reply, and erased it.

Typed again, erased again.

How do you respond to something you’ve always wanted but never deserved?

Finally, I sent- “Tell him Dominic will be home soon.”

I hoped Isabella saw that message too.

Because I meant it for both of them.

***

Isabella’s POV

When Caterina’s phone buzzed, my heart leapt into my throat.

I knew she’d sent a picture of Mateo to Dominic. She opened the message and showed it to me.

“Tell him Dominic will be home soon.”

I wanted to tell Caterina to say that we were waiting for him. Mateo, Me, Caterina. His family.

Even if it hurt.

Even if fear sat heavy on my chest.

Because part of me finally admitted what I had been trying to bury- when Dominic left, our world didn’t feel

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Chapter 34

safer.

It felt emptier.

The tide rolled closer to the shore.

Mateo ran up to me, full of sand and sunshine.

“When will Dominic come back?” he asked softly, his excitement dimming just a little.

I smoothed his hair back.

“Soon,” I said. “He promised.”

Mateo nodded, satisfied.

I wasn’t.

But I hoped, for all our sakes, that this time, Dominic Russo kept his word.

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