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she’d take us in. She did so reluctantly; more out of pity than out of need, but it was there that we learned how to make a living from a man’s touch. Belle and the rest of the girls became our family, and they were all I needed up until now.
    Don’t get me wrong; I hated the Castellanos and everything that they represented, but somehow, it had simply seemed prudent for me to take Dominic up on his offer. I mean the possibilities were much too tempting to ignore.
    A part of me wanted—no needed to face his father at some point in time and let him know who I was. Plus, there was always the possibility that Dominic would grow to trust me; at least enough to let me into his confidence about the family business.
    I would have liked nothing more than to bring the whole damn family down, but if I had to settle for just one of them, it would still be a sweet victory, though it would pale in comparison to the loss that I’d suffered at their unscrupulous hands.
    I sighed looking at my reflection in the mirror, wondering now about the folly of my plan. It had all made perfect sense four months ago. But that was before I had allowed myself to form an unintentional attachment to Nick - or should I say, to Dominic.
    Once our arrangement had been solidified as they say, I had been instructed to call him ‘Dominic’. Apparently his wife, Anna Maria, called him ‘Nick’ and for some reason he was adamant that I call him something different.
    Dominic had been nothing but kind and giving to me over the past few months. He cherished me in ways that should be exclusive to a wife, not a whore-turned mistress. He certainly hadn’t kept me on a shelf like some reclusive mistress either. That was what surprised me the most. It made me feel…kind of important to him, I guess.
    He took me out to restaurants, the theatre, concerts and we went to Atlantic City several times on weekends. I mean, it wasn’t like he wanted me hiding in the shadows like some dirty little secret. He wanted to show me off to friends, associates—even family.
    I had met his two older brothers, Salvador, Jr., a.k.a. ‘Little Sal,’ and Vincente, a.k.a. ‘Vinnie’. I hadn’t met his parents yet, and I wondered how they would react to Dominic’s blatant display of his mistress if he were to bring me to one of their notorious family gatherings.
    His brothers had treated me with respect and acceptance, but I was fairly sure that was because they had their women on the side as well.
    To say that they were warm and welcoming would be a huge stretch. And, to be honest, I wasn’t comfortable around them at all. As in—they totally freaked me out in an intimidating sort of way.
    They fit that whole stereotypical Italian mafia persona, whereas Nick—I mean Dominic, didn’t. They were expressionless most of the time, and it made me nervous as hell when one of them would look over at me. I felt as if I were being dissected under their microscopic dark eyes.
    I had asked him one evening when he stayed late after sex why he and his brothers cheated on their wives. He had looked at me with an almost devilish grin and replied, “We’re Catholic, Tesoro. There is no divorce.”
    I had been quick to point out that most religions embrace the Ten Commandments, one of which specifically prohibits adultery. He had tilted my chin up with his fingers, his chocolate brown eyes gazing soulfully into mine and replied, “I’ll go to confession tomorrow if it’s my soul you’re worried about, Karlie.”
    That ended the conversation because Dominic had wanted to make sure that he got his ‘confessional’s-worth’ that night. From that point on, Dominic had a standing appointment at St. Michael’s Catholic Church every Saturday afternoon for confession.
    On Sunday, he was at Mass with his family regularly. He even went to Mass twice on one Sunday, because I had asked him to explain what it was like. I’d never stepped foot in a Catholic church—or any church for that