King of Greed (Kings of Sin #3) by Ana Huang

When I woke up the next morning and finally turned on my phone, I had dozens of missed texts, calls, and voicemails from my friends and Dominic. He must’ve reached out to them after he came home and found me missing.

I sent a quick message to the group chat assuring my friends I was okay and that I would tell them everything later before taking a deep breath and opening Dominic’s voicemails.

My heart instantly squeezed at the sound of his voice, which grew increasingly panicked with each message.

Dominic: Where are you?

Dominic: Ále, this isn’t funny.

Dominic: I’m sorry I missed our flight. A work emergency came up and I had to deal with it. We can still make the rest of the trip.

Dominic: Dammit, Alessandra. I understand if you’re mad, but at least let me know you’re okay. I don’t—fuck.



A string of curses blended with the unmistakable patter of rain against concrete in the background. The message’s timestamp read 3:29 a.m. What the hell was he doing out so late?

Looking for you.

I squashed the thought as quickly as it popped up, partly because I didn’t believe the new Dominic would do something like that and partly because it hurt too much to think he would.

His last message was two hours ago at 6:23 a.m.

Dominic: Call me back. Please.



The squeeze in my chest became unbearable. I wasn’t ready to face him, but sleep had cleared last night’s emotional fog, and the desperation in his voice eroded my earlier vow to avoid him until I had a plan. It was better to see him and rip the Band-Aid off, so to speak, than let the uncertainty fester.

“Violet Hotel.” I didn’t give him a chance to speak when he picked up. “Lower East Side.”

I ended the call, my stomach a mess of nerves. I hadn’t eaten dinner last night, but the thought of food made my stomach revolt further. Nevertheless, I forced down some trail mix from the minibar. I’d need the energy. If there was one thing Dominic was good at, it was persuading people to do what he wanted.

I was already second-guessing my choices. In the bright light of day, my ring finger felt impossibly bare and my decision to leave seemed impossibly rash. Should I have waited and talked to Dominic before walking out? What if—

Someone knocked at the door.

My stomach pitched again. I suddenly regretted telling him where I was, but it was too late.

It’s like pulling off a Band-Aid. Just get it over with.

Still, no amount of internal pep talk could’ve prepared me for the sight awaiting me when I opened the door.

“Oh my God.” A gasp escaped before I could hold it in.

Dominic looked like hell. Disheveled hair, rumpled shirt, purple smudges of exhaustion beneath his eyes. His clothes were plastered to his body, and his usually pristine shoes looked like they’d gone through a Tough Mudder obstacle course.

“What— ” I didn’t get a chance to finish my question before he grabbed my arms and swept his eyes over me.

“You’re okay.” Relief softened the rough edge of voice. He sounded like he was either recovering from a horrible cold or he’d been shouting all night.

“I’m fine.” Physically. “Why are you all wet?”

He was dripping water all over the floor. Nevertheless, I pulled him inside and shut the door behind us. It was a low-key hotel, but I didn’t want to risk people seeing or overhearing us. Manhattan was a small island, and Manhattan society was smaller still.

“I got caught in the rain.” Dominic’s eyes swept over the room and stopped on my open suitcase. “And it’s hard to see puddles at four in the morning.”

“Why the hell were you wandering around Manhattan at four in the morning?”

His disbelieving eyes snapped back to mine. “I come home from work to find my wife gone and her wedding ring in our damn housekeeper’s pocket. She’s not answering my calls, and none of her friends know where she is. I thought you— ” He took a deep breath and released it in one long, controlled exhale. “I went to your usual places until I realized they were all, of course, closed that late at night. So I had my security team sweeping the city while I checked your favorite neighborhoods. Just in case. I didn’t know…”

My breath stuck at the mental image of Dominic wandering the streets in the rain looking for me. It was so incongruous with the cold, disinterested man I’d become used to that it almost sounded like he was spinning a fairy tale instead of telling the truth.

But the evidence was there, and it sent a fresh, crippling wave of pain through my chest.

If only he cared that much all the time. If only it didn’t take me leaving to unbury a piece of the person I’d fallen in love with.

“When did you get home?” I asked quietly.

Dull red tinged his cheekbones. “Eight thirty.”

Two and a half hours after our scheduled departure time. I wondered whether he’d forgotten about our anniversary or whether he remembered but ignored it anyway. I couldn’t decide which was worse, but it didn’t matter. The end result was the same.

“I didn’t mean to miss the flight,” Dominic said. “There was a work emergency. Ask Caroline. The SEC— ”

“That’s the thing.” My earlier concern melted away, replaced with a familiar exhaustion. Not the type that followed a sleepless night, but the type built over years of hearing the same excuse. “There’s always a work emergency. If it’s not the SEC, it’s the stock market. If it’s not the stock market, it’s some corporate scandal. No matter what it is, it always comes first. Before me. Before us.”