A Dominant Fallen (A Dominant Series Book 2) (20 page)

I turn back to them and they appear edgy. I don’t like the idea of leaving them alone together, but I head upstairs to change anyway. I just have to get out of my work clothes.

F
ifteen minutes later, I walk back downstairs dressed in a long sleeved, form-fitting button-up with worn jeans and no shoes. I can hear Hunt and Chase in the kitchen, speaking in low voices. As I walk nearer, I begin to make out what they’re saying.

“So, she doesn’t know?” Chase asks.

“No, I haven’t been able to bring myself to tell her about it. I don’t want her to worry about it more than she has to, you know?”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. But, you’ll have to eventually.”

“I know,” Hunt sighs. “I’m not looking forward to that conversation.”

Chase lets out a single burst of laughter. “I wouldn’t either…Fuck, that’s some messed up shit, Hunt.”

I hear the clink of a glass cup placed on the counter. “You’re telling me. I don’t feel out-of-control or unsure often, but this has me fucking puzzled. The only other time in recent history was when Elle left me.” There’s raw pain in Hunt’s voice, and my heart breaks a little.

“That had to have been hard. It fucking killed me when she left me.” He clears his throat. “Except, she came back to you…It’s you, Hunt. You’re the one she wants. I never had a chance in hell.”

I push the door open enough to catch a sliver of two large backs.

“Thank you, Cahill,” Hunt says, genuine in tone, and pats him on the back with a few loud slaps. “That actually means a great deal to me. But, I think there is enough room in Elle’s life for both of us. Besides, I need you to keep an extra close eye on her while we’re dealing with the situation. If anything happens to her…”

“Hey,” Chase interrupts firmly. “Nothing’s going to happen to Ellie. We’ll keep her safe at whatever the cost.”

“How the fuck am I going to expose her to this?” He sounds emotionally defeated.

“You’ll find a way, man. You always do, right?”

Then, I hear something more shocking than this conversation, they laugh. They laugh hard and long to this almost inside joke. It’s the perfect time to make myself known. I step through the door, smiling from ear-to-ear, attempting to keep them off my trail.

“Well, hello, boys…It’s good to see you’re getting along. What’s so funny?”

The sobered look on their faces is hilarious, as they look at one another, trying to communicate with stares. “Chase is quite funny. He was telling me a joke I would prefer not to repeat in the presence of a lady.”

“What lady? I don’t see any ladies here,” Chase utters under his breath, with a shit-eating grin firmly planted on his face.

“Really? Because I’m looking at one right now,” I retort and the grin washes from his face. Hunt chuckles, taking a sip of the golden liquor in a crystal whiskey glass. When Chase gives him a look, he shrugs.

“So, who do I have to fuck to get a drink around here?” I smirk.

“There she is…There’s the Ellie I missed,” Chase says, and just then, the sound of the elevator doors opening, quiets us. I stare at them, terrified.

“Damian,” I murmur.

“D?! Ellie?!” Maya’s panicked voice calls out, and we tense further, alarmed by her tone.

“In here,” Hunt calls out to her. She pops in an instant later, only to halt in her tracks at the first glance of Chase.

“Oh, I didn’t know you had company,” she mumbles and gawks for a moment. She comes out of her trance and stares at me. “I need to speak with the both of you.”

“Sure, what is it, Maya?” Hunt inquires, worried, joining me by her side.

“What’s wrong, Maya? I can tell something is off,” I state, wrapping my arm about her shoulder.

“Yeah, well, you’re right.”

“You aren’t pregnant, are you?” I blurt without thinking and notice the look of panic on Chase’s face.

“No, of course not. When I came home from work today, I found the door open and the apartment turned upside down. Someone broke in.”

“Oh, my god! Maya, are you okay? Did you go inside? What if the burglar had still been there?”

Hunt pours her a glass of golden liquor and hands it over. She clasps onto it with her still trembling hand.

“I only peeked in from the hallway. Once I realized they might still be there, I quietly walked back to the elevator and came here.”

“Did you call the police?” Hunt asks. I can hear a slight quiver in his voice.

“No, I panicked. I didn’t know what to do, so I came here…It was strange though. I know I set the alarm and locked the door when I left for work this morning, but it didn’t look like they had a hard time getting in and the alarm was off when I arrived.”

Fuck! Dante. It must’ve been Dante.

I shoot Hunt a look and he returns it with a nod of the head.

“Maya, we can’t call the cops, okay? You have to trust me on this,” Hunt asks of her.

“Ok, I won’t,” she replies with uncertainty.

Damian turns to Chase and says, “I want to go check the situation out. Will you accompany Banks and me?”

“Sure, I will.”

“Excellent.” Hunt turns back to us. “I want you girls to stay here. It isn’t safe for you two.”

“I don’t want to stay here,” I softly argue.

“Gabrielle, this is not the time to question me or my decisions, is that clear?”

“What if he comes here? What if he’s just trying to get you there so he can get in here without you around?”

“I told you, Elle, there is 24 hour security on this place.”

“But, what if he figures a way around them? Don’t you think I would be safer with you and Banks?”

That does it.

“Yes, I do…Alright, but you will listen to me, understood?”

“Yes,” I reply.

“Both of you,” he says sternly, looking in Maya’s direction.

“Yes, I promise.”

M
aya and I were instructed to wait in Hunt’s locked Land Rover while they inspect the damage. They only agreed to allow us into the apartment because we convinced them that we would spot what was stolen.

So, here we sit, waiting for the call from Hunt, letting us know it’s clear and safe to come up. Banks accompanied them, gun ready. Maya has her head lying on my shoulder as I cradle her in my arms.

“Ellie?”

“Yeah, sweetie?” I nuzzle my head on her head, trying to comfort her, but I’m panicked out of my mind. I know that they are safe together, but it still terrifies me to think about what might happen if Dante is up there.

“What’s going on? Why didn’t Damian want us to call the cops?”

“We can’t,” I reply simply.

“Why can’t we?” she asks, lifting her head from my shoulder with a perplexed stare.

“Do you remember what I told you about Dante, Hunt’s brother?” I don’t want to give her all the details because I don’t want her to tell my mother.

“Yeah, of course, but why would they be looking for him at our apartment? Why do they believe he was the one to rob our place? What’s going on, Ellie?”

She’s so damn inquisitive. I sigh. “They believe he’s still stalking me. They think this is his work.”

“Why do you think he came after you to begin with?”

“He said I got in the way of him and someone else, but I think there’s another reason that I’m missing. I know Hunt knows information about his whereabouts or something, but his lips are sealed…for now.”

Just then, my cell goes off. I answer it and Hunt gives me the okay to come up. By the time we exit the warmth of the car, Banks is waiting for us on the curb.

“What did you find, Liam?”

“I think you should see for yourself, Gabrielle.” I hear the concern in his voice, genuine concern for my well-being and it warms my heart.

We make it up to my floor and head down the hall to my place at the end. I haven’t been here in forever. It’s weird.

The door is cracked open, and Banks pushes on it, swinging it wide. The disaster that lies before me is heart-wrenching. The furniture is flipped over, paintings are slashed and torn off the walls, and drawers are ripped out and tossed across the floor.

My room isn’t much better, clothes everywhere, dressers toppled-over, bed in a messy heap. They left nothing untouched. I feel violated.

Hunt walks into my room as I stand in the middle of the mess, shocked into silence.

“Your sister’s room is…” Hunt begins to say something, but trails off. I rush past him, down the hall to Maya’s room, and shove the door open. Her room is pristine, eerily so, as if it had never been lived in.

Dante.

I feel it in my gut and fall to my knees, defeated. I gaze blankly out into nothingness as his name rushes through my head over and over. His icy eyes pierce my skull, and the feel of his hand around my neck suddenly overwhelms me. I can’t breathe. I can’t…

“Ahhhhhhhh!” A blood-curdling scream erupts from my lips and hot tears stream from my stinging eyes.

Damian’s beside me a split-second later, holding me in his arms and petting my hair as he rocks me. I can’t take all the secrets and threats. I can’t take this anymore.

“It’s Dante, isn’t it, Hunt? He won’t give up until he’s gotten his way.”

“We don’t know that, Elle…Just relax. I’ll take care of everything.”

“Why won’t you tell me anything?” I’m panicking. I can feel the dread rise in my chest.

“We don’t know anything, Gabrielle. Please, try to relax.”

How can I relax? How can I do anything but panic about this?

I begin to cry hysterically, choking on my tears. The room is spinning. My heart is beating rapidly, pounding into my chest plate. I can’t breathe.

“Ellie, it’s okay. You’re going to be okay. Breathe, Ellie, breathe,” Maya says softly, kneeling in front of me.

“No, no…” I sputter out repeatedly. “He won’t stop…He won’t stop.”

Hunt holds me tighter in his arms, kneeling behind me, swaying me back and forth. I try to push him away, but he only squeezes tighter.

“Please, let me go,” I plead, twisting and shoving at his chest.

“No, angel, you’re okay. Shhhh…You’re going to be okay,” he assures, shifting me into his lap and cradling me in his arms like a baby. “Liam, get me a glass of water and the bottle. Maya, grab my coat off your bed. NOW! Go, both of you, hurry.”

The next thing I know, Hunt cocoons me in his long, wool coat and attempts to shove something into my mouth.

“No!” I cry, grabbing his wrist and pushing his hand away. “Leave me alone, Damian.”

“Come on, angel, take this for me.” When I open my mouth to protest, he pops it in and pours some water after it, forcing the mystery object down my throat. “That’s my girl.”

I continue to cry and squirm in his arms, but he just holds me closer, refusing to let me go. I fight until I can’t fight any longer. I don’t know how much time has passed, but I feel myself calm, my worries slip away as if I don’t have a care in the world. I feel…good.

Suddenly, I go limp in his arms, and my eyelids and limbs feel like they’re made of lead. I look up at Hunt as I drift out of consciousness and he’s smiling down at me, but his eyes show his alarm. He looks away from me, at whom, I’m unsure, and says, “We need to get her…”

His words cut off as I sink into darkness.

Take Me Away

I
wake up with the cool night breeze wafting in my face, and the gentle serenade of a woman’s voice caressing my ears. I ponder the name of the song, attempting to mentally grasp onto something factual as I come out of my confusing, sleepy haze.

Ivy’s, ‘Edge of the Ocean’!

My eyes flutter open, finding Damian in the driver’s seat of his classic Porsche 550 Spyder, with the soft glow of the dashboard lights etching his face as he concentrates on the road ahead, driving us to god-knows-where.

Even though it’s quite chilly out, I’m warm, and I realize I’m wearing Hunt’s wool coat. I sit up and scan our surroundings, but instead of charming Victorians and tall city buildings, I find only blackness around us. The only light comes from the car’s headlights but they only go so far, and I can’t make out much in front of us either.

Suddenly, the moon comes out from behind a cloud, its blue glow reflecting off the dark waters of the Pacific.

“Well, look who’s up,” Hunt purrs. “Did you have a good rest?”

“Yes, I suppose,” I reply with a sleep-hazed voice. “Where are we?”

“We’re headed up the coast to this little B&B I go to when I need to get away for a few days.”

“Where are Maya and Chase?” I ask, feeling foggy and a bit weak.

“Maya and Chase are back at The Artemis with Banks. I invited Maya to stay there and Chase to keep her company. I didn’t think it was a good time for her to be alone.”

“You did?” I ask with a softhearted tone, pleased with his concern for my sister. “That’s really sweet of you, Hunt.”