DOMINIC

 

I left Katie in the garage without promising her I would return. Deep down, I know that the two of us can help each other, but I'm just not sure at this point if I'm willing to go down into the rabbit hole with her. A part of me is saying that I can find Shelby on my own while the other part of me is screaming at me, calling me an idiot for not accepting her help.

After all, what's the worst that could happen? Everything she has said could be a lie, everything could be an intricate trap that she set for me. Hell, for all I know she could be working with Christopher Lawson himself.

But if there's anything in this world worth risking my life for, it's for the possibility that I could find my sister. I've spent the last ten years looking for her. Sometimes I wouldn't actively be looking for her but I would look over my shoulder and just hope against all odds that she would be standing behind me. Every time someone ever knocked on my door, I prayed that it was her. It wasn't long before I stopped believing in prayer because all that ever gave me was broken hopes. Maybe that's why I'm afraid to get involved with Katie now, because I've been disappointed so many times before.

I'm lying in my bed on the verge of falling asleep. After a day like today, I could use a long night sleep but something tells me I won't be able to sleep for long. My eyelids hang heavy over my eyes and soon enough I'll be fast asleep. And like most nights, I imagine that I'll dream about her. I’ll dream about the sister that was stolen from me. Sometimes the dreams are nice and we are reacquainted. Other times, they are nightmares. Sometimes in my dreams, I find her but it's too late to save her. Sometimes she's already dead and other times, in the worst of the dreams, she finds me and she's not who she used to be. In those nightmares, she's come to kill me.

###

I fell asleep with my phone held tight in my hand, waiting for the same phone call I've been waiting for all of these years. So when it vibrates in my hands, stealing my attention from a deep sleep with no dreams, I’m jolted wide-awake and throw myself up in bed.

My heart pounds against my chest as I glance down at my phone to see a message from Chase telling me that I need to meet him at the Ford compound immediately because there's been an emergency. I shoot a quick text back saying that I'm on my way.

I don't ask any questions. I just jump immediately into my clothes, run out the front door of my house, and jump into my car.

###

I’m not the happiest man in the world right now, but it’s not like I was going to sleep much longer anyways. Whatever the emergency is right now with Chase, I’m hoping it’s not too serious but I’m also hoping it will help me clear my head. The elevator gears grind against each other as the elevator shaft descends underground, the brick walls behind me giving way to slate stone walls.

Once I reach my destination, the elevator doors peel open and I exit out into the compound. The computer station right outside the elevator is dark and all the monitors are off. I’ve never quite seen the place this quiet or dark and it gives off a foreboding sense. Almost all of the lights are off except for the emergency red lights that paint the underground compound in eerie shades of blood-red.

I drop a hand steady against the gun in my holster as I cautiously make my way deeper into the compound. Something isn’t right here and though I can’t quite put my finger on what, I’m starting to believe that Chase’s phone has been compromised by an enemy of mine.

I step past the monitors and then step into the training arena before lights flash on, blinding me. I throw my hands over my eyes to try and block out the sudden light but it’s not much use. My eyes squint as I slowly adjust to the light and when I do, I notice that Chase is standing behind a sequence of five chairs; four of them all in a row and the fifth chair facing opposite the others. Two of the chairs on one side are occupied by Zach and Zane—the wonder twins—while Chase stands behind another.

Lights are cast down onto the chairs like spotlights, leaving the rest of the compound in shadowy darkness.

“What the hell is this?”

“Sit down.” Chase’s throat tenses as he points to the lone chair in front of the others. “We need to have a talk.”

I do as requested, pacing around the lone chair so that I’m able to drop down into it. Whatever is going on, it must be serious. I only hope that Zach hadn’t run back and told the other boys what I’ve been up to these last ten years because that’s a conversation that was supposed to stay private, a conversation I’m not ready to have with the rest of the boys yet. Especially not right now.

Chase moves around an empty chair beside the twins and takes a seat, folds his hands into his lap.

“You said this was an emergency,” I say, my eyes trying to read the faces of the three men sitting in front of me but they’re all stoic and blank. There’s a sinking feeling in my gut that something is seriously wrong and all I can think is that Luke’s been hurt or something. “Please tell me what’s going on. Did something happen to Luke?”

Zach passes Chase an obtuse, haunted look before they both turn their attention back to me. I swallow nervously, my palms sweating against the denim of my jeans.

And then out of the corner of my eye, I see Luke emerging from the shadows. His body is almost weightless as he steps out of the darkness and into the lights. He’s wearing a severe face like he’s just escaped a war zone or something, and he paces forward eerily slow. “You know,” he begins softly, “for the longest time, I wasn’t sure if I was ever going to see you again.”

“Where have you been?” I rise to stand, shaking my head. “You left without saying a word.”

“It’s complicated. Everything’s complicated.” He shakes his head as he circles around to sit in the last open seat, all the way at the end of the row of chairs and beside Chase.“But you know that more than anyone.”

“You told them, didn’t you?” I grind out and pass a quick look to Zach, who can’t even look me in the eyes. “You are unbelievable.”

“Don’t blame him!” Luke shouts, probably the first time in his life he has ever yelled at me. Even when he came to see me about why my fingerprints were on the threatening letters addressed to his girlfriend, he still didn’t raise his voice at me. It’s like he’s seeing me completely different now and has no problem kicking me when I’m down. “You did this. All of this.”

It’s time for me to shut up and listen. There’s nothing I can say or do to defend myself right now and maybe this is my comeuppance. I’ve got away with far too much for far too long and my reasons for why I’ve done the things I’ve done, at the end of the day, are nothing more than excuses.

“Let’s start from the beginning,” Marcus says from the side as he approaches out of the shadows, adjusting his glasses on his nose as he steps behind the other boys. “We have you on tape with Mason Cartwright just before he kidnapped Taylor Smart.”

“My god…” I say lowly, almost in disbelief. “You’re in on this too?” I grit my teeth and shake my head. “What is this, some kind of intervention?”

“It’s time for you to shut up,” Zach finally speaks up but he still can’t bring himself to look at me. It’s almost like he’s feeling guilty for his part in this. “It’s time for you to listen.”

Chase caresses his palms over his thighs before rising to stand. His teeth sink into his lower lip as he scratches nervously at the side of his face. He too is having difficulty looking me directly in the eye and I can’t exactly blame him. “How did you know Mason Cartwright?”

“The same way I know anyone else.” I shrug. “He worked underneath a man named Mark Chambers.”

“And Mark Chambers worked for an associate of Seth Grimm, correct?” Chase questions, takes a quick glance at me and then looks away.

But I’m not interested in Chase right now. I’m more interested in Zach betraying me when he knew how fragile I’ve been lately. I stare him down and force him to look at me. “Was there anything you didn’t share with everyone in the Goddamn world?”

“That’s not fair,” he chides me back and exhales sharply. “I didn’t do this. I didn’t do any of this. You did.” He finally manages to make direct eye contact with me and it sends a shiver down my spine. “Now answer the damn question.”

“Yes,” I huff. “Mark Chambers worked for Seth Grimm.” And then I just decide to get it all off my chest. I turn my attention to Luke next. “I’m sorry for the hell I put Ella through but I thought I was doing the right thing.”

“The right thing?” he scoffs and chuckles, not because it’s funny but because he simply can’t believe the words coming out of my mouth. His chuckles eventually turn into a huff before he forces himself to his feet and prepares to storm out but not before wagging a finger in my face. “I should have stayed away because you’re not the man I thought you were.”

“Sit your ass down,” I command him and jump to my own feet to meet him face to face. He stares at me blankly and doesn’t even flinch when I take another step towards him. “I would do anything for the people I love.”

“Yeah,” he scowls. “Like backstab them.”

“Don’t you dare—”

“It’s the truth and you know it, Dominic.” He takes a step back and shakes his head wildly. “How long has this been going on? In the last year, you have directly been involved with almost every single thing that’s happened to us.”

I push him hard against his chest, push him hard enough that he stumbles backwards into his chair and then looks up at me with anger stewing in his eyes.

“I’m guessing that Zach didn’t tell you all the whole story.” I pass Zach a quick glance. “Right?” When he can’t bring himself to look at me, I already know the answer. “He didn’t tell you that I had a sister that was taken by Seth Grimm ten years ago, did he? He didn’t tell you the reason I’ve done everything I’ve ever done is because I was told if I did what I was told to do that I would get my sister back.”

The mood in the room changes in an instant. Suddenly nobody has anything to say.

“I’ve fucked up,” I continue, “but you’d all do the same if someone you loved was taken away from you. I handled it badly.” I look to Chase. “I’m sorry that I had anything to do with the Taylor Smart kidnapping, but you weren’t supposed to get involved.”

“Well, thank God I did.” He rises to stand and brushes past me, heading straight for the elevator. Before he gets there though, he twists to face me once more. “You can make excuses all you want but at the end of the day, you’re no better than the people we protect people from.”

I say nothing to him. Instead, I just let him walk out. He’s going to need some time and there’s nothing I can say to him right now to change anything. When I look back to the other boys, Luke is already back on his feet, preparing to flee himself. “While I was away, Ella told me she knew you from her hometown, that you graduated years ahead of her.” His lips roll over each other and then he quietly adds, “You knew her and you didn’t try to stop what was about to happen to her.”

“I didn’t know…” I say softly, but deep down I think I did. “I’m sorry.”

“No, you’re not.” He nods at me once before averting his gaze from me and then rushes past me, nudging his elbow against me before he joins Chase in the elevator.

Zane follows him immediately and then it’s just Zach and I left alone. I move my lips to speak but the words don’t come out. He looks at me with pity embedded in his eyes and it just about tears me apart. I’ve ruined the one family I’ve ever had, a family that I built to replace the sister I had lost.

“Just give us time,” he says softly, almost as low as a whisper before he drops a palm onto my shoulder. “Time heals everything.”

“No…” I shake my head. “It doesn’t.”

“Maybe.” He releases his palm from my shoulder and then shrugs. “Maybe not.”

And then he, too, is on his way to the elevator.

I turn around to watch him as he walks away. It feels like the last time I’m ever going to see any of them again and though my soul is weary and tired, it just gives me all the more urge to fight to save my sister. He joins the other three men in the elevator and when he does, it’s like all four of them are staring at me.

And when the elevator doors close I’m left standing alone, and inside I’m feeling more alone than I’ve ever felt before. For as long as I can remember, the family I’ve created here at Ford Security has been my safety blanket and now it all seems to have vanished before my eyes.

I stand motionless, my eyes trained on the elevator even when I’m sure the four of them are long gone from the building. When I hear footsteps behind me, I drop my hand to my side and grab my gun, spin around and aim it squarely ahead.

Marcus flinches backwards and throws his hands over his face as if his hands could protect him from a gun. I drop the gun to my side and exhale sharply as I try to catch my breath.

“I forgot you were here.”

“Yeah…” He throws his hand against his chest also trying to catch his breath. Poor thing, I’ve probably scared the shit out of him. “Everyone seems to forget I exist on occasion.”

“That’s not true, Marcus.” I take a measured step towards him and then come to an abrupt stop. I remember that he was a part of the ambush—intervention—and since I wasn’t able to get any answers from anyone else, I figure I might be able to get a few from him. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure.” He shrugs, pushes his glasses higher up his nose.

“How long did you know about Mason Cartwright?”

He pushes his tongue against the inside of his cheek, hesitation to answer my question for a short period of time before he finally gives in. “It was a few days after Chase and Summer found Taylor.”

“Right,” I chew against my lip and nod, and then I have another question, “Do you think I’m a bad guy?”

“No,” he says quickly like he doesn’t even need to think about it. “I think you just got caught up in something that was over your head.”

I nod at him once more as I take his words in.

“They’ll forgive you,” he says before he steps past me, to leave like the rest of them.

“What makes you so sure?” I turn around and latch a hand around his arm. “What makes you think they’ll ever forgive me?”

He forces an uneven smile. “Because you’re all family…”