Chapter Thirteen
I stood outside of Dontell’s house, leaning against my car, ready to light a cigarette.
There was a rule I made for myself when it came to smoking—I only smoked if I needed to take a life. Tonight, I wasn’t taking a life. Everyone in the house in front of me meant something to me—including the pain in my ass known as Dominique Wells.
The temperature was dropping by the hour, winter not showing any signs of letting up. I was freezing my fucking ass off, waiting for the light in the living room to go out. It was after midnight, and I’d been stewing all day. This morning, after working on Sullie’s generator for over an hour, the power came back on throughout the whole street. Relief had washed over me, and I’d rushed back up to the loft to check on Dominique.
Imagine my fucking surprise when I found her gone.
Now, I was here, waiting to drag her ass back.
I looked away from the house to study the cigarette I’d been twisting in my fingers for the last twenty-minutes, my phone beginning to vibrate in my pocket. Taking that as a sign, I tucked the cig behind my ear and pulled out my phone.
Mina calling.
Oh, for fuck’s sake.
“Sup, traitor?” I greeted, keeping my voice neutral.
“I—I know you didn’t just call me that,” Mina snapped.
Looking back up to the house, my eyes clocked her silhouette in the front window. “Go to bed and take your man with you,” I ordered.
“Why? Planning on breaking in and kidnapping someone?” she quipped.
“Yup.”
As soon as the “p” left my lips, she hissed, “Get your ass inside. Now.”
“Don’t use your mom voice on me,” I said calmly, finding this entertaining.
I heard her sigh. “Cain, please come in the house. Dontell and Nikki are in the garage working on the cars. Just come in and talk to me,” she requested softly.
Cigarette forgotten, I pushed off the car and crossed the street, making my way to the front door. Once I stepped onto the porch, she ended the phone call, and a second later, the front door was gently opened. She put her finger to her mouth before waving me inside. Once I was in the door, I watched as she slowly and quietly shut it.
Mina reached for my hand and pulled me through the living room and down the darkened hall before veering left into their library. As my eyes took in the tasteful room, she shut us in. The lamp by the chair was on, and in the chair was a sketchbook with a few pencils sitting on top. I tilted my head as my eyes narrowed on the drawing.
Before I could take a step forward, Mina came around to my front with her arms crossed over her chest.
“Cain, you need to leave Nikki alone,” she urged me in a whisper.
Shaking my head, I replied in the same tone. “Mina, I need you to stay out of this. She is under my care—my protection.”
Confusion washed over her face. “She’s under Oasis’ protection, not just yours.”
I was trying very hard to be patient, and this was Mina. Mina was my friend, and she deserved my patience, my respect. “I came back up to the loft, ready to do everything in my power to get her to have a conversation with me,” I began as her features softened. “We’d been living in silence for days, Mina.”
She remained silent, waiting.
Suspicion crawled up my back as I studied her further. Then, it clicked. “She told you, didn’t she?”
Mina’s eyes flashed, and I was floored.
“Mina, what did she tell you?” I pressed.
Inhaling through her nose, she turned away and went to sit on the couch. “Why don’t you go ask her?”
“I’m not asking her,” I shot back, my voice still quiet. “I’m asking you as my friend.”
“I’m not a mouthpiece, Cain,” she told me.
My jaw tightened as I looked over to the bookshelf, my eyes scanning over the titles. “She said I hurt her,” I murmured.
When I didn’t get a response, I looked back over to her. “She told me I hurt her, Mina. And I don’t even know what the fuck I did.”
My friend was taken aback. “What do you mean?”
My past was where it needed to be—in the past. I hated bringing it up, but Dominique was a huge part of my life. Swallowing, I explained. “When I turned eighteen, I tried to end our friendship. She’s three years younger than me, and I was planning on getting the fuck out of my mother’s house.”
Her brows came together, and she sat up slightly. “Why—”
I shook my head once. “I’m sorry, Mina, but I’m not going to dive into that. This is about Dominique and me.”
Sitting back, she nodded. “Okay.”
“A year after I ended our friendship, she showed up at The Pit.” Lustful memories tried to resurface, but I shoved them down quickly. I’d already given into them once; it wasn’t going to happen again. I waited for Mina’s reaction, but she gave nothing away.
“She was looking for me, didn’t find me, and when a buddy of mine told me she was looking for me, I nearly lost my shit. She was still in fucking high school and had no fucking business being in The Pit. So, I went to look for her, found her walking down a fucking sidewalk. After I told her to never come back to The Pit again, and I didn”t see her until a few months ago in Denver.”
Mina stared at me with sadness in her eyes, waiting for me to lay everything out for her. But I couldn’t—my childhood was a torturous hell until Dominique moved in next door with her colors and yapping.
What happened to be something beautiful ended in an all-consuming, inevitable tragedy for the of us.
Even though what we had felt like a ray of sunshine on my shitty life, I always felt the cloud lingering above us, ready to bring in a storm of tears and broken hearts. It killed me to walk away from her—both times.
It was necessary.
“Mina, I don’t know what the hell I fucking did. I know she was young, but I didn’t think it would’ve messed her up that much,” I told her truthfully. When Dominique looked at me with tears in her eyes the other day, I knew that something else was very wrong.
Mina’s head slowly tilted to the side once, more as if she was struggling to figure out the puzzle. “The last night you saw her was at The Pit?” she questioned.
“That’s what I just told you,” I deadpanned, my brows coming together as she bit the inside of her cheek, humming. “What aren’t you telling me?” I pressed once more.
She shook her head. “Cain, it”s not my story to tell,” Mina said, sighing softly.
Oh for fuck’s—
Fine.
“Then answer me this; is she afraid of me?” I pushed out through clenched teeth, my stomach in knots as I braced for the answer.
“Why in the hell would you think that?”
I looked away from her then, moving across the room to the window. “I have my reasons,” I muttered. From behind me, I heard Mina rise from the couch and a second later, she was standing beside me.
“No, she isn’t afraid of you. She just needed to get away from you,” she told me.
Funny how things changed. I wanted to laugh, but I couldn’t force the sound into existence. There was too much pain and anger surging through me. It’d been a long fucking week, and I was ready to get back to Oasis, but I needed to talk to her first. Twisting my neck, I looked at Mina. “Thank you for letting me into your home. I know it”s late, and Cleo is sleeping,” I whispered.
Mina let out a breathy laugh. “You were planning on breaking in anyways. It was the least I could do.”
I felt my lips twitch. “Right.”
Mina’s eyes met mine. “You’re not leaving until you see her, are you?”
She knew I wasn’t. Still, I shook my head. She muttered something under her breath about stubborn men and turned away from me. “Her room is across the hall. Wait in there.”
As I watched her walk out down the hall, I did everything in my power to ignore the feeling stirring inside my chest. Then, with quiet steps, I made my way across the hall into the guest bedroom. The sight of Dominique’s bag on the chair in the corner had me clenching my jaw to the point of pain.
She was supposed to be with me.
She was supposed to be—
Shaking off my possessive thoughts, I took a seat on the edge of the bed, bracing my forearms on my thighs, my hands hanging between my knees. I heard a door from somewhere in the house open and shut as I focused on the floor, my muscles tense.
Five minutes later, the green-eyed girl who’d been haunting my dreams for decades emerged in the doorway, an angry scowl painted on her face.
“What are you doing here?” she practically hissed as she stepped into the room, closing the door quietly behind her.
“Are you alright?” I asked.
“Seriously, Cain. What are you—”
“Are. You. Alright?” Each word came out deeper and harsher than the last as I shot to my feet, moving towards her. Her back was against the door, and I stopped a few inches from her.
The last thing I needed to fucking do was crowd her even more.
She flinched at my tone, her interrogation forgotten. “Yes,” she murmured. “I’m alright.”
She looked better, the best I’d seen her look since she was hospitalized. There was color in her cheeks, a gleam in her eyes, and her hair was braided over one shoulder. She looked good—relaxed.
All because she got away from me.
“Good,” I clipped.
Her lips pressed together in a tight line as she did her best to hold my glare. When it became too much for her, she broke it, looking at the wall behind me. With a growl, I took this time to remind her of her stupidity. “What you did today was…” I trailed off, grinding my teeth together as the rage inside threatened to escape. Once I tamped it back down, I tried again. “You scared the fucking shit out of me.”
She blinked, looking at me again. She started to open her mouth, but I continued. “Got a nasty fucking man after us. No one, aside from me, knows what he’s capable of,” I bit out, leaning down into her space. I didn’t have to go far. “Came back up to the loft thinking of how the fuck I could get you to just fucking talk to me—”
“Cain—”
My hand shot up, covering her mouth as I bared my teeth. “Quiet.”
Her eyes widened as her hands went to my arm, trying to pull me away. In a flash, I had both of her wrists in my hand, holding them in the air between us as my other covered her mouth. Her lips were against my palm, burning into my skin so much, I’d felt when I pulled away, I’d have a mark. “Fucking thought they got to you—kidnapped you. Never been so fucking scared in all my life.”
Her greens eyes softened.
“Don’t you fuckingever do that shit to me again,” I clipped, nostrils flaring. We stared at each other for some time, my body against hers as I thought of all the pain between us—all that could’ve been.
It was clear.
She hated me for the pain I’d caused her lifetimes ago.
I couldn’t blame her, but still, it hurt like a bitch.
Shaking my head, I released her, giving her my back as ran a hand through my hair. Flashes of her trapped in that burning car swarmed my mind, Kavi’s laughter echoing around me.
Fuck, maybe I should’ve smoked that fucking cig after all.
“Cain.”
Her voice was filled with regret, and part of me should feel overjoyed. I wasn’t. When I didn’t answer her, she spoke again. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking. I just—I just needed to get out of there—”
“—to get away from me?” I snapped, whirling to face her as she closed her mouth. “Isn’t that right? You just needed to get away from me.”
Dominique said nothing, only looking to her feet.
“You’re a grown fucking adult. If you wanted to fucking leave, you could’ve just told me,” I pushed.
Her head snapped up then, scoffing. “Like you would’ve let me, Cain.”
“Letting you go is something I’ve gotten used to fucking doing,” I seethed, my chest heaving. Those green eyes flashed with hurt as she jerked back. “You wanted to fucking go, I would’ve let you. All I was trying to do was make sure you’re fucking safe and taken care of. In case you forgot, Nik, your car blew up. You nearly fucking burned to death!”
“You don’t think I know that?” she shot back, her voice rising slightly.
I looked at the door and back to her. “Be quiet,” I ordered. “Cleo is sleeping.”
“Get out,” she said, pointing to the door.
“Not until we settle this shit,” I countered. “What you did was reckless and irresponsible.”
Seconds passed as we glared at each other, neither of us saying a word. Perhaps there was too much to say, or maybe there wasn’t anything.
I decided to leave her with one last thought. “The boys told me you plan on staying in St. Louis—Jer wants you as a permanent part of Oasis.”
She folded her arms over her chest, raising her chin. “I’m not leaving, Cain. I have every—”
I cut her off. “Like I said, you’re a grown adult. You’re Oasis and so am I. We’re just going to have to learn how to deal with being in each other’s lives,” I told her. As my words sank in, her defenses seemed to lower. I closed in on her again, putting my hand on her shoulders gently. “Our friendship—what we had—Nik, that was so precious to me.”
“Stop,” she croaked, her eyes shining with pain from old wounds.
“No, this conversation needs to happen,” I told her firmly. When she didn’t argue against it, I continued. “I’m sorry for hurting you in the past. I did what I felt was necessary.”
She put her tongue against her cheek, shaking her head in disbelief.
“I know you don’t believe me, but that’s why I did it,” I pushed, squeezing her shoulders. “I’m sorry for hurting you. I thought—I assumed you would’ve gotten over it eventually, but I was wrong. It cut deeply, and I apologize for that.”
The same look Mina gave me just a few minutes ago manifested on Dominique’s face. Something inside of me stirred. I didn’t like that look. Then, just as quick as it came, it was gone. Blinking, she finally nodded.
Looks like that was the only version of forgiveness I’d have to accept—for now.
“You’re right,” she said, stepping away from me and putting her hands firmly at her sides.
She was uncomfortable.
She used to stiffen up like that whenever Xander came around when we were kids.
“I’ll stay out of your way,” I promised.
Dominique gave me a flat smile. “I’ll do the same.”
There was nothing more to say, so, I gave her a nod and left the word without another word.
I made it into the living room to find Dontell there, leaning against the back of the couch. He looked up from his crossed ankles, studying me. “You good?”
“Yeah,” I muttered, plucking the cigarette from behind my ear.
He tipped his head to it. “Nasty habit,” he noted.
“Curse,” I corrected him as he pushed off the couch to walk me to out.
“You and Nikki…? Are you two going to be okay?” he asked once we got to the front door.
I shook my head. “No, I don’t think we’ll ever be okay, but for the sake of Oasis, we’ll manage.”
“There’s more to the story, huh?” he guessed, giving me a small smile.
Inhaling through my nose, I nodded. “There’s always more to the story.”
Minutes later, I pulled up to Sullie’s, parked around back, and headed up to the loft. Doing a quick sweep, I ensured that everything was shut down and locked before I grabbed my shit and headed out to go to the house I’d recently purchased over the holidays.
The entire drive across the city, all I heard was Kavi’s laughter, reminding me of the sins I committed to save my brother. As I pulled into my driveway, flicking the button for the garage door, my hand tightened on the steering wheel as his voice echoed in my head.
I’ll get her too, Cain. It”s only a matter of time.
That blacked-out tattoo over my heart began to tingle as memories of ruthless killings emerged, snapshots of blades, guns, and blood flashing before me. With a groan of frustration, I pulled into the garage, and pressed my palms into my eyes as the door closed.
The images wouldn’t go away.
Then, I heard Dominique calling out for me in the distance.
Lifting my head, I felt like I was drowning, gasping for air as I blinked hard, trying to get them out of my head.
It was too late.
All I could see was Dominique chained to wall in a dirty T-shirt, scrapes and bruises all over her arms and legs. Her hair was matted, hanging down over her bent head, her body heaving with sobs. She called for me again, but I couldn’t get to her. I couldn’t move.
When she lifted her head, fear clutched its talons around my neck as a voice whispered into my ear. “I think I made her prettier, don’t you?”
Her face had been slashed from cheek to cheek, blood flowing from the wound like an endless waterfall.
Shaking my head, I shut off the car and unfolded myself out of it.
“Get a grip,” I told myself as I let myself into the house, not bothering to grab my shit from the car. I flicked on the lights from room to room as I weaved through the moving boxes, ignoring the jingle coming from the other side of the house.
Once I was in the back, I made a left turn, going down the small hallway and up two steps. There, I unlocked the door and pushed in.
Kavi’s voice taunted inside me as I tried to keep the panic at bay, going to the large desk that faced the wall. With a few clicks on the keyboard, the first computer screen came to life, then the next and the next. Once all seven computers were live, I moved quickly, typing in the passwords to all the programs.
Taking a step back, I breathed heavily through my nose as my eyes scanned over the screens, landing on the main one in the center of the wall.
It was a grid of the city.
My eyes focused on the blinking yellow dot.
My clover.
I’d never lose her again.