Nineteen | Jo
Nineteen
Jo
I felt Dominic behind me as I walked back to the bedroom. His hand grabbed my elbow, stopping me as his eyes wildly scanned my face.
“Absolutely not,” he growled as he clenched his jaw. “We do this the right way, Jo.”
“What is the right way?” I demanded, pulling my arm free as I shrugged and stepped away from him.
“You and I both know there is no right way. If we wait for Keith’s team to make a move, Tray will get suspicious.
He’s fucking smart, Dom. You know that. You’re stupid to think that he’s not already onto you. ”
“I’m doing the best I can. But I can’t do that if you try to go barging in there and offering yourself up to him.”
“Yeah, and I can’t stand back and let your sister die because of me.”
“None of this is because of you,” he said sternly, looking at me with such intensity that a shiver ran up my spine.
“Let’s just get that clear right now. Lauren is involved because she chose to get involved with one of his guys.
If I would have known what she was up to, I would have stopped her before she could even get close.
But I couldn’t, and now we’re stuck dealing with the consequences of her reckless decisions.
Don’t you dare sit there and take any blame for this. ”
I looked away from him because if I allowed myself to keep looking at him, I knew I would fall for what he was saying. At the end of the day, it didn’t matter how we got to this point. All that mattered was keeping Lauren alive and trying to survive my ex-husband a second time.
“I don’t care who is to blame for all of this,” I said slowly. “I care about saving your sister. Just because she made a bad decision doesn’t mean we give up.”
“No, you’re right.” He nodded before pinning me with another look. “But it also doesn’t mean that we send you in as some fucking sacrifice, Jo. You escaped Tray once. I’m not willing to risk your life on the chance you might escape a second time.”
“Yeah, well, lucky for you, you don’t have to worry about all of that,” I said, pulling my shoulders back. “I’m not your concern anymore, Dom. All you need to focus on is Lauren. I can handle myself.”
I walked away, not bothering to look back as I went into the bedroom and shut the door behind me. It was going to be a long day tomorrow, given how little sleep either of us had gotten.
**********************
By the time I got up, my phone had rung several times, showing missed calls from Dr. Foster.
I called her back and let her know that I would be at the clinic in twenty minutes.
I took a quick shower, then headed to the kitchen to fix a quick bite to eat when I found Dom sitting in front of the front door.
“What are you doing?” I asked, narrowing my eyes as he shifted in his chair and looked at me.
“Good morning. How did you sleep?”
Lovely. Apparently, he was in a mood this morning, given how he’d refused to answer my question.
“Fine. You?”
“Great,” he replied. “There’s something calming about knowing the woman you love can’t escape without you knowing it.”
I was mid-pour when I held the coffee pot in the air, ignoring the drops that splashed on the counter as I stared at him.
How could he sit there, declaring his love for me after everything that had happened between us?
I’d pulled a knife on him and threatened him in more ways than I had anyone else, and yet he was still sitting there, telling me he loved me.
“Yeah, well, I hate to break it to you, but I’m leaving in about five minutes,” I said, looking at my watch for emphasis.
“Great. I’ll be ready when you are.”
I set the coffee pot down and stared at him as the steam from the liquid in my travel mug billowed up at me.
“You can’t be serious,” I balked.
“Dead serious. Wherever you go, I go.”
I blinked several times as he sat there smugly, folding his arms over his chest and grinning at me.
“You’re infuriating,” I muttered, hating how determined he was because this meant I wasn’t going to have any time to myself to try to figure out how I felt about everything.
“That’s okay.” He shrugged. “It’ll just make the make-up sex that much better when we finally get around to it.”
“Make up sex?” I laughed and poured some creamer into the mug before putting the lid on and screwing it tight. “I think you mean masturbation because there’s no way you’re getting me back in bed anytime soon.”
I grabbed the mug, tucking it in between my arm and my boob as I slid my purse over my head and slung it across my chest. I walked over to the front door, raising my eyebrows as I waited for Dom to move.
He took his time, putting his coat on before moving the chair out of the way and continuing to block the door with his body so I couldn’t get past him. I rolled my eyes and then opened my purse to get my keys.
I frowned when I searched the whole bag, knowing they should be easy to find, given I didn’t keep much in it. Then I looked up and saw Dom grinning like a fool as he lifted his fingers and dangled my keys from them.
“Looking for these?” he asked.
“Give them to me.” I placed one hand on my hip while holding the other out.
“I don’t think so. I told you, where you go, I go.” He stepped back, opening the door and letting in a gust of cold air.
My nostrils flared as I stormed past him, hoping the cold air would calm my temper some before I ripped his head off for this little stunt.
“Where to?” he asked, following me to my Jeep.
“I get that you’re trying to be cute and helpful, but you’re not. So, why don’t you just do both of us a favor and give me my keys so I can get to work before you make me even later?”
“Ahh,” he replied, nodding his head. “Hop in, and we’ll get going. I wouldn’t want Dr. Foster to be mad that you’re late.”
I watched as he walked over to his truck and opened the passenger door, waiting for me to get inside.
Knowing that he wasn’t going to give up easily, I climbed in, ignoring the heat on my body as he helped me. He got in the driver’s seat and started driving as the radio played a cheesy love song, and he hummed along. I pressed my forehead against the window and let out a soft groan.
Today was definitely going to be a long day.