Chapter Seventeen #3
“Peachy, Dominic,” she drawled, rolling her eyes.
“Excellent,” he replied before looking at me. “Ms. Howell.”
“Dr. Edwards,” I greeted in return.
He pressed his tongue to his cheek. “Was there something you ladies needed, or is this a new hobby?” He looked over his shoulder. “I have to say, this isn’t the most secure spot for secret meetings.”
“We’re trying to break into Red Snake.” Carrie sighed, pulling off her hood.
Dominic looked as if he was two seconds from losing it. “I see. Well, uh, good luck with that.” He started walking away, and Margo shot up to her feet. “Wait! You aren’t going to help us?”
He spun on his heel, thumb brushing his bottom lip, his indigo eyes glinting with amusement. “Why would you need my help? You and Carrie have the door codes, after all.”
“Not all of them,” Carrie mumbled.
“Yes, but you can sneak us in through the secret passageway.”
The what?
All amusement melted from his sharp features. The air shifting. “Excuse me?” He looked around, coming to us. He got close to Margo, staring down at her, jaw tight. “How do you know about that?” he asked in a hushed, harsh tone.
Margo was taken aback by his sudden mood change. We all were. The hair on my arms rose. “Um…”
“If you tell me that Hayes told you, please know I intend to break at least one of his hands,” he warned.
Margo blinked, stepping away from him. “Whoa, Dominic. It was just a joke. Chill.”
He seemed to snap out of it, jerking back and clearing his throat. “My apologies,” he murmured.
“Though judging by how you just went all scary, now we know there is actually a secret way in,” Carrie said, getting to her feet and holding her hand out for me. “We had our suspicions, but we could never figure out how you five would’ve installed one.”
He watched me get to my feet and then rubbed a hand down his face. “I should’ve left earlier,” he grumbled to himself.
“You don’t have to show us,” I said.
“What? Yes, he does. He just got all scary and rude,” Margo snapped.
“I apologized.” He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I’m sorry. I just—it’s been a long day.”
“A lot of missions to deal with?” Carrie probed him.
He glanced at her. “Something like that.”
“You look tired,” she noted.
Dominic rolled his neck. “What gave it away, Care?” he joked, his lips twitching.
“Okay, Jekyll and Hyde, I need to get into the office. You helping us or not?” Margo said, crossing her arms.
“Did you just call me Jekyll and Hyde?” Dominic drawled.
“Oh, trust me. You’ve earned that nickname, buddy,” she quipped.
“I think they’ve already seen us, Margo.” I gestured to the camera. “We’ve been standing here for half a minute.”
“Longer than that,” Dominic ticked. “But no, they haven’t. Jake and Ash are in the conference room.”
“Doing what?”
Dominic’s eyes narrowed and he glided to me. He loomed over me like a vampire, the corner of his mouth rising. “Shouldn’t you be at home, drinking tea and resting?”
His words, though probably ill-intended, stung worse than I expected. Is that how he saw me? Is that how everyone saw me? As some weak, scared, fragile little woman who secluded herself in her home in the hills?
Something in my demeanor and face must’ve changed, because his reaction was almost immediate. “I meant nothing by that, Ms. Howell. You’ve had a horrible week, and grieving can take a toll.”
“Yes, I’m aware of that,” I said firmly. “Thank you.”
Margo and Carrie were bickering in a series of forced whispers, so they didn’t notice the doctor quietly assessing me.
I cleared my throat. “I already have a team of doctors who treat me for a variety of issues, Dr. Edwards. I don’t have the time or patience to add you to the list. I’d appreciate it if you left me alone. ”
He turned his head, his eyes on the stairwell door. “Fuck it,” he muttered, pushing his hair back again.
“F-fuck it?” I stammered, my brow furrowing as he stepped back.
The navy-blue Porsche two spots down beeped, and he walked to it swiftly.
He dumped his suit jacket inside before yanking off his tie.
As he came back to us, he absentmindedly rolled up his shirt sleeves, revealing a sleeve of tattoos on his right arm.
“Come on, Three Musketeers, let’s go find you some trouble,” he ordered, brushing by me.
With a worried look at Carrie and Margo, I followed him to the concrete wall behind the cars.
He opened an electrical panel and flipped a switch.
A second later, a keypad was pushed out of the wall, the buttons lined with red neon.
“Whoa,” Carrie breathed. She grabbed Margo’s hand and then mine. “I never get to see the cool shit.”
This was news to me. I figured if any of the spouses had gotten an inside look at Red Snake, it would be her. Dominic’s fingers flew over the keypad, his jaw jumping. There was a soft ding, and then all the way at the end of the row, the large steel panel on the wall sank back and slid open.
“What the hell? I thought that was just part of the building design,” Margo said.
Dominic chuckled and gestured for us to walk ahead of him. “Ladies first.”