3. Cain #2
“Yeah, well, that was her parents’ conclusion, too,” Dom says.
“My father wasn't happy about it, but what could he do?
He couldn't guarantee her safety one hundred percent. Not now people from the damn cult can track her down. From what her parents told my dad, the place she was held was led by a guy who was completely insane. The fact that someone from there knows where she lives must have them in a state of terror.”
“You’re all missing the fucking bigger picture. Jesus.” Mal digs his hands into his hair, making it messy and tussled. “Her parents, too. They’ve taken her back to the one place someone in that cult knows the address of. It doesn't make sense.”
“My dad says that her father mentioned moving somewhere for a while. Somewhere the cult won’t find them.”
Shit, this is bad. If we don’t find her soon, we might lose her forever.
Would her father run with her, or decide to protect her from his house?
I remember their house is easy to guard.
He has men. Then again, he’s not as powerful as he once was.
Waning power makes a person fearful, less in control.
“He’s fucking idiotic,” Mal mutters.
“Listen, I'm a father now,” Dom says.
I manage to suppress my eye roll. I’m not in the mood for a ‘You’ll understand when you have your own kids’ lecture.
She’s not our child; she’s our fucking everything. And just because we don’t have a toddler or whatever the fuck Dom’s daughter is classed as now, doesn’t mean we lack all imagination about how to look after someone or keep them safe.
“Spare us,” Mal mutters.
I bite back my smile because this time I’m in full agreement.
Dom’s eyes darken. “Listen, fucker, I'm telling you that if there was a threat against my baby girl, the only place that I'd want her to be is with me , under my roof. That way, it falls on me to keep her safe. I’d die before I let anyone touch a hair on her head.” He sighs, some of the aggression bleeding out of him. “The college can't provide that level of care. It’s as simple as that. Her father knows he will give his life for her. The college can’t.”
No, the college can’t, but we can .
I look around the old water tower, and an idea forms. It’s a vision of the future I want. In the immediate moment, we simply need to find her and make sure she’s safe, but longer term, would she move in with us here?
If she came back, we could all move into this place and make it our home.
Even if we somehow neutralized the threat from the cult, her father’s waning influence means she might not be safe from other mafia families either, but with us, she’d be protected at all times.
We could ensure the tower was guarded, and that she was never without at least one of us by her side.
Who would protect her better than the three men who have fallen for her?
And we have fallen. We may not have fully discussed everything, but I know I'm right and we’re all head over heels for our Pet. She belongs to us. She is ours. Nobody messes with what belongs to the Preachers.
As I look around with a critical eye, I realize we’ll need to put some work into the place, but that is doable. We have the basics; it just needs fancying up a bit and a room designed purely for her.
“Fuck this. We need to get her back with us,” Malachi says.
He's the one pacing now. Up and down, around the couch, and back again, repeatedly.
“I don't think she'll be safe at her parents’. Not if those people from that damn cult know where she's living. And if they move her, we’ll never see her again. We need to call, speak to her parents, and reason with them.”
Dom barks out a laugh. “Oh, I can see that going well. Go and have a talk with the father and let him know that three of you are screwing his precious daughter. I'm sure he'll let her come back then.”
Again, annoyingly, Dom isn't wrong. Her father would never let her be with us under those circumstances. Hell, he might prefer the cult getting her over letting the three of us have our way with her.
A plan forms in my mind. The other two aren't going to like it, but I think Roman will see sense. He usually does. The bigger question is whether I can get Mal to agree. Her parents know me. They know we were childhood friends and used to be incredibly close. If I tell them that Ophelia and I are in love, they will be more accepting of that than believing she’s in a relationship with the three of us.
Perhaps if I can make them see how much I care for her, I can persuade them to let her return to Verona Falls.
I can explain that I live with two fellow students, in our own home, which will be guarded.
My family is more powerful than Ophelia’s.
I have the money to hire security and can get men here quickly enough.
That might give them more confidence in her safety than imagining her alone in her dorm room every night.
My father is an asshole, but hell, hopefully he’d send me men if I asked for them.
He might like to beat me, but he also wants his sons to have a tough image—something that’s nearly impossible with my brother’s disability—and if I wanted security to scare other people off, that’s something I imagine he’d approve of.
The dean, however, might not be so keen on having my father’s men here.
I focus on Dom. “Do you think your father might be amenable to us having some men here?”
He shakes his head. “I highly doubt it.”
“Come on,” I cajole. “Just three or four, out here at the water tower. There’s over twenty men, dogs, and drones patrolling these grounds anyway, and we’d only want them for our own security here at the tower.”
Dom sighs. “You know if he lets you, he has to consider it for everyone who asks.”
“Everyone like Tino?” I say, remembering a time when he brought his father’s men onto the university grounds.
Dom opens his mouth and snaps it closed again.
“Ask him,” I continue. “I’m happy to pay more in fees, happy to keep it quiet from the rest of the college. Hardly any of the students come this way. You know they either fear us or think the water tower is haunted. No one would even need to know.”
Dom sighs. “I can ask. I can’t promise a damn thing.”
“Why are you helping?” Roman demands, his tone suspicious.
Dom smiles, and it’s not his usual smirk this time, but something a whole lot softer. “My lady is making my life hell about it because Camile is upset. It seems Camile and Mackenzie think Ophelia should get to choose for herself where she wants to be.”
“Exactly,” I push. “So, if Nataniele agrees, we can have a small number of armed men who help us and her. It’s about giving her somewhere secure, if she wants it.” I throw my arms up, gesturing around me. “We live in a water tower, not easy to breach. We all have weapons. She’d be safe.”
“I’ll do what I can, but no promises.” Dom gives us a terse nod and turns to leave.
If he does manage to come up with the goods, we’d be in a strong position, but her father can’t find out about the three of us being with her together. If he learns that information, we’ll never see her again.
I nurse the idea that we can convince her parents that being at Verona Falls is the best thing for her. If it doesn’t work, well, we’ll just have to damn well take her back. By force, if necessary.
I'll do anything I can to make sure she's okay, because the one fact I know for certain is we were the only thing that quieted that voice in her head.
Without us, she might start to truly unravel. That's not a risk we can take.