Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
Dom
As I clip on my lap belt in the private jet Dean procured for me, my phone vibrates with a call. I pick it up, glance at the screen and release a breath before tapping Accept.
“Thanks for picking up the call,” Leo says with a chuckle.
“You are welcome. Now tell me what you got. Is Callum’s mom safe? Did you find the person who’s been fucking with Rick?”
“Callum’s mom is all set. But Rick… I tried calling Rick after you reached out to me, but he never answered. I even tried to text him, thinking he’s afraid to answer an unknown number, but I never got a response back. So…”
“That’s odd. I’ll call him once I get off with you,” I say.
“You know I don’t play that way, Rossetti,” Leo replies with another laugh.
“You wish,” I counter, then see that I have another call coming in. “Hey, gotta go. But I’ll call you later about Rick.”
“Sounds good.” Then Leo hangs up, and I answer the other call.
“What the hell, Dom? I don’t appreciate your cryptic message to call you back,” Tobias growls.
“Sorry, man. But you didn’t pick up earlier and I didn’t want to talk until I got on the plane. We have a problem. I don’t think the attacks on Callum are from Brian.”
“What do you mean?”
“Not going into details, but you know I used to be a U.S. Marshal. One of my past cases might have caught up with me.”
“I need full disclosure, Dom,” Tobias demands.
“Can we do this when I—”
“There’s a change in plans,” Tobias interjects. “You’re coming straight to San Fran. Dean’s guys are already filing a new flight plan for your plane.”
“No. I have to get back to Bear—”
“Callum was attacked again. So everyone is coming here.”
“Callum was attacked? Is he hurt?”
“Someone smashed him in the back of his skull.”
Shock and rage rips through me. My insides are shredded. I wasn’t there to protect Callum. Even with Pen and the rest of the security team surrounding Callum, he still got hurt.
“There’s something else,” Tobias’s tone snaps me out of my head. I’m paying full attention.
“What is it?”
“Pen thinks Jordan might be part of this.”
“How? Dean wouldn’t have sent someone to us if they were—”
“That’s the crook. Dean didn’t send him.”
I don’t know what to say to that admission.
“I want this finished, Dom. Got me?” He barks out the two words, which has my back going ramrod stiff.
“You and me both,” I say, evenly through my teeth. I’m not mad at Tobias, only the situation we are in.
“We will see you in about seven hours.” Then he hangs up. Jesus, I can’t stand when he does that. But I hate this situation even more.
Instead of waiting, I dial Pen’s number. I need the details on why Pen thinks Jordan is involved. And where the fuck was he, when all this shit took place.
I let the call go until Pen’s voicemail announces that there’s no more room. Since he didn’t pick up, I call Callum.
“Dom, where the fuck are you?” His urgent tone is near volatile.
“Are you okay?” I ask calmly. Getting riled won’t do either of us any good.
“Am I okay?” Callum huffs. “Yes, I’m okay. Pen’s helping me with my anxieties.”
“Tobias told me what happened. Where were you when you got attacked?” Silence. “Callum?”
“I was looking for Pen. After he found out you left without letting us know anything, he got pissed and needed time. He went for a run in the woods. Since I didn’t want him to be alone, I went looking for him with Jordan as my security.
Then Jordan disappeared and I heard my name called.
At first, I thought it was Pen. But when my name was called again, I knew it was my attacker. ”
“And that whole time, you were alone… In the woods,” I growl. “Pen—”
“This isn’t Pen’s fault. It’s yours,” he says straight up.
As I open my mouth to refute his accusation, I realize Callum might be correct.
I left right after I got the message from Joust. Right after I’d been balls deep into Pen.
I just left without a word. I had promised Pen that I’d keep him in the loop but I broke my pact with him by not waking him up and telling him what was happening.
“You’re right,” I finally say, filled with guilt. I broke Pen’s trust and for that, he might break what we have. “How is he?”
“I don’t know. He’s in fucking hulk protection mode. He won’t talk to me and I blame this all on you.” The hurt behind his words is equally sharp and it is digging deep into my heart.
“I’m sorry. I’ll fix it between us.”
“You’ve said that before, and I don’t believe you, Dom. And neither does Pen. That’s why he didn’t answer his phone.”
“I guessed that. Listen, I’m on a plane getting ready to take off to San Fran. I’ll fix this between Pen and I. Then we three need to talk, after we track down the bastard behind this,” I say, not wanting to explain further.
Callum remains silent, and I can hear what he’s not saying. He, too, is giving up on us, and I can’t have that.
“Listen to me, this is the most honest and open thing I’m going to say to you.”
“And what is that?” There’s a clear note of resistance in his voice.
“I love you, Callum. And tell Pen I love him too. And I’m not giving up on us. No matter what.”
“Dom,” he says with a sigh.
“No, Callum. We’re not breaking up. You two are mine.”
“We’re not even together,” he counters, and it lashes at my confidence like a barbed whip. “But we’ll see,” he says before hanging up.
I swallow down the ache squeezing my throat. I’m one stupid motherfucker if I let these men go without fighting for them. Fighting for my love for them.
Callum’s words keep bouncing around in my head. This isn’t Pen’s fault. It’s yours.
He’s right. This is all my doing. If I had only told Pen about my terrible past, we wouldn’t be in this turmoil. And since he’s so pissed off at me that he’s not willing to pick up my calls, I have to prove it to him—and to Callum—that we are good for each other.