Chapter 20
Dominik
“Karl, did you get what I asked?” I question, Karl replies “Jjefv,” which means yes so I get out of the room and am greeted by a hangover Love. A certain sneaky dove flew out of the room while I was asleep.
“Can we talk?” I ask her and she nods but looks like she’s going to implode, “Take this aspirin,” I say and lay a pill on the kitchen counter. All communication is to be done in Mitkian, Karl and the other Mitf are more familiar with it and I myself am used to it. “About your request-”
“You don’t need to say anything. We’re over, right?” she asks and I see she doesn’t remember a thing.
“Do you want us to be?” I ask testing if I should say what I’m about to.
“Doesn’t matter what I want-,” she says and stops when I corner her against the kitchen counter.
“Answer the question, Love,” I demand, Love shakes, is she afraid of me? Maybe she does remember last night.
“No, I don’t want us to be over but-”
“No but. I don’t want that either. I think we can meet halfway. I’ll partly accept your request,” I say and feel my stomach knot, I don’t bend… usually.
“I’m listening,” she says, her tense shoulder smoothing. I put my hand next to hers on the counter, and look down at her, she’s trying to seem unaffected by me. I’d try that too, if I could, unfortunately I have no fucking willpower with this woman.
“Your friends are untouchable as long as they don’t hurt you physically or mentally. Even if they do, I can only resort to mild violence, death and torture are not an option unless you authorise it,” I say and her lips part before she purses them.
“What about the rest?”
“Strangers and outsiders don’t enter the deal, I’ll do as I please with them.
I can’t resort to killing but that’s the only clause I’ll hold in the deal.
You’ll have to choose if you can live with that and who do you care about more, us or them,” I end informing my response to her demand.
Wishing mine won’t send her sneaking out again.
“Deal,” she replies and tiptoes so she can put her arms around my neck. “What happened last night?” she asks and I hover over her, cupping her face with my hand.
“Don’t worry about last night-”
“Did I make a fool of myself?” she asks and I kiss her cheek, her sweet scent, coconut sweet invades my nose and again I’m hooked, if I wasn’t already. Which I most likely was.
“Just a little. I put you in bed before further damage,” I say and she releases a relieved “ahhh”.
“So that was how I got to- b-bed, Dom stop,” she says laughing when I kiss her neck, her pulse racing.
“Good to see you two are well, either get a room or stop,” Josh warns and I give her one last kiss before releasing her.
She walks to the couch, I’m about to join her when Josh stops me.
“You hurt her again and you won’t survive, I don’t care about Mitf mafia, if I ever see her cry again, you’re going to slowly and painfully die, kid,” he says but I’m five years older than him.
Funny, he thinks he can threaten me and just leave.
I look at Love and curse under my breath.
He can, and he’s probably the only person besides my Cherry.
“How are you feeling, Vie?” I ask her sitting next to her she turns towards me and entangles our legs, after laying her head on my chest and looking up.
“Like I’ll never drink again,” she says and I chuckle, when she puts her hand over her mouth to yawn.
“Wise choice. Sleep, I’ll stay right here,” I say kissing her forehead, she smiles, barely, but it’s there, the slight curve on her lips just before she closes her eyes and puts her arm around my waist. I wish I had her self-control.
I lose my mind with her, if I could I’d stay glued to her 24/7, and that’s saying something, I hate people, I was always a loner, now that Love appeared she sneaked her way into my heart and claimed it hers.
She forced her friends to have a place on it too, even if my heart tries to expel their foreign bodies.
They’ll never fully go while she stays, and I’ll make sure she stays forever.
The darkness I lived in, is nothing I want back.
Not if I can have her. Love completely changed me, she turned me into this caring person, even if just for her, but I care about her more than myself or anything else.
Fuck my legacy. Fuck my reservations about her friends.
I’m staying with her. And we’re building our own legacy. Not yet. When she’s ready for it.
“Is she sleeping?” Maya asks getting out of her room, I just nod, seeing the curly-haired walk into Damian’s room next.
She stays for about half an hour and then leaves.
Her hair is messy then. There’s no need to be a genius to guess what’s going on between those two.
But I couldn’t care less. And I won’t worry Love with Maya’s issues, if she wants to tell her, she’ll do it herself. I’ve never been a snitch anyway.
I look down at my phone and open Josh’s friends group chat. Called “Sinners hill,” seems appropriate. And so are most conversations. Most, not all, unfortunately. I guess it’s my time to say “Kids”.
Damian: What the fuck do you mean I’m grounded?
Josh: Exactly what it means. You failed to stop Dominik from hurting my sister, so now you’re grounded and earned a first strike.
Me: Shouldn’t I be the grounded one?
I ask and a message is sent right after. Several messages in fact.
Josh: Who said you aren’t? It’s your last strike Dominik.
Marcus: Careful he takes strikes seriously.
I almost laugh at the phone.
Me: I couldn’t care less. What’s he going to do anyway?
Marcus: Expel you. There’s a 6-month course you can take to reingress. If you pass.
Damian: I took it once, not fun.
Josh: Confidentiality agreement, Damian.
Me: So now he can’t talk about it?
Josh: Not if he wants to stay on the hill.
*Rian left the chat*
*Marcus added @thedarkseed to the chat*
Rian: Fuck you all.
Josh: We love you too.
Damian: You might I don’t.
Marcus: Yeah, talk for yourself, Khfrvtftdrat.
Josh: Strike one, Mar. Even I know that means bastard.
Josh: Who told you how to spell that?
I leave the chat. Damian puts me back on it but I change screens to my own chat with the security team. Everything is in check so I open the chat I dread. Love’s father’s chat. I check she’s still asleep, and when I’m sure she is, I click on Vance’s name. He sent the last message two hours ago.
Vance: Is Dylan dealt with?
Me: Everything is covered, including alibis for everyone involved. Even though his body will never be found, Karl covered it, he doesn’t disappoint. Is Liot dealt with?
Vance responds in about two minutes.
Vance: For now. I need you back home, he’s planning something. I don’t trust the island's security. You might have insiders as well.
Me: No insiders.
Vance: Liot knows how to bribe security, get my daughter home or I will.
Me: Understood. Consider it dealt with, sir. We’ll be in Cilinm tonight.
I need him to like or at least accept me, so I need to do this.
I take Love in my arms she squirms and almost wakes up, but I shush her and call Karl telling him to get the jet ready.
He tells me thirty minutes, I say fifteen and move to the room.
I enter the Sinners Hill chat and text “Pack your stuff, we’re leaving in fifteen”.
I lay Love on the bed and start packing our stuff, no need to wake her up yet. She’s sleeping peacefully but sometimes she softly moans, I don’t know if it’s nightmares so I shush her every time.
“Dom? What are you doing? Where are you going?” Love asks and I look at my clock I have 9 minutes to leave, so I text the guys to meet me at the aeroplane, and grab Maya and Sammy on the way. Karl will escort our things out. I hear footsteps outside, they’re all home, good.
“We’re going home,” I whisper and help her up, she’s still clearly dizzy from just waking up. “Can you walk?” I question, she assents, I hold her hand and move outside.
“Is everything ok?” she asks concerned and I nod, but still get my hidden weapon from the entrance’s fake wall.
“Our position might’ve been compromised so we must leave,” I say unlocking the gun and moving out.
The truth is that in those 6 minutes Vance found evidence that proves we might, in the slightest possibility, be at risk, but I’m not taking any chances.
I move outside and almost shoot Rian when he appears from behind us.
“Calm down, Ricik, this isn’t civil war, you’re going to alert everyone else,” Rian says pointing my gun at the ground.
I keep it loose in my hand. He’s right. If anyone sees us leaving in a hurry there are going to be questions and four hundred people also wanting to flee.
“You ok, Love?” Rian asks and I hold her hand tighter when I feel her heart race.
“Yes, just nervous,” she responds, and whispers “I have a bad feeling about this” to Rian.
I’m not sure I was supposed to hear it. So I hold the gun loosely, but ready to shoot in a short span of time.
I walk to the security complex, with Love by my side, and Rian on her other side.
“Does my father know?” Love questions, I nod.
“He was the one to point out the possible flaw on the security system,” I say instead of my security system, I refuse to admit this is a flaw I made in planning. I’m methodical and a perfectionist, I don’t commit mistakes.
“Are you talking to him?” Love asks and I nod, she shivers, goosebumps erupting on her skin.
“Yes, we tolerate each other now. Thought you’d be happy,” I point out puzzled.
“I am. It’s just that I didn’t see my father giving in so quickly,” she says putting her hair behind her ear and holding my hand tighter when she stumbles.
“I’m a good catch,” I say and Love replies “Oh, that you are, the bestest,” she says and wraps her hands around my arm. My other arm still holding the gun. Whenever she holds me tighter, my muscles tense and I almost shoot the fucking gun. I have to get a hold of myself.
I look at Rian and can see what I’ve been seeing for weeks, no interest. He’s just Love’s best friend now, thankfully, I had too much planned, guess those planning notebooks will need to be burnt…
in the near future. When Rian introduces his new girl to us, the one who swept any sexual interest he had for Love from his mind, body and soul.
I wonder who that is. I’ve never seen anyone leave our house, no girl or boy for instance.
I have seen him sneak out multiple times, sometimes consecutive nights, at the beginning I thought those were fighting nights, but it turned out it wasn’t.
It’s something more. Thank. Fucking. God.
I walk towards the jet and get there just in time to see one of my guards throw himself in front of the jet’s motor, and shoot one of the abandoned building’s windows.
“Josh, get Love the hell out of here.-”
“NO!-”
“Get her to the jet and get back home. I’ll find my way back,” I order and Josh takes Love in his arms and brings her to the jet. Surprisingly only Sammy, Maya and Marcus follow.
“You’re staying?” I ask Rian, Damian and a still bruised Aiden.
“Follow me,” I say and near the buildings for some coverage, while shooting at the building’s same window.
I look ahead and not behind and only realise what a mistake it was when I’m shot.
The shot goes through my back, somewhere near my kidney.
I have two right? No big deal. I turn around and shoot the person who attempted to kill me in the head. Followed by his four nearest friends.
When I see the security team arrive and notice part of it turning against each other I look at Karl and scream “Get them out”.
Karl doesn’t ask a question. He’s ordered not to.
Even if my life is at stake. I put them as next in line so he wouldn’t try to save me, but I only did it because I also know he follows me and would never overthrow me, his family worked for mine for years.
Our parents were best friends. We’re practically family.
That’s why I also trust he’ll look after Love if something happens.
I enter one of the emergency doors of a building and lock the door with a metal beam from the drainage tubes I rip apart.
I look at the entry and exit wounds, it went through and through.
I bandage my lower belly with the sleeve of my shirt.
I curse under my breath. I’m bleeding out.
No- No. I’m not bleeding out. I’m controlling this uprising and returning to power, they bandage me, I’ll probably lose a kidney but that’s it.
I refuse to die. I refuse to let the weak and sneaky bastards get the best of me.
They won’t be my fall, they’ll be my rise.