Page 43 of Hunted

Dominic stared at her incredulously. “No, I don’t! I just said he’ll be fine!”

Abigail glared at him harshly through her long, wet eyelashes. “There’s only one way to know for sure.”

A few minutes of whispered arguments later, Abigail and Dominic reentered the dining room. They found Luke standing by the window, gazing at the trees and rubbing his chin. He glanced up to find them seating themselves at the table, Dominic looking perturbed and Abigail with a resolute expression.

Luke raised an eyebrow. “So… am I forgiven?”

Dominic suddenly looked very tired. “Abigail… wants to know that you’re going to come back.”

“Webothwant you to come back.Safely!” Abigail corrected.

“That’s it?” Luke wondered aloud. “I could have told you I would.”

Abigail shook her head until her hair whipped around her face and Dominic scratched his nose and looked at the ceiling.

“Abigail, I’m coming back!” Luke insisted. “I would never leave you! I’ll be back in just a day or two. Why would you think I was leaving for good? Why would I do that?” Abigail looked at Dominic and raised her eyebrows. After a moment of silence, Luke did the same. “What?” he asked. “What’s going on? I’m getting familiar with feeling out of the loop, and I don’t like it. Somebody clue me in.”

Dominic sighed. “I’m afraid… it’s not as simple as you saying you’ll come back.” Luke, agape, looked at Abigail, who pursed her lips and kept her eyebrows raised.

“Abigail… wants assurances.” Dominic closed his eyes and shook his head. “This is ridiculous. You’re going to have to tell him. I’m not a mediator.”

Abigail rolled her eyes. “Dominic is going with you.”

Luke looked very much like his face had frozen solid. When he found his voice again, he snorted loudly. “No, he’s not.”

“Yes, he is.”

“No, he’s not! Why would I take him? I mean, no offense, Dominic, but this is something I need to do for myself. On my own.Alone.”

Dominic shrugged, evidently his gesture of the day. “I get it, but I don’t think she’s going to let this go.”

Luke gawked. “Are you serious? I can handle this, Abigail!”

Abigail held up her hands as if in surrender. “I’m sure you can, Luke, but I would feel better if you went together.”

“But I’m perfectly capable of doing it alone! I’ll be in my own pack! What’s the problem?”

“I would feel better if you went together,” Abigail repeated.

Luke looked at Dominic for help to no avail.

“This is the point I got to with her,” Dominic said. “I’m willing to go if you are.”

Luke looked taken aback. “Really?”

“Yeah. To be honest, none of us is really clear on what happened and until we find out, it might be best to tread carefully.”

“Maybe, but this is my dad we’re talking about here. It’s a family matter.”

Abigail began to tear up again, completely at odds with herself. It would be so much simpler just to tell the truth, but she couldn’t bring herself to tell the man she had loved that his father had assaulted her.

She looked at Dominic with a pleading stare and he nodded, resigned. “I think that it would set Abigail at ease and that’s the most important thing right now.”

The animosity left Luke’s face as though the wind had been removed from his sails. After a moment, he sighed. “You’re right. Of course, you’re right.” He gave Abigail a long look and then skewered Dominic with a stare. “Saddle up, compadre. We’re going on an adventure.”

Chapter 20

Abigail

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