Page 43 of Heirs of Havoc

“Get away from her,” Dad demands, his men all pointing their guns our way. “You filthy, Federov scum. I thought I got rid of you. I thought Mia got rid of you, you know she doesn't care about you.”

Dom cocks his gun, my body stiffening in his hold. “Then she won’t mind if I drive this bullet right through her skull. After what she did, she fucking deserves it, don’t you think?” Dad calls off his men and at least that tells me these guys want me alive. All three of them. Dad, Dom and William. So there’s that going for me. “Now I’m gonna leave with Mia. And if any of these assholes follow me, well…” His lips land against my cheek, a spark lighting on my skin. “You can say bye-bye to Daddy.” Dom pulls me back towards the window, pulling my body through.

The last thing I see before I leave the room is my father’s scowl.

Dom keeps the gun on me as he walks me over the railing to the adjoining balcony. “Move, Merlo,” he commands. “We don’t have time.”

“Did you know he would be there?” I can’t piece this together. He dropped me off at William only to take me back?

“No, I did not know your psychotic father would be here. Now move.” Dom’s voice is firm as he ushers me through the adjoining room, as lavish as the other. I’m relieved no one’s inside as Dom leads me out the door. Did he rent this room for him? A world of questions swirls through my mind, but Dom actually answered one, and it seems honest.

Once we’re in the hotel stairwell, grey walls and grey metal steps, I can’t help but fire off more questions. “What’s your plan, Dom?”

He stops hustling down the stairs to turn around. “You wanna go back to Forest Hill with William and Daddy Geppetto? Fine. But you’re not taking me down with you, Merlo. Not again.”

“You’re the one who brought me here!” He can’t be twisting this whole mess on me. “Tied up and a gun to my body, remember? Or are you that fucking fucked?”

His eyes narrow at me before he keeps moving down the stairs.

“Mia!” My dad yells my names and orders from the door behind me. So with a mutter, I follow Dom, descending further into hell.

Thuds and yells follow us all the way to the side entrance of the hotel where Vlad’s muscle car waits. Now I have even more questions as Dom ushers me in the back.

Vlad speeds off before Dom closes the door.

Looking back, my dad scowls, his men around him as we peel out of the hotel.

Was this the right decision? I'm not sure.

Am I safe now? Fuck no.

* * *

I'm an idiot if I thought I was getting any answers back at Murphy House. As much as I plead for Dom not to do it, he locks me right back in my cell.

Darkness surrounds me as I crawl to the mattress in the middle of the room.

Is this really better than going home with my dad?

At least I had a room. My space. Food. Now, I’m not sure if I have anything at all.

The night is another sleepless one, my ear pressed to the door for any signs of what these guys might be thinking. Clementine was stable, quiet and peaceful. Now it’s chaos. I tried to outrun my past, and every bit caught up with me.

Creakkk!

The metal door opens, sunlight streaming in. It tells me yet again, I’ve made it through another night without hanging myself from my pillowcase.

“Time for class, M&M.” Lev appears in his white SAA shirt, his broad muscles stretching the fabric. He drops a white paper bag on my lap.

“Bible Burger breakfast?” The whiff of fried potatoes and eggs is enough to remind me how hungry I am.

“And your uniform.” A pile of clothes drops next to my knees. “You got class in twenty. Make it quick. Dom’s in a hell of a mood today and I'm not sticking around for it.”

Stuffing the fried potato cake in my mouth, my head shakes. “I’m not going to class.”

“I don’t remember asking you a question.” Lev crouches to my level, his blue eyes darting around me. “Besides, I kinda wanna see you in that kilt again. You wanna spend the rest of the day here? Or do you wanna get some sunshine on that beautiful face?” He flicks his finger at my nose, a tingle when he does.

Lev has a point. If I don’t go to class, he'll lock me in here all day and if Dom is in the mood Lev says he’s in, it’ll make it worse. “Fine.”

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