Page 67 of Taken By Him

“I didn’t listen to you. I came without you.” My mind wanders like the breeze.

He presses his forehead to mine, breathing deeply and wrapping his hands around the back of my neck.

“These girls. They need...why would he...and you...I know you wouldn’t...”

“Shhhh.” He lifts away from me, leveling me with his arrogant stare. “What do you need, Kasia? How do I help? What do you want me to do?”

It takes a few seconds for the words to sink in. He’s asking me for directions. Me, his wife.

“We have to help these women,” I say firmly. “We can’t let this go unpunished.”

“Your father.” He nods. “There’s been a decision on that that even I can’t disobey.”

I can’t imagine there being a higher power than him, but I know how these things work. At least in generalities. He answers to his father, and his father answers to the families at the highest ranks.

“Do you want to say anything to him?”

“No.” I look at the women. They aren’t huddled anymore. No one says anything. They’re probably too afraid.

Dominik gestures to one of his men at the entrance of the car. I can’t make out who it is before he jogs down the ramp and out of sight.

Dominik pulls me to his chest, he wraps his arms around my body, then one around my head. I can’t breathe very well, it’s too tight, but then I hear it.

A single shot. Muffled, but I know it for what it is.

My father’s dead.

If Dominik wasn’t holding me up, I’m not sure I’d stay on my feet.

When he unravels me from his arms, he kisses my forehead. It’s tender, sweet, nothing like him, but exactly what I needed.

“My men will help these women. We need to leave now, though,” he says to me, softly.

“They aren’t to be mistreated, Dominik.”

“They won’t be. I swear it, Kasia.” He brings my hand to his chest. “So long as my heart beats, I will never lie to you.”

I swallow back another sob. The night has been too much. All the strength I had when I started out has waned away, leaving me a mess.

“I think I want to go home, Dominik.”

Silently, he takes my hand and leads me from the car. His men are already inside untying the women, speaking softly to them, being careful. The women that witnessed my exchange with my father watch me as I walk past them. They rub their wrists that are no longer bound.

“Thank you,” one says, then another.

“I am so sorry this was done to you,” I say to them. Dominik tugs me along before I can say more.

Two of Dominik’s men drag something heavy behind them, away from the car. A body. My father.

Dominik won’t let me stop; he tugs me along. Shouldn’t I feel something? I can’t untangle everything running through my mind.

By the time we get to the car, Tommy’s already there, holding the back door open. Dominik helps me inside. He says something to Tommy then climbs in next to me.

My family is dead.

All of them, gone.

I’m all alone.

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