Page 73 of Queen Of Dark Money

Lifereally was ironic that way.

Ishivered, suddenly so coldIcouldn’t keep my teeth from chattering, the sound damn near deafening in my head.Butstill,Icouldn’t stop the shaking that wracked my body.Iwas only vaguely aware thatI’dstarted to cry, tears running down my face and staining the fancy shirt of the man who’d saved my life.

“Fuck,I’mgetting you all wet,”Imuttered, wiping pointlessly at the fabric in front of my face.Somewherebehind me, someone chuckled and was cut off by someone else hitting him.

“Don’tworry about it, sweetheart,”Dominickmuttered, his soft voice reassuring in my ear. “I’vegot a car in the back, and we’re going to get you changed into something more comfortable whileRiver’sguys secure the perimeter.”Hehanded me off to another man, whoIcould only assume wasRiver, and whispered a few words to him thatIcouldn’t make out.Whenhis lips returned to my temple, he whispered reassurances to me beforeIwas carted off, and we were separated.

Iwas too broken to care.

Barelypresent in my own body,Icould do nothing but simply register the men moving around me, one of themstripping my dress off and replacing it with a pair ofRiver’sshorts and a bar shirt.Thetrenchcoat from earlier was thrown on my back, and buttoned up in the front, covering me head to toe in black fabric.Afterthey slipped a pair of sunglasses on my eyes, someone took my hands in theirs, trying to rub some warmth back into my fingers.Aknock on a door somewhere echoed around us, andIheard the voice of stout and sturdySevenreassuring the guys that the perimeter had been secured, and someone had called in backup to scan the area for the shooter.Dronescans located his sniper’s nest, but not him.Hisgun and ammo were left behind.

Shame.Iwished someone had put a bullet in him.

Sometimesit took being almost killed to put life into perspective, to draw out a dark side of yourself that had lain dormant your whole life.

That’swhat it felt like to me.

Iwas not that person.Neverhad been, and never wanted to be.Butnow,I’dbeen forced into a situation where my life was on the line, andIwanted nothing more than to make the person who’d broken me feel just as much asIhad in the last two hours.

Thelast straw fell on my back, andIwatched with wonder as the blackness crept in around the edges of my vision, unable to warn the men around me that a panic attack was overwhelming me, thatIwas okay,Iwasn’t dying, it was just all too much for me.Ishook harder, a small whimper slipping from my lips asIlet my eyes drift shut and curled in on myself, all the overwhelming emotions blissfully fading away in the presence of the darkness asIslipped into unconsciousness.

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

DOMINICK

Thepoor girl.Thrustinto whatever this shit was, with men who didn’t believe her when she spoke the truth, only because we’d been too blinded by our selfish desires, and now this.

Shotat, a hit put out by her own father, most likely.Idoubted theKingswould have hired a sniper, considering they sentGattto the meeting.Hewas on the phone in the corner, rapidly spitting out a mixture ofEnglishand his nativeItalianto the asshole on the other end of the line.Iwondered how much of his tirade they were picking up on and how much they missed.Ispoke fluentItalian, and evenImissed a good chunk of it.

“Yes, yes, we have it under control, but the situation–gahhh,Iunderstand, you prick.Okay,si, si,Iget it.I’llreport back when she’s been relocated.”

Heturned to me with a deadly look in his eyes. “Yousaid you can keep her safe?”

Mypenthouse was a state-of-the-art suite with top-of-the-line security systems, round-the-clock security guards, two of my personal watchdogs, and bulletproof glass throughout.Ifshe wasn’t safe with me, she wasn’t safe with anyone.

Inodded slowly, already planning the escape routeI’dfollow in my car to get her safely there. “Ican.”

“Gether out of here the minute they give the go-ahead, and keep her under lock and key untilIget ahold of you.Isthat clear?”

Hedidn’t wait for me to answer.Gattknew which of us needed to be told twice and which didn’t.Nota single time in our relationship had they ever had to question or doubt my loyalty, efficiency, or capabilities.IfIsaidIcould handle something,Ihandled it.Theywere never disappointed by my results.AndIalways got them.

Iheard the guys coming down the stairs, but whenIturned, it was justStone, a purse in his hands, followed byRafe, carrying a bag of what was probably clothes—noRiverbehind them, nor the girl.Myfrown deepened.

“Whereis she?”

Theylooked at each other and then back at me, shaking their heads. “River’sbringing her.Shepassed out on us.”

“Youidiots, she’s shutting down,”Ishouted, taking the stairs two at a time.ImetRiverat his door, taking the unconscious girl from his arms before he could get a word out.Shefelt like a sack of feathers, so light and frail now that the fight had left her body.

Anurge to protect her rose within me, andItamped it down, planning to bring it back out once we were in the safety of my home to analyze later.Ihad to think clearly, and that meant no distractions.

“Isthe perimeter secure?”Iasked the room at large as we hit the bottom of the stairs, spotting the security team hunched over a screen in the corner.

Sevenstepped forward and nodded. “Wepulled cars around to the back of the building for all of you, and we’ve even arranged for someone to drive your fancier digs toMr.Blake’sprivate garage until such time as we can ensure you won’t be followed.”

Thorough.Iliked that in a guard. “Verywell.Rafe, you leave first.Youhave the furthest to travel, and if they follow you, they’re likely to get lost trying to find their way back.”

Henodded and made his way to the door, looking left and right even though the coast had been cleared, just to be safe, before disappearing out the door.

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