Page 89 of Queen Of Dark Money

Iwas a wreck, a hot fucking mess, jittery and keyed up and still shaky from the sex, whenDominickcame in, no sign ofDirkon his tail.Hesat beside me on the bed, saying nothing for a long time, andIwondered ifI’ddone something terrible.IfI’dpissed him off somehow, to make him give me the silent treatment.

Thesilence was deafening in its intensity, strangling me, only amplifying the anxiety and panic racing through me.Iglanced atDoma few times, his side profile never changing.Justas stoic and distanced as ever.

Gonewas theDominickthat had helped me through my panic attack whenIgot here.Gonewas the protective man who’d held and comforted me, offering his shoulder to cling to, his strong arms like a safety net.Inhis place was aDominickwho didn’t speak, not a single word, just stared off into the distance like he regretted every fucking second of what we’d just done.

“SoItake it the coast is clear?”Ijokingly teased, nudging him with my shoulder. “Lightsare back on,Ican see again.”

Hegrunted his assent, staring at our feet.Nextto his expensive loafers, my combat boots felt out of place, a stark contrast to his fucking world.Asharp pain lanced through measIrealized there would never be a world where he andIcould inhabit the same space, never be a place on this planet where his kind and mine slept, ate, and played together.Forhim,Iwas just an itch to scratch.Aplaything he’d buried his dick in to relieve some stress.Andnow that he was done with me,I’dbet every second of freedomIhad that he planned to get rid of me.

Secondslater, he proved me right.

Hislips barely moved, butIheard him loud and clear, his voice low and gravelly but no less intense than his commanding mid-sex growl. “Packa bag.We’vebeen compromised.Ican’t guarantee your safety here, and theKingsare sending a car to transport you to a safe location until we can find out who targeted me and why.”

“Asafe place?”Iechoed, standing like he’d ordered, my eyes glued to the dresser asIpulled a duffel bag out of the corner of the room and began stuffing clothes into it.Ialready had the one bag, but apparentlyI’dneed more.Iadded the black dressRiverhad given me as an afterthought and two pairs of shoes–a set of slip-on sandals fromGingerdownstairs and the shoesI’dworn with the dress–and zipped the damn thing up, throwing it at the door.

“Ithink you’re going back toStone’splace.We’restill doing a sweep ofRiver’sclub, orI’dhave sent you there.Moresecurity.”Hiseyes looked haunted when they rose and locked with my own.Ifelt likeI’dbeen kicked in the gut.Everyemotion roiling through him doubled and bounced off me, registering one by one in my brain as they surfaced in those stunning eyes of his.

JasperStonewas safe enough.Icould even get up to no good whileIwas in his place.Amemory of stuffing his shampoo bottle with ketchup rose in my mind, andIhad the sudden urge to laugh.ButwhenIopened my mouth to let it out, nothing came.Iwas as numb as a man stumbling through theArcticwith no clothes on for a day and a half.Everyemotion in me registered,but the secondItried to summon one to the forefront, it was like a ghost, slipping through my fingers and disappearing into the night.

Icouldn’t feel.Andthat was far more dangerous than over-feeling everything.Sometimes, whenIcouldn’t feel anything,Iended up doing some stupid things thatIregretted later.

Ididn’t want to regret any of this.

“Arewe going to talk about what just happened?”Iasked, my voice barely above a squeak.Somethingtold me the bastard wasn’t planning to talk about it, butIhad to ask.Ineeded to know.Orat least hear the denial.

“Thepower went out.Securitysays the lines to the building were cut.Sofar, there’s no telling who was the target, butIhave to assume it was me–or you.”Heleaned forward, head hanging in his hands, elbows propped up on his knees. “Ican’t prove it, butIfeel it in my gut.Nobodyelse in this place is high profile enough to warrant taking out the power to the whole building.Whoeverit was didn’t get to finish the job, though.”

Iflung myself into his arms, refusing to be ignored. “NotwhatImeant,Dom.Imeant the–you know.”Igestured wildly at the bed behind him. “Someone’sgoing to have to wash the sheets whileI’mgone.”

“Thatwas an accident,” he admitted, setting me to his side.Itried to cling to him like an octopus, needing the security that came with his embrace, but he denied me, turning away to prevent me from returning to his lap. “Youdon’t have to worry about it ever happening again.”

“WhatifIwant it to happen again?”Itried, setting a hand on his shoulder. “Dom?”

Hewas shutting down.Icould see it in his eyes in the mirror across the room.He’dmeet my gaze through a reflection, but not face to face.Therealization stung like a bitch.

Heshook his head as the door opened, andDirkstuck his top half in the room, zeroing in on his boss. “Hercar is here.Doyou want me to have them wait?”

Dominickstood and grabbed my hand, leading me to the door, where he passed me off toDirk. “No.Takeher down, and make sure she gets in that car.”

Asa last resort,Iturned to him, pleading with my eyes. “Pleasedon’t make me go.I’llbe good,Dom.I’lllisten to every fucking word you say, andI’llleave you be when you need space–”

“Go,Kenz,” he commanded, his tone serious. “Wecan talk whenIknow it’s safe.”

Translation: this conversation is over, and we’ll never speak again.

Justlike every other man in my life, he was pawning me off on someone else, avoiding the complex parts of a relationship.

HowI’dgotten myself into a situation whereIconsidered three days together a relationship,I’llnever fucking know.

IletDirklead me from the apartment and into the elevator, his gun back out and in his hand, safety off, only adding to the panic racing through me.Itried to drown it with thoughts of my mother, placesIwanted to see in the future, even flashbacks to the sexI’dhad withDomonly an hour before, but nothing worked.Iclung to the bag on my shoulder, hand tightening on the leather straps, tears forming in the corner of my eye as we stepped off the elevator in the private garage.Dirkheld my duffel bag in one hand and his gun in the other, trusting me to stick close to him as we moved toward the running car on the far side of the room.

Iwasn’t planning to run, but it felt nice for a change to have someone trust me.

Ididn’t fight him when he made me get in the car andIeven thanked him when he set the duffel bag on the backseat nextto me.Butwhen he slipped me a piece of paper with a list of numbers on it,Iblinked in confusion until he knelt at my door, shooting a look at the driver over the side of my shoulder.

“Thesenumbers are important.Savethemall.”

Iskimmed over the list–Rafe,River,Dom,Jasper,Dirk,Seven, even someone namedSoldier, all lined up, nice and neat, top to bottom.Iset to work saving them all in my phone, even thoughIcouldn’t imagine ever using a few of them, following orders like a good girl.Apang of loneliness and regret snaked through me at the memory ofDomcalling me precisely that, andIchoked back a whimper as it intensified, making me want to cry.

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