Page 11 of Rebellion

I made it all the way into the kitchen before my next roadblock. Dominic leaned against the door with his arms crossed and that bouncer scowl on his face. He spotted me, which was easy enough to do in my current state of lingerie-ness, and stood up straight.

“I didn’t expect to see you yet, and not in your pretty things.”

This was like a harem gauntlet. “I’m on a mission.”

He frowned, and his eyebrows went down. “To get Gray back?”

“Yep.” I tapped my foot.

He frowned. Out of the three of them he’d been there to witness the fight and had driven us home afterward. “How?”

“I don’t know yet, but I’m hoping this will help.” I ran my hands down the silk. “So, if you’ll excuse me, I’m headed to the garage to sprawl myself across one of the cars.”

I pushed by him and out the door. It wasn’t until I was just inside the dark garage that my brain stuttered. Wait... what? Back?

What did Dominic mean by getting Gray back? We were fighting, but Gray would never leave me.

The rows of cars were silent, cold. My heels clacked, and the sound echoed off the steel and glass. A chill skittered across my skin, but I felt it all the way to my spine. I rubbed my arms and walked to foot of the stairs up to Gray’s apartment.

An envelope was taped to his door. My name in dark ink stood stark against the white paper. I recognized Gray’s handwriting with his plain printing.

It took me a full fourteen breaths to talk my feet into going up there. There sure seemed to be at least a hundred more steps than I remembered.

I snagged the envelope off the door and sat on the top stair turning it over and over in my hands. Where was Gray? Why was there no light on in his apartment? Why had he felt like he needed to leave me a note instead of talking to me?

I didn’t want the answer to any of those questions. They were all too horrible.

Even as my heart knew, I had to see for myself.

The envelope opened easily, the top simply tucked into the fold. A single sheet waited inside. I slid it out and read.

Angel,

I know I set you on this path of dark pleasures or maybe I just encouraged it. A beautiful woman like you should be able to revel in her sexuality, but I can’t stay to watch.

It is your choice to pursue training to become a Dominatrix, and I know you will because it doesn’t seem to matter what I tell or ask you to do. I don’t know how to help you anymore.

It’s your right to exercise some rebelliousness and grab a hold of your independence. In fact, it’s about time you did. I can’t express how much I hated Marc and I reveled in the revenge of helping you destroy his precious reputation with that sex tape.

I have to be done helping you now.

It was my choice to stay and watch everything slip out of my control, but I can’t do it anymore. I can’t or won’t help you make this mistake. I can’t save you anymore.

—Gray

The letter dropped from my hand and fluttered, back and forth, back and forth, the ten-thousand feet to the floor. The cold of the dead garage seeped into me. The chill I’d gotten before returned a hundred-fold. I couldn’t stop shivering.

I curled up against the door and closed my eyes.

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