Page 66 of Gemini
“Dom says he cares about you a lot. He didn’t mind being with you like that. In fact, it made him happy. It was never a game for him. But…” Leslie hesitated to say the rest.
“Say it.” Dom signed.
Leslie let out a slow breath. “But he knew I was in love with you and his feelings were minuscule to what I felt. Only if you were going to prefer him over me, then he damn well was going to keep you with us, because—” He turned to me and the glare he gave me was possessive in every sense. “Because you’re ours.”
I almost couldn’t comprehend what I was hearing. “Yours?”
“That’s right.”
The shock of those words nearly made me stumble back, like being hit in the gut all over again. “And that’s what you’ve thought the whole time?”
“Yes.”
“Before or after you left me at the church?”
That got him quiet for a moment. He lifted his head as he stared back at me and said, “Before.”
I let out a shaky laugh. “That’s bullshit and I don’t believe you.”
“I told you about how I felt that night. You seriously think I didn’t contemplate dragging you away with us? But you hated me, and I didn’t want your hate and your tears. I didn’t want to hurt you more and take you from everything you knew only to hide you away somewhere. But I sure as hell wasn’t going to leave you out of my sight.”
I gaped at him. “Those unknown texts from months ago were from you, weren’t they?”
“You got it.”
My face twisted as I tried to keep my emotions in check. “Why should I believe you? You practically said at the church that you didn’t trust me. You said I wasn’t one of you because it was true, I’m not. I was an outsider. I’m just a sad, silly girl who got caught in your crosshairs. Go ahead and say it.”
“You were an outsider,” Leslie said quietly. “There’s no denying that.” He took a careful step toward me. “But you kept our secret after everything. You helped us even when we threatened you. You gained Dom’s trust. And you had mine at the end too. Even if it was too late. You didn’t go through hell like we did. But you still got a taste, and you know more than almost everyone. That makes you one of us. And family needs to stick together. So, yes, you are ours. You’re one of us. And this time we aren’t letting you go. So if you try to run, we will give chase, Lena.”
Hearing him say my name made my heart flip. I noticed Dom watching me. He didn’t have to say anything for me to understand he agreed with everything Leslie was saying.
I stood there as my anger dissolved into nothing and fear took its place. “You swear you’ll never leave me like that again? You’ll never leave me in the dark?”
“We swear it with our lives,” Leslie said.
I took a deep, shaky breath. My hands unclenched at my sides, my heart no longer sinking to my stomach, hoping this wasn’t just a dream. “Okay.”
They came toward me, and I didn’t fight as they pulled me in and put their arms around me, Leslie at my front and Dom at my back. They held me for a long time, one of them kissing my head. I couldn’t help but laugh quietly with relief.
“Don’t expect this in the bedroom,” Leslie said. “Dom and I might be close but we ain’t this close.”
I sighed. “There goes that fantasy.”
Dom signed something, what I imagined had to be inappropriate because Leslie punched him on the shoulder.
Just as they decided to release me, Dom’s cellphone went off, a message coming through. Leslie got a call a second later.
“Yeah,” Leslie answered, picking up.
The twins went quiet. Dom looked up at Leslie, a spark in his gaze. Leslie looked back at him and nodded.
“Got it, be there in five.” Leslie hung up. “Looks like we gotta go,” he said to me.
“Is it Jasper?” I asked.
“Yeah. Only the motherfucker ain’t alone. So looks like we’re going to have to collect.” He turned back to Dom. “You got the gear in the car?”
Dom nodded. They went to leave and I stopped them.
