Page 93 of Darkest Retribution

You’d get yourself killed, probably.

“Look, buddy, that’s great and all. But if you think my brother is going to reward you for killing me, you’re wrong.”

“I—”

“Save it for someone who cares.” I flick my wrist toward the sliding door. “Now get out and stop wasting my time. I’ll text him with an updated timeline once I have one.”

His nostrils flare. But then he lowers his gun, tucking it back into his waistband, before turning to leave. When he closes the sliding door, I get up, lock it, and yank the curtains shut.

Fuck.

My plan was to let Rosie have one more normal day of school before leaving. Well, that was the half-plan I came up with on the way home. But now? Now, I have to warn Dominic that my brother wants him dead.

And Rosie and I have to leave tonight.

Chapter twenty-one

Dominic

Ican’tsleep.

I couldn’t after getting home from Alex’s. I was too frustrated. David felt so close—the end of all of this felt so close. And then he didn’t even show up, just sent his men instead.

To be fair, it was the smart thing to do. It was foolish of me to hope he’d be reckless, especially after Felix and Willow almost caught him at Blaze’s house.

They’re tracking that car—from Felix’s place, since Alex kicked him and Willow out for bickering too much. Unfortunately, the vehicle hasn’t moved. It’s still loitering in that gas station parking lot, hours later.

So now I’m stuck sitting in my home office, sipping whiskey to get the taste of Jade out of my mouth. I don’t need one more reminder of her—not when I already can’t get her out of my head.

It’s probably after midnight when I hear a persistent knocking at my front door, but I’m not sure. I lost track of time a while ago.

I get up slowly. Whoever has the idiocy to bother me this late at night can fucking wait.

“Mister Dominic! Mister Dominic, help!”

Oh, shit.

I drop my tumbler, barely noticing the shattering noise of the glass as I run to the front door. I fling it open, finding Rosie on my doorstep, and a feeling of déjà vu washes over me.

“Rosie, what’s going on?” I drop to my knees, wiping at the tears on her face and glancing behind her. The house looks fine, but that doesn’t mean anything.

“Aunt—Auntie Jade told me that if I’m ever in trouble, I should find you and tell you.” She sniffles, more tears spilling onto her cheeks.

I stroke her hair, forcing myself to take a deep breath to calm the panic spreading through my chest. “Are you in trouble, Rosie?”

“I think Auntie Jade is, Mister Dominic. And I’m scared.”

“What kind of trouble?”

“There’s a man in our house,” she sobs. “And he has a gun.”

My heart stumbles. Then I pull Rosie into the house. “You see that door over there? Yeah? Good. I want you to go in there, close the door, and lock it, okay? I’m gonna make sure your aunt is all right.”

Rosie hesitates, so I give her a little push. I don’t have time to coax her into this. Thankfully, she goes, looking back before she closes the door.

I grab my gun from my office before running across the street. The front door is open—from the intruder or from Rosie, I’m not sure, so I enter that way.

She’ll be okay. She managed to sneak up on me when she found me in her house.

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