AllFreeNovel
Share Us
His brow furrows. “Think of it this way, though. If you hadn’t been there, she’d have been all alone in that experience. If she said she wanted it, maybe, in time, you can turn it into something less horrific. I won’t say beautiful, ’cause I realize it could never be that, but maybe you can be grateful you were there together? Without you, she might not have survived.”
I consider his words, twisting my lips. Maybe he has a point, and things would have been a hell of a lot fucking worse for her if she’d been alone. But also, if I didn’t exist, she’d never have gone through any of it in the first place. If I’d never come into her life, she’d still be unharmed.
Dom pauses and wrings his hands together. I can tell there’s something else he’s not saying.
“What?” I press him. “What is it?”
“When we were down in that basement, after you’d been knocked unconscious, Tino filmed some—” He cuts himself off and clears his throat. “Some compromising footage of your dad and his men.”
I raise my eyebrows. “You what?”
“We thought we could use it to ruin him, if we needed to. My question is, we can still release it, destroy his legacy and reputation, but that’s up to you. What do you want us to do with it?”
Maybe ruining his reputation would be the right way to go, but I can’t face any more hatred in this world.
“Delete it,” I say. “It’s enough that he’s dead, and he died while believing his reputation would be ruined. If we release it, we’re just as bad as he is.”
Dom reaches out and pats my shoulder. “I thought you might say that. I’ll make sure Tino deletes everything. I’ll leave you in peace now, but I’m truly sorry about your dad. I can’t imagine the head fuck it must be. I really am here if you want to talk.”
I bite the inside of my cheek, relishing the pain. I deserve it.
“Thanks, dude.”
When he leaves, I collapse on the bed, feet on the floor, head in my hands. And then, finally, the tears really come.
Chapter 22
Dominic
I don’t head to my room, but back down to the den where Mack is waiting. She turns to me when I enter, snuggled up on the sofa with Tino, and asks me where her phone is.
“I’ve got it,” I say. “I kept it for you.”
I remove her cell from the desk drawer where I had placed it for safe keeping when we went to bring her and Kirill home and hand it to her.
“Thanks,” she says. “I want to message Lola and let her know I’m okay.”
“Of course. Are you okay, Duchess? Do you want anything?”
She shakes her head and moves her feet for me to curl up on the sofa with her.
“I’ll have to go soon,” she says. “I need to talk to my mom. I don’t want her and your dad getting themselves all worked up. I can’t face it. I’m so tired.” She yawns, hiding her mouth prettily behind the back of her hand.
I watch her as she keys in her passcode—a code I know from when I was spying on her. She seems to be doing surprisingly well. Better than I’d have expected or hoped. I thought Kirill would come back stoic, and Duchess would be a mess. Not that both of them being a mess would have been an issue. They would be well within their rights to go to pieces, but it still makes me think about how much crap she’s been through.
I’ve underestimated her.
Not just once, but repeatedly. The entire fucking time I’ve known her, in fact. Duchess is resilient, and it’s about time we gave her credit for it.
She swipes the screen and then pauses. The blood rushes from her face, and I freeze.
Fuck.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
The message. That damn message from the professor. I want to hit my fists against my head and beat my brains out for being such an asshole.
I forgot to tell her about it. To prepare her for it. Everything has been so crazy.
