Page 43 of Graves

“You moved away, urgent family matters,” he says without a hint of remorse.

I jump to my feet, closing the distance between us before I wind my hand back and slap him across the face. He rears back but doesn’t do anything other than that.

“Fuck you!” I hiss. “What? You’re just gonna keep me here? Forever?”

“Not forever,” he says cryptically.

“This is kidnapping, you know that, right? You’re gonna go to jail, you’re gonna?—”

“Christ,” he mutters with a shake of his head. “Will you take a deep breath, please? You’re gonna work yourself into a panic attack.”

“A little hard not to panic when I’m being held against my will with no context!” I laugh hollowly.

He runs his thumb over his fingertips before he looks up at me, his cheek already reddening from my blow.

“If you take a deep breath and calm down, I will explain.”

My breathing is still ragged, but I take several slow breaths before sitting down at the edge of the bed. Dom nods at me once before he speaks.

“There are some people that could be coming for Zayden.”

I blink twice at that before I turn my head to the side.

“And that involves me…how?”

He rolls his lips together before he continues.

“Zayden’s…affection for you won’t go unnoticed by them. If they see him with you, or at least following you, they are going to take an interest in you, and believe me, you don’t want that.”

“I think I’ll take anyone’s interest in me over that psychopath,” I scoff.

Dominic levels me with a serious look as he leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

“Remember how I said that Zayden was bad, but there was worse out there? Well, these men, they might as well be the devil incarnate. They will take you, they will hurt you, and they will kill you.”

A pang of fear runs through me, no matter how hard I try to remain unaffected by his words.

“Why?”

“Because it will hurt Zayden and me.” He grimaces before looking down at the ground.

“Well, what the fuck is wrong with you guys? How do you make enemies like this?”

Dominic shakes his head. “They aren’t our enemies.”

My eyes widen at that before I let out a sarcastic laugh.

“Well, I’d sure as shit hate to see how your enemies treat you.”

He doesn’t respond, clearly not having my dark sense of humor.

“Fine, whatever. How long do I have to stay here?”

“It’s too soon to tell. I’m assessing the situation, and then if you still want to leave me?—”

“I will,” I agree quickly. “Maybe with the chaos of the last forty-eight hours, I wasn’t clear. We aren’t together anymore, Dominic. I don’t like you, and I sure as hell don’t love you. In fact, I fucking hate you.”

I regret the words as soon as they spill from my lips, which is stupid because shouldn’t I hate my lying ex-boyfriend? Shouldn’t I hate the man who has deceived me, imploded my life, and is keeping me prisoner? None of my rationale seems to weigh out the regret I feel at the look on his face. He winces, just slightly, as if he’s been dealt a blow and is trying his best to mask it.

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