Page 4 of Lower World
“You too, Brooklyn.” The deep rumble of his voice vibrated in my chest.
“You’ll need to be more specific, Dominic.” Proud that I sounded calm and collected, I folded my arms across my chest.
“Eat.” It took me a second to realize he actually made food, human food, for me as well.
“Are you offering?” I sassed because, for some reason, the idea of eating human food that he made freaked me out. It wasn’t like I would die if I ate it, but it did nothing for me apart from messing with my stomach.
“Why don’t you come and see what happens if you get anywhere near my throat?” Dominic finally faced me, grinning from ear to ear. It wasn’t a nice grin, no. It was a baring of teeth, a challenge for a fight to the death. The fact that I noticed how his shirt stretched across his shoulders and his jeans hung low on his narrow waist spoke volumes about my insanity. He didn’t look like he slept either.
“I could do the wrist, too. I’m not picky,” I drawled just to annoy him, and my shoulder rolled in a shrug as I took my seat at the table, staring at the omelet like it was some unknown creature that would bite me.
His low snarl made me shiver.
“You could also do the inner thigh,” Alice chirped, forgetting all about being afraid of Dominic breaking her in half as she attempted to straighten her clothing that she slept in. “What? In books, vampires suck on the inner thigh, too. Well, in steamy novels, but yeah. Like, it’s more intimate, or something …” Eyes widening, she trailed off before ducking her head toward the plate, almost burying her nose in the omelet.
Great. Now all I could think was Dominic spread like an offering in front of me and my fangs buried in his thigh. My gums throbbed uncomfortably, and to cover it up, I shoveled a forkful of the eggs in my mouth. The food was still hot, so my tongue was on fire, but I managed not to spit it out. I could feel his eyes drilling holes at the side of my head.
“When you are done eating, we will go wake the scum up,” the shifter grumbled, dumping eggs on his own plate.
I didn’t remind him that I was one of the scum, too.
It was difficult to swallow the food through the lump in my throat.
3
“He’s been like this since we tied him to the chair.” Dominic lifted Johnathan’s head by a fistful of hair.
I followed him to the basement after we ate the food in awkward silence. Alice stayed in the kitchen under the excuse of washing dishes—which there were only three plates, three forks, and three pans, so that excuse sucked—so we went to the trap door, unlatching it and disappearing inside. I didn’t point out there were only three plates, three forks and a pan. I didn’t want her anywhere near Johnathan. At the same time, I was thankful that the shifter decided to ignore what happened that morning, too. With everything turning upside down in my life, I could only handle one clusterfuck at a time, thank you very much.
The basement we occupied was all concrete walls with no windows, resembling a tomb. My heartrate sped up and my breaths came in short puffs, but I clenched my fists and didn’t say a word. Dominic didn’t need more reasons to get rid of me. Knowing my secret was bad enough. Every wall under the house was lined with roughly made wooden shelves packed to the brim with canned foods, and the bottom had twenty-five-gallon bottles of water stacked all around it. In the center of the concrete floor was a drain, and a rusted pipe stuck out in one corner with a weird looking faucet screwed on top of it. Alice told us the pipe was connected to a large tank of drinkable water, which was buried somewhere around the property. A perfect space to withstand an apocalypse if ever I saw one.
Johnathan was slumped on a chair in the middle of it with thick ropes wrapped around him from his shoulders to his ankles, and his head hung limply down to his chest. His perfectly tailored suit was ripped and dirty, and his hair was sticking in all directions thanks to Dominic’s rough handling. I didn’t complain about the treatment he received. Knowing him, I’d want to kill him myself the moment he woke up and opened his mouth. I also didn’t point out that we didn’t secure anything to prevent him from jumping off it, but he did wrapped our prisoner like a mummy to the chair regardless.
“He should be awake by now.” Inching closer to where the male was held by the ropes, I reached for his neck. Before the tips of my fingers made contact with the skin, Dominic snatched my wrist in a bruising grip.
Frowning, I turned to face him, wondering if he decided to address our little problem now that we were away from my human friend. It occurred to me that he could kill me and Johnathan in the basement and tell Alice we killed each other if he wanted to use her and the house as a safe place to lay low for a while. With a sharp pain, my fangs slid from my gums, and I stiffened. Confusion clouded my mind when I realized he wasn’t glaring at me with murder written all over his handsome face. His eyes were narrowed at the base of my throat where the pendant sat pressed to my skin.
“It’s not glowing anymore,” he murmured deep under his breath.
“What are you talking about?” I tugged on my wrist to let him know I wanted him to release his hold, but his fingers tightened.
“When you reached for him, it started glowing.” The intense gaze lifted from my neck to my face, the green irises glowing like lanterns. “Your pendant.”
“It’s never glowed before.” It was more like a choker around my neck, so there was no way for me to see it while I was wearing it. “Are you sure it wasn’t a reflection of the light playing tricks on your mind?” The yellow bulb was hanging on a cord above our heads, swaying gently.
“It wasn’t a reflection of the light.” I became acutely aware of how close he was standing.
With every word he spoke, his breath grazed my skin, and his scent filled my nostrils. The panic I was fighting from tight spaces was replaced by the stuttering of my heart from his nearness. My skin felt like it was on fire where his thick fingers were wrapped around my wrist. Despite all that, he kept his gaze locked on mine as if staring at me would give him answers that I would deny him. Pushing down the initial reaction that would’ve assured one of us might die in the basement, I took a deep breath and decided to try a different approach. I would test the waters, so to speak.
“I trust you.” My heart jumped to the roof of my mouth as I said the words, and a sharp pang stabbed me in the chest when he jerked like I’d slapped him. “I just can’t see it right now, and I’ve never seen the stone glow since I’ve had it around my neck.”
Dominic was a highly intelligent male. He knew what I was doing, and his eyes narrowed at me. I stood still, even as his free hand lifted and he wrapped his fingers around my throat. The moment of truth was happening, and every muscle in my body coiled tightly as if ready to snap. His breathing deepened, and his chest puffed high enough that it brushed against mine with each inhale.
“Every instinct I have screams at me to kill you right now, Brooklyn.” I knew he felt the hard swallow as I tried to push down the lump choking me more than his hand ever could. “You are everything I’ve despised since that cursed day my family was taken from me. Since your kind took them from me.”
“What’s stopping you then?” It was surprising to hear that my voice was even like I wasn’t treading the line between life and death by the skin of my teeth. If I was smart, I would have my fangs in his jugular before he blinked. “If you think my death will be enough of a sacrifice for what you have lost, take it. I will offer my life freely for your peace and would not fight you. This is no news to you, and I dislike repeating myself.” And more shocking than sounding calm was the fact that I meant every word.
I wasn’t a fool to believe I would live a long and happy life away from the Syndicate. Maybe the lives I had saved so far would be enough of a redemption for my sins. The Council would come for me sooner or later, even if I hid at the ends of the world, and eventually I would slip. It was inevitable. One mistake would be all it took to kiss my life goodbye. It was very freeing to accept that fact and come to terms with it.
