Page 119 of Flock
“Where is everyone?” I ask, looking around the garage. Sean ignores my question and runs his fingers through my hair.
“Cecelia, I’m going to take you home, okay?”
I turn to see Dominic’s eyes have gone cold; his jaw set in a firm line.
“But—”
“Not tonight, okay?” Sean says softly. “Me and Dom have to talk.”
I know asking what’s wrong is pointless, but the tension rolling off him has me on high alert.
“Are you . . . safe?”
He runs his finger along my nose and peers down at me with pure adoration.
“Safety is an illusion, baby.”
“God, Sean, just for once can you lie to me?”
“I hate the ground you walk on.” He deadpans before glancing over my shoulder at Dominic who speaks up behind me.
“When?”
“Now.”
“Fuck,” he says, his eyes trail over me and then back to Sean. “Get her home.”
Sean nods and grips my hand, and I shake my head walking toward Dominic. Just once, I hope he’ll make an exception and let his temper take a backseat, and he does. I rise up on my tiptoes as he pulls me to him and kisses me for a few seconds, practically lifting me off my feet with the sweep of his tongue. When he pulls away, I’m dazed.
“You gotta go, baby.” The term of endearment from his lips instills dread into me. I glance back at Sean as emotions take over and I see it—the worry I’ve gotten glimpses of since the moment we met.
They’re scared.
It’s written in the rigidity of their posture as well as their expressions.
“It’s okay,” Sean says softly, pulling me to him, uncertainty in his tone. “But we have to go, Pup. Right now.”
“Okay,” we move past Dominic, and our fingers brush. He doesn’t look back. He just stands in the middle of the garage, his eyes cast down, and I watch him just seconds before he erupts, the jarring sound of metal hitting the bay doors as Sean rips me from the building and pulls me into the car.
All the color drains from my face as Sean ushers me inside.
“I don’t care—do you hear me—I don’t care what it is, give me something.”
He tears out of the parking lot and I wait, knowing he can feel the anxiety pouring from me.
“Sean, plea—”
“Somebody couldn’t keep a secret.”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
It’s been days of silence, days of unanswered texts. I’ve gone from worried to confused, to angry, and all I want at this point is just a little fucking acknowledgment. Pulling up to the garage, I take a steadying breath. My leaping heart has taken an unexpected nosedive from the place it was in seventy-two hours ago, and all of that is due to their deafening collective silence.
I’ve been patient; given them enough space to handle whatever took them from me without ample explanation.
I don’t have to have answers, but I do have to lay eyes on them. I know what they do behind the scenes is dangerous, but their silence at this point is just cruel. I haven’t slept at all, and just finished another shift Sean didn’t show up for, but thanks to the gossip mill at the plant, I did hear that he called in. I’ve been tempted more than once to call Layla, but that’s not how this works.
Calling for a simple proof of life check for the sake of my sanity would have been the next step if I didn’t see several cars outside of the garage, including the two owned by the men I came to seek answers from.
