Page 40 of The Obsession
She hesitates as her fingers tighten around the edge of the door. For a second, I think she’s going to slam it in my face. Instead, her voice drops to what could best be described as a defeated whisper, “You’re not going to like what you see.”
My chest pulls tight, the kind of tight that makes it hard to breathe. “Em, open the door,” I plead in a softer voice.
The door shifts a fraction, but not fully. Something in her posture sinks, like she’s too tired to keep holding herself together, and when she finally opens it all the way, something inside me snaps.
Her other eye is almost swollen shut, and the tissue she’s holding under her nose is soaked in blood, but that’s not even the worst of it.
I reach forward and gently pull her hand away from her face, and that’s when I see the finger marks forming around her throat.
My breathing evens out, and my pulse slows, as something inside me stills. Eerily fucking still. It’s a quiet I haven’t felt in years, the kind that comes before a storm breaks everything in its path.
“Fuck,” I say when tears rise in her eyes. I don’t evenhesitate to step forward and wrap her in my arms. “Fuck, Em,” I repeat.
She cries softly into my chest as I stroke her hair.
I’m struggling not to lose my shit, to turn this fucking town upside down until I find him. Every part of me is wired to get that bastard and put him in the ground for what he’s done, but that won’t help her right now. She needs my comfort. My arms around her, not my hands around someone else’s throat.
I press my chin to the top of her head, holding her tighter. When I finally release her, I cup the side of her face. “Go pack a bag.”
“I can’t leave.”
“The way I see it, you don’t have a choice. I’m not leaving here without you.”
“He’ll come looking for me.”
“And he’ll need to get through me first if he does. You deserve better. How many more chances are you willing to give that cocksucker? How many more times are you willing to be disrespected, unappreciated, manipulated, and undervalued? He has completely undermined your worth. I bet you told him how much his actions hurt you, but he kept doing it anyway. Am I right?”
She tugs her chin out of my grip and looks away. She doesn’t need to answer me; that movement said it all. “I … I have nowhere to go. No money. He takes it all, so I can’t leave.”
My hand rises so I can skim my knuckles down the side of her face. “Pack a bag, Em. You’re coming with me. I’ll make sure you’re taken care of.”
Her gaze snaps back to mine. “I can’t ask you to do that, Dominic.”
“You didn’t ask, and this isn’t up for negotiation. Get it through your pretty little head, I’m not leaving you here.”
She swallows hard, her eyes flicking away for a secondlike she’s weighing all her fears against the tiny bit of trust she has in me. When her eyes come back to mine, they’re wet but clearer, like she wants to believe me but isn’t sure she’s allowed to.
“Dom, I’m scared.”
“I know,piccola(Little one), but believe me when I say you’ll be safe with me.”
Her breath shudders, and she nods, just barely.
That’s all I need.
Chapter 15
Dominic
Emily’s hand has been clutched in mine the entire drive, despite her gaze being fixated on the passenger side window. She hasn’t spoken a word, but I’m okay with that. I think we’re both lost in our own heads.
How the fuck did we get here?
I left Romeo and Lucia’s to see if she was okay. I never expected to return with her.
Her fingers twitch against mine, just slightly, but she doesn’t let go, and neither do I. Maybe this is the first time she’s allowed herself to lean on someone, and I don’t want to ruin that.
She turns her head from the passenger window to face the windscreen, and I chance a glance at her profile. Even bruised, battered, and afraid, she’s still devastatingly beautiful.
