Incipient A Dark Paranormal Romance - Bianca Scardoni Page 0,52
sure to keep a good two feet between us. I’d gotten very used to being close to him while keeping a reasonable distance. It was a delicate balance, but I was on the verge of perfecting it.
“Feeling better?” he asked as he placed his phone down on the coffee table and then shifted his body toward me, giving me his full attention as he draped his arm along the back of the sofa.
“Much better.” I tucked my legs up beside me and settled in. “It feels good not be in pain anymore. For a minute there, I was worried I was going to have to move into Ben’s cellar,” I said, only half-joking.
“I’m sure Ben would’ve loved that. His own personal dungeon barbie.”
“Right? Hours upon hours of torture via X-files reruns. I can totally see it now.”
Trace laughed. “You know him well.”
“All joking aside though, I’m super grateful for his help. And yours. And Gabriel’s,” I quickly added, realizing how many people had come through for me tonight. The whole thing could’ve gone completely sideways, or worse, I could’ve ended up walking directly into the lion’s den with my pants down. My friends had really come through for me tonight, and I only wished I could’ve been there to see Dominic’s face when he realized I wasn’t showing up.
I was going to have to find a way to repay each and every one of them—especially Gabriel.
My stomach clenched as I thought about him. “I really hope he’s okay.”
“Gabriel?”
I nodded. “He broke his lifelong streak for me. I can’t imagine what he’s feeling right now.” The more I imagined it, the worse I felt about myself. “I should’ve found someone else. I should have never asked him to do this—”
“He’s the one that offered,” interjected Trace, trying to squash my mounting guilt. “Besides, did you know another Revenant Descendant you could trust to do this?”
“I used to,” I whispered, feeling as though that were a lifetime ago. A lifetime ago, Dominic would have been the one to come to my rescue. He would’ve put his life on the line for mine, no questions asked.
Now he was the one putting me in danger—playing games with my life like I was nothing more than a pet for him to amuse himself with. The realization depressed me.
“Were you serious about what you said earlier?” he asked, his eyes pensive and curious. “About incapacitating him until you figure out what to do about him?”
“Why? Do you think it’s a bad idea?”
“Not at all.” His jaw muscle flexed as he studied me. “I think it’s probably the best way to keep you safe right now.”
I made a face letting him know I didn’t appreciate his choice of words.
“I know you don’t need protecting. That’s not what I meant,” he quickly explained. “But right now, Dominic is a liability for you and with everything going on, it’s the last thing you need.”
“True.” I could hardly focus on what was going down with the Horsemen and Nikki or keep an eye on Trace’s mental state while looking over my shoulder at every turn. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that putting Dominic down temporarily was the best thing for everyone involved, including himself.
He couldn’t be left to his own device—not in the state he was in, and I had too much going on to babysit him. As it stood, I already had no idea about the body count he and Priscilla were leaving in their wake. But I could imagine…
“It’s not going to be easy,” I said, mostly to myself though. “He’s got his Sire beside him and I’m pretty sure she’ll defend him just as quickly as he would her.” The burn in my chest moved from my heart to my stomach. I hated thinking of them together, which was why I avoided doing it as much as possible.
“So, we divide and conquer,” he answered plainly. “Shouldn’t be too hard.”
“We?” I looked over at him and shook my head. “I’m not involving you in this.”
“Okay, well, I’m not involving you any more than you already are,” I amended, catching his stare and holding it.
“Are we really going to do this again?” he asked, sounding bored. “You know that if things go south, you’re going to need a quick exit and who better than a Reaper? Come on, Jemma, give me some credit.”
Well, I couldn’t argue that point. But still, I needed to think