No one but me, apparently.
Before I could answer though, Frankie gasped. My eyes travelled to her as she sat closer to Chase. Whatever he said earlier to her must have shocked her enough to sit there with her mouth wide open, an expression of utter disbelief on her face.
"He did what?" her voice rose to a high pitch, a good indication she was losing her shit quickly.
"Frankie-" Chase started, but she raised her hand and stood up, grabbing her bag. "I'm going to kill him. Seriously, kill him!" With those words, she stormed out of the restaurant and left me alone with the guys.
I had strong suspicion who the he was.
Giving the guys an apologetic smile, I put some money on the table to cover hers and my bill, and they didn't even blink.
Not that I was against feminism or anything, or didn't believe a woman should pay for herself, but when she was on a so-called double date? Hell, freaking yes, men had to pay. So this attitude put me off the guys immediately. "See you later." They either were too stunned to answer or simply didn't care, as they just nodded.
Quickly running out of the restaurant, I studied the sidewalk on the left and then on the right. Noticing a vision in red, I quickly followed her. If she were going to her twin brother, Connor, it wouldn't take long, as he lived ten minutes away from here.
"Frankie!" I called, but she either didn't hear me or preferred to have nothing detain her from her mission.
Shaking my head in amusement, I took out my headphones and placed them inside my ears. Living without the beat of music was almost impossible for me. For so long, it was the only source of comfort I had, and I got used to it.
I got anxiety attacks without it, I kid you not.
The time allowed me to notice several men passing by Frankie gave her admirable glances, and rightly so. She was a thing of beauty. Her long, wavy blonde hair, way down her back, went amazingly with her emerald-green eyes and pale, freckled skin. A tight red Hervé Léger dress hugged her perfect body. She had long legs, a narrow waist, and firm, bigger than average-sized breasts.
Connor introduced me to his sister a few months ago, and we kept in contact. For the last month, she helped me to re-enroll in Columbia University and vowed to get me laid, as she claimed sex was one of the best things in this world. She should know, considering the girl was a 'love them and leave them' type. Although I had a strong suspicion someone broke her heart in the past, but I didn't pry. We all had our demons, after all.
Finally, we reached Connor's house, and without bothering to ring the bell, she used her key and stormed inside as I quickened my step to catch up to her.
I arrived just in time to hear a snippet of their conversation from where they stood in the living room a few feet away from the hallway.
"I'm kind of in the middle of something here, so could you come another time?" Connor asked, annoyed.
"No, I can't. It's important," Frankie replied, clearly not liking the suggestion. Slamming the door, I decided not to give away the fact that I overheard them. Breathing heavily, I burst into the room.
"Frankie, what the hell? You left me alone with them!"
She rolled her eyes. "Please, I had to settle something with almighty Connor here. Plus, Orlando really likes you, and I think you two could hook up." My cheeks heated as I noticed the audience we had in the room.
Damian, Sapphire, and … oh, my freaking God, Dominic? Why were they all here? Was the meeting today?
Once the danger was all over, I'd decided to move back in with my dad for the time being. Damian let me, albeit unwillingly. But seriously, I didn't want to go back to North Carolina, where he lived with his girls. My dream of living in New York was starting to come true, and I wouldn't let anyone take it away from me this time.
"I don't want to hook up with anyone!" I exclaimed, and Frankie frowned in confusion.
"Since when? As long as I can remember, you've wanted to get rid of your holy"-she made air quotes for the word-"virginity thing, and all of a sudden you're picky?" Taking a deep breath, I cursed all the times I cried into a tequila bottle with her about the fact I never had any willing experiences with men and how it sucked.
"Yes, I am, okay?" I hoped she'd just drop the conversation altogether. The last thing I needed was for my insecurities to be brought up in a room full of people.
"Listen, if this is about that guy you have a crush on, the one who burned his hands, then I suggest moving on," Frankie advised, as I blinked a few times.
Oh, no.
The air in the room shifted to something dangerous and possessive, and I didn't need to guess why.
I had a strong suspicion my so-called plans just now went to shit.
Dominic
"Listen, if this is about the guy you have a crush on, the one who burned his hands, then I suggest moving on."
Rosa lied to me the other day in the hospital. She wasn't in love with my brother. Not caring about the audience we had, I said harshly, "You lied to me?" The cross on my neck burned my skin ever since she gave it back to me, because the only place it belonged was on her, and after tonight, she'd finally learn it.
She touched her hand to her chest, breathing heavily as her eyes widened in shock, and she groaned in mortification. "Why are you here?" She gave the room a long look. The blush, visible on her skin, spread to her neck and cheeks, creating a rather cute picture. "I didn't lie to you," she answered defensively, not meeting my eyes.
"I claimed you, and you started to talk bullshit about my brother and your crush on him!" Sapphire gasped while Damian quickly went to her side, as quickly as his cast allowed him at least, and wrapped his arm around her while frowning. They both watched Rosa closely, clearly wondering how they missed the signs of her being in love with him before.
"Are you out of your mind?" she asked in disbelief. "I never said I had a crush on him!" Her eyes focused on Damian. "And for the record, I don't, okay? That's the whole point." She gestured in frustration with her hands. "You guys have the same face. I have nothing but platonic feelings for you, but when I see him, I just-" She stopped talking and exhaled a heavy sigh. "I can't control that I want to sleep with him." She glared at me. "Happy now? I said it aloud, and I'm freaking proud."
"This is better than the soaps I watched in the dorms," Frankie commented excitedly, and for a moment, my attention shifted from my woman to Connor's sister, as I tried to recognize in the gorgeous woman, the little girl who slept in my arms while I promised to save her.
"Beth?" What was all this Frankie shit anyway? At hearing her name, she froze, and the smile slowly died. The amusement in her eyes faded, replaced with confusion and uneasiness.
"Nobody calls me that anymore," she whispered. Then realization must have hit her, as she let go of the bag in her hand and raced to me in record time, ending up with her arms wrapped around my neck, squeezing the life out of me. Her strong perfume didn't bother me, and I returned the hug, incredibly happy that her life turned out all right.
"Dominic," she said, and buried her face in the crook of my neck, something no woman had done before. Although, considering Beth a woman was laughable, she was like a kid sister I always had in the back of my mind. Her life had been saved, so she didn't have to go through the hideous things Damian and I did. "I thought I'd never see you again."
"Me too." My eyes searched for Rosa, and I narrowed them as Connor raised her chin and caressed her cheek with his thumb. I didn't miss the pained expression cross her face. "Honey, I'm thrilled to see you, but I have something to take care of. Get my number from Connor and we'll meet." She nodded, and I pushed her aside, and in two short strides ended up next to Rosa. My hand removed Connor's, and I stooped down and hoisted her over my shoulder while she squealed in surprise and then outrage as her small hands hit my back. Like her gentle touch could hurt me? What a laughable concept.
"Let go of me, you Neanderthal! Why don't you just take Frankie?" she asked viciously. Was that jealousy I heard? Ignoring her words, I spun around, my stare meeting Damian's. His expression didn't give away what he thought, but I could see both amusement and anger underneath it all.
"She's mine now. No longer your concern." And how fucking nice it felt to finally say it. "I dealt with Don too."
This whole meeting was supposed to break the ice and to come up with a plan to hurt those fuckers, but not enough for them to die. They still needed to face retribution in prison. However, all this conflict was between my brother and me. And it had to be discussed between us only; otherwise, it'd turn into a circus like this meeting had.
"Let's meet in Houston in three days. At Mom and Dad's grave." He nodded, confirming my suspicion it was he all along who'd created such a beautiful area around there. With that, I left the room with Rosa's constant threats of harming my balls if I didn't put her down. Once we were outside, I slapped her ass hard, which finally silenced her for a moment, and I pushed her inside the car and slid in after her.
"You don't have the right to decide!"