Page 55 of Exile
“Serena! You okay?”
I try harder to wrench myself free from the officer manhandling me, but a large hand comes down over my mouth and nose, cutting off my oxygen.
“Nu-uh, Kitten. I’d think real carefully about your next move right now. You don’t want your friend getting hurt over a misunderstanding, do you?”
Ice runs through my veins at the familiar rumble of Dominick’s voice dancing through my ears. No. No. No. No. Terror wracks my body, causing me to give up my fight. Dom presses his advantage and pulls me back to a second cop car I hadn’t noticed before. He unceremoniously dumps me in the backseat, locking me in. Pounding on the window, I scream in desperation as I watch him stalk back to where the other officer is dragging Kai into a standing position.
I watch helplessly as Dom pulls Kai to him by his shirt and speaks in his ear. Kai’s eyes go wide as he looks towards the car I’m trapped in, terror flashing across his face before it turns into anger. Without warning he rears back and smashes his head into Dominick’s nose, causing Dominick to stumble backwards, hands on his face, catching the gush of blood pouring from his broken face. Thankfully, before Dominick can retaliate, the other officer present has Kai shoved into the back of the other car.
Dominick tries to muscle his way past the other cop to get to Kai, but his buddy pushes him back, gesturing to the front of the cruiser I’m in. I look and see the flashing light of the dash cam indicating that it is recording. Shit. They’ve got Kai recorded assaulting an officer. My brief moment of satisfaction at seeing Dominick get what he deserves turns to dread, knowing he is going to use this against Kai. After a brief argument, Dominick turns and stalks back to the car, fury written across his bloodied face.
Dom slides behind the wheel, and the air in the car immediately becomes suffocating. His malevolent presence sucks all of the air from my lungs, replacing it with unadulterated terror. His hands are covered in sticky, dark red blood. It covers the lower half of his face, and when my eyes meet his in the rearview, mirror he flashes me a wicked, bloody grin that I know I will be seeing in my nightmares.
“I hope you enjoyed that little show, Kitten. Because that’s the last time you’ll be seeing your friend for a very long time. Kidnapping and assaulting a police officer? He’s in some deep shit, Kitten.”
“He didn’t fucking kidnap me, you prick! I LEFT YOU! Now let me fucking go!” Anger overrides everything else as I lash out and kick the grate separating us.
Dominick lets out a low, amused chuckle, like I told him the world’s funniest joke. “Oh, Kitten. Don’t you get it yet? You’re mine. Now and forever. You’re not going anywhere, and if you don’t want your buddy Kai to spend the rest of his life in prison, then you better start remembering that.”
“FUCK YOU.” I spit through the metal bars between us, the wet glob landing on his cheek. Dominick shakes his head and wipes the spit away, fury darkening his eyes.
“I was going to take you to go see your mother, Serena, but it seems like I need to teach you a lesson in manners first.” His words are like ice water, effectively dousing my righteous indignation. I was so caught up in Kai’s arrest, I forgot what set this series of events off to begin with. Dom has my mother. He has my whole world in his hands. Slumping against the seat back, the tears begin to fall as I accept defeat.
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
SERENA
Isit, staring unseeing out the window as shapeless blurs move past. I’m numb from shock and fear. I knew if Dom found us it would be bad, I just didn’t expect for it to happen so suddenly. When the car stops, we are outside of the police station. Hope springs in my chest at seeing where we are. Maybe if I make a big enough scene about Kai being innocent, someone will listen. Dom must see the plans written on my face, because he wastes no time in crushing them. Staring at me through the rearview mirror, his eyes bore into me.
“Here is what’s going to happen, Kitten. You’re going to wait right here while I go inside and let my captain know I am taking you home to rest and recover after your ordeal and that I will bring you back to the station when you’re ready to make a statement. Your friend is going to cool his heels in a holding cell while we let this little life lesson sink in. What happens next is entirely up to you.” Dominick pauses, letting his words hang in the air. “We are going to go home and have a little chat, and if you decide to be a good girl and listen, then maybe I’ll tell everyone it was a little misunderstanding, and your boy can go home.”
“And if I don’t want to go home with you?” I try to infuse my words with the venomous hate I feel coursing through my veins, but they come out meek with no real power behind them.
“Don’t forget, Serena, I’m the only person who knows where your mom is right now. Do you really want to gamble her safety for some punk who just wants to get his dick wet?”
My mouth goes dry at his threat. He planned this. He was ahead of us every step of the way. Now he’s wrapped me up in a web of his deceit and manipulation so thoroughly there is no way I can get out. Not without sacrificing one of the people most important to me.
Dom exits the vehicle, leaving me alone to break, despair finally winning out over the tumultuous riot of emotions clashing in my mind. I don’t know how long I sit there, lost in misery, before the door next to me opens and Dom reaches in, pulling me out, crushing me into his body. He wraps his arms around me in a mockery of a concerned hug, his mouth next to my ear so his words will only be for me. “Now be a good girl and kiss me like you love me. Put on a good show, then we are going to go home and come to an understanding. Got it?” Dom’s arms tighten painfully around my waist, causing me to whimper in discomfort. He doesn’t relent until he feels my head nod against his cheek.
When he pulls back, he moves his hand into my hair at the base of my neck, tightening his hold painfully, further driving home the point that I am his, and he isn’t going to let me go. “Now kiss me, Kitten. Like you mean it.” I swallow down the bile rising in my throat and lean in, tentatively pressing my lips against his. When he tries to lick his way into my closed mouth, I refuse to open to him until his hand fisting my hair threatens to pull it out by the roots. When my lips part on a cry of pain, he presses his advantage and licks into my mouth, swallowing my anguished whimpers. Our kiss is flavored by the salt from my tears. He presses me against the car, crushing me between the hard steel and his rigid body as he takes what he wants from me. My hands rest limply on his shoulders, my body refusing to respond to the demands of his.
When we part, his breath comes in heavy pants, like he’s run a marathon. There is a feral hunger in his eyes, and I know this is only the beginning of my punishment.
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
KAI
I’m waiting in a small interrogation room, hands linked by the too-tight cuffs snatched around my wrists. The temperature of the room is slightly above “meat-locker”, but I barely register the chill. I’ve been in here for fuck-knows how long. I know this is a tactic to make me antsy and ready to talk. Instead, I’m resting my head on the cold metal of the table, breathing deeply, trying to enter a zen-like state, desperate to keep from losing my shit over my worry for Serena. I know raising my voice and shouting my innocence from the rafters is not going to change a damn thing. I know that. But damn, it doesn’t make it any easier to sit in here, knowing she’s out there, alone with him.
The door finally opens when my fingers start to go numb from the chill in the air. A younger cop with a familiar face walks in carrying two cups of coffee. I can only assume he’s here to pull the good cop routine. Make me feel comfortable with him and get me to confess to something I didn’t do. I glance at the name on his uniform. D. Wilcox. Narrowing my eyes, I study him, trying to place how I know him. Then it hits me. He’s one of Dom’s partners who hangs around the coffee shop. I’ve seen him there together with the fucknugget numerous times. Fucking great. A vague memory of Serena referring to Dane and Eric, Dom’s partners filters through my mind. This must be Dane.
Officer Wilcox sets one of the coffees in front of me before taking his own seat. We sit there in silence, him drinking his burnt-smelling bean water, me waiting for the ass fucking that’s coming my way. I haven’t even been offered the chance to call my parents or ask for my lawyer yet. Keeping my mouth shut, I refuse to say anything until I know what card he’s going to play.
“So, Mr. Roberts, do you know why you’re here?” His voice is neutral, like he’s asking me if I’m shopping in a clothing store and not sitting in a cold as fuck interrogation room in a police station. Clenching my jaw, I remain silent, refusing to play along. Officer Wilcox waits a beat before nodding and continuing with his questions.
“According to Officer Reeves, you showed up at his home, harassed his fiancée and forced her to leave the premises with you against her will. Essentially, you’re being accused of kidnapping.”
I can’t help it. My hands ball into fists, and my face heats in anger at the accusation. Wilcox notices my reaction.