Page 60 of Exile
“Is…is he…” I can’t seem to choke out the word getting caught in my throat. The idea that Mom might’ve killed Dom causes my stomach to twist into knots. Without letting go of my hand, she cautiously creeps closer to him, squatting down so she can feel for his pulse. When she shakes her head, I let out the breath I was holding.
“He has a pulse.”
Relief floods my system at her words. As much as I hate him for what he’s done to me, death is too good for him. He deserves to be punished for his actions.
“How…how did you know he was dangerous?” My brain finally catches up to the fact that Mom was waiting for him, ready to attack. Those weren’t the actions of a forgetful woman who thought she was on a family getaway.
“When I spoke to Kai, he told me to write down our conversation. I did and kept it with me so I could re-read it as much as possible. When Dom came and got me, I knew something was wrong. He was cagey. Like he was doing something he wasn’t supposed to. I…I thought he was going to bring me to you, but when he left me here alone—without a way to call for help—I knew something was wrong. I didn’t want to leave and risk getting confused and lost, so I began snooping. Then…then I saw the cameras.”
Cameras? What cameras? She sees the confusion on my face and keeps talking.
“I was trying to see if I could find a landline phone or something. Instead I found cameras planted all over this place. There’s a laptop, but it doesn’t have internet access. It’s just linked to the cameras, storing their footage. Sweetie…I saw footage from the weekend you were here with him. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Tell you what?”
“That he pressured you into having sex after you realized you forgot your birth control. I saw how he pushed past all your boundaries and ignored your objections. I also saw where he told you to stop being friends with Kai. Sweet Pea, that is abuse. He was manipulating you.” Tears shine in my mom’s eyes, and I feel the sudden need to vomit at the idea of her watching the debauched things Dom did to me in this cabin. A low groan from Dom’s prone form pulls our attention to him.
“We’ll finish this conversation later. We have to call for help. We can’t let him die.” I pull the phone out of my pocket, ready to call 911, but Mom puts her hand on mine, stopping me.
“Are you sure you want to help him?”
I hesitate, considering her question. No. Not even a little bit. He doesn’t deserve our help, but I also won’t let my mom become a murderer. I won’t let her ruin her life for him.
“No, I don’t want to help him. But I also don’t want you going to jail for his murder. Come on, let’s go wait in the car until help gets here. If he tries anything, we will leave, and he can save his own damn self.”
Once safely locked inside Dom’s car, I dial 911 on speaker.
“911, what’s your emergency?”
“We need help. My…my fiancé has been hit in the head, and he’s unconscious. He’s bleeding and not moving.” The tears that choke up my voice are real, but I’m not sad about Dom. I’m crying because I can’t believe this nightmare might finally be over.
CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
DOMINICK
Beep…beep…beep…beep.
The rhythmic beeping is the first thing that filters into my awareness. Followed closely by the sensation of someone using a sledgehammer inside my head. I attempt to open my eyes, but the bright fluorescent lights turn the sledgehammer into a jackhammer, forcing me to close them again and a pained groan to escape.
“Fuuuuck.”
Fuck, what happened? My thoughts are clouded by the agony screaming through my brain at every little movement. There is no memory of what happened to land me in the hospital. Just darkness. Darkness and the most intense pain of my life. Sounds of someone moving next to me pierce through the fog.
“Serena?” I don’t know if I say her name out loud. Between the drugs and the skull-splitting headache threatening to consume me, I’m not sure what is real and what’s just jumbled thoughts in my head.
Slowly, memories bob to the surface. Serena looking so beautiful and broken on her knees for me. How lovely her tears looked glistening on her cheeks as she swallowed my cock all the way to the base. How malleable she became after she realized exactly how thoroughly she belongs to me. Serena and I in the car, driving up the mountain to the cabin where I was keeping her mom. Her reward for being a good kitten for me. Then…nothing.
The person in the room with me clears their throat. It’s masculine.
“Not Serena, man, sorry.” The voice doesn’t sound sorry. It sounds anything but, with the flat, bored tone used.
“Can you turn off the light? Too bright…can’t open my eyes.” I move to raise my hand to shield my eyes from the light so I can open them, but cool metal clanking against the plastic of the bedrail stops the movement. “What the f?—”
Whoever is in the room with me mercifully turns off the overhead light, allowing me to finally open my eyes and fully take in my surroundings. I’m in a single-bed hospital room. The dusky light outside the window indicates it’s evening. My right hand is cuffed to the bed, an IV taped to the crook of my elbow.
Anger and confusion momentarily cause me to forget my injury as I jerk my arm, uselessly testing my restraints. The motion sends another lightning bolt of excruciating pain surging through my skull.
“Yeah, you might wanna take it easy there, Dom. You took a pretty solid hit to the head. Did you know Serena’s mom used to be a state champion softball player? Apparently, she held the homerun record her senior year of college.” I narrow my eyes at Dane, who stands at the foot of my bed dressed casually in jeans, a t-shirt and a trucker cap, a shit-eating grin spread across his stupid fucking face. He keeps yapping like he’s recounting a funny story that happened.