Chapter 2

Hayden-

Arriving at the bar, Tristan led me to a table in the back of the room. We sat in uncomfortable silence for a few minutes until a waitress arrived to take our order. I was relieved when he ordered a few shots and a couple of mixed drinks for each of us.

“I can see that you are tense.” Tristan said after the waitress returned with the shots and then left. “I thought you might feel a little better with a little liquid courage.”

I took the two shots that he placed in front of me and downed them one after another. It didn’t take long for the shots to take effect. It wasn’t enough to make me feel drunk, but it did loosen me up a bit.

For the next hour, we chatted about random things. I learned he was the vice president of Fox Ink, one of the largest publishing companies in the world. I told him about my career goals, and for once, I was looking forward to it.

Even if the booze was easing my troubled soul, I started to believe that I would eventually be able to let go of the past enough to move forward. The date turned out to be better than I thought. A part of me considered the possibility of dating him and giving him a chance.

I almost told him so but reminded myself not to get his hopes up. I might feel different tomorrow after the effects of alcohol wore off. I did end up giving him my contact information when he asked for it.

After we exchanged numbers, his phone rang, and he excused himself to take the call. Tristan returned a few minutes later, telling me he needed to go to the bathroom. When he was gone, I received a text from Lily asking me how it was going.

We texted for a bit, and I lost track of time. She asked if I needed her to pick me up, but I declined. When I realized thirty minutes had passed since Tristan went to the bathroom, I started worrying.

Since my drink was gone, I decided to order something from the bar. Sitting at the bar, I watched the hallway leading to the restrooms. By the time I finished my drink, he still hadn’t emerged. I was beginning to think that he had left on his own, but when I looked outside the large window near the bar, I saw his car.

“Can I get you something else?” The bartender moved to stand in front of me and took my empty glass.

“Did you happen to see where my boyfriend, Tristan Lywood, went?” I knew it was wrong to call him my boyfriend, but I didn’t think she would tell me if I just said he was my date.

The bartender studied me for a bit before nodding. “He is in the back,” she said, pointing to a door behind the bar. “Go through that door and follow the hall to the last door on the left.”

After thanking her, I got up from the barstool and went around the counter. Following her directions, my steps slowed the further down the hall I got. For some reason, I felt uneasy as I approached the door. When I placed my hand on the doorknob, every cell in my body was urging me to turn around.

Finding my courage, I took a deep breath before turning the knob. When the door opened, I thought I was hallucinating when two men stood up with guns aimed at me. The guns weren’t the problem. It was the fact that Tristan was standing next to Dominic.

“Hayden…” Dominic voice ran over me like ice water.

“Wait, you know her?” Tristan asked as he lowered his gun.

“She is my sister.” Dominic lowered his gun, shoving it into a holster under his leather jacket.

It felt like all the air had been zapped out of the room. I couldn’t breathe as I looked into the eyes of the man I had thought had died. I didn’t know whether to be mad at him for making me believe he was dead or happy that he was alive.

“In that case, come on in.” Tristan smiled and moved toward me.

It wasn’t until Tristan pulled me into the room that I regained my senses. Pulling my hand from Tristan’s, I rushed toward Dominic and threw my arms around him. Tears burst from my eyes as I hugged him tightly. Dominic’s body became rigid as I held him, but I didn’t care.

“I thought you died.” I sobbed uncontrollably.

Dominic finally moved, placing his hands on my shoulders. I thought he was going to hug me, but instead, he forced me away from him. Seeing the cold look in his eyes, my heart sank.

“You need to leave.” Dominic’s booming voice echoed through the room.

“Why?” I demanded.

“Why?” Tristan echoed. “If she is your sister, she is part of the family.”

“She doesn’t belong here!” Dominic shouted and then grabbed my wrist before hauling me toward the door I entered through.

Ignoring the pain in my wrist he caused, I yanked my arm from him and moved out of his reach. “I am not leaving until you tell me what is going on. Why didn’t you let me know you were alive? For four years, I have lived with a deep regret and pain in my heart. I lost my mother and stepfather. I was about to give up my life because I couldn’t keep moving forward when I thought you were all dead!”

For only an instant, I saw sadness flash across his eyes, but it was quickly replaced with the cold stare I noticed earlier. “You need to forget about me and leave. As far as you are concerned, I did die in that fire.”

He moved toward me again, but I retreated out of his reach again. “Is it because I yelled at you and told you I hated you and never wanted to see you?”

His jaw clenched as he tried to grab me again. Moving to the far side of the room, I climbed over the couch. Dominic followed suit and grabbed me in a bear-like hug. He lifted me off the ground, carrying me around the couch and toward the door.

“Put me down!” I screamed.

“I am not telling you again. You need to leave!” Dominic said through clenched teeth.

Refusing to leave, I nailed him in the groin as hard as I could with my knee. He groaned and dropped me, allowing me to escape once more. He held his crotch for a few seconds, but it didn’t last long. When he approached me again, I shoved a chair in front of him, causing him to stumble back when the chair hit his shin.

“Hayden, I mean it!” Dominic growled. “It is too dangerous for you.”

“Not until you tell me why you disappeared!” I screamed.

While retreating from him, I accidentally put myself in a corner, allowing him to block my escape. Thinking I could get around him, I shoved past him, but he grabbed me from behind and locked his arms around me. Struggling to break free, I kick him in the legs, but he doesn’t flinch.

“Doesn’t this look interesting.” A feminine voice said from behind us. “Sorry, I am late to the party.”

Dominic’s body tensed, and he stopped moving toward the door. “I am begging you to run out of the room.”

My blood ran cold, hearing Dominic’s soft plea as he set me on the ground and turned toward the opposite door in the room. Now, I wanted to leave, but my curiosity got the better of me. Slowly turning around, I noticed a young woman in a skimpy red mini-dress standing beside a heavy-set older man in his late fifties or early sixties.

Two bulky men, wearing black suits and sunglasses, stood behind them. They looked like bodyguards or members of the mafia. I remembered the joke I made about my stepfather being in the mafia four years ago. Slowly, everything started to make sense.

“You are early.” Dominic muttered in a deadly calm voice.

“I am glad that I am. If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have had the pleasure to meet the girl you have been hiding from us.” The woman stepped to the side, and her eyes narrowed at me.

Suddenly, the two men behind the female pulled out their guns and aimed them at me and Dominic. Just as quickly, Dominic pulled out his gun, aiming it at the female's head. At the same time, he reached behind him and pulled me to stand directly behind him.

“If you try to harm her, I will kill you.” Dominic’s voice was filled with fury.

“You can’t kill all of us; we outnumber you.” The female laughed.

“No, but I can kill you.”

Seeing Dominic’s protectiveness, I knew that he did care about me, even if he tried to deny it. Grabbing the back of his coat, I leaned against him. His arm twisted around me so that it almost felt like he was hugging me.

“We agreed there wouldn’t be anyone here except you and Tristan. You broke the deal and brought in a witness. She either dies, or you all die.” The older man’s voice sounded as if he went through three packs of cigarettes a day.

Before I could register what was happening, shots were fired, and Dominic pushed me down to the ground. Scrambling over to the wall, something hit me on the ankle. Realizing it was a gun, I instinctively picked it up.

When I looked up to see what was going on, Tristan and Dominic were engaged in a physical altercation with the others. Gripping the pistol in my hand, I began to hyperventilate. I was worried that Dominic would end up dying after I just found out he was alive.

No one had a gun now, but the danger was still very real. Filled with unimaginable fear, I closed my eyes and lifted the gun. I didn’t plan to pull the trigger, but I did when I was startled by a loud noise. The sound of the fighting stopped as I heard a heavy object hit the ground.

Opening my eyes, I stared in horror at the older man who was now lying on the floor in a pool of blood. My hands trembled, and my stomach twisted violently. Leaning over, I vomit on the floor and myself.