I could fight back. I could make a scene and maybe give us enough time for his bark to wear off so we could get away.
But why? Domenic knew who I was hiding with. It’s not like Andrew hadanothersecret apartment we could go to. He could also just bark me into submission, as easily as he had with Gabriel.
If I went with him willingly, though, I would keep them all safe. I didn’t think he would actually hurt me. Direct violence had never been his style And, furthermore, I could find out what he was doing. Ineededto know, in a way that surprised me.
But maybe it wasn’t that surprising. My work had been the one thing that brought me joy for so long. If he somehow had answers for why my only original piece of research was falling apart, I needed them, too.
I had spent years perfecting my good little Omega mask, and it slipped on as easily as a favorite sweater. I let my posture sink, curled in on myself, and dropped my face to the floor.
It was at that moment, re-donning the facade that I’d spent years shedding, that I realized just how far I’d come. I wasn’t that shrinking girl anymore. I was scared and scarred, but I wasn’t broken.
“Okay,” I whispered. “Just promise me you won’t hurt them?”
Domenic chuckled. He grabbed my mother’s wrist. “Sure, I promise. Now come along, both of you.”
I stood and Gabriel watched me, unable to follow. His expression was anguished and ashamed. I knew it was killinghim to feel like he’d failed me. “Bridget. Carissima. Do not do this.”
“It’ll be fine,” I said, trying to silently communicate that I wasn’t really giving up. “I’ll see you soon.”
“Hm. Wouldn’t count on that little one,” Domenic said.
“Bridget, please—”
I gave Gabriel one last encouraging smile. “Really. I’ll be okay.”
I followed them out of the diner, ironically feeling more in control of my life than I had in several weeks. I wasdoingsomething, rather than hiding. And, more importantly, no one else would be hurt because of me.
Chapter 31 - Andrew
I spent the entire time Gabriel and Bridget were away in a state of advanced agitation, the kind I hadn’t experienced since my days playing professionally. After twenty minutes of pacing the hallway, I poked my head into the office where Nathan had sequestered himself.
Nathan was lying on the futon with his arms behind his head, looking furious.
“I can’t fucking take this. Do you want to go work out?” I asked.
“Yes,” Nathan said, as if it were the best idea he’d ever heard.
We spent an hour in the small gym on the top floor. Nathan threw himself into his workout with desperation.
My options were limited. My knee was useless, but I could still manage rowing with minimal pain. With each stroke, I imagined Bridget’s face during our argument. How she’d accused me of being just as bad as her fathers, if not in so many words.
Self-recrimination was great workout fuel.
I kept part of my awareness on the bond. If anything were to go wrong, I’d feel it through our bond, no matter how far awayGabriel was. The connection got weaker the further we were apart, but the strongest emotions still broke through.
After a while, I ran out of steam. I stood up and stumbled to a mat, my knee throbbing. I hissed as I stretched out my bad leg and rubbed at the scarring. In all the chaos of the last week, I’d barely had time to consider how much it had regressed.
“It’s painful again?” Nathan asked as he collapsed on the mat next to me.
“Hurts like a bitch,” I confirmed. “But I’ll get used to it.”
Nathan leaned back on his hands then winced. His arm still had a bandage covering the bullet hole, but it seemed mostly healed. He readjusted, leaning against the bench behind him, his legs splayed. It was the most relaxed I’d ever seen his posture. He obviously used physical exertion as an outlet, same as me. “I am sorry for that.”
I shrugged. “It was a pipe dream anyway, my big miraculous comeback. I probably would have just embarrassed myself, been another old man clinging onto the past.”
“You’re hardlyold.”
“I am for tennis. Add in a fucked up knee and I might as well be dead.”
