AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Dom’s face changes instantly, and instead of sneering judgement, there’s compassion. We might sometimes argue and piss one another off, but deep down, the three of us are the family we don’t have anywhere else. Dom knows there is only one thing in this world that scares me other than the dark. My father.
I hate that I am so weak, but there it is. It is the truth, and I must accept this facet of myself.
“Shit,” Dom says. Then his face brightens. “Still, he might be the person we need right now.”
“If my father is, how do you say, the answer to your troubles? Is that right?”
Dom nods.
I carry on. “If he is the answer to your troubles, then you are in so much shit. He’s never been the answer to anything.”
“He might be who we need to help our Duchess.”
I pause for a moment, letting his words sink in, and then say, “Tell me everything.”
So, he does. I stare at him and can’t help but grin at the bit where he talks about her stabbing a man in the neck.
“It’s not funny, Kill,” Dom chides, using my nickname.
“I’m smiling because I am so proud. Our Duchess is strong. Good for her. I always felt she was one of us, despite her trying to be so distant all the time. I was right.”
“She’s a killer.” I start to laugh. “I bet my father would like her as a future daughter-in-law. The girl who stabbed a man in the neck with a pen. She would be famous in our world for this.”
“You’re not fucking marrying her,” Dom roars.
“Chill out, no need to be jealous. It was just an amusing thought.”
“So will you talk to your father?”
My heart sinks and my stomach churns. “I’ll try, but he’s not coming here to see me out of love and affection.”
“Why is he coming? Do you have any idea?”
I shake my head, but my gaze automatically slides to the top drawer of my bureau. My dirty little secret is in there. The one even Dom and Tino don’t know about.
They are aware of my fear of my father, and my hated fear of the dark, so why I haven’t told them about this? I don’t know.
“What the fuck is it?” Dom asks.
Crap, he knows me too well.
“Nothing.”
“Don’t lie to me, Kill.”
I sigh and check my watch. In an hour or so, my father will be here, and it will all come out.
Walking over to the bureau, I slide open the top drawer and carefully lift out the heavy mahogany lockbox sitting in there. I reach into my pocket and pull out my wallet. Taking the small key out of it, I unlock the box. My fingers rest on the smooth, dark wood, and I suck in a deep breath.
This box holds the things that make me feel better. I know it’s ridiculous, and it’s why I don’t share it with anyone, but this box is like a mother and father to me. It gives me a sense of safety and history. As if I have a family somehow residing in its wooden walls.
I open it and let the lid rest back on the desk. Dom lets out a low whistle. The box has twelve velvet lined compartments, and eleven are currently full. In each slot sits a different watch. They are all vintage, rare, and incredibly expensive.
“Holy shit,” Dom exclaims. “Is that a Patek Phillipe Nautilus?”
I swallow and nod.
“But … aren’t they like eighty or ninety thousand dollars? How did you afford it?”
