MARRIAGE WITH MY EX-BOYFRIEND'S FATHER

Episode 002

“Lines We Can’t Cross”

Sienna’s POV

Dominick ignored waiting for my answer. His strong figure tense with stress, he moved to the office door and locked it with a firm click. My pulse surged with the quick action.

"What are you working on??" With a trembling voice, I asked.

He said, "keeping you safe," without turning around, his voice devoid of any margin for debate.

The muted sounds outside become louder and more desperate. A woman yelled something vague, and then I could clearly hear heavy footfall on the shiny flooring.

"Safe from what?" I pressed and walked toward him. "Domino, what's happening??"

He turned to face me then, his countenance austere. We are not only dealing with Marcus or Cassandra here. Others, driven to see me collapse, will do everything.

"Other?," Now my voice was a whisper, terror stranding my throat.

His jaw closed and he added, "Cassandra is just a pawn." She employs someone far more hazardous. And right now you are a target as well since you are with me.

The door shook fiercely before I could really absorb his words. As the handle jiggled, my heart jumped into my throat and then started to pound hard.

"Open us!" From the other side, a harsh, threatening voice snarled.

"Who the hell is that?" Hissed, panic wriggling at my chest.

Dominick's eyes closed. He reached for his phone and deliberately dialled a number. Carlisle here is "this." Here we have a problem. Right away send security to the 38th floor.

The doorframe creased with the weight, the beating becoming more forceful. With hands shaking, I turned away. "Dominick, they are going to destroy it!"

"They'll try," he murmured, his voice cool but with steel underlined.

Abruptly the chamber echoed with a tremendous blast. The door shuttles as though someone had kicked it with great force. My want to run ran counter to the knowledge that nowhere to hide was available.

Dominick reached inside a secret compartment in his desk and traversed the room in three long steps. With the weight of a sleek black pistol glinting beneath the low office light, he drew it.

"What are you working on?" I gasped, wide-eyed.

"Protecting what's mine," he blurted without thinking, his eyes blazingly latching on mine, making my breath stop.

Once more the door shook, wood splinters breaking under strain.

Dominick called, "Get behind the desk."

"No!!" I shot back, my voice trembling. "I'm not just going to hide while—

"You have no choice, Sienna!" he said, the occasional break in his calm shocking me. Just kindly. Simply say I trust you.

Reluctantly, I bent behind the large desk while my heart hammered in my ears. As the attack on the door persisted, the seconds seemed impossibly lengthy.

At last the door opened with an ear-splitting smash. Men with masks rushed in. Their faces hidden.

One of them gave the harsh, mechanical command, "Step away from the woman, Carlisle."

Dominick raised the gun with exact, relentless motions. With a calm but lethal voice, he said, "You've made a mistake coming here."

The man laughed, a low, dark sound that twisted my gut. "Your mistake was marrying someone you cannot defend."

Dominick did not flinch, but I could see the flash of wrath in his eyes. "You have no idea who you are dealing with."

"Oh, we know just exactly who you are," the man snarled. You are also about to lose everything.

A gunshot pierced the air and silenced all else.

As Dominick pushed forward, his body blocked my view and my scream got trapped in my throat. One of the guys struck the floor and I heard the scuffle, the grunts of effort, then another crash.

"Stay down, Sienna!" Dominick barked, his voice slicing across the anarchy.

But before I could reply, a hand snatched my arm and yanked me from under cover.

The man hiding behind a mask hissed and pulled me toward the door.

"Domestic!" Screaming and wriggling against the man's hold, I found he was too powerful.

Turning, Dominick wore a mask of wrath. "Let her leave!"

Pulling me further away, the man added, "Not a chance."

Another bullet went off, and this time I felt the impact go across the torso of my captor. His grasp relaxed, and he dropped to the ground, gasping for air.

Dominick rushed at my side, his hands clutching my shoulders in an instant. "Are you offended?"

Too astonished to talk, I shook my head.

The sound of sirens filled the air, getting louder by the second before any of us could get moving. The last invaders fled, leaving their comatose collaborator behind a broken door.

Dominick drew me into his arms and his heart hammered against mine. He said, his voice taut with will, "It's not over."

I raised my head to him, adrenaline and terror pumping through me. "What do we do right now?"

His eyes blazing with determination, he held me closer. Now we fight back.

My phone buzzed once more, though, even as the tension started to fade. This time the call was not forthcoming. It was a work of literature.

From a number unknown.

You made it through tonight. See whether you are as lucky tomorrow.

"Did you find last night's conditions poor? That was merely the start.

Dominick's comments sliced through the quiet like a knife. At the edge of my bed, he stood showing the faint outline of a bruise blossoming on his chest while his shirt unbuttoned. I fixed him, the picture of his gun raised playing in my thoughts like a broken record from the shattered office door.

"Why didn't you share with me?" My voice shaked and was harsh. I tried to stifle the residual quiver in my hands by encircling myself. "Why didn't you tell me that accepting this deal might kill me?"

His eyes were steady and relentless. Would you have said yes if I had?

That isn't the point! I turned back, my wrath blazing. "I signed off on this not at all!

Dominick stated coldly, "You signed up for survival," advancing in front. Though his voice remained sharp, his gray eyes softened just a little. And survival is not without risk.

" Risk?" I gave out a sour laugh. Last night, I was hauled from your office under gunpoint. I consider "risk" to be a minimization.

He sighed and ran a hand through his black hair, messy. I ought to have stopped them earlier.

"You think??" Though behind dread, uncertainty, and something else I didn't want to mention, my sarcasm was sharp.

Dominick sat on the side of the bed, his presence swallowing the little area between us. His voice fell down, almost compassionate. Sienna, I will not let anything happen to you. Again not here.

Once more here. One phrase hung weighty in the air, a reminder of the unspoken history between us. It all came racing back: his sorrow over Marcus, his protective instincts, his frustrating ability to get under my skin.

"Dominick," I whispered gently, although my pulse surged at his proximity. "You are unable to fix everything."

With a hard hand brushing across mine, he said, "I can fix this." The call shocked me, but I turned away, the resentment boiling once more.

"This is not about fixing things," I said. "This is about you bringing me into your world, enemies, trouble. And right now I am the one bearing the costs.

He stood, his face darkening, and I thought I saw a flutter of hurt for a minute. Still, Dominick Carlisle did not suffer. Not especially clearly at least.

"You consider me to want this?" His voice was low and perilous. "You think I wanted to expose you to risk?"

I shot back, rose to meet his stare, saying, "You wanted to protect your empire." And right now I am just collateral damage.