His screen goes dark as he walks into a new room, then Dom flips a light on, and his image comes back to life.
I can hear him shut a door before he turns and leans against it.
“Shorty. Tell me what’s going on.” A command this time.
And I can’t help myself.
“I miss you.” The sentence is cracked with emotion.
The side of his mouth pulls up. “I’ll be home in a few days.”
I shake my head as I admit, “I miss the you from before.”
The side of his mouth lowers. “What do you mean?”
“I want it to be like it was, Dom. I want—I want to feel special again. Like I did before. Like I did when I believed you wanted me.” I press my palm against my chest. “Just me. Not the stupid Alliance.”
“Angel.”
“Just let me say it,” I plead.
Dom slowly nods. “Okay.”
I look down, away from the phone. “Those weeks after we met, when we were messaging… They were special to me. And I want to keep them, the memory of them. But it feels like they’ve been poisoned. Because every time I’m reminded about one of our conversations, I feel… I feel so fucking stupid.” My breath hitches, and I give up on being careful and wipe away more tears. “Because each time, I was talking to someone I thought might fall in love with me. Someone I thought was so interested in me that he needed to hear from me every day.” I inhale deeply. “You would always tell me to make your day better. And each time you did that, you made me feel useful. Needed.” Another slow breath. “But when I sent you that picture of me wearing this face mask on Halloween, I was flirting. Or trying to. And all the while, you were sitting at home, stringing me along, so that someday you could trick me into marrying you.” I finally raise my eyes back up to look at him. “And it hurts, Dominic. It hurts a lot.”
“Val.” His tone is so soft. “I’m…” He won’t say he’s sorry.
I save both of us from the silence that would surely follow. “The worst part is that I believe you.” My shoulders sag. “You told me that you never lied about yourself in our conversations. And I believe you. But it was still fake. It was all just an illusion. And I’m having a hard time putting the two versions of you together in my head.” The tears I thought were done drip from my lashes again. “And I hate myself for wanting to accept it. Because you don’t deserve for me to accept it. But I deserve to be happy.” I breathe and say it again. “I deserve to be happy.”
Dom’s blue eyes are locked on mine. Filled with… something.
“So.” I sniffle. “I’m going to go wash my face, and then I’m going to finish watching this movie in bed. And I’m going to keep feeling sorry for myself until I fall asleep.”
“What movie are you watching?” He almost whispers the question.
“The Fugitive,” I whisper back.
“Valentine.” His throat moves on a swallow. “I can make you happy.”
I bite into my bottom lip. But I don’t want to hear any more promises.
“Goodnight, Dom.”
As I press the button to hang up the call, I hear a muffled pop. But I’m already touching the screen, and the call ends.
CHAPTER 45
Dom
One gunshot reverberates through the building, followed immediately by several others.
Then silence.
I slide my phone into my pocket.
Tonight did not go as planned. And the shouts breaking out in the warehouse behind me prove the point.
I called Valentine because I wanted to see her face. Because these days away from her have been frustrating and stressful, and I’ve gotten used to her presence in my daily life.
But instead of making her smile, I made her cry. And not just a single tear. My wife was sitting there alone in our bed, crying.
“Fuck.”
I turn around and jerk the door open.
My footsteps bounce off the rafters, and the arguing men quiet as I near them.
The large and growing pool of blood on the floor tells me our possible informant is dead.
I look over at Nick, the man I put in charge, but he points to another man, one of the locals we’re using for the week.
“Explain,” I demand.
The local bows his head. “He jumped out of the chair and grabbed Oz’s gun out of his holster, so I shot him.”
I glance at another local, Oz, then back to the first man. “He got Oz’s gun.” The man nods. “And then what?”
He finally looks at me. “What do you mean? Uh, sir.”