Tobias presses his forehead to his brother’s, and I hear Dominic’s faint whisper to him. “Frères pour toujours.” Always brothers.
“Mother greet you,” Tobias replies. “Father keep you. I love you, brother.”
It’s when Tobias mewls and drops his head that I look up.
And I realize Dominic is gone, his eyes clouding over before they fixate in a place I can no longer reach him.
A gasp leaves me, and my heart stops.
“D-D-Dom,” I choke out before looking to Tobias. “W-w-we didn’t get enough t-t-time to help him! We didn’t get enough time. Oh my God, Dom.”
Tobias coughs out incredulously, tears spilling down his face as I clutch Dom to me. “I just got you back.” I pull him to me as he sinks further down the wall, his arms limp at his sides, all signs of life leaving his body. I lower my head to his chest, and I don’t know how much time passes, but it can’t be much because the doorbell is ringing again, and I know our time is up.
I glance over to see Tobias and see his eyes trained on the two of us. Physically, I feel him start to withdraw as his gaze drifts from me to his brother.
Ding dong. Ding dong. Ding dong.
Collectively, Tobias and I snap our heads in the direction of the worthless barrier that separates us. Half of the defected Miami crew is probably behind that door. In minutes it will all be over, and my only thought is—good—because I don’t want to be anywhere in a world where Dominic doesn’t exist.
Tobias gathers both guns before grabbing his brother beneath his arms and dragging his lifeless body up the stairs and into my bedroom. I follow, sobbing hysterically as he sets Dominic down on the carpet next to my bed, and I move to sit beneath him, cradling his upper body in my lap while stroking his beautiful face. I run my fingers through his thick hair and over his jaw, but his gaze remains somewhere far past the both of us, and I can’t look away.
The front door bursts open just as Tobias kicks the bedroom door closed, and our eyes meet when the sound of gunfire sounds out in all directions below.
Which makes it a fight.
They’re here. The rest of the brothers are here.
We needed a few minutes at the most. A collection of seconds. That’s all Dominic needed to have a chance.
Darkness cloaks me as hell unleashes around us, and I sink into a state of disbelief as I cradle Dom in my arms and succumb to the undertow, fully submerged, drifting deeper in when a bang sounds outside the bedroom door. But it’s Sean’s voice that pulls me back onto the bedroom floor. “Tobias?! Dom?! You in there? She with you?!”
“We’re in here,” I yell a second before Sean bursts through the door, fully armed with three vests in hand and strapped with guns at his back. His eyes dart between us, evident relief in his face before he sees Dominic laying lifeless in my lap. A cough escapes him, and his eyes immediately glass over as he crosses the space in two strides before falling to his knees in front of us, dropping the vests on the floor next to me. A hoarse curse leaves him as he lifts his eyes from his best friend to me as I sob over his body. “It’s my fault,” I admit as I look up to see Tobias at the foot of my bed watching us. “When he showed up, I was afraid he was here t-to hurt me, so he ditched his gun on the stairs,” I look between Tobias and Sean. “It’s my fault he didn’t have his gun.”
“Cecelia, don’t,” Sean says, his voice breaking as I look up at Tobias.
“I didn’t know they were here, Tobias. I didn’t know they were here because he didn’t tell me. I didn’t know what was going on. He didn’t tell me, Tobias. I didn’t know!”
“He didn’t think he needed it,” Tobias whispers hoarsely. “Because I already searched the house once and told him it was clear. I don’t know how they got in.”
“Don’t,” Sean says, looking between us, “you don’t do this now. Neither one of you pulled the fucking trigger.” Sean slowly stands and stares down at us both, and in a blink, his expression goes granite, his eyes shining with vengeance. He looks over to where Tobias now stands, and I look up and into his amber eyes to see him utterly destroyed.
“What’s your call?” Sean asks him as Tobias eyes me, then his brother, and then me again.
“Tobias, what’s your call?” Sean repeats.
“No one leaves breathing,” Tobias says without another thought, his eyes locked on me before he turns to Sean. “Give me everything on you,” his voice is void of humanity as he holds out his hands.
Sean hands over one of the guns on his back along with a few clips as Tobias looks down at where I sit with Dom, all traces of mortality leaving his face. I gaze down at Dominic and stroke his hair before pressing my lips against his forehead, his temple, before closing his eyes with my hand.
“Sleep, prince,” I say softly, biting my lips as my hot tears pelt his face. I lace my fingers with Dominic’s and close my eyes. “I’ll find you again. I’ll find you in my dreams. We’ll have so many rainy days. I’ll find you—”
“Cecelia,” Tobias snaps out my name in a way that has me jerking back to lift my focus to him.
In seconds, he draws me in, eyes blazing before he speaks. “You leave, and you don’t come back. You never come back.” His order is definitive, leaving me no room for any argument or response. He turns to Sean, lowering a vest around his neck before securing it and nodding toward me. “Get her out of here. She’s parked past the tree line.” I’m too far inside my head, inside the despair clouding me to understand his words or the full weight of their meaning. Tobias walks over to the bedroom door, takes one last look at me before he disappears out of sight. Sometime soon, in the future, I know the damage from his words is going to be caustic, but all I can do is gaze back down at Dominic before I carefully clean the blood away from his lips.
More gunfire sounds around us in all directions, just as Tyler’s voice booms from beneath my balcony. “Sean! All clear!”
Sean’s eyes dart to mine from where he stands next to the French doors firing twice into the yard. “Cecelia, we have to go.”
Shaking my head, I grip Dominic to me. “He’s still warm.”
Sean kneels before me a second later as I stroke Dom’s cheek.
“We have to go, Cecelia.” He gently lifts Dominic from my lap, and I cup his head, tenderly resting it on the carpet before pressing my lips to his. A sob erupts from me as Sean pulls me from him. And then we’re on the balcony, dawn threatening on the horizon while I study my blood-covered hands.
Sean lifts and lowers me over my balcony as far as he can to drop me to where Tyler waits, catching me easily, just as gunshots ricochet near the side of the house. Tyler springs into action, pinning me against the brick behind him while lifting twin Glocks and pointing them in all directions. When another raven appears, Tyler looks back, scanning my clothes, and me, a question in his eyes.
“Dominic,” I sob out in reply. His face falls, and he swallows, eyes gleaming just before they clear.
“How many?” Sean asks, drop-landing next to us with my purse and one of my sundresses spilling out of the top of it.
“I counted ten cars when we rolled up,” Tyler says, nodding toward the tree line as more brothers emerge, running toward the house.
“No one leaves breathing,” Sean repeats Tobias’s orders, and Tyler nods in understanding.
I turn to Sean. “Sean, where is Roman?”
“He’s not here. He’s safe.”
“But they said his car is here.”
“He’s safe,” he assures, stepping up to me and handing me my purse before he turns to Tyler.
“Get her out of here. She’s parked past the tree line.”
Sean looks over to me, hazel eyes flitting with emotion a second before he thrusts me in Tyler’s arms. “Go,” he whispers hoarsely, and with that, he stalks toward the house. “No, not like this, please,” I call after him. “Sean!” I scream, my heart disintegrating, fear consuming me that this may be the last time I see him—that I see any of them. He ignores my plea,
and the second he enters through the back door, a shot sounds out, ringing in my ears. Tyler muffles my scream while gripping me firmly around the waist before dragging me away.
“Please, Cee, please, we have to go,” he shouts as I crane my head in the direction of the house. He stops, cupping my shoulders and shaking me, drawing my eyes to his. “I need you to soldier up, right fucking now.”
I immediately stop my fight, swallow hard and nod. He grips my jaw to keep me focused on him as more gunfire sounds just inside the house, drawing closer.
“I need five minutes,” Tyler pleads. “Give me five minutes. You can do this.” I nod just before he grips me by the arm and takes off at a dead run. I follow, letting the adrenaline take over as we zigzag on the outskirts of the large yard until we reach the trees. A few more ravens emerge racing past us, not sparing us a glance as we sprint in the opposite direction just as the morning sun breaks through the base of the pines. Tyler scans the woods. His head cocked, his posture rigid, his military training appears to take over as he keeps me quiet and plastered to his side.
Safely, he navigates us to a break in the trees and roadside as we collectively catch our breath. My Jeep is parked at the side of the road, and behind it sits Dominic’s Camaro.
Tyler pulls the dress from my purse and turns facing the woods, keeping guard as I peel the blood-soaked clothes from me. When I’m redressed, he gathers my clothes and turns to me, slapping a wad of cash into my hand. “Cash only until you reach home. Get in and do not fucking stop until you reach Atlanta. Do not speed, do not drive erratically, and as soon as you’re there, find a place to wash off. No one sees you until you’re clean. You were not here, Cee. You were never here. Got it? Wait for my call.”
“Tyler, I can’t leave like this! I can’t leave them!”
“Cee, let me get back to them.”
I nod and nod as he pulls me to him in a tight embrace before releasing me.
“Go. Now.”
In a blink, I’m thrust behind the wheel of my Jeep, and in the next, Tyler disappears behind the trees. Shaking uncontrollably, I turn the engine over and put it into gear, the sight of the car I pass as I floor the gas has me releasing a guttural cry.
The road begins to rapidly blur as the sun climbs into the morning sky, shedding light on a day I know I won’t survive. It’s all I can do to keep the wheel straight.
Dominic is gone. Gone.
There’s no coming back from this. From losing him. Not ever.
“God, please,” I bang my hands against the wheel as agony rips through me while I re-live the last minutes of his life.
I did nothing.
I stood frozen with fear as I watched them fight for me. I watched Dominic die to protect me, and I did nothing, nothing at all to help them, nothing to help myself. I just stood idly by and screamed. I reacted like a coward.
We both know I was never going to make it to thirty, brother. Take care of her.
“P-p-lease, G-G-od, p-p-please don’t take them! Please!” I race away with the taste of Dominic’s blood on my lips, coating my hands as I drive past the county line and exit onto the highway toward a future I no longer want.
In visions of the dark night
I have dreamed of joy departed—
But a waking dream of life and light
Hath left me broken-hearted.—A Dream, Edgar Allen Poe
Cecelia age 26
Nine hours ago…
“To the Bride and Groom.” Champagne glasses rise around the small restaurant as I clink flutes with Collin. A serene smile graces his handsome face as he squeezes my hand while covered plates are ceremoniously set before us.
When the cloche is lifted, I glance down to see lamb chops with mint sauce and rosemary potatoes. Just as I start to voice my protest, a familiar, masculine scent invades my nose. My breath catches as I inhale deeply while my eyes drift to the sun-drenched forearm in front of me. Beneath the rolled-up sleeve of a crisp white button-down, an unmistakable dark ink pattern lay etched into his golden skin. My gaze lifts to meet recognizable hazel eyes, but the face, it’s all wrong.
“Congratulations,” the waiter drawls, his voice covering me in warmth. My eyes gaze back to the tattoo just as he pulls away. I call out to him, and he hesitates at the kitchen door and turns to me, his muted features becoming more recognizable as the seconds tick past. I know this man, intimately.
“Wait,” I croak out, chest tightening unbearably when the chatter around me drowns out my pleas as he disappears through the service door.
And that’s when I feel him.
Slowly, I stand and take inventory of our guests who all seem to be oblivious to the shadow that’s entered the room, casting a dark hue over the rich, warm light from the dripping chandeliers. I’m thankful they’re all ignorant to it, because if they notice the shift, they’ll be afraid, but I’m not. And I want nothing more than to see the source.
Collin rattles on to my left in conversation, and I know he can’t sense my reaction. I’m safe. My secrets are safe in this cool cocoon. My eyes scan the party. Everyone is here, our coworkers and friends, Mom and Timothy, Christy and her husband, Josh, and their two boys, one of which my mother holds tightly to her while keeping Christy busy in conversation. My attention shifts to the double doors on the other side of the room. Tiny sparks of light flash behind the sheer curtains in a dizzying pattern. I know I should be afraid, but I feel nothing but safe alongside the cool shadow who beckons me, covering me in goosebumps while urging me toward the door, toward him. Anxiously, I scan the room once more for any reaction and am relieved when I find none. These people don’t know. They can never know.
Slowly, so as not to alert anyone, I walk through the division of round tables and the back doors just as a breeze sweeps up the leaves at my feet, creating a wind tunnel that envelops me. I can see the veins running along the center of the foliage as they dance and sway at arms-length, and a giggle bursts from my lips. Mingled scents grow thicker in the air, engulfing me in sheer happiness.
They’re here. They came for me.
The doors close behind me with the next gust of wind, and I step into the clearing as a swarm of lightning bugs comes into view. They glow around me, lighting my skin in a green-yellow hue. I reach out for them and capture one in my hand. Its wings buzzing against my palm before it sets off again, leaving neon residue on my skin. I swipe it with my thumb, but it remains. For these few seconds, I feel a peace I haven’t in years—the sensation a lot like coming home.
I search through the flurry of light, smiling wide until I feel the lingering shadow begin to move toward the clearing and into the trees.
“Don’t go! I’m here!”
Just beyond where the cloud drifts, a dark figure steps from the shadows, his expression blank, his amber eyes lifeless, as he gazes back at me. I open my mouth to speak, but the increased buzzing drowns out my words. I scream into the void between us, and his expression doesn’t change. My chest burns with emotions as tears start to escape me, my voice going hoarse as I furiously plead my case. He has to hear me this time.
The waiter appears beside him, with an empty tray in hand, tucking it into his side. He glances back, and I strain to see his expression, but I can’t make it out as the swarm of fireflies dance around the two of them. Just behind them appears a silhouette, dark jeans, black boots, a black shirt, and a faint but distinct twist of lips. Heart lifting, I take a step forward and both men move to block him, protecting him, from me.
“I’m not afraid anymore!” I assure them, searching each of their faces for an acknowledgment.
The lightning bugs begin to slow to the point I can count the beat of their wings, see the tip of their glowing bodies, make out every detail. The waiter turns his back, moving to retreat into the shadows as I cry into the thick wall of light between us.
“I love you! I love you! I’m sorry I wasn’t ready before, please, please don’t go!” My voice cracks and bleeds as a string of frantic words pour
from me. “I’ll do better. I’ll be better. Don’t leave me!”
Desperate to erase the space, to get a closer look, I swat at the fireflies, my eyes devouring what I can as I reach out, but the weight of the lace of my dress holds me in place, rapidly pooling at my feet, and anchoring me where I stand.
“I’ll do better. I’ll be whoever you need me to be! Please. Don’t leave me. Please don’t go!”
Tears and flashes of light blind my vision until I’m able to focus on a pair of flaming eyes in the center of the chaos. His strong jaw sets as he scans my dress before his eyes lift to mine. He slowly nods, and I know it’s in acceptance. I scream out at the loss as he turns his back on me.
“Don’t go. Please don’t go! Don’t leave me! I love you!”
One by one, they begin to retreat into the thick brush as I will my body forward, fighting against my restraints, but it’s the dress rendering me immobile, making it impossible to get to them. Gripping the train, I furiously begin to rip at the lace, but the material refuses to give. “No! Don’t go! Don’t leave me!” The party roars at my back, and the heavy buzzing resumes just as the fireflies begin to disappear.
“Wait!” I scream as fiery eyes meet mine one last time before they begin to fade into the darkness. “Don’t leave me!”
The leaves kick up again, robbing me of all vision just as the doors behind me shatter.
Jackknifing in bed, I sob in my hands, unable to handle the unbearable pressure in my chest. Gut-wrenching cries leave me as tears flood my cheeks while my heart screams for relief.
Relief that’s not coming.
It’s never-ending, the feeling of loss, the unimaginable pain. It hasn’t faded, and I know it never will. I cry uncontrollably, unbelieving that at one time, I thought the ability to remember my dreams so vividly was a gift, a superpower.
It’s anything but.
I was just there, with them, they were in reach, so close.
Heaving and choking, I grip my sheets and scream out in frustration as I try to clear the haze. It’s then I see it, hanging on the back of my door, taunting me, damning me. Tossing away my comforter, I launch from the bed, unzipping the bag and ripping the dress free. Agony fuels me as I grip the lace with my fingers, only feeling satisfied when I hear the tear of the fabric when it gives in my hands. Sinking to the floor, I ravage the dress with my fingers. Every rip brings a sort of liberation as the helplessness leaves me. Here I can rid myself of what weighs me down. It’s here that I can free myself to get to them.
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