Viola's Risk (The Twin Destinies Saga Book 2)

by Cheryl Davis

  “Thank you gentlemen, for going to pick up this delicious meal,” Angelica said from the heart.

  “You’re welcome. It smells amazing,” Liam said, before digging into his spaghetti.

  “Thank you for having me at your table ma’am,” Dominic said as if he felt like he didn’t belong there with them.

  “You’re family now, you are always welcome at my table,” Angelica said with a smile.

  Viola beamed at her mother with pride and for the first time that she’d acknowledged, love.

  “Ahem,” Thomas cleared his throat from the doorway, expecting their immediate attention. When it wasn’t given, he cleared his throat a bit louder. The group at the table still continued to ignore him as they ate their meal and made idle conversation.

  “Excuse me,” Thomas said and Angelica looked up at him, setting her fork on the plate.

  “Oh, did you have something to say?” she asked in a sarcastic voice.

  “Angie, please don’t be this way,” Thomas said in a pleading tone.

  “You know where I stand on this. You were wrong. Now, unless you came here to apologize and to make things right from here on out, we’re going to finish our dinner and you can leave,” she said, waiting for a moment to see what he would do before picking up her fork and resuming her meal.

  The others around the table had paused eating their meals, to take in the exchange between the two. Even after Angelica had resumed eating, they remained paused, waiting to see what Thomas would say or do next.

  “You can’t put me in this position Angelica. I am the leader, I have to lead,” Thomas told her.

  Angelica put her fork down and pushed her chair back from the table, rising to her feet. She walked over and stood in front of Thomas, fury in her eyes.

  “Leading is one thing. You can lead and still treat the people you are leading with respect and dignity. Those are our daughters and you are doing a great job of pushing them away with your version of leading. You have not inspired trust in them. You have not earned their respect. Yet you demand it from them. We both know you can do a much better job than what you are doing now. You are a father first Thomas. I know it is an adjustment, but you are going to have to figure it out the same as the rest of us are. Not once have you sat down and talked to them about anything other than this prophecy, their training or what they are and are not allowed to do. You have not made one attempt to get to know them as people. I am so disappointed in you, and I never in a million years thought I’d ever feel that way about you. No matter how much I love you, I cannot let this lack of respect continue,” Angelica told him and everyone could see her words hit him like a slap in the face.

  Thomas opened and closed his mouth several times, trying to find the words to respond to Angelica’s speech. He didn’t know what to say. As he thought through everything she’d just said to him, he began to realize the truth to her words.

  His eyes moved from Angelica to their daughters who were sitting at the table looking at him like the total stranger he truly was to them. She was right. He hadn’t put in the effort as a father. He’d let himself get so wrapped up in the prophecy that he did not see he was destroying his chance to bond with the daughters he was trying to protect.

  Taking a deep breath, he put his hand on Angelica’s shoulder before moving around her and walking over to the dining table. His mate was right, it was time for him to fix things with Cora and Viola, before it was too late.

  “My beautiful daughters, I am so sorry. The two of you and Angelica are my world, and I have been blind to how I’ve been acting. I was focused on all of the wrong things instead of the gifts I have been blessed with. I promise, if you will give me the chance, I will try my very best to do better. I can’t promise to be perfect, but I can promise to try,” he told them, pouring his love for his family into the words he spoke.

  Viola stood up from the table, the legs of the chair scraping against the wood floor as it slid back. She walked around the table and stood in front of their father, looking up into his eyes.

  “I know I have not been the easiest to deal with since we met a few days ago. This has been a lot to take in and get used to. I will also admit I haven’t given either of you much of a chance until today, when I’ve really gotten to know our mother and come to respect and admire her. I would like the chance with you, but I can’t keep being left out of the loop on things. I needed to know what was going to happen today before it happened. Yes, I probably would have objected but I also know there are some things that just have to be done. I am not a small child that has to be protected, those days are long past,” she said, squaring her shoulders and hoping he would not reject her words.

  Cora stood and came over to her sister’s side in front of their father.

  “She’s right. You need to listen to us a lot more. Neither of us are stupid, and we’ve been through a lot. There are a lot of things about Anna you don’t know, but we do. Viola could have contributed to the plans for today in ways you will never know because you didn’t give her a chance and wouldn’t listen to the rest of us when we tried to explain this to you. Yes, we are both stubborn, but there comes a time when being stubborn is both stupid and foolish and hurts those around you,” Cora said, as Angelica came around and put one arm around each daughter and smiled like the proud mother she was.

  “Do you see now what I’ve been trying to explain to you? These are not the babies we gave up all of those years ago trying to protect. These are young women with strong minds and good heads on their shoulders. They are stubborn, yes, but then so are we. They are also sensible, loving, kind, considerate and strong. They will succeed, not because you order them around, but because we nurture who they are as individuals. It’s time to stop being their commander and start being their father,” she said, with hope in her voice that their words were sinking in.

  Thomas stayed quiet for a few minutes to let everything sink in and chose his words carefully before speaking.

  “The three of you are my heart and soul. I am sorry if I’ve caused you any pain with my actions. All I can promise is to do my best to listen with a more open mind. I can’t say I will always use your suggestions, but I will at least take them into consideration. If you can forgive me, I want that opportunity,” he said as his eyes and face softened with the emotion in his heart.

  “That’s all we’re asking for my dear.” Angelica said with a smile and tears of joy streaming down her cheeks.

  Thomas stepped forward, wrapped all three women in his arms and held them tight. Liam sighed with relief in the background, which brought the foursome back to their surroundings and Liam and Dominic’s presence.

  They pulled apart and the girls each returned to their seats with smiles on their faces. Angelica looked up at her mate with pride and happiness.

  “Are you hungry my love?” she asked him.

  “Go ahead and eat. I’ll pick something up later,” he said, escorting her back to her seat at the table.

  “There’s more than enough chicken alfredo here for both of us. I’d be happy to share,” she said as she headed into the kitchen and brought out another place setting for him. She moved a large portion onto the new plate and sat it at the opposite head of the table for him, before returning to her seat.

  Thomas gave her a smile filled with gratitude as he took his seat and the family returned to their meal, complete as a family for the first time since their reunion.

  Chapter Twenty

  After dinner, they all chatted for a while before Viola begged to go take a hot bath to soothe her now screaming, muscles from her leap from a moving vehicle. She hadn’t even taken the time to check for cuts or scratches from the event.

  Angelica showed her to her room, where she stripped out of her clothes, examining her body in the full length mirror hanging on the back of the door. As she stood there in her underwear she saw her legs and arms covered in dark purple & green bruises. She twisted around and saw her back had multiple scrapes which had sca
bbed over and the same massive bruising as her legs and arms.

  “Well, that wasn’t such a great idea Vi,” she said to herself as she wrapped herself in the robe that was lying across the bed and pulled her hair up into a knot on the top of her head. She then gathered what she needed from the shopping bags she’d brought into the room with her and went in search of the bathroom.

  When she found it a couple of doors down from her own room, she closed the door behind her and turned on the water to her preferred temperature. She then poured some of her favorite scented bubble bath in, thankful they’d picked up some during their earlier shopping trip, and disrobed.

  Sinking into the bath, she groaned as the soapy water stung the scrapes on her back, arms and legs. Once she got settled in the bath, she closed her eyes, leaned her head back and let the hot water soothe her aching muscles.

  Not realizing she’d dozed off, she sat up straight and looked around, disoriented, when Cora knocked on the door.

  “Hey Vi, are you alright in there?” Cora called out, sounding worried.

  “Yeah, I’m okay,” Viola replied, her voice thick with exhaustion.

  “You’ve been in there a while,” Cora told her, still concerned.

  “I’m sorry, I guess I dozed off. The water’s cold now so I’ll be out in a couple of minutes,” Viola told her as she unplugged the tub and climbed to her feet.

  “Okay. Anything you need for me to bring you?” her sister asked, hovering.

  “Nah, I’m good. Go take care of Liam. I’ll be fine,” Viola said as she toweled herself dry and slipped back into the bathrobe.

  Cora was still standing at the door when Viola opened it, which made her sigh in aggravation. All she wanted was some peace to rest and heal.

  “You look like you jumped out of a moving vehicle. Oh wait, you did pull that stupid stunt!” Cora said, with as much sarcasm as she could.

  “Shut up Cora, I’m really not in the mood,” Viola groaned, as she pushed her twin out of the way and headed to her room.

  “No! What were you thinking?” she persisted, following close on Viola’s heels.

  “I was thinking that my mate, Liam and Sage were all in danger and neither you, or Mom would listen to me. I was thinking that Anna’s evil and sadistic and someone needed to do something to help them or they would all be dead. I wasn’t far off either because she was getting ready to drop Sage when I got there,” Viola said, entering her room and blocking the doorway before Cora could enter.

  “The situation was under control and backup had already been on its way,” Cora told her.

  “Well, considering I hadn’t been included in that information, I did what I felt I had to do. Get off my back Cora,” Viola said and slammed the door in her sister’s face, locking it behind her and crawling into bed without changing into pajamas. Her eyes closed and she was asleep instantly.

  Cora stood outside of Viola’s room staring at the door in shock. Never had the two of them had barriers between them. As she recovered from the shock, she realized the reason Viola had shut the door in her face was she was being the nagging, over-bearing sister Viola had always complained about. Leaning her head against the door, she took a deep breath and wished she hadn’t attacked Viola the way she had. “I’m sorry Sis,” she whispered before turning and heading back downstairs to rejoin the others.

  Dominic met Cora at the bottom of the stairs, concern written all over his face.

  “She’ll be alright. She was exhausted and went straight to bed from her bath,” Cora told him, feeling exhaustion from the day’s events begin to creep up on her as well.

  “Are you sure? Liam told me she jumped out of the SUV while it was still moving. She could have some serious injuries that aren’t visible to the eye. We should get her to medical to be checked out,” he said, worried sick about her.

  “Let her get some rest. I’m sure our mom will be checking on her throughout the night to make sure she’s okay. Try to get some rest,” Cora said as she laid a hand on his shoulder for a moment before moving around him to step into Liam’s waiting arms. Dominic’s concerns were valid and kept replaying in her mind. Viola had not looked well when she’d seen her in the hall.

  “Come on, I need to talk to my mother,” she said, stepping back and taking his hand in hers.

  They walked into the kitchen together where Angelica was drying and putting away the dishes while Thomas sat at the island in the middle chatting with her.

  “Hey, is Viola alright?” she asked Cora as the couple entered the room.

  “She’s sore and exhausted. We kinda had a minor argument about how stupid she was to jump from the SUV while it was still moving and she locked herself in her room. When I got back downstairs, Dominic made a good point that we should have her checked out by medical to make sure she doesn’t have any more serious internal injuries. I know she’s bruised up pretty bad,” Cora said, letting out all of her concerns to her parents.

  Angelica set down the plate she’d been drying, opened a drawer and pulled out a key before turning back around to look at Cora.

  “Let’s go check on her shall we?” she said as she walked around the island, past Thomas and headed out of the kitchen toward the stairs.

  Thomas stood and fell into step beside Angelica as she passed and Liam and Cora followed close behind them. They found Dominic sitting on the floor outside of Viola’s room with his knees up and head lying on arms that were laid across them. He raised his head as they all gathered around Viola’s bedroom door and Angelica unlocked it.

  “Have you knocked and tried to talk to her?” Thomas asked him as he stood up and looked at all of their worried faces.

  “Yes, there was no response at all,” Dominic told them with a nod. He looked at Cora and she saw just how upset he really was. She nodded her head at him, letting him know she’d taken his words to heart and that’s why they were all there.

  Opening the door, Angelica entered and moved straight over to where Viola was crashed out on the bed, on top of the bedding.

  Their mother reached out and felt Viola’s forehead, only to pull her hand back quickly, “She’s burning up. Call Dr. Brown and have him ready for our arrival. We need to transport her to medical right now,” Angelica issued the orders to Thomas and he pulled out his cell phone to make the call.

  Dominic rushed to Viola’s side and picked up her hand in his. Her hand was so hot it burned his own, but he still would not release it.

  “Isn’t transporting her ourselves dangerous? Is there some type of ambulance we can call?” Cora asked, distressed.

  “No honey. We’ll get her there safe and sound, I promise,” Angelica responded as Thomas pushed the end button and put his phone back into his pocket.

  “Liam, I need you to bring the car around and have it running for when we get down there. Cora, please go with him and make sure all of the seats are cleared so we can all fit,” Thomas said, trying to keep the peace with one daughter while getting the other one the medical attention she desperately needed.

  Cora and Liam nodded their heads and left the room together.

  Dominic would not move from Viola’s side as Thomas and Angelica turned to look at him and saw how devastated he was at her condition.

  “Dominic, please carry her gently down to the SUV and get her loaded into the back seat. I want her lying across the seat and you can cushion her head in your lap so it’s not jarred around too much as Liam drives. Angelica and I will be out in a moment,” Dominic nodded as he released Viola’s hand, eased her up into his arms and cradled her close to his chest as he exited the room.

  “Wow, I am impressed my love,” Angelica said as they turned and followed Dominic out.

  “I tried. We need to hurry though. She didn’t look good,” Thomas replied. He was as distressed about Viola’s condition as the rest of them were.

  “Will Dr. Brown be ready?” she asked to be sure.

  “Yes, he was already at the medical center. He’s preparing the staff
for our arrival,” Thomas said with a nod as they descended the stairs and exited the house.

  “Good. I’m sure she will be okay once he takes care of her,” Angelica said even though the worry in her voice betrayed the confidence she tried to portray.

  “Let’s hope so,” was all Thomas said as they got into the vehicle and Liam pulled away from the house.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Dr. Brown met them in the parking lot when they arrived at the warehouse where the twins had first been introduced to their true heritage and destiny.

  Sage moved forward and opened the door to help Dominic lift Viola out of the vehicle and lay her out on the stretcher.

  The doctor stepped up and began examining her as the nurses quickly rolled the stretcher forward into the warehouse and over to an elevator marked for medical personnel only. There was another nurse already standing there holding the elevator doors open for the group.

  Dominic stayed close to Viola’s side and refused to let go of the hand he held clasped in his own.

  Sage had already filled Dr. Brown in on the events of the day before they’d arrived, so Liam went on to fill him in on what had occurred since their separation from Sage, including how they’d found her unconscious in her room.

  Dr. Brown asked several questions, as he needed answers to certain things, until they reached their version of an emergency room.

  One of the nurses broke away from helping to move the stretcher and prevented anyone from their group from going into the examination room.

  Dominic was the only one who’d escaped her notice and made it inside.

  Sage heard yelling from inside the exam room when the doctor and nurses tried to get him to leave.

  He saw Thomas give Angelica a worried look before he released her hand, stepped around the guard nurse and into the exam room to help remove Dominic so the medical staff could give Viola the care she needed.