CHAPTER SIX: THE GLASS FORTRESS
The glass shattered inward. I fell to the floor before my brain caught up with my body.
"Stay down " Dominic said.
His weight crushed me into the marble floor. His arm was wrapped around my head. More gunfire ripped through the suite. The curtains were. Holes were punched into the walls. These walls probably cost more than my apartment.
"Luca?" I gasped.
"Safe room. Sarah has him " Dominic replied.
"You're sure?" I asked.
"I'm sure " he said.
I believed him. I had to. Panic was clawing up my throat.
He pulled me up. We both stayed low. We moved toward the wall. "There's a vault. We're going in " he said.
"What about your security?" I asked.
"Engaged. Move " he said.
He pressed his palm against a panel. I had walked past it times without noticing. The wall split open. A narrow passage was revealed. I had to turn to fit.
"In. Now " Dominic said.
"Dominic—"
"Aria if you argue with me now—"
I slid through. He followed. He slammed his hand on the panel. The wall sealed shut with a hiss.
Emergency lights flickered on. They were red and dim. The space was small. It was maybe six feet by eight. There was a bench along one wall. No windows. No other exit.
"How long do we have to stay here?" I asked.
"Until they're dead or gone. Whichever comes first " Dominic replied.
"Great. Love that for us " I said.
His mouth almost twitched. Almost.
The lights went out completely. I heard him move in the dark. I heard the rustle of fabric. A quiet curse.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"Backup generators not kicking in " he said.
"Why not?" I asked.
"Because someone cut it " Dominic replied.
My stomach dropped. "How is that possible?"
"Someone on the inside " he said.
"Your team?" I asked.
"Has to be " he replied.
I pressed my back against the wall. The steel was cold through my shirt. Dominic's shirt. The one I had pulled on in a rush this morning. It was a bed that felt like a lifetime.
"Can they get in here?" I whispered.
"Not easily " Dominic said.
"That's not a no " I said.
"That's a we have maybe forty minutes before they figure out how to override the lock " he replied.
"Fantastic " I said.
There was silence. Just our breathing. The faint hum of something trying and failing to reboot.
Then his voice was quieter. "Are you hurt?"
"No " I said.
"You're sure?" he asked.
"Yes. Are you?" I asked back.
"I'm fine " he said.
He wasn't. I had felt the way he moved when he covered me. The slight hitch when he stood.. Pushing him on it would just waste time.
I slid down the wall until I was sitting. My legs were shaking. I hated it.
"We should have a plan " I said.
"I have a plan " Dominic replied.
"Which is?" I asked.
"Keep you alive " he said.
"That's not a plan thats a goal " I said.
"It's the one that matters " he replied.
I heard him sit. Close enough that I could feel the heat of him in the space.
"I can't see you " I said.
"I'm here " Dominic said.
"I know. I—" I stopped. Hated how my voice cracked. "I need to see you."
Movement. Then his hand found mine in the dark. His fingers laced through mine. Squeezed once.
"I'm here " he said again.
I focused on that. The rough calluses on his palm. The steady pressure. The fact that he was solid and real.
"I'm sorry " I whispered.
"For what?" he asked.
"For keeping him from you. For not trying to find you. For—"
"Stop " Dominic said.
"I should have—"
"Aria stop " he said. "You did what you had to do. I'm not angry about that anymore."
"You were angry two hours ago " I said.
"Two hours ago I hadn't been shot at " he replied.
"You got shot at?" I asked.
"Grazed. Doesn't count " Dominic said.
"Dominic—"
"I'm fine.. I meant what I said. I'm not angry. I'm—" He stopped. "I'm trying to understand."
"Understand what?" I asked.
"Why you thought you had to do it " he said.
I pulled my hand back. Wrapped my arms around my knees. "Because alone is safer."
"Safer than what?" Dominic asked.
"Than needing someone " I replied.
"And needing someone is the thing that could happen?" he asked.
"It was the thing that did happen " I said.
There was silence.
Then his voice was careful. "Julian."
"I loved him.. I thought I did. I needed him. He—" I stopped. Swallowed. "He used that. He weaponized it.. When he was done he threw me away like I was nothing."
"You're not nothing " Dominic said.
"I felt like nothing. That night. In that hotel room. Signing those papers. Walking out into the rain. I felt erased " I said. My throat was tight. ". Then I met you."
"And ran " Dominic said.
"Yes " I replied.
"Because you thought I'd do the thing " I said.
"I thought—" I stopped. Started again. "I thought if I stayed I'd need you. And if I needed you and you left I wouldn't survive it " I said.
The admission hung there. Raw. Ugly. True.
"I wouldn't have left " Dominic said quietly.
"You don't know that " I said.
"Yes I do " he replied.
"Dominic—"
"I looked for you. For months. I hired investigators pulled security footage went back to that bar many times the bartender started setting aside my usual " he said. His voice roughed. "I couldn't forget you. I tried. It didn't work."
"Why?" I asked.
"Because you were real. In a world of people performing for me using me wanting something from me you just—" He stopped. "You were just you. Broken and honest and so goddamn brave it hurt to look at you " Dominic said.
I couldn't breathe.
"And then you walked into my office five years later and I thought I'd lost my mind " he continued. "Because you were different and the same and I wanted—" He stopped. "I wanted everything. I still do."
"Dominic—"
"I know you're scared. I know trusting me feels like standing on the edge of something.. I'm not Julian. I'm not going to hurt you " he said.
"You already did " I said.
There was silence. Sharp. Painful.
"What?" Dominic's voice was flat.
"The phone call. During the attack. Someone told me—" I stopped. Made myself say it. "They told me you funded the scandal. Five years ago. That you paid Julian to destroy me " I said.
"That's not true " Dominic said.
"Then why didn't you deny it when I asked?" I asked.
"Because I was trying to figure out who the hell told you that and why " he replied.
"So you didn't—"
"No " Dominic said. He moved closer. I felt his hand on my face tilting it up. "I didn't fund anything. I didn't even know you existed five years ago until you walked into that bar."
" why—"
"Because someone wants you to think I did. Someone who knows what buttons to push to make you run " Dominic said.
"I'm not running " I said.
"Aren't you?" he asked.
I grabbed his wrist. Held on. "I'm sitting in a vault with you in the dark while people try to kill us. That's the opposite of running " I said.
"Then what is it?" Dominic asked.
"I don't know. Survival. Stupidity. Something in between " I said.
His thumb brushed my cheekbone. "Or maybe it's trust " he said.
"I don't trust easy " I said.
"I know " Dominic replied.
"I don't even trust you " I said.
"I know that too " he said.
"Then why are you still here?" I asked.
"Because I'm not going anywhere " he said. His forehead pressed against mine. "Not without you. Not without Luca. Not ever."
"You can't promise that " I said.
"Watch me " Dominic said.
He kissed me.
It was different, than before. Slower. Deliberate. Like he was trying to prove something neither of us could say loud.
I kissed him back. Let myself fall into it. Into him. Into the possibility that maybe this was real and maybe I didn't have to do it alone anymore.
His hands slipped into my hair. Mine gripped his shirt tightly. The space was too cramped. The air was too thick but none of it mattered because for the first time in five years I felt like I could breathe again.
The vault door made a hissing sound.
We pulled away from each other.
The emergency lights flickered back to life.
Dominic was on his feet away standing in front of me and the door. "Stay behind me " he said.
"Who—"
The door creaked open.
It wasn't security or mercenaries.
A woman in her mid-fifties stood there wearing a suit and having grey hair pulled back tightly. I had seen her face before in a photo on Dominic's desk.
His aunt, Margaret Voss, a board member and family.
She looked at us at Dominic's stance and at me standing behind him.
She smiled.
"Well " she said, "this is cozy."
Dominic's voice was cold. "What are you doing here?"
"Saving you obviously " she said, stepping inside with two men following her. They weren't Dominics team. "Though I have to say, nephew your hiding spots could use some work."
"Where's my security?"
"They're detained. They'll be fine mostly."
"Margaret—"
"We need to talk " she said. "About your wife and the big problem shes created.. About how we're going to fix it before it ruins everything our family built."
I stepped out from behind Dominic. "I'm not a problem."
She looked at me like I was a stain on furniture. "Oh darling you absolutely are. You just don't know it yet."
Dominics hand shot out. Stopped me from moving forward. "Whatever you think you're doing—"
"I'm doing what you should have done months ago " she said. "I'm protecting the family." She pulled a tablet from her bag. Turned it toward us. "Do you recognize this account?"
On the screen were records, transfers and dates going back five years.
To the night of the gala.
To Julians leak.
To the scandal that destroyed me.
The name, on the account: Voss Capital Holdings.
My blood ran cold.
Margarets smile got bigger. "Your husband didn't fund your destruction Mrs. Voss. I did."