Forsaken (The Protectors 4)

Dom didn’t respond so I wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing.

“You saved Brennan’s life, Ronan,” Dom murmured and then he glanced at Eli. “But I suspect you did a lot more than that.” He sent Eli a quick smile and then his eyes settled on me.

“What about you, Mr. James?”

“Dom,” Eli began, but Dom put up his hand and Eli fell silent.

“What about me?” I asked casually, though my insides were tight with worry. I could not afford to piss this man off. He was way too important to Eli.

“When did you know Jack was a threat to Eli?”

“The day you came to his apartment and found us arguing.”

“What did you do about it?” Dom asked.

“He followed me,” Eli interjected. “And when he couldn’t have eyes on me, he asked his friends to do it. He also taught me how to defend myself. From the moment he knew I was in trouble, he refused to walk away from me.”

Dom studied me for a moment and then glanced at Declan. “You think you have enough for now?”

Declan nodded. “Mr. Wheland, I’ll need to collect your firearm for ballistics testing, but it’s just standard operating procedure.”

“He’ll provide it to you, Captain,” Ronan said before Memphis could spout what I could only assume were some very crude words, if the look on his face was anything to go by.

Everyone began to stand when Declan did, but Dom pinned me with his gaze and said, “Mr. James, I’d like a word with you.”

“Dom…”

“It’s okay, Eli,” was all he said.

“Come on squirt,” Cade said as he threw his arm around Eli and began to lead him from the room. Eli forced him to stop and turned to face me. I got up and went to him and not caring who was watching, I leaned down and kissed him.

“I’m not going anywhere.”

Eli visibly relaxed and I realized my guess that he thought I would let Dom run me off was right. “I’ll see you in a few.”

Eli nodded and followed Cade. Cade’s dark eyes settled on me for a moment before he left the room with Eli, and I swore I saw something akin to respect.

I sat back down and watched with interest as Dom came around the table to sit down next to me. I turned my chair so I was facing him.

“Tell me what he needs,” Dom said.

I was expecting an interrogation, but when I saw the pain flood Dom’s eyes, I knew he was letting the reality of what had happened to Eli sink in.

“He needs to forgive himself,” I said. “Cortano fucked with his head…made him believe he brought it all on himself and that it was his choice.”

Dom ran his hand over his bald head and shook his head. I wasn’t surprised to see tears flooding his eyes. He wiped them away and said, “Why didn’t he come to me?”

“I think Eli saw Cortano as a substitute for you – the father he didn’t think he had.”

“I’ve loved that kid from the moment I met him,” Dom croaked. “I thought he knew that I considered him my son.”

“I think if he’d had more time before his stepfather got to him, he would have eventually figured that out. But the second Cortano had him believing he was still that same kid you saved from the streets, he started to pull away from you. When he did finally threaten to tell the truth if Cortano didn’t stop, the fucker used your contracts with the army as leverage.”

Dom stiffened at that. “Our contracts? That piece of shit had nothing to do with us getting awarded those contracts. Yeah, he had the connections, which was exactly why I never told him we were putting in bids. Once we got the first couple of contracts, we earned the rest by proving we were the best.”

“Eli wouldn’t have had any way of knowing that, would he?” I asked gently.

Dom’s face drew up in anger and he rose to his feet. I watched him walk to the window and grip the small ledge in front of it hard. “I trusted that bastard. I encouraged him to pursue Eli’s mother even when she initially resisted.”

“Dom,” I interjected. “Blaming yourself won’t serve any purpose. Eli already carries enough guilt; don’t add to it.”

Dom nodded in understanding. “Did he tell you about my brother, Rafe?”

“No,” I said. “But I know what happened to him.”

Dom turned to face me and leaned back against the window, his expression questioning. “Let’s just call it research and leave it at that.”

Dom chuckled and nodded. “I thought after what happened to Rafe, I’d know a monster the next time I saw one.”

“I’ve been dealing with monsters for the past five years and I’m here to tell you that not one of them looks the same as another. You couldn’t have known. Eli’s mother couldn’t have known. Your big ass family couldn’t have known,” I added with a laugh. I sobered and said, “I wouldn’t have known if he’d let me walk away from him like I’d intended.”