“Eight thirty.” A tear spilled out and dripped down my cheek. “I knew I should call the police and tell them that I’d seen him there, but I pulled up her social media to look for her boyfriend’s last name since she’d only used his first when she introduced us. One of my co-workers came up behind me when I had a picture of them up on my screen. She recognized him right off the bat and told me he was bad news—an arrogant jerk whose dad gets him out of trouble all the time.”
Dominic used his free hand to wipe the wetness from my cheek. “Shit, did you call the cops after you found out who he was?”
“No,” I whispered, feeling ashamed that I hadn’t done the right thing. “I was trying to decide what to do, but then I spotted his car in the parking lot at work. The news story hadn’t mentioned him, and I couldn’t think of a reason for him to be there unless he was looking for me. I hurried to my car and tried not to freak out as I left to go home like normal. But then he pulled out after me and followed me all the way home, so at the last minute, I kept driving. I managed to lose him at a busy intersection and passed a branch of my bank after another mile. It was open for fifteen more minutes, so I ran inside right before closing and withdrew all the cash in my account. Then I hit up a store to grab snacks, drinks, and a disposable cell phone. With the kind of resources his dad has at his fingertips, I wanted to make it more difficult to track me.”
“It sounds like you made the right calls. If he’s gotten in trouble with the cops before, his dad might have contacts there. And if the douchebag was waiting outside your building, then he sure as fuck remembered seeing you when he got there.” His approval eased some of my guilt. “Did you have trouble finding hotels that would take cash?”
I shrugged and stared down at where our hands were entwined together. “I stayed at no-name roadside motels the first couple of nights until I realized my money wasn’t going to stretch as long as I needed.”
Dominic pressed his finger under my chin and tilted my head up until I stared into his eyes. “Where did you sleep?”
“In my car at rest stops,” I admitted softly. A muscle was jumping in his jaw, and his brown eyes were darker and full of anger. I wasn’t sure if he was still mad at me for what I’d done back at the bar, but I figured apologizing again couldn’t hurt. “I’m so sorry I took your wallet. I’ve never stolen from anyone before, but I was focused on how hungry I am instead of doing the right thing.”
“Fuck,” he bit out, yanking his cell phone from his pocket. He stabbed his finger against the screen while he kept his gaze locked on mine. “I need some food but can’t leave to grab it myself at the moment. Bring it to my room for me?” The person on the other end must’ve agreed because he added, “Yeah, whatever you have is fine. Throw something sweet and a drink on there too.”
Some of the tension left his frame when he ended the call and said, “Cat is going to bring some food up for you.”
“Thank you,” I whispered, my cheeks filling with heat again. “Can I use your bathroom first?”
“Sure, doll.” He jerked his chin toward the door to my left. “Feel free to use whatever you need. Take a shower if you want. The food will keep when it gets here.”
I flashed him a grateful smile and squeezed his hand one last time before getting up. A few minutes later, I was considering taking him up on his offer to wash up and heard a knock on his door. When it was followed up by a feminine voice, curiosity killed any thought of a shower. I left the bathroom and found Dominic talking to a gorgeous woman. Even though she’d most likely put together the food that was sitting on the table next to the couch that had my stomach growling, I wasn’t happy to see how he was grinning at her. But my jealousy eased when Dominic looked over his shoulder at me and held out a hand. When I reached his side, he wrapped his arm around me. “Cat, this is Lucy. She’s gonna be staying with me, and I’d appreciate it if you could help look out for her when I can’t be around.”
Cat’s green eyes widened as she nodded. “Sure thing, Dom. Are you going to bring her with you to the hospital?”