Something Familiar (The Vandran Legacy Book 2)

by Anna-Louise Dann

  Emmie

  Dominic was on his way.

  The thought of seeing him again this soon, made her feel sick with nerves. He was probably pissed at the sheer cheek of her contacting him for help. She had thrown their clothes back into their small case, placing it by the front door; she had no intention of staying here any longer than necessary.

  Hope was currently sitting at the big kitchen table tucking into a bowl of cornflakes. She was humming one of the songs from her favourite television shows. She looked so much happier than yesterday and didn’t seem affected by the events that had occurred hours earlier.

  Emmie turned her attention back to her coffee, sipping at the warm liquid, hoping the caffeine would wake her up a bit. She hadn’t gone back to sleep, instead she had sat next to Hope on high alert in case whatever that thing was came back. She spent the time dwelling unhealthily on every bad decision she’d ever made in her life, trying to decide how she handled the whole Dominic situation. She was exhausted.

  She had decided she would keep their encounter as brief as possible, find out what she needed from him, thank him for everything and then they could part ways with no hard feelings. Easy. Yeah, right. As much as it pained her to walk away again, she couldn’t put her trust in him. She didn’t trust anyone other than her sister. No matter how much her heart ached for him they couldn’t be together. She couldn’t be with anyone. She was damaged goods.

  As much as she had avoided talking to her unless it was necessary, she needed Heather’s help; she had to ask if the offer was still available to stay with her. After last night Hope needed to be close to someone who could protect her with magic and Clara had enough to worry about. Besides, the woman owed her. She could spare a few months of her precious time for her granddaughter.

  She didn’t know what it was that made her resent their birth mother so much, Clara seemed to enjoy spending time with her, maybe it was the fact that she couldn’t get past being abandoned by her when they were small. Clara had been too young, but she could still remember watching her walk away from them. She had spent the first few weeks thinking she would return for them, but she never returned; no matter how much she cried and begged for Mummy to come back for her, their mother never showed up. She understood now that it hadn’t been her fault but there was still a wall between them, a big wall that was blocking her from forming a proper relationship. Maybe spending some time with her might do them all some good.

  She looked at her watch, it was nearly seven thirty, he would be here soon. She had to check that they had remembered everything, she had no intension of ever returning to this place.

  She put a cartoon channel on for Hope who was now in the sitting room on a big brown leather reclining chair.

  “Mummy just needs to go upstairs, Princess,” she said, earning a nod. Hope was fully engrossed in the cartoon.

  “OK Mummy, are you going to wake Daddy up now?” Hope said, not looking away from the screen. Emmie’s blood ran cold. What?

  “Daddy’s not here. What made you ask that, Princess?” she said, trying to keep her voice as calm as possible even through her insides were in turmoil; millions of thoughts whizzed around in her brain. Hope looked so certain as her big green eyes met hers, full of determination.

  “Yes, he is, he said he is back for his girls. You don’t have to be sad anymore, Mummy.” Her heart sunk, she thought she had kept her sombre emotions away from her daughter, obviously not. It must have looked like she had been pining for Will. The guilt lay heavy in her gut. “Hope baby, you had a bad dream last night, Daddy isn’t here,” she reassured her.

  Hope’s face screwed up with an oncoming tantrum, like it always did when she was adamant about something. “Yes, he is, yes he is, he told me!” she shouted. A knock at the front door made her jump and them both look up towards the front of the cottage. “Daddy, Daddy!” Hope cried and jumped off the seat, heading for the door. Emmie had to stop her, anyone could be on the other side of that door.

  “No, don’t you dare open that door, Hope, it could be a stranger,” Emmie scolded, making Hope halt in her tracks. It wasn’t often she raised her voice.

  “But what if it’s Daddy?” Hope asked, making Emmie’s stomach turn. She kneeled, taking her little hands in hers. Big, innocent green eyes met hers, full of emotion and questions. “It’s not Daddy, Princess. It’s Dominic, he’s come to get us, we are going to stay at Nanny Heather’s for a little bit until we can find a house to live in,” she said. Hope’s eyes lit up at the mention of Dominic’s name.

  “Nicnic is here? Open the door, Mummy, open the door.” Hope was bouncing up and down on the spot, the thoughts of her father put to the back of her mind for now.

  “OK, let’s go and say hi,” Emmie said overly enthusiastically, although she felt anything but. Hope kept hold of her hand, impatiently bouncing foot to foot in anticipation as Emmie unlocked all the bolts. She lifted the latch and pulled open the door. Her heart sunk at what she encountered on the other side. She raked her eyes slowly upwards from his brown expensive-looking shoes to his face. He was wearing one of his blue suits, he looked all business and devastatingly sexy. Her eyes reached his face and her breath caught. His bottom lip was cut, his left cheek was bruised and swollen, he was unshaven and looked like he had been to hell and back. What the hell had happened to him? She met his stormy eyes, the contempt she saw in them shattered her already fragile valour. Feeling unwell all of a sudden; she let Hope’s hand go. Her little girl ran straight to Dominic who immediately picked her up. She felt her world crash in on her and she stumbled back. Losing control of her body, she slumped to the floor shaking uncontrollably, the last twenty-four hours catching up with her. Warm arms wrapped her up in them and she heard Hope crying for her, and then Dominic’s voice close to her ear. He was commanding someone to take the child. She couldn’t stop falling, she was spiralling into the abyss; the darkness embraced her, pulling her under.

  I’m so sorry.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Emmie

  A weird humming sound and the feel of something covering her ears woke her. Lifting her head, she looked around, still groggy from passing out. She was propped up and strapped into a seated position in the back of a passenger helicopter; her vision cleared, and she saw him.

  Dominic was entertaining a very enthusiastic Hope opposite, pointing to the Southern Irish landscape. She couldn’t hear what he was saying but Hope was taking in everything. He was so natural with her little girl. They looked like a father and daughter duo sharing a special moment.

  She imagined what it would be like to have a child with him. He would make a wonderful father; he listened to every word Hope said, answering her million questions as enthusiastically as she asked. His smile lit up his entire face when she oohed at whatever he had pointed out. It melted her heart and she wanted more than anything for him to smile at her like that. He was devastatingly handsome.

  She knew giving him up was going to be hard but watching him right now she wished more than anything that she could keep him forever.

  As if sensing her ogling him, Dominic’s head turned and met her eyes with his. The happiness and warmth that was in them only seconds ago for her daughter disappeared, revealing a dark stormy glare, his usually dark blue eyes were grey and looked right through her. He despised her for running, she knew he would. He spoke in Hope’s ear and Hope whipped around, beaming excitedly at her. She could see her mouthing, “Are you OK Mummy?” She gave her thumbs up and smiled weakly. Turning her face away from them to look out of the window, her vision blurred with more tears. She wasn’t strong enough to hide the emotions that must have been on display, she had to get a hold of herself. Hope had seen her sad too much these last months. She took in the picturesque scenery beneath them, trying to focus on anything but the picture-perfect scene she had going on in front of her with her daughter and the man she was falling in love with.

  The view was breath-taking. Ireland really was a beautiful place. All the h
illtops and streams went on for miles, making her feel like breaking out of her skin and allowing her beast to run free in the wild and experience the feeling of having the earth beneath her paws as she explored this unfamiliar land. This beautiful countryside was rich with the history of hers and Dominic’s ancestors, she would have to one day take the time to learn all about their heritage. She closed her eyes, still exhausted from her troublesome night, allowing her mind to drift.

  Dominic

  She looked so pale and weak sitting there; her usual vibrant blue eyes were dull and full of pain and worry. What could he do? She didn’t want him, and he couldn’t force her to stay.

  He didn’t normally do fear but he had never been more scared as he was seeing Amelia collapse. He had never felt so helpless in all his life. He had tried and failed to bring her round. Her fragile body was exhausted and in need of sleep, so that’s what he had let her do. He had strapped her into his company’s passenger helicopter still unconscious. He hadn’t wanted to keep her in that cottage a minute longer. He knew she would be grateful for removing her from that place if nothing else. Something was definitely off in that house, there was bad energy, he had sensed it straight away. Unfortunately it was one of the delightful things he had inherited as part of his bloodline. He could channel bad energy, make people do things they didn’t want to do; the darkness called to him and lately, it was becoming harder to fight.

  What Hope had said about her dad being back and coming to claim his girls, sent a chill down his spine. Something didn’t sit right in this whole situation.

  If Will was somehow still alive he would find out where he was and make sure he knew exactly what suffering felt like. He didn’t get to force his way back into Amelia and Hope’s lives after what he did to them both.

  Dominic despised men who hurt women. That sadistic bastard wouldn’t get near his girls, not if he had anything to do with it.

  Once they had landed on his lawn at the back of the house, he unstrapped himself and then Hope. Patrick was already waiting for them.

  “Take Hope to the kitchen, tell Chef to cook her whatever she wants,” he ordered. Patrick nodded and took the little girl’s hand, talking sweetly to her. He found it quite amusing that the big guy was hanging on to everything Hope was saying. The little madam didn’t come up for air as she explained what she’d be having on her pancakes.

  Patrick was his best man and he knew he didn’t give him enough credit. He was loyal and always the first on the scene if any trouble went down. Out of all of the familiars he had working for him he would trust Patrick with his life. He had been on his staff for over a decade and knew the job inside out. If it wasn’t for him he would have taken a dark path a few years ago.

  “Can you take this fucking contraption off me now?” Amelia’s voice dragged him out of his trance about the past and threw him right back into the present.

  She was trying unsuccessfully to unsnap the harness that held her in the seat; she looked thoroughly pissed off. Her huff of frustration amused him, turning him on all over again. He was more than relieved to see the fight back in her eyes.

  He knelt. “If you hold still this will just take a second,” he said, unwrapping her.

  “Fine, just hurry up, I don’t want to stay in this house longer than I have to,” she spat, her sharp tongue stung him slightly, but he knew it was just a front; he could see the tiredness in her eyes, but he wouldn’t allow her to sass him.

  “Play nice, Ms Stewart, or I shall leave you dangling here, I’ve got all the time in the world,” he purred, forming his best sinister smile.

  “You wouldn’t?”

  “Carry on with that wicked tongue of yours and you’ll see.”

  She huffed again and sulked, her bottom lip stuck out in a pout.

  He enjoyed banter with her a little too much. He was turning into a walking hard on when he was around her, and that lip was begging to be nibbled on. Damn.

  He released the straps holding her in place and stepped out onto the grass. He held her shaking hand as she climbed out, trying to ignore the sensation of touching her again.

  Once she was out he lifted her with one arm tucked under her knees.

  “I can walk, Dominic,” she scolded, looking pissed all over again.

  “After your dying swan act before I don’t want to take any chances until my doctor has examined you,” he said. She stuck her tongue out at him; his cock twitched at the thought of what that tongue was capable of, she was driving him insane.

  “Poke that out at me again and I will suck on it,” he growled. “We both know what happens when my mouth is on yours, don’t we Ms Stewart?” A little blush appeared on her cheeks. He knew if he reached into her panties right now she’d be wet and ready for him to fuck her again. They couldn’t deny their passion. He wanted a lot more from her than just their hot compatibility between the sheets, he wanted everything, he wanted her laughter, her sassy mouth telling him off. Fuck. He wanted her heart. She was just too broken and scared to give it.

  Emmie

  She was fed up of being poked and prodded by this dick who referred to himself as Doctor Goodman.

  “How long have you felt unwell? Do you have any known medical conditions? Could you be pregnant?” Question after question was fired at her, and she was ready to hit something… or someone.

  Not long, no and she was on the Noristerat contraceptive injection which lasted for eight weeks so there was no way she could be…

  “What’s the date?” she asked, questioning her own working out.

  “It’s the twenty-second of May.” The doctor looked at her quizzically his eyebrows raised obviously suspicious of her question.

  “How long ago did you have the injection, Ms Stewart?”

  Nine weeks… shit!

  She panicked.

  “Five weeks ago. I’m not pregnant. It’s probably just stress and lack of sleep, Doc, I’ll be fine,” she said. She was relieved she actually sounded convincing.

  She hoped she did anyway.

  “I’ll take some blood samples anyway to rule it out.” Now she was really pissed. She didn’t want any more fuss and she certainly didn’t want this arsehole sticking anymore needles in her.

  “I said I’ll be OK. I don’t need another blood sample. I am a qualified midwife, with four years’ experience, if I need fucking blood taking, I can do it myself,” she snarled.

  “But Ms Stewart, Dominic has—”

  “I don’t give a flying fuck what Dominic has said. If that needle so much as touches me I will ram it up your arse. Are we done?” she yelled.

  Dominic burst in looking worried.

  “What’s going on Amelia?”

  “Ms Stewart is refusing to give a blood sample to rule out the possibility of pregnancy.”

  “I am not fucking pregnant!” she cried angrily. “Even if I was it would be far too early to determine, so I repeat and trust me I am not playing. You bring that needle near me and you’ll have to surgically remove it! Now leave me the fuck alone.”

  Dominic had paled and was looking at her with a weird expression on his face.

  “You don’t think you might be? I – we didn’t use protection. It was – I – shit.” This was the first time she’d ever heard him speechless, he’d obviously never been in this situation before. She, however, had seen that fear in a man’s face hundreds of times, it was the look of regret. Her heart froze over at his reaction.

  “I had it covered, don’t worry, you won’t be burdened with a bastard child.” She was surprised by how cold her voice was and how harsh her words were towards him. She knew she was being completely unreasonable and cruel. They were all in danger if they were together, it was better if he hated her, if he thought she didn’t care, she could deal with whatever came next if it meant they were all safe.

  She would take a test next week, but she knew the answer, she could sense the change in her body already.

  The contempt was back in his gaze at her harsh w
ords.

  “I guess I got off lightly then,” he spat and slammed out of the room.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Dominic

  Two weeks later

  He sat at the head of the table at one of his usual business meetings in Los Angeles, all his most trusted business advisors had joined them. He had been here for just over a week sorting out finances and staff-related issues. Keeping himself busy was helping with the dull ache he had carried around in his gut since Amelia left.

  She had walked out the same day he had picked her up from Dundrum. She had thanked him for his hospitality and taken off with Hope again. He could still see the haunted expression in her eyes, she couldn’t hide it, not from him, her big aqua eyes were filled with fear and unresolved conflict. He would have comforted her like he desperately wanted, but she probably would have kicked him in the balls or told him to fuck off. She hid behind her sassy attitude and wicked tongue, but he knew she was broken and in pain. He just hoped distance from him would give her clarity and bring her back to him. They needed each other, she was the other half of his heart.

  Colt had come to the club the next evening to speak to him; he had to give the guy his due, he had guts. Amelia had wanted to ask if he could find out where her husband’s body had been disposed of after he was killed.

  Whatever she had seen the night in the cottage had seriously spooked her.

  Colt was worried that The Domini Bellatorum informant was trying to cause a rift between the two families and the trouble they had encountered with Juliet was only a small part of a much bigger picture.

  He had contacted Joe Finnegan, one of his men here in LA. Joe had done some digging for him and was meeting him later on this evening with some information. He knew he wasn’t going to like what he told him. Something didn’t feel right about this whole thing. The Domini Bellatorum were no longer a threat; the tiny sample of DNA taken from Amelia had come back positive, so they had no choice but to accept her and Hope as part of the Vandran bloodline. They would now be under their protection if he still had an affiliation towards her. If he could only get through to her that she would be safer with him than with her mother. Heather was very unpredictable with the use of her magic and authority in their world. It had earned her a reputation of being ruthless. She was powerful, an experienced Cailleach who had left some of the deadliest warlocks on their knees; but as much as he respected Heather and her abilities she would be no match alone for what was coming if his suspicions where correct.