Dominion (Alpha Domain #1)

by Arabella Abbing

  ‘You may want to check to make sure the feed will show up on your laptop.’

  ‘Good looking out. Will do that now.’

  I sat the phone on the passenger seat, knowing it’d be useless to pocket it since he would surely be calling me again soon. I opened the feed view on my tablet and watched as the guy—presumably a friend of Chris’s—opened his front door and let the couple inside.

  The guy showed them to their bedroom and the moment they were left alone to unpack, Chris ran his hand from her lower back down to her ass and gave it a firm slap. I grinned and began mentally counting the seconds.

  I only made it to twenty-six before the phone rang.

  “Yesss?” I greeted jovially after I answered the call.

  “Don’t let either of them out of your sight. By any means necessary.”

  The line went dead and I chuckled as I slid the phone back into my pocket and returned my attention to the feed, slipping in my earbuds so I could listen in on their conversation.

  * * *

  ALLEN

  It was like a goddamn train wreck. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t force myself to look away.

  I guess the one thing I had to be grateful for was that the signal from the feed was too weak to pick up the audio. Otherwise, as I watched my stepsister and her boyfriend cuddling together on the couch whispering to one another, I might have thrown the fuck up.

  “Hey, boss!”

  I jumped and hastily slammed down the lid of the laptop, looking up with wide eyes as Derek strolled into my office without a care in the world.

  “Don’t you fucking knock?” I snarled, unable to hold back my anger at his uncaring intrusion.

  “Sorry. Just figured I’d check in.”

  My eye twitched when he sat down on the empty chair across from my desk and made himself at home without so much as an invitation. I knew John allowed that kind of behavior from Derek and the others, but I didn’t.

  I was a little more high-strung than John had ever been. I knew. John knew. Everyone who ever met me knew it.

  So why the fuck was this asshole acting like he didn’t?

  “I don’t need anything. Get out.”

  Derek smiled and tilted his head to the side. “Oh. Alright. Hey, how’s John doing?”

  “Excuse me?” I asked incredulously, eyebrows raised high with surprise.

  “Didn’t you put him on watchdog duty? I gave him a bunch of spy equipment last night and I wanted to make sure he got everything hooked up right. Has he checked in yet?”

  I cleared my throat and did my best to appear cavalier, not that I honestly thought I was fooling him with the act.

  “I haven’t heard anything from him,” I said coolly before I walked around the desk and ushered him out of the room. “I’ll let you know when I do. If you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a lot to get done.”

  Derek was resisting being thrown out of my office, but he ultimately knew better than to fight with me. “Alright, boss. Let me know.”

  “Good-bye, Derek.”

  “Later.”

  I slammed the door shut and twisted the lock before slowly turning back and wincing at the sight of my closed laptop.

  Was I really going to torture myself by watching the woman I loved cuddle up with another man all day? Was I that much of a masochist?

  I was frozen with indecision for a long moment before I decided that, yes, apparently I was that much of a masochist. I sat back down on my chair and opened the lid, typing in my password then reopening the feed.

  I didn’t know how to feel when I noticed they were no longer on the couch. I flicked between the camera feeds and quickly realized that they weren’t even in the apartment anymore.

  My fingers twitched over the pocket of my jeans, itching to pull out the phone and demand to know where they went.

  * * *

  John

  “Oh shit,” I cursed as I hastily ducked down in my seat to avoid being seen.

  The last thing I expected from the couple was for them to immediately take off again. Last I looked, they seemed pretty content just snuggling on the couch while talking to Chris’s friend. I was completely thrown by the behavior, unprepared to be following them this early.

  But as I peeked over the dashboard and saw the cab pulling away from the curb, I knew I had to act fast. Just because I wasn’t prepared didn’t mean I could slack on my duties. I started the car and mentally took note of the cab’s license plate number, just in case I lost it in traffic somewhere.

  When my cell rang in my pocket, I nearly screamed in frustration. It was pissing me off that Allen seemed to think I could tail one yellow cab from a distance in a city full of thousands of yellow cabs while also watching for dumbass pedestrians and talking on the phone at the same time.

  I should’ve said no to this. Should have made Allen do his dirty work himself.

  Not that watching Amber was something I could really consider ‘dirty work’. It was actually a nice change of pace to be trailing a beautiful girl to keep her safe instead of following around a fat ugly fuck for days on end, waiting for the perfect opportunity to knock him off.

  So, yeah. I really couldn’t complain about this job. It kind of felt noble.

  Until the phone started ringing in my pocket again and I just barely resisted the urge to throw it out the goddamn window.

  Allen was a high-strung guy, that was no secret. But usually when he sent me to do a job, he trusted my ability to get it done right and gave me space to do so. That didn’t appear to be the case this time and after I managed to figure out where Amber and Chris were going, I planned on immediately calling Allen and telling him to either back the fuck off or do this shit himself.

  I was already agitated enough.

  Trailing them was a chore and the cab almost disappeared from my sight multiple times, but I somehow managed to subtly stay on them all the way to their location. I couldn’t see any parking spots in my view so I was forced to ride past them as they exited the cab, but not before slowing down enough to take note of which building they were going inside.

  I circled around the block three times before finally parking two blocks away. I quickly dialed Allen’s number, cutting him off when he immediately started shouting at me.

  “I followed them to Manhattan. SoHo, to be more specific.”

  The news apparently shocked all the anger out of him. “SoHo? What the hell are they doing in SoHo?”

  “I don’t know. There wasn’t any parking within two blocks of the building they went in, I can’t keep watch. I’m a few blocks away.”

  “Text me the address where they’re at and get a move on.”

  “Allen, I told you there’s no parking anywhere on the street.”

  “On foot! Go!”

  “You said not to—”

  “I said don’t let them see you! I didn’t say you’d be sitting in your fucking car the entire time! Hurry the fuck up!”

  The line went dead and I stared down at my phone incredulously. Did he really just tell me to try to tail them on foot without letting them see me? How in the fuck was I supposed to do that?

  I grabbed the newspaper from my back seat and hurriedly made my way out, hoping I could find a park bench within eyeshot of the building to sit on. It might have been a complete cliché for the spy to hide behind a paper, but I didn’t have any better ideas at the moment.

  My phone chimed with a text.

  ‘ADDRESS!’

  I shook my head and sent it out before getting out of the car and rushing back to the building. I had no way of knowing whether they had already left yet or not, but I prayed they were still inside.

  Otherwise, Allen was going to kill me.

  There wasn’t a bench across the street, but there was one right beside the building itself. It was risky as hell, but I darted across the road and sat down, opening the paper across my lap and pretending to be engrossed while I sporadically side-eyed the entrance.

  When my phone
rang yet again, I growled.

  “It’s an office building. There are a few different business inside so it’s hard to be certain which one they went into.”

  “I’m not going in there to find out.”

  “You don’t have to,” he assured me quickly. “I’m pretty sure I know. One of the offices is leased to Mario Lorenzo.”

  “Really?” I asked quietly, glancing at the door again to make sure the coast was still clear.

  “Really. So regardless of which office they went into, it’s pretty obvious why they’re in SoHo.”

  “You don’t sound too happy about that,” I noted as my frown deepened. Usually, Allen would be satisfied with the knowledge of where, when, and why… but this time, he sounded worried.

  “I’m not. This changes everything.”

  “How so?”

  Allen hesitated for a moment before letting out a sigh. “I had convinced myself that Amber had nothing to do with Chris’s debt, or any knowledge of it. If he took her with him to see Mario…”

  “Then she obviously knows.”

  “Yes. And she’s willingly put herself in danger for him,” he summed up with a snarl.

  I sighed and ran a hand over my face, recognizing how this did indeed change things. “Where do you want to go from here?”

  “Just come on back for now. I can’t imagine the Sanchez family will take action when Chris is willingly going in for a meeting. He obviously wants to make good on his debt.”

  “Or he’s just too afraid to not go in,” I pointed out.

  “True. And he should be. Since you’ve already briefed Derek on what was going on without my permission, I’ll send him over to cover them for a few hours while you and I discuss options.”

  I winced when I recognized the irritation in his tone. “Allen, I didn’t tell him to—”

  “I know, we’re cool. Just don’t do it again.”

  I nodded to myself and said, “I’ll see you in a few.”

  “Alright, man. See you soon.”

  I ended the call and slipped the phone back into my pocket before I stood up and vainly attempted to refold the newspaper. My attempt was shot to hell as a large gust of wind blew it right out of my hands.

  I turned to my right at the sound of a shrill yelp, freezing to the spot as I saw Amber pulling the paper away from where it had blown right into her face. She was laughing lightly as she gripped it with one hand and ran a hand through her wind-blown hair with the other.

  “I’m guessing this is yours?” she asked, turning her curious blue eyes to me.

  I gulped and nodded. “Yeah. Sorry.”

  “It’s not your fault,” she waved off my apology as she handed the paper back to me.

  I half folded, half balled it up and shoved it into my back pocket.

  “God, this wind is freezing! I should’ve brought a coat,” Amber exclaimed with a shiver.

  I glanced around, quickly realizing that her boyfriend was nowhere in sight. While I should have been using that knowledge to put together theories, my body was reacting to her words without thinking. I was shrugging my jacket off my shoulders to give to her, not once pausing to consider the absurdity of my actions.

  Amber did though. She raised her eyebrows high and held up her hand to stop me before I had a chance to hand her the coat.

  “No, no. Thank you so much for the offer, but that’s not necessary.”

  Logically, I damn well knew that. But for reasons I couldn’t explain, I argued back.

  “It’s not a problem at all,” I insisted as I shrugged the coat off and held it up to her. “I’m warm-blooded.”

  She smiled at the chivalry, but it faded away as she shook her head again. “No, thank you. I don’t think… I don’t think my boyfriend would appreciate it.”

  “Oh,” I said dumbly, the thought of how the boyfriend I knew she had might react not once crossing my mind. “I’m sorry.”

  “No, I’m sorry,” she said with another genuine smile that seemed to make her eyes sparkle. “I’m Amber, by the way.”

  She reached out her hand and I gently took it in mine.

  “John,” I told her, immediately berating myself for not making up a fake name.

  What the hell is this girl doing to me?

  “It was nice to meet you, John.”

  “Amber!”

  Both of our eyes turned to the entrance of the building and I locked my gaze on Chris’s. Well, my anonymity was definitely blown now. There was no way I could continue to watch either of them without a major risk.

  Allen was going to be pissed.

  “Have a good day,” I said stiffly to Amber, tipping my head to her before spinning around and walking away, ignoring the confused frown on her face and the possessiveness on Chris’s as he began to stalk towards us.

  I walked fast on the way back to my car, never once glancing back to see if I was being followed even though the urge to do so was almost overwhelming. It wasn’t until I could see my car from the crosswalk that I allowed myself to look around, letting out a relieved sigh when I realized I was alone.

  Well, alone as one could be in Manhattan.

  My whirlwind of thoughts as I got into my car and relaxed back into the seat could be easily summed up into three major points.

  One— Allen is going to fucking kill me.

  Two— Amber was easily the most beautiful woman I had ever laid eyes on.

  Three— Allen is definitely going to kill me.

  Chapter Three

  Amber

  “Who the fuck was that guy?”

  I rolled my eyes as—for the millionth time in our relationship—Chris started on another jealous rampage. It happened any time a good-looking man spoke to me alone. Unless they asked Chris for permission to speak me, I wasn’t to be spoken to.

  “Are you really going to do this now? We’re on vacation, Chris!”

  Chris shook his head before gripping my arm and dragging me to the street as he raised his hand to hail a cab. “No, you’re on vacation. I’m here on business.”

  “What?” I asked with a frown. This was news to me, I thought we were coming into the city to visit Chris’s friends and have a much-needed getaway. “What business, Chris?”

  He froze and I knew he hadn’t meant to tell me. When he turned back, he looked hesitant.

  “I don’t want to jinx it, but I’m trying to get a job in the city. I know how much you love it so I thought it’d be cool if we moved up here.”

  “Oh my—Are you serious?” I asked, totally surprised by the news.

  Chris smiled. “Of course, Amber. I’d do anything to make you happy.”

  I smiled back and thanked him when he opened the door of the cab for me and made a grand sweeping gesture with his arm.

  “My lady.”

  I giggled as I slid into the seat. He hopped in beside me and slung his arm across the back of the seat as he told the driver the address of his friend’s apartment in Brooklyn. I looked out the window as the city passed by, enthralled by the idea of moving to such a lively place.

  I tried to think about what it would be like living here, but for some reason, my thoughts kept drifting back to John—the stranger on the street who kindly offered me his jacket.

  Something about him seemed eerily familiar, but I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why.

  * * *

  Allen

  “What happened?” I demanded the second John crossed the threshold into my office.

  He froze in his tracks and regarded me nervously. “What do you mean?”

  “It shouldn’t have taken you so long to get back. Did something happen?”

  There was a brief pause— enough of one to make me narrow my eyes at him before he spoke.

  “I stopped to fill up the tank when I got off the island. And empty my bladder since I hadn’t taken a piss since six am,” he added dryly.

  Something in the back of my head whispered to me that he was lying, but I shrugged off the paranoia
as ridiculous. John was my best friend, had been for years now, and he wouldn’t lie to me about something as trivial as getting gas and pissing.

  “Alright. Have a seat, then.”

  “If it’s all the same to you, I’ll stand. I’ve been sitting in my car for hours.”

  I laughed. “Understood. So, what are we going to do about this new revelation?”

  It was after I asked the question that I became absolutely certain that John was hiding something from me. His fingers twitched at his side and I saw the barest hint of guilt in his eyes right before they shifted away from me.

  John was pretty good at wearing a mask to hide his emotions. I couldn’t deny that. He always had been a decent actor.

  Unfortunately for him, I was pretty much an expert at noticing when people were faking it.

  “I had a thought,” he started before he sat sitting down, surely to hide all the slight guilty reactions that he knew his body was having. “What if she didn’t know why they were there? I mean, like you said, there were multiple businesses in the building. She could’ve been in a waiting room somewhere.”

  Logically, the theory made sense.

  Which only made me further question how John came up with such a sound theory.

  “What aren’t you telling me?”

  He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “A minute after we got off the phone, I saw her outside. I don’t think she went into the meeting because Chris didn’t come out with her.”

  “Did she see you?” I hissed.

  “No.”

  There was a long pause and he damn well knew I wasn’t buying it. But his jaw flexed as he clenched it and I knew that nothing I said would get anything more out of him. I slammed my hands down on the desk and growled in frustration.

  “Fine. Go get some rest then take over for Derek tonight at the apartment. We’ll move forward as if she doesn’t know, which means it’s your job to make sure she’s safe.”

  John stood up and gave me a sharp nod. “Will do.”

  I watched him leave my office through narrowed eyes, sneering after he closed the door behind him. I hated being angry at my best friend, but I couldn’t help it. He was blatantly lying to me and even though I understood the occasional need for discretion in our line of work, I really didn’t appreciate being left in the dark about anything that concerned Amber.