Read Online Dominion (Alpha Domain #1) by Arabella Abbing - Free Book Online
Authors: Arabella Abbing
Ads: Link
nod. “But they won’t take you.”
Fear was coiling in my stomach, mixing with dread and panic as I asked, “How do you know that?”
“Because you’re not leaving this house until the threat is over,” John cut in.
“And John and I are going to take care of the threat,” Allen added.
They seemed so sure of themselves, but I couldn’t wrap my head around the thought of my stepbrother and his best friend somehow managing to save me from this.
“How do you plan to do that?”
Again, they shared a silent look and I felt myself getting irritated at being left out of the loop. But then, Allen turned to me with resignation in his eyes.
“Because this is what we do . You can trust us to take care of it. To take care of you .”
His promise was earnest, but my mind was stuck on the first part of his sentence. “What do you mean by ‘this is what we do’? What exactly is it that you do ?”
“We’re hitmen, Amber.”
I turned wide, incredulous eyes to John, blinking owlishly for a moment before cutting my gaze back to Allen. He didn’t move— just watched my face closely for reaction.
They were serious.
My stepbrother was a hitman.
Shock didn’t even begin to describe what I felt in that moment.
Chapter Seven
Allen
“ A mber ? I asked quietly after a long minute of staring at her face, frozen with shock.
“Hmm?” she hummed in response, and I knew immediately that she was so lost in her thoughts that she wouldn’t hear a word I said even if I did continue.
I looked over to my best friend and shot him a deadly glare, silently berating his complete lack of finesse in handling difficult manners. John gave me a small shrug and a shake of his head as if to say, ‘ What? I didn’t do anything .’
I wanted to punch him in the face. But that would likely cause more problems that it would solve.
“Hey,” John said as he reached his hand down to pat Amber on the shoulder. “You aren’t going to faint again, are you?”
That seemed to snap her out of her daze and her eyes refocused right before she shook her head.
“Surprisingly, no. I’m... I’m alright. John, can I talk to Allen alone for a moment?”
Uh-oh. This can’t be good.
“Sure thing. Just give me a shout when you guys are done,” he said as he stood up and started heading towards his bedroom.
After we were alone, Amber turned to me with her lips pressed into a fine line. “You told him to watch me.”
“I did.”
“Why?”
“I knew Chris was in trouble with the Sanchez family,” I offered with a shrug. “I just wanted to make sure you were alright.”
“Why John though? Why not you?”
I leaned back and crossed my arms over my chest. “Gathering intel is below a man in my position. Don’t get me wrong— it’s below John as well. But I trust him more than the others.”
Amber’s jaw dropped open. “There are others ? A man in your position ? Allen, what the hell is going on? What happened to you?”
The hysterical disbelief in her tone made me frown. “Yes, there are others. John and I have five other men in our employment full-time, as well as a few contacts that we hire on a job-to-job basis.”
“Jobs? You mean hits ? Like killing people?” she ground out angrily.
“Yes. Among other things.”
She shot me a dry look and mimicked my stance, folding her arms across her chest. “Such as?”
“Such as gathering intel,” I said with a smirk.
Amber clearly wasn’t as amused by my tongue-in-cheek response as I was.
“Some jobs are... less savory than others,” I vaguely stated.
“I don’t get it. What’s less ‘savory’ than murder?”
“Kidnapping comes to mind.”
Amber froze and looked at me seriously. “You... You kidnap people?”
“Not to sell them,” I added quickly. “We don’t... we aren’t like them. We rarely get those types of jobs, but they’re usually just for ransoms. No one gets hurt or stays missing.”
“Do you really think that makes it okay?” she
Fear was coiling in my stomach, mixing with dread and panic as I asked, “How do you know that?”
“Because you’re not leaving this house until the threat is over,” John cut in.
“And John and I are going to take care of the threat,” Allen added.
They seemed so sure of themselves, but I couldn’t wrap my head around the thought of my stepbrother and his best friend somehow managing to save me from this.
“How do you plan to do that?”
Again, they shared a silent look and I felt myself getting irritated at being left out of the loop. But then, Allen turned to me with resignation in his eyes.
“Because this is what we do . You can trust us to take care of it. To take care of you .”
His promise was earnest, but my mind was stuck on the first part of his sentence. “What do you mean by ‘this is what we do’? What exactly is it that you do ?”
“We’re hitmen, Amber.”
I turned wide, incredulous eyes to John, blinking owlishly for a moment before cutting my gaze back to Allen. He didn’t move— just watched my face closely for reaction.
They were serious.
My stepbrother was a hitman.
Shock didn’t even begin to describe what I felt in that moment.
Chapter Seven
Allen
“ A mber ? I asked quietly after a long minute of staring at her face, frozen with shock.
“Hmm?” she hummed in response, and I knew immediately that she was so lost in her thoughts that she wouldn’t hear a word I said even if I did continue.
I looked over to my best friend and shot him a deadly glare, silently berating his complete lack of finesse in handling difficult manners. John gave me a small shrug and a shake of his head as if to say, ‘ What? I didn’t do anything .’
I wanted to punch him in the face. But that would likely cause more problems that it would solve.
“Hey,” John said as he reached his hand down to pat Amber on the shoulder. “You aren’t going to faint again, are you?”
That seemed to snap her out of her daze and her eyes refocused right before she shook her head.
“Surprisingly, no. I’m... I’m alright. John, can I talk to Allen alone for a moment?”
Uh-oh. This can’t be good.
“Sure thing. Just give me a shout when you guys are done,” he said as he stood up and started heading towards his bedroom.
After we were alone, Amber turned to me with her lips pressed into a fine line. “You told him to watch me.”
“I did.”
“Why?”
“I knew Chris was in trouble with the Sanchez family,” I offered with a shrug. “I just wanted to make sure you were alright.”
“Why John though? Why not you?”
I leaned back and crossed my arms over my chest. “Gathering intel is below a man in my position. Don’t get me wrong— it’s below John as well. But I trust him more than the others.”
Amber’s jaw dropped open. “There are others ? A man in your position ? Allen, what the hell is going on? What happened to you?”
The hysterical disbelief in her tone made me frown. “Yes, there are others. John and I have five other men in our employment full-time, as well as a few contacts that we hire on a job-to-job basis.”
“Jobs? You mean hits ? Like killing people?” she ground out angrily.
“Yes. Among other things.”
She shot me a dry look and mimicked my stance, folding her arms across her chest. “Such as?”
“Such as gathering intel,” I said with a smirk.
Amber clearly wasn’t as amused by my tongue-in-cheek response as I was.
“Some jobs are... less savory than others,” I vaguely stated.
“I don’t get it. What’s less ‘savory’ than murder?”
“Kidnapping comes to mind.”
Amber froze and looked at me seriously. “You... You kidnap people?”
“Not to sell them,” I added quickly. “We don’t... we aren’t like them. We rarely get those types of jobs, but they’re usually just for ransoms. No one gets hurt or stays missing.”
“Do you really think that makes it okay?” she
Similar Books
