Chapter 10

**The First Encounter with Dominic**

I was surrounded by the cozy bookstore smell of old paper and new ink. The bookshelves towered, with tales much simpler than mine. I drew a deep breath as I sat at the weathered oak table opposite Jake. No matter how far you tried to push the past away, it always found a way to resurface.

A flicker of something unreadable passed through Jake's hazel eyes. "You don't discuss it very often."

I was aware of his meaning. my history. The actions I took to get away. What I had endured before I did. Trying to ignore the recollections, I clasped my hands together.

"I fail to see the purpose," I said. "It's over."

With his forearms resting on the table, Jake leaned forward. But is it? Because sometimes when I look at you, Emma, you're not here at all.

Before I could reply, a shiver of uneasiness ran up my back. Something changed in the air. A presence outside the storefront's glass made my heart race. It felt like invisible fingers were running down my arms, causing my skin to prickle. Slowly, my head rotated, and I saw the darkish figure standing outside under the streetlamp.

Only the faintest trace of sharp cheekbones and the distinct glimmer of piercing blue eyes were visible in the lamp's brightness. My eyes were too familiar. The eyes that have become part of my nightmares.

Roth Dominic.

I tensed up, my throat tightening each breath. Anger and terror fought back and forth in my body like a fierce storm. My body stayed motionless as my head cried out for me to run. In what way? How did he come across me?

Jake's posture tightened as he followed my eyes. “Who in hell is that, Emma?”

My fingernails pricked my hands. "A person I hoped to never see again."

The tiniest grin curved Dominic's lips as he took a step nearer, perhaps sensing my trepidation. The world appeared to get smaller, and I felt as though I was being choked by the bookstore's walls. He has no right to be here. I had used caution. I was no longer there.

And yet he was.

The air was too dense, and my heart pounded my ribs. Despite my hands' minor tremble, I forced myself to stand. I had to get out. Now. I had to keep him at bay.

My wrist was grabbed by Jake. "Speak to me, Emma. “Who is he?”

I swallowed forcefully. "He is dangerous."

When Dominic extended a gloved hand and tapped his index finger against the glass, his lips parted as though he were going to say something. A pledge made without words. An alert.

I stumbled backwards and wrenched my wrist out of Jake's hold. “We must leave.”

Jake shifted his gaze between Dominic and me, his face growing serious. "I'm not going to let you handle this alone, no matter what."

The front door, however, creaked open before I could protest.

Something darker and more enticing, along with the cedar aroma, was carried in by a gust of frigid air. Dominic's scent. I was too familiar with the smell. His boots hardly made a sound on the wooden flooring as he entered, and my stomach turned. He commanded the room just by his presence, as though he had never left the shadows of my past and had always been here.

His voice was silky, rich, and full of an unspoken quality when he said, "Emma." possession. "I have been searching for you."

I had a dry throat. I forced myself to disguise the fear that was tearing at my insides by maintaining a neutral demeanor. "You shouldn't have," I said.

Dominic gave a knowing, low laugh. His keen eyes were watching me as he cocked his head slightly. "I disagree."

Jake stepped forward of me, adopting a defensive posture. "You have to go."

Dominic hardly gave him a look. "Oh, and who could it be?"

Jake had always been obstinate, so I wanted to apologize and tell him not to get involved. "Someone who forbids you from getting close to her."

With a hint of amusement, but with a sour look, Dominic let out a breath. Courageous. However, it is incredibly stupid.

I recognized that expression. Before he took away my freedom all those years ago, I had witnessed it once. I would not permit that to occur once more.

Rallying all my last defiance, I raised my chin. "Get out, Dominic. You will not discover what you are looking for.

With the grace of a predator, he closed the distance between us in an instant as his eyes darkened. While Jake pushed forward, Dominic was quicker. Jake grunted as he was pushed back with a quick flick of his wrist and struck the table.

“Jake!” My face was tilted up into Dominic's as he gripped my chin between his fingers as I gasped and reached for him.

"I'm still very defiant," he whispered. But Emma, you are mine. You have always done.

I clenched my jaw and pressed against his chest. "I never belonged to you."

Amusement flickered in his face as his grip tightened for the smallest moment before he released me. "You know the truth, but you can tell yourself as many lies as you like."

Before I could reply, a shattering sound sliced through the atmosphere. Like deadly stars, glass rained down from the bookstore window as it erupted inside. Books were toppled and papers were flung in all directions as a fierce wind howled through the room. I hardly had time to respond when a dark figure, moving so quickly that I was having trouble processing it, exploded through the smashed window.

Dominic whirled, grabbing for something under his coat, but the person moved more quickly. Moonlight glinting on steel, a flash of silver. Before he could blink, the dagger was pushed on Dominic's throat.

I gasped. Despite the newcomer's darkness, there was a frightfully familiar quality to his movements. He was a source of raw, unbridled power. And his voice was like a whisper I had made myself forget, a phantom from my past, until he finally spoke.

The stranger hissed, "Step away from her, Roth." "Or I'll complete the tasks I should have completed years ago."

Dominic tensed his jaw but remained still. Not yet. He was strategic. looking on. waiting for the ideal time.

I was caught between them, my heart thumping uncontrollably.

The stranger then turned to look at me.

My entire universe sways. I almost fell to the ground.

Since I was acquainted with him.

And if he were present...

My entire understanding of my past was going to fall apart.