Viola's Risk (The Twin Destinies Saga Book 2) Read online

  “You heard me. We do not have time for this. Dominic has to be back by the morning and the two of you have to get started on your training,” Thomas insisted.

  “Liam, I swear to you if you disrespect my sister by breaking through that wall, I will be worse than your best memory of Anna,” Viola threatened her brother-in-law and smirked when she saw him shudder at the memories. Even Dominic shuddered, which infuriated her more than she’d ever thought possible.

  “You do not override me young lady,” Thomas threatened her. She could feel the fury radiating from him and found she didn’t care at all. Even though Cora had started to forge a connection with their newfound parents, she hadn’t yet.

  She faced him fully and squared her shoulders, ready to do battle. “Or what?” she said in typical teenage fashion.

  “Honey, don’t do this,” Angelica pleaded. In one day it seemed like the family she was trying to pull together was crumbling at her feet and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

  “Beautiful One, stop this. You can find your sister and we can settle this. Do not start a war amongst your own family,” Dominic pleaded with her but it fell on deaf ears.

  “I asked you a question Dad,” Viola demanded.

  “You do not want to know the answer to that question Viola,” Thomas gritted out.

  “I’m pretty sure I do, because the way I see it, you need us too much to harm us or throw us out. You won’t harm Liam or Dominic in any way because they are our mates and we need them to succeed if what you’ve told us is the truth. Sage has nothing to do with this at all so you can’t do anything to him. What’s left?” Viola said, crossing her arms across her chest in defiance. She prayed she was buying Cora enough time to devise another plan.

  Thomas started toward Viola as Angelica jumped to block his path. “Leave us. Now,” she ordered as she did her best to stop Thomas’ angry advance. Viola tried to stand her ground until Dominic picked her up and carried her out of the room, despite her telling him not to.

  Sage and Liam stayed close to them as Dominic carried her away from the house toward what looked like a gazebo.

  “Are you stupid?” he asked her as he set her down on one of the cement benches that lined the interior.

  “She must be to have just pulled that stunt,” Sage said in disbelief.

  “Either that or she’s got more backbone than the three of us put together,” Liam said in amazement.

  Viola just sat there with her arms crossed, refusing to speak to any of them. All three of them were willing to just allow Dominic to walk back into Anna’s web of deceit and torture without trying to come up with another plan.

  “Where’s Cora?” Liam asked her with such worry in his voice she couldn’t stop herself from looking up at him.

  “I’m not sure. I think I now understand why it took her so long to find me after I’d been taken,” Viola admitted.

  “The bond between mates is powerful Viola, but it can be overcome if you can focus,” Sage told her.

  “And what if I want to respect her wishes?” Viola persisted in denying them.

  “I just need to know she’s alright Vi,” Liam pleaded.

  “Oh, I can tell you that with no problem. She’s worried but other than that, she’s fine. Don’t worry Liam, Cora’s tough,” Viola did her best to reassure him.

  “If you can sense that much, then you can find her,” Sage told her. It was like he was a dog with a bone.

  “Not gonna happen Sage. Give it a rest,” she told him.

  “You are stubborn. I can see why they were never able to break you, no matter how hard they tried,” Dominic said with awe in his voice.

  “It will take a lot more than that,” Viola said, her voice filled with pride.

  “Do you know the things Anna and Patrick did to them growing up?” Liam demanded, his rage uncontainable.

  “No, I don’t, but if you’re reacting like this, it had to have been pretty awful. Also, knowing Anna like I do, they’re the strongest two women I’ve ever met in my life to have come through it, not only alive, but as undamaged as they are,” Dominic said facing Liam down.

  “We’re stronger than that. Everything they did, made us even stronger. We refused then to give in and we refuse now to let her beat us,” Viola told them.

  “Then tell us where Cora is so we can settle all of this and get your training started,” Sage persisted like an annoying fly, that she’d love nothing more than to squish at the moment.

  “I’m right here, and I’ve got a plan,” Cora said as she entered the gazebo with a wide devious grin plastered all over her face. “Anyone want to hear it?”

  Chapter Nine

  “What are you talking about Cora?” Liam asked as he rushed over to her side and wrapped his arms around her. He was so relieved to have her back safe and sound.

  “I have a way to keep Dominic from going back undercover with Anna,” Cora informed them with pride. “I think it’ll work too.”

  Dominic and Viola exchanged a look before turning their full attention on Cora. Sage just sat back with his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

  “What do you have in mind Cora?” Sage asked her, worried she’d get everyone’s hopes up with a plan that wouldn’t work.

  “First, Dominic, do you have a way to contact Anna without having to communicate face to face?” she asked him, becoming serious.

  “Yeah, why?” he answered her, wary of where she was heading. The last thing he wanted to do was hope for something that wouldn’t happen.

  “I’m thinking, why should we wait around for Anna to attack and have Dominic in constant danger of being discovered? Why don’t we set up the ideal setting for Anna to attack, spur of the moment. Having almost no time to prepare, she’s going to make mistakes and that will give us the advantage. If we can stop Anna now, or at least cripple her enough to give us the time we need to prepare for our birthday. What do you guys think?” Cora said with pride. She knew there would be objections, but if they planned it out well enough, they could extract Dominic and give themselves the time they needed.

  “Anna is prepared for everything Cora,” Dominic told her with doubt in his voice. “You can’t catch her unprepared.”

  “You’d be surprised,” Viola chimed in, thinking. “We’re pretty good at catching her off-guard. We’ve been practicing it our entire lives.”

  Cora’s grin grew as Viola backed her up. She didn’t trust Dominic yet, but knowing Viola the way that she did, if they didn’t find a way to keep him here, Viola would be in grave danger. Besides, giving her twin the chance at the same happiness she and Liam shared made it all worth it.

  “You are not putting yourselves in danger,” Liam said through gritted teeth. He hated the direction Cora’s idea was taking them in.

  “We would have plenty of protection. Besides, we’re both pretty powerful,” Cora said without a doubt in her mind.

  “You have no training in how to use those powers. You could be putting others at risk,” Sage spoke up.

  Cora rolled her eyes. Their objections were so predictable, they were boring. It was quite obvious none of them knew the twins very well.

  “I think this idea deserves a lot more discussion,” Viola said as she squeezed Dominic’s hand in her own. The hope building in her was shining bright in her eyes.

  “No. I can’t agree to this,” Liam told them. “I can’t support anything that puts the two of you in danger.”

  Cora could feel the fear and worry oozing from every pore in Liam’s skin. She could understand, but it was not something she could let get in their way.

  “I’m sorry Liam. This is something we’re going to have to do. I would rather have you on our side, but whether you are, or you aren’t, we’re going to do this. It’s more dangerous for Dominic to go back inside than what we will be doing,” Cora told him, being strong, but feeling a stab in her heart that they were divided in this.

  “Don’t you think you should be running this idea by us before
you go deciding what you will or will not be doing?” Thomas asked as he and Angelica joined the group.

  The girls looked at their parents and the frowns on their faces did not give them hope.

  “We had every intention of letting you know what we’re planning,” Viola said, standing up and moving to Cora’s side. They needed a strong unified front to succeed in passing this idea through their parents.

  “If that’s really the case then we’re listening,” Angelica said, placing her hand on Thomas’ arm to keep him from flying off the handle with the anger he was feeling. Their twin daughters frustrated him to no end.

  “Here?” Viola asked, surprised. “You don’t want to go back to your study so we can have more privacy?”

  “What does privacy matter? It seems you’ve already been discussing this idea out in the open,” Thomas asked them, angry.

  “It needs a lot more refining and the details should be discussed in private,” Cora said, confidence vibrating from every fiber of her being. She was relieved that their father no longer intimidated her.

  “Very well, we shall move to the study to discuss this, but we want full disclosure. Do you both understand?” Angelica asked in a firm motherly tone.

  Both girls nodded and agreed before the entire group moved inside the house and into the study to resume their previous conversation.

  After everyone was settled, Cora stood and faced the group as a whole.

  “First, I stand by my original statement. If Dominic goes back in, I refuse to train. That being said, everyone needs to hear my idea out with more of an open mind than I know any of you, besides Viola and maybe Dominic, are ready to give it,” Cora began, looking at Viola, Dominic, both of their parents, Sage and Liam last. She knew that she had to be firm if any of them were going to not just dismiss her and her plans.

  “What are you thinking Cora?” Angelica asked with extreme caution.

  “Before she starts, I want to say that I will not train either if Dominic goes back in there. I will follow him, because I know what Anna’s capable of if she finds out she’s been betrayed,” Viola said, standing and looking at each person in the room.

  “That’s what I’m afraid of Vi. That’s why I came up with the other way.” Cora said, looking at Viola with an understanding in her eyes that nobody else in the room showed.

  “You will not follow me Viola,” Dominic said, standing and commanding her attention.

  “Do you think you can stop me?” Viola demanded with her hands on her hips. “Besides, I don’t take orders from you. You may be my mate, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to lie down and let you control me. If that’s what you think is going to happen, we’re going to have some major problems.”

  Cora chuckled behind her hand at the surprise that lit up Dominic’s face at her sister’s words.

  “Don’t push me Viola. That is no place for you. The next time she gets her hands on you, I guarantee you won’t be treated as well as you were the last time,” Dominic warned in a low growl. “I am trying to protect you.”

  “You’ve got the wrong girl for that buddy,” Viola said, the simmering anger in her building.

  “Enough!” Thomas shouted in frustration. “You are all behaving like small children. First we will listen to Cora’s idea. If it has merit then we will fine tune it and put it into action. If it doesn’t, then Dominic will go back undercover and you both will train. Is that understood?”

  Both Cora and Viola looked at each other at Thomas’ statement and rolled their eyes with a small secret smile passing between the two. Their father had another thing coming if he thought he could force them to train if he sent Dominic back inside that demented woman’s organization. Neither felt the major need to disabuse him of the idea that he could control them just yet. Not before they had his cooperation.

  “Dominic can contact Anna and tell her he’s spotted and is tracking us. That will explain his absence and let her think she can capture us while we’re setting up a trap for her. I see no reason to let her do her plotting and planning when we can be proactive and set her up. At the very least, we do enough damage to cripple her for a while and give us the time to train with Dominic safely here with us. Best case scenario, we stop her now. We’ll still have to deal with Camilla but something tells me they are not working together, so Dominic being on the inside helps us none when it comes to her,” Cora said, sticking with just the facts as she saw them. She watched Thomas closely for his reaction but he was giving nothing away.

  When she finished, everyone was quiet while they waited for Thomas to speak. She was surprised when Sage and Liam didn’t speak up right away to voice their arguments like they had out in the gazebo. The only thing she could figure is they both expected Thomas to voice the same arguments and shut her idea down, so what Thomas said next shocked them all.

  “I think the idea has merit. It needs a lot of work and planning though. Cora, Viola and Dominic will all be vital with their personal experiences with Anna in planning and pulling this off. We need to get to work immediately so we can put this behind us and get you trained,” Thomas spoke, still deep in thought.

  “Sir, I don’t think this is a good idea. The girls will be exposed and in danger. Our job is to keep them safe and protected while they train, until they’re ready.” Sage spoke up, seeing the fear and pain on his brother’s face and feeling the same from everyone in the room, except for the girls.

  “I thought about that, but how much training are we going to accomplish if they’re resisting us? How safe are they going to be if Dominic’s on the inside, but can’t warn us in time before Anna attacks and gets her hands on the girls? Cora’s right, if we’re proactive, we can focus more on their safety and training.” It was obvious he was not happy with the situation as he responded to Sage’s dispute, but nobody else spoke up to contradict Thomas’ decision after that.

  Liam stood and stalked out of the room without saying anything as the discussion began on how to best implement their plan.

  Cora and Viola exchanged another silent look before Cora turned and exited the room after her mate.

  Chapter Ten

  As the planning stage went into effect, Thomas took over, but Viola’s mind wasn’t in it. She was getting the basics of the plan, but she was worried for her twin. Cora understood the need Viola had, to keep Dominic with her and safe, and she knew that. She also knew that, even though Liam understood it, he couldn’t fight past the need to keep his own mate safe and with him.

  The whole situation sucked all around, but the sooner they faced it and came out alright, the better off all of them would be, even though her heart was breaking for the couple.

  Dominic noticed Viola’s distraction and put his arm around her shoulders and squeezed her close, whispering in her ear, “They’ll be fine.”

  Viola raised her eyes to meet his and saw the confidence in them. She drew strength from his and nodded her head in response. She caught Sage staring at their exchange from the corner of her eye and wondered what he was thinking.

  “I think a shopping trip for the girls and I would be the most believable scenario to put into play. There are many things the girls still need, even though they won’t speak up and ask for them. It would also be a great time for us to bond and get to know each other better. Anna knows that. She would believe that,” Angelica spoke up after listening to all of the other ideas thrown out there and shot down.

  “She’s right. Cora and I love to shop and Anna knows this. She would believe we begged for a shopping trip,” Viola said, turning her attention back to the meeting.

  Sage and Dominic both muttered, “Girls!” under their breath, but nodded their heads in agreement.

  “I still don’t like this idea. Sending them out into public not only puts them in danger, but it’s also putting innocents in danger. Anna won’t hesitate to hurt other people to get what she wants. Not to mention their lack of training in their own powers,” Sage argued again.

  “We make th
e guards obvious in the stores and such. She doesn’t want to be discovered any more than you do, because that will only bring scrutiny from the humans towards all of us. She operates best under their radar. Once the women are done shopping, we make it look like they’re vulnerable on their trip back. If I know the exact route they’ll be using to return, I can tell you where Anna will make her move, because I can arrange for her to make it at that point and we’ll be ready for her,” Dominic said, that confidence Viola had seen in his eyes poured out with his words.

  Thomas nodded his head in agreement, the room falling silent. Angelica leaned back in her seat, planning their shopping trip in her mind. Sage eyed Dominic with suspicion.

  “Do you have something to say Sage?” Viola spoke up after a few minutes.

  “How do we know he’s not setting us up for Anna instead of the other way around? He did take Viola to her,” Sage asked after a minute of debating with himself.

  “That’s a fair question. I have no loyalties to Anna, after she murdered my family, who actually supported her cause. My father gave me to her, to work as one of her minions, as a show of devotion. Her gratitude was to murder everyone but me. Both of my parents, my brother, my sister, and my grandmother, who lived with us, were all burned alive because she trapped them in the house and set it on fire. She made me watch and listen to their screams of agony as they were burned alive right in front of my eyes. I tried to help them, but she had me restrained so I couldn’t. After their screams faded and the flames died down, she beat me for trying to save them and pleading for their lives. I knew then I would never be able to support her cause. It took me a long time to gain enough of her trust to be able to leave without being supervised or watched, but I managed it. Once I had that freedom, I approached Thomas and explained everything. I was already established and the flow of information could begin immediately. I have as much invested in bringing her down and making sure the prophecy is fulfilled, as any of you do,” Dominic explained, pain surfacing in his voice when he spoke of the loss of his family.