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

  “I’m just following orders Vi,” Sage told her and gave her a gentle shove back. If Dominic didn’t know better already, he’d think they were flirting with each other.

  “Thomas and his stinking rules,” Viola said, shaking her head.

  “Hey, how do you think I feel? I keep ending up being the one on the babysitting detail. It’s getting old pretty fast,” Sage told her, frustration showing on his face.

  “It should be over soon. I’m sorry you’re stuck doing this. You could always go back to your room and if anyone asks, I’ll tell them you did what you were supposed to,” Viola suggested, trying to give him a break.

  “Nah, I’ll be okay. It’s not that big of a deal. You guys are good company,” Sage said, and Dominic picked up on something from the man that he couldn’t quite put his finger on, but could relate to.

  “Come on, let’s go see my new digs. If they’re as awesome as yours, I think I’ll be in heaven, other than being too busy missing you to truly enjoy it,” Dominic said, placing his arm around Viola’s shoulders and pulling her close.

  Viola nodded and Sage led the way out of the room. Dominic’s room was located two doors down from Cora and Liam’s room on the downstairs level as it turned out. They entered and Dominic looked around in awe.

  “I have never stayed anywhere like this before,” he said as he walked around the room.

  “Really? Neither had Cora and I before a few days ago. You’re in for a treat then, check out the bathroom,” Viola told him.

  He headed over and opened one of the doors in the room only to find a walk-in closet that was about the size of the room he’d slept in where Anna housed her people. Of course, he shared that room with three other guys, which left very little room for each of them, and zero privacy. He closed that door and went to the other door and opened it.

  “Uh, who do I have to share all of this with?” he asked, disbelieving he could have the whole space and enormous bathroom to himself.

  “You don’t have to share this with anyone,” Sage told him.

  “You’re kidding right? There’s no way I need all of this space,” Dominic replied, still overwhelmed.

  “Nope. All yours. At least until we’re mated and I move in,” Viola said with a grin and a wink in his direction. His entire face lit up at the thought.

  “How did I get so lucky?” he asked in a voice so soft Viola and Sage almost didn’t hear what he’d said.

  Viola just grinned at him as he gazed at her in awe. “What does luck have to do with it?” she asked.

  “It must be luck, because I can’t think of a thing I’ve done to ever have been able to deserve you as my mate,” he replied.

  “Uh, I think I’m gonna wait in the hallway. Keep it short you two,” Sage said, feeling out of place.

  “I’ll be out in a couple of minutes,” Viola said, feeling grateful for the privacy Sage was giving them, knowing it was against her father’s orders.

  Sage nodded and closed the door with a soft click behind him. Viola walked over and stopped right before Dominic, looking up into his eyes.

  He reached up and brushed her hair back from her face with a feather-light touch as they gazed at each other.

  “Are you sure you want me?” he asked her, fear making his voice shaky. He wasn’t sure he could handle her rejection.

  “I know we don’t know each other very well, but I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you since we first saw each other that night. If I’ve learned anything from my parents, and Cora’s mating with Liam, it is that we don’t have a choice in the matter. But to answer your question, if it had been my choice, I’m pretty sure I’d choose you,” she said from her heart.

  “I don’t know why. I’m not a good guy. I’ve done horrible things working for Anna. I’m sure if you knew all of the things I’ve done, you wouldn’t want me,” he said, sorrow filling his voice.

  “I’m not up for sainthood either. You’d be surprised at some of the things I’ve done. You can’t beat yourself up about those things. You were doing what you had to do to survive in a world that was treating you as if it didn’t want you to survive, like mine,” Viola said, understanding written all over her face, in her eyes and filling her words.

  “I don’t deserve you,” he whispered.

  “Yes, you do,” she responded, her voice breathless as they leaned closer and closer towards each other. Before he knew what happened, they were kissing and he felt like he had died and gone to heaven from the sheer joy of it. He still doubted his worthiness of her, but in this moment, he shoved those doubts to the back of his mind as his mouth moved with hers in the best kiss of his life.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The next morning, Viola woke up in her bed and stretched with a wide smile on her face. All she could think about was that mind-jarring kiss she had shared with Dominic the night before. She knew they had a busy day ahead of them, but she didn’t want to think about all of that just yet.

  Closing her eyes, she just laid there and pictured the scene in his room. He’d looked so vulnerable as he’d told her he wasn’t worthy of her. To her, his feelings showed her how much she meant to him.

  A loud knock on her bedroom door was an unwelcome intrusion. Groaning, she threw the covers off and climbed out of bed. She threw on her bathrobe as she reached the door and opened it to find Sage on the other side.

  “Um, everyone’s waiting for you for breakfast,” Sage said, feeling uncomfortable.

  “Thanks, I’ll be down in a few minutes. Just let me grab a quick shower and get dressed,” she said and started to close the door.

  “No problem Vi. Can I ask you a favor though, before I head back down?” he asked her with strong hesitation.

  “Yeah, sure,” she said, her curiosity was peaked.

  “Could you not mention that I left you and Dominic alone in his room last night?” Sage asked and seemed as if he was about to explain when Viola leaned up and gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek.

  “Don’t worry about it. I wasn’t going to. I know you took a risk doing that for us and we appreciate it,” she said with a smile.

  Sage heaved a huge sigh of relief and smiled back at her. He reached up and ruffled her already messed up bed hair. “You’re a good kid,” he said with a wink.

  “Kid? Excuse me?” Viola said, pretending offense, but knowing he was teasing her as he always did.

  “You heard me. Now get your butt in gear, we’re all hungry down there and waiting on you,” he said and laughed as he dodged the punch she aimed at his gut.

  “Well, just for that, you can wait longer,” she said and stuck her tongue out at him.

  “Watch it Sis, I may just carry you down there over my shoulder just the way you are. Now, what would Dominic think of that?” he asked and put his finger on his chin feigning thought.

  “Get out of here. You are so annoying,” she exclaimed with a laugh and closed the door before he could form another comeback.

  She gathered what she needed for her shower and rushed into the bathroom. The thought of seeing her mate again after last night’s kiss, lit a fire inside of her.

  Taking the quickest shower of her entire life, she towel dried and got dressed as fast as she could. With her hair wrapped up in a towel, she put on her makeup, making sure it was applied to perfection.

  She removed the towel from her hair, blow dried it and arranged it into a simple, but elegant style that looked very relaxed. After double checking her appearance, she turned and left the bathroom and her room altogether.

  Dominic rose from his seat as Viola entered the room. He moved over and pulled out the chair right beside him for her to be seated and Viola’s eyes widened a bit in surprise. She had never had a guy be a true gentleman to her like he was being right now. She murmured her thanks as she took her seat and he helped to scoot the chair under the table a little.

  “You look gorgeous Beautiful One,” he told her with an appreciating look in his eyes.

  “Thank
you Dominic,” she said, feeling shy for the first time she could ever remember.

  “So nice of you to join us sis,” Cora said with a smirk.

  “Oh, you’re so welcome Cora. I should be late more often if everyone appreciates it so much,” Viola returned with a laugh.

  “Yeah, we all just love starving to death while you get a few extra minutes of beauty sleep,” Liam joined in on the teasing.

  “Thanks for the info Liam. I’ll make it a point, since you enjoy it so much, to be late a lot more often,” Viola said, her eyes twinkling with amusement.

  “Viola, I swear if you’re late to breakfast again, I will carry you down here,” Sage growled out while reaching for his fork.

  “Really? I doubt that,” Viola returned and added some fruit to her plate.

  “That’s enough,” Thomas said with a small smile on his face. It seemed that, for once, their father was enjoying their playful banter. It was a relief to see he had a sliver of a sense of humor.

  “I trust you all slept well last night?” Angelica asked everyone.

  A chorus of “Yes” echoed around the table and the conversation about the day ahead got started. They worked through the details of what laid ahead of them.

  Once breakfast was finished, they sat back and sipped on their coffee as they ironed out the final details. Although she was nervous about the events to come, Viola was also certain the plan would work and by the end of the day, they’d have the breathing room they needed from Anna and Dominic would be safe from her grasp. She reached over and clasped his hand in hers.

  After a while, they decided there wasn’t anything else they could work through on their plan. Angelica looked at her watch and stood.

  “It’s time ladies. We have a date at the salon we wouldn’t want to miss, now would we?” she asked the girls with a smile that grew even larger as the twins stood up so fast their chairs almost tipped over behind them.

  “Ready when you are,” Cora told her, excitement flowing from both twins.

  Liam stood, wrapped his arms around her and kissed her with all of the love he felt in his heart for her. “You stay safe. Sage and I will both be a part of the guard around you during the public excursion. We’ll be close by at all times, if you need us throughout the entire mission. Please do not do anything to put yourselves in unnecessary danger.”

  “Both of us have too much to look forward to. Don’t worry so much Liam. We’ll be fine,” Viola said as Dominic pulled her into his arms. Thomas cleared his throat in disapproval, but they both ignored him as Dominic leaned down and kissed her as he had the night before, making her insides turn to jelly and her knees threaten to give out.

  It took a few minutes for both couples to break apart and the women to gather what they planned on taking with them, before they headed out of the house. The guys went straight into mission mode while Angelica and the twins played their roles of mother and daughters bonding to perfection.

  The day went according to plan and the twins found themselves enjoying their mother’s company more and more. The trip to the spa had been heaven and the clothes and shoe shopping had made them ecstatic.

  By the time they left the last store, they were carrying so many bags even their guards, including Sage and Liam, were overloaded. The three women were talking and laughing as they headed to their vehicles for the crucial trip home, where the most important part of the mission came into play.

  After loading into the vehicles, Cora and Viola became somber and attentive. Their eyes scanned everything around them through the tinted windows as the entourage took off.

  “Relax girls. Everything will go according to plan,” Angelica said, trying to keep her own nervousness out of her voice.

  “What if something goes wrong? What if Anna realizes it’s a trap and somehow catches Dominic? What if…” Viola started, fear clutching her heart.

  “Viola stop. You can’t think like that. We planned this out very well. There is a ton of backup protecting us. Dominic is not alone either, your father and I made sure of that,” Angelica tried soothing her daughter.

  “It’s all gonna work out okay Sis. Try to relax and don’t borrow trouble. That never works in our favor,” Cora told her giving her a tight hug and then leaning back into the comfortable seat.

  “I can’t stop thinking that something’s going to go wrong,” Viola told them. “It’s almost like a gut feeling.”

  This got Cora’s attention, making her sit up and look intently at her sister.

  “What do you mean?” she asked her warily.

  “There’s this nagging feeling that something’s going to go wrong. I can’t explain it any better than that,” she told her sister.

  “Cora, what’s wrong?” Angelica asked her, worry written all over her face.

  “Anytime Viola’s had that feeling in the past, something’s gone terribly wrong. Can we check on the others and make sure they’re all okay?” Cora said, looking around even more.

  Viola sat back in the seat, worry and fear written all over her and spreading through her sister and mother.

  Angelica pulled out her cell phone and hit speed dial for Thomas. When he answered, she explained the situation and asked him to check on everyone and get back to her before getting off and trying to reassure her daughters, once again, that everything would work out as planned.

  Nothing she said seemed to ease the girls’ worry so she sat back and waited for Thomas to get back to her.

  Chapter Fourteen

  When Sage lost contact with Dominic, he knew something was seriously wrong. He put the vehicle he was driving into gear and floored it to get to where Viola’s mate was supposed to be positioned for the mission.

  Breaking away from the pack felt wrong but he wasn’t going to let anything happen to the man his new sister was in love with.

  Liam gave Sage a sharp look and opened his mouth to object to Sage’s actions, but was cut off before he could begin.

  “Something’s wrong. We need to get to Dominic and back him up now. There is plenty of coverage on Angelica and the girls,” Sage said and Liam knew from the tone, he was worried.

  “This could be what Anna wants,” Liam pointed out to his brother. “If we’re distracted by Dominic’s predicament, then the girls have less backup and they’re easier targets.”

  “I realize that. I also know that those are two very strong girls who have a deep hatred for that woman, so if she does try anything, they’ll defend themselves with everything they’ve got. Put together, they’re stronger than everyone trying to protect them. Dominic doesn’t have that advantage, therefore he needs our backup right now,” Sage told Liam in a tone that should have told Liam not to argue with his brother further on the matter.

  “That is my mate you are making vulnerable by doing this,” Liam bit out, anger building inside of him for his brother’s complete disregard of his mate’s safety.

  “Your mate is stronger and more capable than you give her credit for. She’s saved your behind more than you’ve saved and protected hers. So sit back, shut up and think like the soldier you’re supposed to be, or I’m going to drop you off right here and go do what I have to do. Then I’ll report back to Thomas that you are too compromised by your feelings for Cora to do your job properly,” Sage told his brother in a no-nonsense tone.

  “You wouldn’t do that to me,” Liam said in a low shocked voice.

  “Don’t doubt me little brother. As important as Cora, Viola and you are to the success of the prophecy, so is Dominic as Viola’s mate. We have a duty to protect him as well. Get your head on straight right now,” Sage ordered.

  Liam sat back in the passenger seat stunned. He’d never thought Sage would treat him this way.

  Sage glanced over out of the corner of his eye and worried he’d pushed his brother too far, but he’d done what he’d had to. Everything he’d told him was the truth. Since Liam had met Cora, he’d become soft in all of his other duties, besides protecting her. Thomas was beginni
ng to notice and had mentioned it to him the day before.

  Liam sat there stewing and looking out of the window. Sage came to a screeching halt when a SUV pulled out in front of him and blocked his path.

  Sage, Liam and the few other guards that were in the car pulled out their weapons and got them ready as they exited their vehicle and began to walk over to the SUV blocking their path. They were extra cautious since none of the doors opened at their approach.

  The guards behind Sage and Liam fanned out and positioned themselves at various points around the vehicle before the two brothers made their final approach.

  With no warning, the driver’s side door flew open and Dominic stepped out of the SUV, a warning glint in his eyes. He wasn’t holding a weapon but that didn’t matter since he was a part of their race.

  “What are you doing Dominic? Everything alright?” Sage asked, keeping his eyes alert and his mind focused.

  “Where are the twins?” Dominic asked, but there was an edge to his voice Sage picked up and the man’s emotions were warning him not to answer that question with the truth.

  “They’re safe.” Was all Sage said to him. Dominic’s posture and behavior was lighting off all kinds of warning signals in both of the brothers.

  “You will bring them to me now,” Dominic told them in a threatening voice.

  “That’s not gonna happen,” Liam spoke up, fury and betrayal in his voice.

  “Why would we bring them to you?” Sage asked in a belligerent tone.

  “Trust me, you want no part of this. Just give me the girls and we can all go about our merry ways. If you don’t, then I will have to hurt you and go get them myself. Your choice,” Dominic said and Sage knew, without a doubt, that Anna was lurking nearby. He tried his hardest to find her emotional signature, but was having difficulty doing so. He knew she was blocking him, but after their last encounter, he had a connection to her that made it so she couldn’t completely hide herself from him.

  “Do you really want to be doing the dirty work of someone else?” Sage asked Dominic.