They scattered to follow their orders and I headed back to Jules. I decided not to tell her about my suspicions about Ernie. It’d just scare her more. Plus, I was kind of worried she might pull some crazy shit, trying to help.
I found her in Leah’s room. I was about to motion for her to come into the hall when my phone rang. The caller ID said it was New Day. Figuring it was Duke, I answered. It was Storm.
She sounded a little shaky, but good. “Hey, Dom, Jules didn’t answer her phone. Do you know where she is?”
“Yeah, she’s right here.” I walked in the room and the girls looked up. “Leah and Faith are here too. If you want, I can put you on speaker phone.”
”No, just Jules for now. Thanks.”
I had an idea. “Hey, would you rather us come visit? I can bring Jules to see you today if you want.” Jules smiled at that.
“Could you really?” She sounded excited. “I would love to see her.”
“Sure, sweetheart. We can head up now.”
“Okay. Thanks, Dom. For everything.”
I hung up and Jules ran over to me, looking as excited as Storm had sounded. “Can we really go today? I’m dying to see Storm.”
I gripped her shoulder and rubbed down her arm. “Sure. I need to check on Duke anyway. We could take the cage and go for a drive.” She jumped up and down a little and I realized I should’ve gotten her out of here before now. I smiled and kissed her on the forehead. “We’ll leave as soon as you’re ready. Okay?”
Wearing a huge smile, she ran off to get dressed for the hour drive to New Day.
I had to admit, part of me was glad things happened this way. It meant I didn’t have to talk to her about our crazy plans for a little while longer.
Because I still wasn’t sure I could put any of the girls in danger as bait, especially Jules.
24
Jules
Dom opened the door of the car for me as I stood there, still feeling like bouncing. I was excited to see Storm. I hoped she was coping well and that New Day was a good place for her.
“While you visit with Storm, I’ll check in on Duke. Okay?” Dom climbed in the car with me. “I won’t be far away, so you’ll be just fine.”
I nodded. I hadn’t thought about being out in the open or John or anything else since Dom told me we were seeing Storm. I shoved down the fear that rose up and decided to just enjoy the trip and the visit with my friend.
The drive was peaceful, and it felt great to get out of the compound. We even stopped for a bite to eat. Dom took me to this hole-in-the-wall Italian restaurant.
“This place has the best pasta ever,” Dom said on a smile, looking like a kid in a candy store instead of a grown man in a restaurant.
Looking at the menu, everything looked so good, I couldn’t decide what I wanted. “What should I get?”
Dom grinned. “I’m going with classic spaghetti and meat sauce.”
“Mmm,” I said. That sounded good. I grinned at him. “Hey, maybe we can just get one and we can lady and the tramp it.” I laughed.
He shook his head. “Sorry, baby, but I don’t share pasta with anybody.” He winked, and those dimples I loved appeared.
We talked for a bit and then our food arrived. We thoroughly enjoyed our meal, then got back on the road to New Day. It was a nice break, a bit of normal we hadn’t gotten much of lately.
Arriving at New Day, the excitement of seeing Storm had me on edge. I couldn’t keep myself from thinking that I hoped we hadn’t been followed, and that John had no idea where Storm was. I couldn’t let him torture her again.
After Dom went to find his friend, I was escorted to a room where I waited for Storm to come in. When she arrived I jumped up to hug her. The ache in my chest eased a little when I felt her squeeze me tight. Pulling back, I smiled at her. The smile she gave me back didn’t quite reach her eyes. Still, she looked a lot better.
I pointed to the chairs and we sat down. “How are you doing?”
“Better.” She twisted her hands in her lap. “I still have my moments, but the therapy is helping. The real issues come when I get released.” She looked up at me.
“Do you know when that will be?” I prayed that we’d have time to capture John before they released her.
“The doctor said that I have a couple more weeks.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. Surely, he’d be caught by then.
We talked about how she was doing and discussed the other girls. She seemed excited to see everyone. When we talked about what she wanted to do when she got out, I noticed her staring over by the corner. I looked back to see what or who she was watching, and saw Dom talking to a man. They looked deep in conversation.
I turned back to Storm. “Do you know him?”
She nodded. “He’s in a different area than I am, but we have group together. I don’t know his name, and he keeps quiet. Does Dom know him?”
“I guess so.” I wondered if this was the guy he’d said he’d have watching out for Storm, or if it was Duke.
After talking for a while longer, she stood up and hugged me. “I know I’ve said it a million times, but thanks for everything.”
As she left the room, I walked up to Dom, wrapping my arms around his waist. I placed my chin on his shoulder and kissed him there.
He
