Chapter 197
RAINA
The moment Alex’s hands landed on my arms, his grip was too tight; his fingers pressed into my skin like a vice. His nostrils flared, his jaw clenched so hard I thought his teeth would crack. His eyes, wild and dark with fury, bored into mine, and my stomach dropped. I winced, a harsh breath hissing out of my lips, and only then did he loosen his hold.
But he didn’t let me go.
“What the hell are you doing here?” His voice was low, tight, and filled with barely restrained anger. “Are you out of your damn mind?”
I blinked, confused, my heart hammering against my ribs. “What? Alex, what’s going on? Why are the police here? Where’s Dom?” My voice wavered, and a cold sense of dread started creeping up my spine.
Alex rubbed a hand over his face, blowing out a ragged breath. “You shouldn’t have come,” he muttered, his voice rough with frustration. “You’re in danger now. Do you even realize that? If anyone finds you here, the whole thing could be blown wide open. You’re ruining the plan.”
“What plan?” I asked, frowning. “What are you talking about?”
He let out a harsh sigh, his shoulders tense. “Faith’s been kidnapped, Raina,” he said flatly. “It happened an hour ago.”
The air left my lungs in an instant. “No…” My voice barely came out as a whisper. My legs felt weak, my stomach twisting with nausea. I shook my head as if denying it would make it untrue. “No, that―That can’t be right.”
Alex muttered a curse under his breath, his jaw clenched. “It is.‘
A searing jab of guilt hit me in the chest, so quick and powerful I thought I might not be able to breathe. “This is my fault,” I whispered, hardly realizing I had spoken the words out loud. “Perhaps if I’d gotten here sooner…”
Alex’s face darkened. “Stop it,” he bit out, his voice like a lash. “You should have stayed with the kids.” His fist clenched and before I could react, he swung and punched the wall. The sharp crack of his knuckles on the surface made me flinch. “Damn it,” he growled before stalking off, his back rigid
with tension.
My heart was hammering in my ears as I spun on my heel and tore through the house, my thoughts now fixed singularly on Dominic. He must be out of his mind.
When I located him, my gut churned even more.
Dominic was slouching in a chair, gripping a bottle of whiskey tightly in his hand. His eyes were bloodshot and hollow. He wasn’t drinking; he was drowning–drowning in his grief, in his anger, in something deeper than that, which I couldn’t name.
“Dom!” I called, but he didn’t even lift his head.
I strode toward him, snatched the bottle, and wrenched it out of his hand. “What the hell are you doing?” I yelled. “You think drinking yourself into oblivion is going to help? Is that going to bring her back?”
“Leave me alone, Raina,” he mumbled, his voice husky and dead inside.
“No,” I barked. “Not happening.”
Finally, his gaze lifted, and what I saw there made my throat constrict. Devastation. Absolute, soul–bruising devastation.
“She wanted out,” he whispered, his voice raw. “She wanted out so bad, Raina. She didn’t want to work on our marriage. And now… Now she’s gone.”
My grip tightened around the bottle. “She didn’t deserve this, Dom,” I said, my voice softer now. “No matter what was going on between you two, she didn’t deserve this.”
He let out a bitter laugh; his hands ran through his already mussed hair. “And what if… What if this was what she wanted? What if she found a way to leave?”
I stared at him, horror creeping in. “You don’t believe that,” I said, knowing better. “You know Faith would never-”
“She signed the damn papers,” he cut me off, his voice cracking. He pointed toward the table, where the divorce papers were sitting in plain sight. “She wanted out. She was done with me.”
