"Thank God for that."
"No, Leo, thankyou. You're the reason I'm okay."
Tentatively wrapping my arms around him, I squeeze him tight, burrowing my head into his chest. My face is close to Jellybeans, allowing her to lick the underneath of my chin, helping to calm me down.
After a moment, he loosens his hold on me, passes me Jellybean, and then glances at the scene around us.
"Okay, go stand over there," he says, pointing at a shadowed part of the alley. "You wait there while I call someone to bring us a car and someone to clean this shit up, okay?"
Nodding, I follow his instructions, walking a few feet away to conceal myself slightly in the shadows. I turn around to face him, watching as he holds a phone to his ear with his shoulder, while he bends down and grabs a hold of the dead man's arms, dragging him to the other side of the alley.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Dominic
Walking through the apartment, I check every room in search of Alicia, unfortunately coming up empty.
I suspected as much when Leo told me they were going out shopping. I haven't heard from them since, but I came home in the hopes of having a late lunch with her, and I wanted to check on her after last night.
Something seemed off when I first came home last night, but I got caught up in the feel of her, consumed by the moment, and I didn't think to question it.
Now that I'm thinking about it even more with a clearer head, she was worried when I returned home, and seemed relieved to see me.
That would make sense if she knew about what had gone down at the docks, but as far as I'm aware, she has no knowledge of that.
Sitting on the sofa, I pull my phone from my pocket and dial Jaylen's number.
As the line connects, I hear the elevator start up, and I huff, regretting calling him now. I'll likely be stuck on the phone with him for ages instead of doing what I'd prefer—spending time with Alicia.
"To what do I owe the pleasure today, boss man?" he asks, chipper as always.
"Was bored and in desperate need of some company," I snarkily reply, getting off the sofa and walking out to the hallway. "No, in reality, I was calling because I thought Alicia was still going to be gone for a while, but she's coming up now, so I'll call you back later."
The doors of the elevator open just as I hang up the phone.
When I catch a glimpse of Alicia and Leo standing inside the metal box, covered in blood, and sporting cold, emotionless expressions, my phone drops from my hand, crashing onto the floor.
"What the fuck happened?" I ask, rushing towards them, immediately pulling Alicia into the hallway and running my eyes all over her before pulling her motionless body into my arms.
Blood is smeared across her face, and her whole body is subtly trembling. She has this dead, lost, emotionless look in her eyes that has terror shooting through my veins.
Pulling her against my chest, I wrap my arms tightly around her, melding our bodies together. My eyes dart to Jellybean, who runs straight for the kitchen, and then to Leo, who's still standing inside the elevator, his worrisome eyes locked onto the back of Alicia's head.
"Leo," I bark, cradling her head against my chest when I feel her flinch. "What the fuck happened?"
He finally drags his eyes away from her, but he doesn't look at me. He looks down at the floor instead and shrugs.
Wrapping my hand around the back of her neck, I pull away from her—which is an easy feat, seeing as she never put her arms around me—and I tilt her head up, waiting for her eyes to connect with mine.
When they do, my heart clenches inside my chest, and my brows furrow.
"Little viper," I say, gulping as I continue staring down at her, worry swarming through my veins. "What happened?"
She continues looking straight through me, and I'm convinced she's not even aware I'm speaking to her until her lips finally part.
"I'm going upstairs," she says quietly, her gaze dropping away from mine as she slowly moves around me and begins to walk down the hall.
"Have a shower," I tell her, whirling around to watch her leave. "I'll come and check on you in a minute."
