Dominion (Alpha Domain #1) by Arabella Abbing Read Free Book Online

forced laugh, still visibly frazzled from having my body so close to hers.
    “There’s no need to thank me, I probably should apologize. It was my fault, after all.”
    She shook her head and waved me off. “No, it was me. I wasn’t paying attention. Pedestrian traffic in this city seems to be more dangerous than the street traffic.”
    “You learn fast,” I noted with a laugh.
    “I do. So—twice in two days. You work around here or something?”
    “Or something,” I said with a shrug, directing my eyes to bore into hers. “How about you?”
    “Me? Oh, no. I don’t even live here,” she said with a laugh, obviously a little pleased that someone had mistaken her for a resident. “Not yet anyways.”
    “Moving here soon? Well, that’s good news for me. Maybe I’ll get to run into you again.”
    I could tell my flirting was getting to her, but was a little disappointed to see that it was also making her slightly uncomfortable.
    “I don’t know about that. My boyfriend—”
    “Oh, shit,” I said, holding up my hands. “I’m sorry, I forgot that you were spoken for.”
    The flash of irritation in her eyes was exactly what I wanted to see.
    “I’m not ‘spoken for’. God! What is it with men acting like women are nothing more than property?”
    “That’s not what I meant and you know it.”
    Our gazes clashed again and the silence was thick with electricity. Nervous anticipation was pulsing through my veins and I nearly started bouncing up and down on the balls of my feet as I waited for her to respond.
    She let out a long sigh and nodded. “Yeah, I know. Sorry, I’m just having a weird day.”
    “Perhaps it’d be less weird if you stopped lurking outside of buildings you don’t work at.”
    The joke brightened her mood and she smiled. “I’m not lurking . I’m waiting. There’s a big difference.”
    “Waiting for what? Christmas?”
    Amber howled with laughter, doubling over and clenching her stomach as her body shook with mirth. I didn’t think the joke was particularly funny, but it only served as another reminder that she probably didn’t get much joy from her relationship with Chris. I’d been watching them enough to see that despite all the cuddling and pet names, she seemed incredibly unhappy.
    “Oh god,” she breathed out after she managed to calm herself down. “You’re funny. No, I’m not waiting for Christmas, you weirdo. My boyfriend is inside for a job interview.”
    That news was alarming, to put it mildly.
    “Oh yeah?” I asked casually. “Which office? I’ve got some friends in this building.”
    She furrowed her brow. “I’m not sure. Yesterday he met with a guy named Mario and I guess he impressed him because he’s meeting Mario’s boss today. I think he said his name was… Dan? Damien?”
    Oh fucking hell .
    “Dante Sanchez?”
    Her eyes lit up and she pointed at me. “Yeah, that’s it! You know him?”
    “Unfortunately, yes,” I mumbled as I dug my phone out of my pocket.
    This was way worse than we thought.
----
    Allen
    “ I can’t believe I’m going along with this.”
    “What’s that, boss?”
    I turned startled eyes to Derek, having forgotten he was even in the room with me. “Nothing. Just talking to myself.”
    “You’re not going crazy, are you? I don’t know if I can handle working for crazy.”
    “Too soon to tell.”
    “That’s reassuring.”
    I snorted and shook my head, glancing at the clock and realizing it was time to make my callback to Arnold to find out just how deep Chris’s hole was and arrange a payoff.
    “Get out of here, Derek. I need to make a call.”
    He saluted me before he left the room and I rolled my eyes as his retreating form. I lifted the landline from its cradle and dialed Arnold’s number, waiting for him to pick up.
    “Hey, man. Got your intel.”
    “Wonderful. How much does he owe?”
    “Nada. He’s paid in full as of today.”
    Well, that was unexpected.
    I could feel myself frowning as I asked,