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

“How much did he owe?”
    “He was sixty deep until this morning. Dante is meeting with him right now, actually.”
    “What the fuck ?” I asked incredulously. “How the hell did that little worm manage to scrape together sixty large?”
    There was a shuffle on the other end and I could just picture Arnold sitting in front of the ‘borrowed’ file, shifting through the intel the Sanchez family had on Chris and the details of his loan.
    “He didn’t pay with cash, Allen.”
----
    John
    “ P ick up , you son of a bitch,” I growled into the phone.
    “I’m going to go—”
    “No!” I bit out, grabbing Amber’s hand loosely and hoping it wouldn’t frighten her. “Please stay. I’ll be just a second.”
    She frowned and pulled her hand away, crossing her arms over her chest as she demanded, “What’s going on? There’s something you’re not telling me.”
    “You’re right. There’s a lot I’m not telling you. There’s a lot Chris hasn’t told you either.”
    Amber reared back, her eyes going wide with a mixture of surprise and fear.
    “How do you know his name?”
    So much for luring her back with seduction. The only hope I had now was to tell her the truth and hope that she didn’t run away screaming.
    I ended the call when it went to Allen’s voicemail for the third time and turned to her with a look of deadly seriousness.
    “Amber, please listen to me. I know you have no reason to trust me, but I need you to listen .”
    She still looked afraid, but she hesitantly nodded. “I’m listening.”
    “I have reason to believe you’re in a lot of danger right now. I need you to come with me.”
    Okay, I probably should have eased into that. She jerked back, looking down at my body closely, probably searching for a concealed weapon. Of course, I did have a gun on me, but she wasn’t going to find it.
    Not with her eyes at least.
    “Amber, I’m not trying to scare you.”
    “Well you’re doing a damn good job of it,” she said with a disbelieving snort. “What the hell are you talking about? What danger? Are you a cop?”
    “No, I’m not a cop and I’ll explain everything, I swear,” I told her, holding up my hands. “I won’t hurt you, but I need to get you the hell away from this building before someone comes out to fetch you.”
    The cell phone rang and I nearly shouted with joy. I answered it, not even having a chance to speak before Allen’s voice confirmed my suspicions.
    “He’s selling Amber to them!” he shouted and I pulled the phone away from my ear.
    “Who is that?” Amber screeched.
    Allen’s voice lowered significantly. “Is… She’s with you?”
    “Yes, she’s here. You’re sure?”
    “Positive. Arnold said Dante is meeting with Chris this morning to exchange Amber for his debt. You need to get her the hell out of there.”
    “I’m on it.”
    “By any means necessary.”
    The line went dead and I glanced back to Amber, who was rightfully looking like she was torn between demanding an explanation and flat out running for her life. But the indecision tripped her up and I took advantage of it.
    “We have to go. Now . I’ll explain on the way,” I said as I grabbed her wrist and started to drag her to my car.
    “Wait a minute— Wait! ” she shouted as she tried to free herself from my grip. I managed to drag her a good thirty feet away from the building before she smartened up and kicked me in the back of the shin.
    “Fuck!”
    “Stop!” she shouted, drawing the attention of multiple pedestrians around us. “Tell me now . What’s happening?”
    I opened my mouth to give her the short-form version when my eyes drifted off in the distance, landing on Chris, Mario, and Dante stepping out of the building and looking around for Amber.
    “Your boyfriend is selling you into human trafficking,” I whispered as I covered her mouth with my hand, muffling her outraged cry of denial. “You have to believe me. If I let those men take you, you’ll never be