A Dominant Fallen (A Dominant Series Book 2) Read Free

bars. I dance and drink, which distracts me for a minute, but I feel empty. I usually end up leaving early and head home to wallow in my misery.
    Drunk crying isn’t pretty.
    I forgave Walker for his indiscretions, and we began spending time with one another. He keeps hitting on me, and I keep turning him down, but he makes me laugh. He attempts to woo me by bringing me flowers, chocolates, and trinkets. He’s even sent me a few of the paintings from his exhibit that last night with Hunt. One being the very intimate portrait named, Gigi Bared. I can’t stand looking at myself so I packed them up and sent them off to my parents’ house for storage.
    We go out to dinner, movies, museums, and picnics in the park. The newspapers and paps still follow me around, though they don’t as much as they did in that first month after Hunt, but they still buzz about. They’ve written about how close Walker and I have become and speculated our possible relationship status.
     
    Gabrielle Hyde, ex to Damian Hunt, CEO of Hunt Industries Inc., gets cozy with Walker McQueen, her up-and-coming artist boyfrien d .
     
    They haven’t tried to confirm it, and I have yet to deny it. I don’t like them fabricating stories to make a buck, but it’s best to have it out there, considering Dante is likely to keep an eye on me to ensure my end of our deal is held up.
     
    I t’s a mundane Monday morning. I’m sitting in my office, gawking at the ceiling and wondering what he’s doing. I think this has been the worst part about the breakup, avoiding him at work, knowing he’s right above me all day, the overwhelming urge to run up and see him. I want desperately to be in his arms, loving him, but I can’t. I made a promise to myself to do whatever’s necessary to protect him, and it’s a promise I don’t intend on breaking.
    Suddenly, my cellphone goes off, startling me out of my thoughts. I check the screen. It’s Maya. It strikes me as odd because she never calls while I’m at work. I pick up and place the phone against my ear cautiously.
    “Hello?” I answer warily.
    “Gabrielle…” she replies in a weak voice.
    “What’s wrong?” I ask, concerned by her tone and use of my full name.
    “It’s Dad.”
    “What? What’s Dad?”
    “He…He.” I hear her whimper, and then my mom comes on the phone.
    “Ellie, darling, your father…he’s gone.”
    “What do you mean gone? Where?”
    “Darling…your father died this morning,” she whispers, tears wrenching her words.
    I can’t comprehend what she just said. I’m not sure I heard her correctly. How could he be dead? I saw him last night. He was fine.
    “No…No, you’re lying…Please, tell me you’re lying,” I beseechingly whisper.
    “I wish I were,” she cries.
    “I…He…” I sputter and burst into a steady flow of tears. I leap out of my chair with the phone firmly planted to my ear and grab my bag out of my desk. I rush out of my office, slamming the door behind me, and head for Chase’s office toward the front. When I get there, he’s in the middle of a call. He must sense me because he glances up from the mess on his desk and tilts his head to the side when he spots the anguish on my face. I stare at him from red, puffy eyes, shaking my head back and forth, fighting the urge to scream and freak out.
    “I’ll call you back. Something came up,” he says into the phone and hangs it up.
    “Ellie, what’s the matter?” he asks with a creased brow and alarmed golden eyes.
    “My dad...” I cry, holding the phone up to him. “Mom,” I murmur, and even with my mumbled, broken speech, he seems to understand instantly. He jumps up, snatching his blazer off the back of his chair, and strides over to me.
    “Come on. I’m taking you to your mom.” He takes the phone from me and places it against his ear. “Elizabeth? Yes, we’re on our way. Where are you, doll…? Okay. We’ll be there in less than an hour. Bye.”
    He hangs up the phone and shoves it