Little Dark One

44 - panic

Keira

Now that my amnesia was out in the open it felt like a heavy weight dissipated. I knew there was a big difference between lying and simply avoiding a topic, but it didn't feel right keeping things from Tommy.

He stood like a statue with an expression on his face that I had never seen before, it looked almost like...hurt?

"What happened that night, Tommy?" I whispered, afraid to approach him. His reaction was throwing me in a loop.

My voice snapped him out of whatever reverie he was momentarily stuck in and he met my eyes, thick emotion swirling within them.

"I think you're better off not remembering." He murmured before he turned his back on me and sat on the bed.

"I need to know." Of course I was happy to live in ignorance until he refused to tell me. Now I was hell bent on understanding exactly what went down.

"Come to bed baby, we're both exhausted." He waved me over and I obeyed. He slid under the blankets and pulled me under with him, lifting my leg and wrapping it over his waist so we were face to face, sharing the same pillow. His muscular arms wrapped around me, holding me close. One hand slid under my sweatshirt and traced over my back soothingly.

We laid together in silence for a couple minutes before Tommy finally exhaled and began his version of events.

"After our argument I went down to the pool to clear my head. I was so angry at myself for the things I said, the way I treated you. I planned on doing a few laps until I had cooled down, and then I was going to come back to you and beg for your forgiveness–"

"I forgive you." I whispered.

"You shouldn't, I don't deserve your forgiveness, Keira." He closed his eyes briefly as he called on his memories. "The first wave of intruders broke in while I was in the pool, I saw shadows sneaking through the living room and I immediately alerted my men; then I ambushed them. I tried to get back upstairs to you as fast as I could but more and more poured in, blocking my way. I swear Keira, I ran through open gunfire just to get to you. Bodies were dropping around me and I was almost out of ammo when I called you... but it wasn't you who answered–" He paused and clenched his eyes closed as the painful memory assaulted him. I reached my hand up and cupped his neck, my thumb tracing over his defined jaw covered in stubble.

"Who answered the phone, Tommy?" I murmured softly.

His eyes opened and met mine in the dim bedroom. "Alejandro."

I gasped and my grip tightened on his neck out of fear, fear of what was to come. "How did he get in? Your mansion was quite literally, Fort Knox."

"I'm not exactly sure, It's never happened before. I think Salvatore had something to do with it, they were working together. He meant for me to capture him and somehow he led Alejandro right to our front door." He growled. "He got into your room through the balcony doors."

I remembered the breeze blowing over me as I cried myself to sleep, I was too distraught to get up and close the doors.

"He was using you to lure me upstairs, I don't know what he was doing to you, but when I heard your screams through the phone... I went crazy. You told me it was a trap but I didn't care, the only thing that could have stopped me at that point was sudden death. I fought my way through Alejandro's men and kicked your bedroom door down. What I saw on the other side of the door was my worst nightmare, baby. I don't think I've ever experienced real terror until that moment, I never truly understood the meaning of fear until I broke down that door and saw you in his psychotic arms. He had one arm around your neck and a gun to your head, you were covered in blood and sobbing. You were already so weak by the time I got there, and to this day I have no idea what went on between you two before I broke in." He exhaled heavily before continuing. I could tell it was incredibly painful for him to relive these memories, I could only imagine what my brain was hiding from me. "He was holding you and I didn't have a clear shot, I couldn't risk hitting you. He threatened your life if I didn't drop my gun, so I did."