Page 135

It’s not a long drive to the bakery either way, and Jonas pulls the car to a stop in front of it. Dominic curses under his breath, and I look up to see what he’s seen and gasp.
My bakery, my beautiful bakery is a mess.
The front windows are all shattered, jagged edges of glass still in the frames. The curtains have been torn down, and there’s graffiti all over the outside walls. In bright red letters the words “bitch”, “liar”, “thief”, “whore”, and so many other horrible things have been spray painted.
My heart sinks as we get out of the car, the guys keeping me between them just in case. I unlock the door and we step inside to see that the inside is just as bad off.
The tables are overturned, chair legs splintered off. The menu board that was painstakingly drawn by an artist I commissioned has been erased, and in the place of all the offerings and their prices, is a note from my old pack.
We told you this wasn’t over, it reads in harsh letters.You have two days to give us what we want.
I feel like I’m going to be sick.
“Stay here,” Dominic says gently to me. He pushes back through to the kitchen, probably checking to make sure none of the Alphas are still here, lying in wait. I just keep looking around at the destruction, unable to believe what I’m seeing.
All that hard work. Ruined in a single night.
Dominic comes back looking grim. “No one’s here,” he says. “But they emptied out the fridge. All the milk and eggs are in the sink and all over the floor.”
I swallow hard. “Sounds about right.”
My voice sounds like it’s coming from very far away, and all of a sudden, I feel faint. Xavier puts an arm around me, guiding me to a chair. I sit down hard, putting my head in my hands.
This was supposed to be my second chance. The revival of my dream. It was supposed to be proof of how far I’ve come and how much better things are now.
But instead it’s just turned into a nightmare. More proof that it doesn’t matter how far I’ve come. My past will always be there, dragging me down.
Isaac, Mitch, and Vincent are having the last laugh, making me feel as helpless and afraid as they always used to when I was in their clutches.
“Penelope,” Tristan says gently. He comes over and puts a hand on my shoulder, and I flinch away from him. “We can fix all this,” he continues. “We’ll make some calls, and?—”
I shake my head, cutting him off. “What does it matter? Isaac and the others will just ruin it all again. It’s a waste of money at this point.”
“We’ll get better security,” Dominic says firmly. “Post a guard here at night if we have to.”
“You can’t do that,” I mumble.
“Why the hell not?”
“Because! Because it’s a waste. I’m a waste. Don’t you get it? I’m never going to be free of them. They’ll always be lurking, trying to ruin my life because I got away from them. If you keep throwing money at fixing what they break, you might as well pay them to go away. It’s the same thing.”
“It’s not the same thing,” Tristan cuts in.
“It basically is. At this point…” I trail off, tears burning hot in my throat. “At this point you’d just be better off without me.”
Xavier stands in front of me, putting his hands on my cheeks. “I don’t want to hear that,” he says. “We would definitely not be better off without you, and this doesn’t change the way we feel. You are our wife, Penelope. You’re a part of our family now. And that means we’re going to take care of you, no matter what it takes.”
“But…”
“No buts. Nope. No. You listen to me, shortcake. You’re stuck with us now, and that means we’re with you, no matter what.”
“You matter to us,” Dominic says, his voice uncharacteristically gentle. “And that means we’re going to fight for you.”
Tears are streaming down my face now, and I can’t hold them back. All of them sound so sincere, so determined, but they don’t get it.
“It’s too messy,” I say. “I’mtoo messy. It’s always going to be something.”
“Pretty sure our wedding vows covered standing with you in the messy times,” Xavier says.