Page 301 of Phobia

This time he looks calm, at ease. “Hello again.”

My heart beats against my chest, my racing pulse making my head spin. They may be smiling—polite, but everything about this situation screams danger.

“Ant is upstairs, waiting for you.” Frank sounds so matter-of-fact, like this is no big deal.

I spin to face him, pulling out my phone. “Then you won’t mind me checking—hey!”

Billy snatches it from me, casually placing it in his pocket. “Do you think you can do as I ask this time?”

“I’m going to go with fuck off.” No point faking it now. I do not like this one bit.

Frank chuckles. “It really would be better if you walked up the stairs willingly… For Ant’s sake, if nothing else.”

Fisting my shaking hands, I put as much strength into my voice as possible. “Why would Ant be with you?”

Frank watches me, but Billy chooses to speak, moving close to whisper menacingly in my ear, “Because he’s been a naughty boy.”

My breath catches in my throat, and my heart misses a beat—thatI can believe.

What choice do I have?

Giving a slight nod, I walk up the stairs, my legs somehow holding me up. These men work for Dom. Dom owns a club—none of this makes any sense, but there’s no time to think because I’m at the top of the stairs, watching helplessly as Frank opens a door.

I’m going to be sick.I try to delay looking by turning to the wall, but my eyes stray, desperate for the truth. Before I know it, they’re locked on a man slumped in the chair he’s tied to, with the source of my fantasies leaning against the desk behind him.

This time, the heat is pure rage, and I bolt towards my cousin, tumbling to my knees when I see the state he’s in. “What the fuck, Dom?” There’s no debate on who’s in charge here.

He says nothing as I tentatively examine Ant, who groans at each touch. His face is swollen and bloody, and judging by the way he’s leaning to the side, there’s some damage to his ribs. “What’s going on?” I whisper-shout in Ant’s ear, but he just groans in response.

Rising to my feet, I charge at my next target, shoving Dom in his chest as hard as I can. “What did you do?” I yell in his face.

He shows no remorse or any emotion at all as he stares into my eyes, his hands snaking around my waist, holding me close. “Hello, Treacle,” he smiles before ogling my chest. “Nice dress.”

Gritting my teeth to stop myself from growling, I try to pull away, but he easily overpowers me. “Why would you do this to him?”

Dom shrugs. “I haven’t touched him.”

“Fuck you!” I spit. “Why are we here?”

Dom’s jaw tenses, and his eyes strip me bare, causing an unwelcome heat to build in my core. I quickly snuff it out with my rage.Why did I ever let him touch me?

“Ant owes me money.”

Shit!

“He can’t pay it, and I have it on good authority that you usually bail him out of these situations.”

My nostrils flare as I inhale a sharp breath.I promised I wouldn’t.“So, you’re just some dodgy fucking loan shark?” I scoff, and someone in the room exhales a whistle, my words spelling trouble. I don’t care. I’m beyond being concerned about myself at this point.

Dom merely smiles. “I’m lots of things, Naomi, including opportunistic.”

Twisting my head to the side, I call to Ant. “Why would you borrow money fromhim?”

“I didn’t,” Ant gasps.

“Technically, Ant got into debt with someone else, and I bought him out of it.” Dom leans close and nudges my nose with his before winking playfully. “Trust me. I’m the better option.”

I don’t believe this—on so many levels. I cannot comprehend how this has happened. I want to slam my knees into Dom’s balls, but I can’t get his words out of my head. Maybe he is the better option. He must like me a bit… maybe he’ll go easy on us—by his standards, at least.