Viola's Risk (The Twin Destinies Saga Book 2) (6 page)

As the planning stage went into effect, Thomas took over,
but Viola’s mind wasn’t in it. She was getting the basics of the plan, but she
was worried for her twin. Cora understood the need Viola had, to keep Dominic
with her and safe, and she knew that. She also knew that, even though Liam
understood it, he couldn’t fight past the need to keep his own mate safe and
with him.

The whole situation sucked all around, but the sooner they
faced it and came out alright, the better off all of them would be, even though
her heart was breaking for the couple.

Dominic noticed Viola’s distraction and put his arm around
her shoulders and squeezed her close, whispering in her ear, “They’ll be fine.”

Viola raised her eyes to meet his and saw the confidence in
them. She drew strength from his and nodded her head in response. She caught
Sage staring at their exchange from the corner of her eye and wondered what he
was thinking.

“I think a shopping trip for the girls and I would be the
most believable scenario to put into play. There are many things the girls
still need, even though they won’t speak up and ask for them. It would also be
a great time for us to bond and get to know each other better. Anna knows that.
She would believe that,” Angelica spoke up after listening to all of the other
ideas thrown out there and shot down.

“She’s right. Cora and I love to shop and Anna knows this.
She would believe we begged for a shopping trip,” Viola said, turning her
attention back to the meeting.

Sage and Dominic both muttered, “Girls!” under their breath,
but nodded their heads in agreement.

“I still don’t like this idea. Sending them out into public
not only puts them in danger, but it’s also putting innocents in danger. Anna
won’t hesitate to hurt other people to get what she wants. Not to mention their
lack of training in their own powers,” Sage argued again.

“We make the guards obvious in the stores and such. She
doesn’t want to be discovered any more than you do, because that will only bring
scrutiny from the humans towards all of us. She operates best under their
radar. Once the women are done shopping, we make it look like they’re
vulnerable on their trip back. If I know the exact route they’ll be using to
return, I can tell you where Anna will make her move, because I can arrange for
her to make it at that point and we’ll be ready for her,” Dominic said, that
confidence Viola had seen in his eyes poured out with his words.

Thomas nodded his head in agreement, the room falling
silent. Angelica leaned back in her seat, planning their shopping trip in her
mind. Sage eyed Dominic with suspicion.

“Do you have something to say Sage?” Viola spoke up after a
few minutes.

“How do we know he’s not setting us up for Anna instead of
the other way around? He did take Viola to her,” Sage asked after a minute of
debating with himself.

“That’s a fair question. I have no loyalties to Anna, after
she murdered my family, who actually supported her cause. My father gave me to
her, to work as one of her minions, as a show of devotion. Her gratitude was to
murder everyone but me. Both of my parents, my brother, my sister, and my
grandmother, who lived with us, were all burned alive because she trapped them
in the house and set it on fire. She made me watch and listen to their screams
of agony as they were burned alive right in front of my eyes. I tried to help
them, but she had me restrained so I couldn’t. After their screams faded and
the flames died down, she beat me for trying to save them and pleading for their
lives. I knew then I would never be able to support her cause. It took me a
long time to gain enough of her trust to be able to leave without being
supervised or watched, but I managed it. Once I had that freedom, I approached
Thomas and explained everything. I was already established and the flow of
information could begin immediately. I have as much invested in bringing her
down and making sure the prophecy is fulfilled, as any of you do,” Dominic
explained, pain surfacing in his voice when he spoke of the loss of his family.

Sage sensed the truth in Dominic’s words and felt the pain
in his heart. He nodded his head as he said, “I am sorry for your losses. No
child should ever have to endure what the three of you have had to at her
hands. I had to be sure though, before we put this plan into action.”

“I understand. It’s hard to think or talk about, but I think
about them every day. That keeps me focused on what I need to do. I will give
my life to keep the girls safe,” he responded. Viola had tears in her eyes for
the torment he’d endured, with the loss of his family at the hands of Anna. Not
saying anything, she wrapped her arms around him and squeezed him tight,
offering him the comfort she knew he needed.

“We will defeat her. I promise you she will not win,” she
told him with fierce hatred and anger. “That woman has caused enough damage.
Her time is coming to an end, soon.”

“I have no doubt you’ll succeed Beautiful One. You don’t
know how to do anything else. Besides, if you were weak, that recording she
made you endure would have already turned you against your sister. She seems to
have underestimated your strength and that alone will help you to defeat her,”
Dominic said and stroked her face.

“Well, it won’t work in her favor when we put our plan into
action. Speaking of, how soon are we planning on doing this?” she asked and
looked up at her father.

“The soonest it could be would be tomorrow. However, I’d
rather do it the day after so we can gather more protection for you,” Thomas
informed her.

“Tomorrow would be better. She’ll get suspicious if
Dominic’s gone for that long, even if he says he’s got us under surveillance.
That won’t be enough to save him from her,” Viola spoke and then shuddered as
the thoughts of what Anna would do to him flashed through her mind.

“She’s right. Anna doesn’t go for the idea of watching and
planning for the right time. She acts. One day is believable, but more than
that, she’ll catch on that I am spying on her for you and possibly setting her
up for a trap,” Dominic confirmed Viola’s statement.

With a nod, Thomas dismissed them and walked over to the
phone to begin putting their plans into action. Sage stayed behind as Viola,
Dominic and Angelica all left the room.

After the door closed behind them, Angelica turned to Dominic.

“You are a strong young man. Thomas has never mentioned you
to me before now. I am sorry for everything you’ve had to endure growing up.
What you’ve done to help us, we will never be able to repay you for,” she told
him as she placed her hand on his shoulder.

“I was proud to do what I’ve done ma’am. It was the right
thing to do. Besides, if I hadn’t, I doubt that I would have met Viola,” he
said giving Viola a playful wink and bringing a smile to Angelica’s face.

“Although I do not condone the fact that you kidnapped our
daughter and delivered her to Anna, I do understand why you did so. Believe me,
it will never happen again because you do not want to find out what I’m capable
of,” Angelica warned him.

Viola’s eyes got wide at her mother’s threatening tone. It
was a drastic switch from being grateful to threatening her mate and it made
her defensive.

“Don’t worry ma’am, no such thing will ever happen again. I
can’t blame you for being protective of them, they are very special girls,
prophecy or not. I feel honored to have Viola as my mate, although I have a
feeling she will keep me on my toes at all times,” Dominic said, careful to be
very respectful. He knew Angelica had a lot more power within her than her calm
and delicate demeanor suggested.

“See that it doesn’t. They have been through too much in
their lives already to have to deal with anymore. I feel horrible that they
have to deal with this prophecy at all. Please do not misunderstand me, I am
grateful for all you’ve done, but I will protect my daughters first,” Angelica
informed him, her back was stiff as a board, and Viola didn’t need Sage to tell
her what her mother was feeling at the moment.

“That’s enough. Leave him alone. Cora and I protected
ourselves most of our lives without your help. We will be fine. Don’t threaten
him,” Viola warned, the fury she felt rising in her at her mother’s treatment
of her mate, turning her words into a growl and making pictures on the walls
begin to rattle with her power’s response to her own turbulent emotions.

Dominic began to rub her back with one hand as he turned her
face toward his with the other. “Don’t do this Beautiful One. She’s your mother
and she loves you as a mother should. Every mother wants to protect their
children. That is all she was doing. Relax Beautiful One, relax.”

His words penetrated her focus and brought her back from her
rage. She was definitely going to have to learn how to control her temper with
all of these new powers, before she injured or killed someone.

“Very well done. It is obvious you are her mate and I
respect that. Take care of and honor each other. Viola, the same rules apply
for you and Dominic as did Cora and Liam before their mating ceremony,” she
said before turning and walking off.

Dominic turned a curious look at Viola and waited for her to
explain what her mother had been talking about.

“We are not to be alone in my room. In fact, you are not
allowed to step foot in my room, although that’s a bit too late,” Viola said
with sarcasm.

Dominic laughed. “That’s okay Beautiful One. We can respect
their rules.”

“Right now, I want to go find out how Cora and Liam are
doing and fill them in on the plan. I hope Cora was able to calm him down enough
for him to help us with this,” Viola said, her voice becoming worried.

“Well, let’s go find out then,” Dominic said, taking her
hand in his. “Lead the way.”

“As if it would be any other way,” Viola said and grinned as
they headed down the hallway toward Cora and Liam’s room.

As Viola and Dominic reached her sister’s room, they could
hear the heated argument between Cora and Liam.

Viola turned a worried look at Dominic before raising her
hand to knock. Dominic wondered if they should be interrupting or leave things
be until the couple had calmed down.

The door flew open after Viola’s loud knock and the scene in
the room was pretty bad. Liam looked like he hadn’t slept in days, even though
all of this had started today. Cora looked like she’d been crying.

Viola stepped through the door with no hesitation, but
Dominic hung back for a minute before stepping inside. Having lost his family
at such a young age, he had no experience on how to deal with all of these
familial disputes.

“It’s okay Dominic, we’re not going to hurt you,” Cora told
him as she choked back a sob.

“Are you sure? I don’t want to intrude on something private,”
he said, worried that he was invading their privacy.

“Viola and I don’t keep things from each other, at least not
usually. It’s been a weird last few days so please disregard what happened
earlier,” Cora said as she put her hand on Dominic’s arm and moved him further
into the room, before shutting the door behind them.

“I take it the two of you haven’t made any progress,” Viola
asked as she went over and flopped herself in one of the plush chairs in the sitting
area of the enormous room, as if she belonged there.

With the way Liam was looking back and forth between the two
of them, Dominic moved over to stand beside Viola. The look Cora’s mate was
giving them would kill them both if it were possible.

Cora shrugged her shoulders and sank down into one of the
other chairs as Liam stayed over by the door to the bathroom, in case he needed
to make an escape.

“So what’s the plan?” Cora asked, the weariness in her voice
making Dominic want to comfort her, just because he’d never heard such
emotional pain coming from someone like her before. Besides, he could feel how
much it was tearing Viola apart to see her sister so upset. Guilt was building
inside of him for putting them all in this position.

“We’re going to be taking a shopping trip with Angelica.
During the time we’re in the stores, the guards will be prominent to discourage
Anna from making her move in a public place. On the trip home, we’re going to
set up a point where we appear to be vulnerable and that’s where Dominic will
tell Anna to make her move,” Viola told her, waiting for Liam to blow up all
over again.

“This can’t be happening,” Liam groaned. “I’ve almost lost
you too many times already. Please Cora, do not do this.”

“I have to My Love. Viola needs her mate as much as I need
you. You have to understand that. If Anna figures out Dominic is Viola’s mate
and betraying her, she will kill him. She will torture him first for any and
all information she can gain, but the end result will be the same. Viola knows
this and won’t sit back and allow it to happen, which will expose her to Anna.
The prophecy cannot be fulfilled unless we have him here with us,” Cora
explained to Liam, probably not for the first time either.

Liam shook his head and covered his face with his hands,
“This is unbelievable.”

“We’ll be fine Liam,” Viola told him, sympathy filling her
voice. “I promise you that. Nothing will happen to Cora, you’ll be there to
make sure that doesn’t happen.”

“I’m worried about you too Viola. Both of you are equally
important to the prophecy and to me. Cora may be my mate, but you are family.”
Liam spoke from the heart and Dominic understood even more where the guy was
coming from. He hoped they could be friends in the future. The position he was
putting everyone in right now made being friends in the near future doubtful.

“You are the brother I never had Liam. I do understand where
you’re coming from, but I am asking you to understand where I am coming from
too. Being mated to Cora, I’d think you would understand,” Viola pleaded with
him.

“I do understand. That doesn’t mean I can allow my mate to
be put in danger to protect yours. Everything inside of me is refusing to do so,”
Liam explained, hoping they would understand and try to find another way.

“Yet you’re asking me to do just that,” Viola stated.

Liam’s hands dropped from his face as he stared at Viola
with surprise. It was obvious he hadn’t looked at it in quite that way.

“I’m so sorry Vi. I’ve been so selfish,” Liam apologized
from his heart.

“Don’t worry about it. I get it. The whole situation stinks.
We’re all sacrificing here. The only way this is going to work though is if we
pull together as a team, trust and believe in each other. That’s what family
does during the hard times. They stand and fight together,” Viola told him as
she stood and went over to him. She could hear Cora’s soft sigh of relief that
Viola had gotten through to him. Viola reached out and put her arms around
Liam.

“No matter what, we are family. That is stronger than
anything Anna can throw at us,” she said as she hugged him tight in a
reassuring hug.

“That we are. I can’t wait until my parents and sister, meet
you both,” Liam said. “You all are going to love each other.”

“I’m sure we will,” Viola said as she released Liam and moved
back to her seat by where Dominic was standing.

Cora moved over to Liam’s side and wrapped her arm around
his waist with a small smile. He gave her a reassuring smile before turning
back to Viola and Dominic.

“Where’s Sage?” he asked, noticing for the first time that
his brother was not present.

“We left him with Thomas so that they can organize the
mission for tomorrow,” Dominic told him.

“Tomorrow? Why so soon?” Liam asked, shocked.

“Because if we push it out further, then Anna will catch on
that Dominic’s working with us and she won’t take the bait,” Viola said.

Cora nodded her head. “Anna’s not one for patience, thinking
things through and acting based on organized plans. She sees an opportunity and
takes it. They’re right, Dominic’s supposed to be back in the morning. When he
doesn’t return, she’ll be a little suspicious until he calls and tells her he
was on his way back and spotted us and decided to tail us instead. It makes
sense.”

“I’d better go help put everything together,” Liam said as
he leaned over and kissed Cora with all of the love he felt for her.

Viola looked over at Dominic, awkwardness building between
them at the couple’s public display of affection.

When the two broke apart, Liam headed for the door and
Dominic cleared his throat. “Do you mind if I come with you?”

“Sure, we could use the help. It’s going to be all hands on
deck for this,” Liam said as Dominic joined him and they moved out of the room.

Once the door was closed behind the guys, Cora started in on
Viola.

“So, you need to dish dear sister. Is he a good kisser?”
Cora asked, mocking Viola’s question about Liam.

“I don’t know,” Viola said, looking troubled.

“The two of you haven’t kissed?” Cora asked, moving over and
sitting back in the chair that she’d been in before moving to Liam’s side.

“No. He hasn’t tried. I don’t understand why either,” Viola
said, feeling frustrated.

“Give him time. It’s been kinda crazy around here since he
got here. Although I can’t say I’ve forgiven him for kidnapping you, I do
understand why he did it, but we were all terrified for you,” Cora told her
twin in an honest voice.

“I know sis. I hope one day you can forgive him,” Viola told
her with a sigh.

“I’m sure I will. Let’s see how all of this plays out before
worrying about that. So, did I hear you right when you said we’re going
shopping tomorrow?” Cora asked and grinned wide.

“Yeah, I guess we don’t have enough stuff for dear old mom
or it’s not good enough for her. I don’t know which and really don’t care. A
little retail therapy would be awesome before we have to go head to head with
Anna,” Viola said with a grin.

“You know it!” Cora said and they both broke out in
laughter.

“New shoes,” Viola groaned, happy at the thought.

“Clothes,” Cora replied.

“It’s been too long,” Viola told Cora, who nodded her
agreement.

“Way, way too long. I wonder if Mom knows just what she’s in
for during this trip tomorrow?” Cora asked, a wicked glint in her eyes.

“I’m sure she’ll find out soon enough,” Viola said and
grinned widely.

The girls settled down for a session of girl time as they
waited for their mates to return. Dinner would be served in a little while and
so they spent a good part of the time getting each other ready.