Chapter 4 - The Admission
The harbor was a desolate wasteland of rusted shipping containers and the smell of dead fish.
The lighthouse stood at the end of a long pier,
a crumbling tooth of stone against the black sky.
We sat in the car,
waiting for the scouts to report back.
Dominic was checking his weapon,
the metallic clicks sounding rhythmic and deadly.
I watched his hands,
noticing for the first time the fine scars on his knuckles.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
he asked,
not looking up from his gun.
"I’m trying to understand how you do it,"
I said.
"How you live with the constant threat of death."
Dominic paused,
his eyes meeting mine in the rearview mirror.
"You get used to the noise,"
he said.
"Eventually,
it just becomes background music."
"But you,"
he continued,
leaning over the center console.
"You live in a world of silence."
"Gemma told me why you’ve never been with anyone."
"She told me you’re afraid of the fire."
I felt my face heat up,
the embarrassment crawling up my neck.
"I’m not afraid,"
I lied.
"I’m just...
careful."
"Careful is just another word for lonely,"
Dominic said,
his voice dropping to a whisper.
"I admitted to her that I’ve never been with anyone,"
I said,
the truth spilling out before I could stop it.
"I expected her to laugh."
"I expected you to laugh."
Dominic went very still,
his hand reaching out to brush a stray hair from my forehead.
"I would never laugh at something so precious,"
he said,
his thumb grazing my cheek.
"In my world,
purity is a myth."
"But you...
you’re the only real thing I’ve ever seen."
His touch was intoxicating,
a slow burn that made my lungs feel tight.
For a second,
I forgot about the harbor.
I forgot about Gemma.
I only saw him.
Then,
his radio crackled to life.
"Sir,
we have movement."
"Three men on the third floor."
Dominic’s hand dropped,
the warmth vanishing.
The soldier returned,
the man I was supposed to fear.
"Stay in the car until I give the signal,"
he ordered.
"And Clara?"
"If things go wrong,
the driver has orders to take you to the airport."
"I won't leave without her,"
I said.
"Then pray we don't fail,"
May you like
Dominic said,
and then he was gone into the dark.
