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Chapter 21
Chapter 21
The girl in front of him took a couple of steps back, her brows drawing together in confusion.
“Who are you calling?”
Her face, her voice, the way she moved–Damon almost believed, just for a split second, that it was Emily standing there. But the baffled look in her eyes made it clear: she wasn’t.
She looked even younger than he remembered Emily ever being–not quite twenty, more like the college version of her.
He fought the urge to pull her into his arms, his voice shaky.
“What’s your name?”
She looked startled and took another step back.
“Sorry, I think I’m in the wrong room.”
She turned to go, but Damon reached out and grabbed her hand. His own hand trembled, and a hot tear slid down his cheek, dripping onto the back of her hand.
She hesitated, glancing at him, then dug through the cart she’d brought in and handed him a tissue.
“Um, are you okay? Here, wipe your face.”
When Damon looked up again, his eyes were clearer, but his expression was still complicated as he stared at the girl.
“Do
you work here?” he asked. “Quit. Come work for me. I’ll pay you ten times what they do.”
The girl yanked her hand away and stepped back, glaring at him.
“What do you take me for?”
She looked really upset this time. Without saying another word, she pushed her cart out of the room in a hurry, leaving Damon standing there, watching her disappear.
She looked so much like Emily. Damon’s heart was pounding. Rationally, he knew he shouldn’t get involved–it would ruin everything if Emily ever found out. But a stubborn voice in his head wouldn’t let go:
You’re not going to do anything wrong. You just want to see her face, that’s all. When you find Emily again, you’ll make sure this girl never crosses her path.
That voice slowly drowned out his common sense.
Damon pulled out his phone and called the restaurant manager.
In less than half an hour, he had a file on the girl.
Her name was Bella. She was still in college. Her only family member had fallen seriously ill, so
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Chapter 21
she’d come here to work–this place paid more than most, and sometimes the tips were good. She’d only just started, mostly serving drinks and snacks.
“Bring her here,” Damon said, staring at Bella’s photo, his mind drifting somewhere else entirely. Soon after, she was standing in front of him again.
She looked nervous, glancing at him with a kind of caution Emily never used to have.
“Don’t look at me like that,” Damon said, a hint of impatience in his voice. “I’m not going to hurt
you.”
“Stay with me. I’ll pay for your mother’s treatment–everything. But you’ll need to do what I say. That means how you dress, how you act–everything.”
Bella looked panicked, glancing back and realizing the bodyguards were blocking her way out. She took a breath and looked up at him.
“What do you want me to do?”
Damon got lost in her face again, the resemblance too much to handle.
“You don’t have to do anything. Just… stay with me.”
“I’ll handle everything else. Just do what I ask.”
“And the first thing is…”
“Promise me you won’t ever leave me again, Emily.”
