Chapter 20

Dominick

I take Chloe out the back door and directly to my car. I'll message Yasmin and the others that there was an emergency once I'm inside.

"No."

I look down at her.

"Not your ridiculous car, please. It's so conspicuous."

Rolling my eyes, I turn and start for Chloe's car and actually make it all the way there before she snaps out of her anxiety enough to demand to be put down.

"Dom, this is insane. I'm not a porcelain doll. Please, just let me get in the damn car myself."

I hold up my hands in surrender. "Whatever you say."

Once we're inside, I fire up the engine and send that text to the crew. Yasmin responds with a sympathetic message, and Sean assures me that security will be working double time from now on.

Chloe is staring out the window when I look over, and I put my hand over hers.

"Are you okay? I mean, dumb question, but how are you?"

She shakes her head before dragging her eyes to mine. "I'm physically okay. But I can't keep doing this. My damn engagement ring was in there. Why did he keep that stuff?

I squeeze her hand. "I don't know. Because he's a creepy fuck."

With a scoff, Chloe pulls her hands back, crossing her arms like she's cold. Adrenaline .

I turn up the heat a little.

"I won't let him keep harassing you. No packages or letters will make it to you, and we'll take this right to the clerk, okay?"

Chloe shakes her head again, a tear sliding down her cheek.

"I don't want to talk about this right now. It's…it's too much."

I get it, but every thought in my brain is screaming to get information about this shithead and use it against him. I need to do something instead of sitting on my ass.

But this isn't about me, is it?

With a sigh, I pull on my seat belt and put the car in drive.

"Home? Or do you need to do something?"

Chloe looks over, offering a weak smile. She considers, and I watch as the cogs in her brain churn.

"Home." She nods. "I just want to get under a blanket. I'm cold."

"I can make that happen."

Back at the penthouse, I have Chloe tucked in, under one of my fuzziest blankets—a Christmas gift from Cameron's sister, Kayleigh.

We've gone straight to the movie room, and with a large bowl of popcorn and two beers, I'm slowly getting Chloe out of her fear.

"All right, what's it going to be?"

I nod at the screen, remote at the ready.

She scans the options on the main screen, but then I notice her eyes drift off to the side as she thinks of something.

"This is stupid, but…" I look over at Chloe, who's bundled up against my side, the popcorn on her lap.

"What?"

"Can we watch the movie version of Midsummer ?"

"Anything you want, babe."

Chloe smiles, and this time, I can actually see it reach her eyes.

I search for the flick, having to buy it, of course, but it's on in just a few clicks.

I pull Chloe against me as we settle in to watch it, reaching past her shoulder for a handful of popcorn.

A dark tension still radiates through her, and all I want right now is to help her relax, to know that she's safe as long as she's with me.

At least the movie seems to distract her, mostly because I have to ask several times to pause it and have her explain what the hell is going on.

Being the teacher she is, however, Chloe doesn't seem to mind.

"Okay, so she's in love with Demetrius, Christian Bale's character, but he doesn't love her. He's actually kind of a jerk. Actually, a big jerk."

"And the other two want to be together, too?" I quirk a brow at the other couple in weird Victorian clothes.

"Yup. They actually like each other, but Demetrius is into Hermia, too. Very love triangle bullshit. Oh, and Hermia's dad wants Demetrius to be with her, so she's got that forbidden love thing as well."

Another few minutes go by, and then there's Stanley Tucci with white hair. "Wait, what's this about?"

"That's Puck!" Chloe sits forward excitedly. "He's the trickster who gets the whole plot moving. He's like the MacGuffin, the thing that kicks off the story."

"Puck, okay." I nod slowly. "And he wants everyone to fuck."

Chloe laughs, smacking my arm playfully.

"You're not entirely wrong, and hey, you rhymed, but he just wants to stir up trouble. And slipping everyone a love potion seems to be the most enjoyable way for him to do so during the story. Especially since he can make Titania and Oberon fall for it, too."

I have to shake my head. I did not realize that Shakespeare could be so raunchy.

"I'll admit, I'm surprised. Didn't think Willie would be about drugging people and watching the chaos."

That elicits another giggle from Chloe, and I continue to relish the way it sounds.

"Shakespeare's comedies are quite like that, actually. They're dark and adult, and even in the tragedies, he manages to slip in naughty references. In Romeo and Juliet , the nurse is, like, always complaining about having to deal with Juliet and how she needs a drink. Hell, in Hamlet , the titular character basically calls Ophelia a whore."

"Whoa." I pause. "Titular?"

"It means the person for whom the title is named, so Hamlet."

"Ah, well. I'm starting to understand the appeal of this Shakespeare guy."

She just laughs again and then presses play to restart the movie.

It's turning out to be an okay night after everything with that damn package, which I've thankfully stored away in my home office for later.

Chloe continues to educate me in the ways of Shakespeare, including the mythological references used, like Puck himself and the fairies. She mouths nearly all the lines as we watch, too.

It's adorable to see her so wrapped up in the story, and I'm all the more excited about my little secret for the sushi party at the club.

A little live show will knock her damn socks off.

As the movie comes to a close, Chloe turns to me with a smile on her face. "So, what'd you think?"

"I liked it." I grin back, pulling her close again. "Making someone fall for a donkey was particularly funny."

"Ha! I do love that bit, especially because in a lot of the myths, the king and queen of the fairies are always getting one over on mortals, so seeing them taste a bit of their own medicine is nice."

Kissing the top of Chloe's forehead, I gaze down for a minute. She loves this stuff, and if she can teach this old asshole to appreciate a bit of Shakespeare, she's clearly a good teacher.

I want her to be able to do it again. She shouldn't be working at my fucking bar.

"You're a good teacher." I smile. "You really need to get back in it."

Chloe hangs her head. "I'm trying. It's just, with Ethan…"

"I know. But we'll get that shit sorted out. I promise you."

She grins at me; it's crooked and tight. "Yeah."

"So, it's hardly late. Another movie?"

With a slow nod, Chloe snags the remote, clicking down on the recommended films beneath the play options.

"Sure." She chooses one too fast for me to read the title. "You're getting more Shakespeare. But don't worry. It's another comedy."

I watch the screen with a somewhat nervous smile. " Much Ado About Nothing . Okay."

"No donkeys, but I think you'll like Beatrix. And the officer is hilarious. So is the acting."

I hug Chloe tightly, leaning us back against the arm of the long, wide couch. "You're the boss. I'm just here for the ride."

There's a moment of stillness as the opening credits start to run, and Chloe looks up at me.

"Thank you, Dom. I…I really needed this."

"Anytime."