A Liberated Decision - COMPLETED!

Chapter 22

Dom worked better alone, but Miko had insisted that Zeke Stranton come with him while doing collections. He had nothing against the large man's presence. He had always wondered how his fellow brother had kept up with his physique to get the thick, well formed muscles that seemed to bulge out of his skin-tight, olive-green t-shirt. Dom's wiriness definitely had its benefits, but he wouldn't mind a little bit more muscle popping out.

Things were quiet. Zeke didn't talk much and knew better than to meddle in someone else's business. He kept things professional and to the books – if there had been any books. He was smart, but not as fast as Dom usually was. Their run could have been done quicker if Zeke hadn't wanted to stop for something to eat along the way. The man looked like he had other reasons for stopping for something to eat, but Dom couldn't quite figure out what those other reasons were. He wasn't going to question him about it either. He had his own problems to sort out and deal with.

Dom hadn't eaten much throughout the day, so the fast food burger wasn't the worst thing that he could have eaten then and there. It was hard to focus on the food with his mind fluttering back to Ashley every few seconds. He knew that she'd be fine, but the thought that he wasn't there with her bothered him more than he cared to admit. He didn't want the bother of thinking that she had so much of a hold on him already that he couldn't focus on the tasks at hand. He couldn't help but think of how he had failed Chloe, and now a repeat performance was beginning to show its ugly side and flaunt itself in Dom's face. The idea scared him way more than he ever thought was possible. It shook him off of his already crumbling foundation. He wasn't bringing his everything to the gang. Not by any means.

Zeke scarfed down his burger. He watched Dom. An obvious thought was lingering in his pale blue eyes. He slowly ate his fries. One by one. Not a peep coming out of his mouth.

Dom sighed without looking up. "What's bothering you, Zeke?" He didn't really want to ask, but the continual staring was irritating. He might as well clear anything up now before a rumor would start.

"She must really be something to have you this off your game, brother." His voice was rough, but his observation gentle. He wasn't going to push the subject, but he would listen. Zeke was good at that.

"Is it that bad?" Dom made eye contact. He wanted to steel up like he did with everything else, but Zeke was like a brother. He trusted him. He had to for survival.

"It ain't that good." The words flowed out simple. Casually.

Dom swallowed hard. His jaw clenching without thinking. He looked down at his half-eaten burger. The ketchup had oozed out on the side, intermingling with the melted cheese. He took a deep breath and let it out. "What are they saying?"

"It hasn't been that long, brother. This is something hot off the press. I doubt many know." Zeke took a sip of his coke.

Dom locked on him with a hard look. Curiosity and anger began building up in him. There was no stopping it. "Then how do you know if it's so new?"

"I've been keeping tabs on you since you went to jail. I saw her visit you there and at your place." Zeke's simplicity was unbearably calm.

Dom couldn't return that calmness. His eyes burned in anger. "What the hell did you do?"

Zeke was clearly noticing Dom's irritation. He let his shoulders slump a little bit. He didn't get tense or show any form of aggression. In fact, he seemed like he was expecting the reaction. "Before you say anything..."

"Miko asked you to watch me, didn't he?" He sat back in the booth with his arms crossing quickly in front of his tensing body. His temper wasn't staying contained like he normally worked hard to maintain. "Damn it! He knew everything as it was happening." It explained why Miko was so calm when they had talked. It explained why he wasn't surprised with anything that Dom had said.