Free Dominion (Alpha Domain #1) by Arabella Abbing

and sister,” I explained as I wiped a tear from my eye. “It’s fucking hilarious.”
    The glare Allen leveled me with was marginally less hilarious.
    But I noted with curiosity that Amber had also frowned, seemingly upset with the comparison. They both were blushing as they turned and began walking up the stairs to the second floor and I leaned against the railing with a smirk.
    “How interesting,” I murmured once they disappeared from my sight.
    Very interesting .

Chapter Eight
    Amber
    T he bedroom Allen dubbed as mine for the duration of my stay was at least five steps up from the shitty room I shared with Chris in his friend’s apartment. Every room inside the house was surprisingly luxurious—a stark contrast to the outer appearance of the home.
    After Allen showed me to my room, both him and John left me alone to settle in for the rest of the day. I wandered out to find a bathroom at one point and ran into John who told me that Allen had already taken my sizes and gone out to buy me some clothes to replace the duffle bag full of them I had left at the apartment.
    I was thankful I had my purse and cell phone on me when I ran into John again. Otherwise, I could just imagine Chris and those men combing through my text messages and call log looking for a clue to my location.
    And even though it was pretty obvious I was now done with Chris, I really didn’t like the idea of him going through my messages and seeing the conversation I had with my father a few weeks ago—when I had pleadingly asked for a place to stay so I could leave Chris for good.
    Of course, if my asshole father would have said yes, I wouldn’t have ever been put into this situation. But he’d turned me down, much like I expected.
    It wasn’t like Chris treated me terribly. He never hit me—even though there were a number of times when I thought he might. But our relationship had gotten to a point where I was just sick of being with him. I was sick of coddling him and trying not to judge him for his bad habits.
    My endless amount of patience for him and his bad choices hadn’t paid off at all considering he was going to trade me into slavery just to pay off a debt.
    What an asshole.
    It was getting close to the time when I typically ate dinner now and I still hadn’t heard a peep out coming from the rest of the house. I stuck my head out of the bedroom and looked around, walking out when I realized nobody was there. I went for the stairs and headed to the ground floor, hoping I’d see John or Allen so I could find something to eat.
    “Hey, girl!”
    I startled at the sight of John sitting on the couch, looking up at me with a goofy smile as he dug into a container of Chinese food. My stomach roared at the sight and John laughed when he heard it, gesturing for me to sit down beside him.
    “There’s plenty to go around. Allen brought a ton.”
    “Where is Allen?” I asked curiously.
    John answered around a mouthful of noodles. “He ran back out to the car to grab your clothes. I would’ve offered to help but… meh.”
    I rolled my eyes and plopped down beside him on the couch, grabbing a random container of food and opening it up.
    “I would offer to help if I was allowed to leave the house.”
    “Your excuse is far better than mine.”
    I shoved a forkful of chicken into my mouth and nodded. “Mm-hm,” I murmured in agreement.
    I had managed to get a few bites in when I heard the doorknob rattling followed by a low curse as Allen stumbled into the house. I was setting the carton down to go help him when he appeared in the doorway of the living room, his arms crammed full with a variety of different bags.
    “What the fuck?” John asked from the couch. “Damn, no wonder you were gone all day.”
    “I might have gone a little overboard,” he admitted with a half-shrug as he started to deposit the bags on the floor.
    “That’s an understatement,” I mumbled as I wondrously took in the designer names on the bags. “ Jesus .