Chapter 20 #3
I’m halfway through convincing myself that staring at the ceiling for hours in bed would be more productive than sitting here drowning in my own thoughts, when the bell above the door chimes.
I turn, and my breath hitches. A mountain of leather and menace fills the doorway. A goddamn biker. My heart stutters, a mix of dread and fury bubbling in my chest.
He grins. Wide, friendly. Completely fucking out of place.
“Hey there,” he waves, stepping inside, unbothered. “I’m Domino.” He freezes, eyes wide. “Shit. I guess we kind of met already.”
My arms cross instinctively, like a shield. “Yeah, we did.” My voice is like ice. “Listen, I don’t know why you’re here, but I don’t like it. You can hover around Ria, but not me. You need to leave.”
His eyes go wide, like I just kicked a puppy. A giant, murderous puppy. “I’m not here on behalf of the club or anything like that,” he says, hands up in surrender. His voice drops to a low, careful tone. “I’m actually here as a customer.”
My eyebrows shoot up. “Bullshit.” It comes out before I can stop it. “What would a biker do in a bookstore that specializes in romance?”
“Buy books, what else,” he deadpans, like I’m being ridiculous.
Disbelief spreads across my face. He straightens, crosses his arms, and levels me with a glare that could melt steel.
“Don’t judge me by my leather. I can see the way you’re looking at me.” He cocks his head, defiant. “I like books. Is that such a fucking crime?”
I have to bite back a laugh. “I’m not judging. I’m just surprised, that’s all.” I shrug, a little lighter now. “I thought your club sent you here for some stupid reason.”
“Nah,” he waves it off casually. “Prez told us not to bother you. Said it was enough you had to deal with the guards around Ria. I just want some books.”
I snort. “Your Prez wasn’t wrong. But I don’t actually have anything against the club as a whole, you just made me suspicious. It’s your VP I have beef with.”
I tilt my head, studying his reaction. “Where is he, anyway? I have some papers for him, and it’s like he dropped off the face of the Earth.”
He just shrugs, nonchalant as can be. “No idea. He comes and goes. We never know when he’s leaving or when he’s coming back.”
That’s… interesting. And annoying as hell. I need those divorce papers out of my hands and into his.
A sigh escapes me, taking the tension in my shoulders with it. “Fine. What kind of stuff do you like?”
His entire face lights up with pure giddiness. Then he starts talking so fast I can barely keep up.
I don’t know what kind of black magic I stumbled into, but just when I was ready to call it quits, my bookstore became the hottest fucking spot in town. Customers started flooding in.
Domino’s also been a huge surprise through this whole thing. He’s been a regular since the day he first walked through my door. I’m still amazed at how confident he is about his reading habits. I would’ve thought he’d catch flak from his brothers, but apparently he throws a mean punch.
Somehow, he convinced me to start a book club. A biker. No. Not just any biker. A fucking Vulture. Convincing me to hold a romance book club. If someone would’ve told me this at any time in the past, I would’ve laughed them straight out of the room.
But here we are.
It’s our eighth official Broken Hearts Weekly Book Club, and I’m watching Domino — tattooed knuckles gripping the spine of this week’s book — charming the ladies. Not an ounce of effort.
The women are perched around him like he’s the last drop of water on Earth. Eyes wide. Lips parted. I’m not even sure they read the book. But that doesn’t matter. Domino talks. They listen. It’s a fucking phenomenon.
He’s... growing on me. Like mold. It’s unsettling.
“I’m telling you,” he growls, flipping back to a dog-eared page, “the Orc King marking her wasn’t just instinct. It was strategy. That’s what none of you are getting.” He glances around the circle, daring someone to challenge him.
Blair from the bakery — curly hair, shy smile — leans forward, eyelashes fluttering like she’s trying to send a message in Morse code. “But don’t you think it was too soon? He didn’t even know her.”
Domino’s eyes snap to hers, and I swear I hear her breath catch. He doesn’t even blink.
“Doesn’t matter. He saw her. He knew. You think primal instinct waits for a fucking introduction? Nah,” he scoffs, shaking his head. “You don’t wait when something’s yours. You take it. You claim it. Before someone else does.”
I watch Blair practically melt into her chair. Cheeks flushed like she’s burning from the inside. The other women shift in their seats, some crossing their legs, others uncrossing them. What the hell.
I lean back against the counter, arms crossed, one eyebrow raised. He keeps hijacking my little book club, and business is booming because of it.
“What about when she ran from him?” Maggie from two towns over chimes in, lips pursed. “Wasn’t that a bit… dramatic?”
Domino’s laugh is a low rumble, visibly shaking through the ladies.
“Dramatic? You’re running from a six-foot-eight beast with tusks who just told you he’s never letting you go.
That’s not dramatic, that’s survival instinct.
But it didn’t matter, did it? He hunted her down.
Like I said,” he snaps the book shut, the sound loud and his next words final. “You don’t wait. You take.”
A shiver runs through the entire circle of women. I watch it ripple, spread, ignite. I don’t miss the way Blair’s hand brushes her throat, the way Laura — the town dentist — swallows hard. It’s like he’s speaking their fantasies right into existence. And he still doesn’t even fucking blink.
I clear my throat, pushing off the counter. “Alright, professor. Are you gonna read us some quotes now or just keep preaching?”
He smirks, leaning back, stretching out his legs. “I don’t mind reading if you don’t mind listening.”
The women practically vibrate with excitement, nodding, leaning forward, almost like they’re ready to bow at his feet. It’s absurd. Hilarious. It’s fucking dangerous.
I chuckle under my breath. “Ok, but if you make these ladies swoon too hard, you’re the one carrying them out.”
He just shrugs, then cracks his neck. “I can handle it.”
The hell he can. He definitely knows what he’s doing to them.
It’s already dark outside when I’m walking back from the bookstore. I lost track of time again, stuck between the pages of a new story, completely oblivious to the hours slipping away.
I'm just a few feet from Ria's door when I hear it. A hiss, jarring and wet, slithering through the silence. Then a scream splits the air, high-pitched and cracking.
"The Holy Nagathis will cleanse you!"
I don't have time to process the words.
A blur of scales and fangs is already flying at my face. Fast. My body locks up, lungs frozen mid-breath. The world narrows to the glint of scales, the flick of a tongue, the very specific horror of a live snake launched at me like a goddamn missile.
My arm flies up on instinct. I brace for the bite but it never comes.
A muffled pop echoes from behind me.
The snake jerks mid-flight like something invisible swatted it sideways. Blood sprays, tiny droplets hitting the concrete. There’s a scream, and then another pop. And another pop.
Those were fucking gunshots.
My feet unfreeze. I bolt for the entrance — get to safety, get to fucking safety — but I don't make it two steps.
An arm hooks around my waist and drags me back against a wall of muscle and leather.
The scent of engine oil and cold metal hits me.
My first instinct is to scream, but a hand clamps over my mouth, cutting it off before it even reaches my throat.
“Don’t.” The voice is completely even, like nothing special happened. Like there weren’t snakes and gunshots just seconds ago. “I’m here to protect you. Your friend isn’t home. I’m taking you to safety.”
My heart jackhammers against my ribs, adrenaline flooding every nerve. I start shaking my head, twisting against his hold. I don’t know who the hell this guy thinks he is, but I’m not going anywhere with him.
He sighs, like I’m an unreasonable toddler throwing a tantrum. “Gonna release you now. Don’t scream. There were two of them. More might be coming.”
I force my heartbeat down, nodding against his palm. He releases me slowly, and the moment I’m free, I spin around. A biker. Of course it’s a fucking biker. Tall. Dark. Dangerous. Hard jaw. Dead eyes. The whole shebang.
“Come,” he says, turning on his heel like I’m just going to follow without question.
“I’m not going anywhere with you,” I spit out, fists clenched. “Who the hell are you? I’ve never seen you before.”
He stops, and looks back at me, completely unbothered. “No time for this.”
Before I can open my mouth again, he’s back in front of me, grabbing me like I weigh nothing and throwing me over his shoulder. The breath punches out of me. One second I’m standing, the other I’m upside down, staring at the pavement in disbelief.
“What the hell are you doing?” I shriek, fists pounding against his back. It’s like hitting a brick wall.
“Stop.” The single word comes out menacing enough that I actually do. “Taking you somewhere safe. Just for the night.” His tone is absolute. Like it’s decided. Like I don’t have a say in this.
I’m too stunned to fight back.
He dumps me onto the back of a bike and swings into the saddle in front of me.
I'm still so stunned that I don't squeak a word of protest before the engine roars to life and we’re flying down the road.
My hands latch onto his cut out of pure survival instinct, fingers digging into leather as the wind howls around us.
I don’t know if I should be relieved or scared shitless when he finally parks in front of the Vultures’ clubhouse.
I barely register the brothers lounging outside, their eyes tracking us as he practically drags me off the bike and marches me inside.
There’s music, smoke, the smell of booze, but it’s all background noise.
My brain slowly comes back online after he steers me into a room and the door clicks shut behind me. I stare blankly around. Mind still racing. Heart still pounding.
"I almost got bitten by a snake," I mutter, mostly to myself.
The guy just grunts.
I whirl on him, arms crossed. “Are you part of the club? Did Bones put you up to this? You’re not one of Ria’s guards, are you?”
“Yes. No. No.”
I blink. “Oh, please speak less. Those are just too many words.” My arms fly up in frustration. “What’s your name?”
He taps a finger to the patch on his cut. Myth.
I snort, half in disbelief. “Myth? That’s the stupidest road name I’ve ever heard.”
He sighs like he’s already over my shit. “Sleep now. Answers tomorrow.”
And then he just… leaves and shuts the door behind him. Leaving me with more questions than I can count.
I groan, rubbing my hands over my face. Then I call Ria. She picks up on the first ring — she's fine, she knows what happened, she'll be here tomorrow.
I don’t want to sleep, but the adrenaline drains fast. My limbs turn heavy, and before I know it, I’m passed out on the mattress.
When I wake up, the first thing I see is a shadow by the door. Big. Brooding. Arms crossed over a chest that I know all too well. The breath dies in my throat. My soul threatens to leave my body.
“Hello, Adora,” Ghost greets me, voice dead.