32. Kiera
KIERA
I wasn’t sure when I’d drifted to sleep, but it was certainly well past dawn when I woke up.
Each room in the safehouse was fitted with a king-sized mattress, which was a huge upgrade from Viv’s full guest beds. She did her best, but it was a relief to be out of bed with Dom.
I wasn’t sure how much more of her I could take. Especially after last night, I knew my body needed a break from her fury.
By the time I was stumbling out to the living room, Spencer was hard at work at the stove. Wearing just a sports bra and boxers, Spencer smiled at me. “Morning, Bunny.”
From the looks of it, she was whipping up some omelettes and fresh fruit.
“Sorry it’s not my usual Michelin-star meal.” Spencer shrugged as I looked into the pan. Pulling me into a hug, she squeezed me tight as she took a breath. “You were so good last night.”
A blush rose to my cheeks, still shocked that I let them all fuck me together now. It was a far cry from how I’d felt when I first met them. “Don’t apologize, it looks great. Where’d the fresh fruit come from?”
Behind me, Leo hopped off of the towering stack of weightlifting equipment. Her back and biceps were bulging from the effort of doing God knows how many pull ups. “There was a bag of groceries outside the door this morning. Must have dropped it off before the doors unlocked.”
If our hosts were as brutal as Dom made them out to be, it was surprising that they’d be generous enough to leave us with some decent food.
Dom was posted up on the couch, working on her computer while trying to ignore us.
Covered in sweat, Leo came over and planted a kiss on my cheek. “How’d you sleep, Princess?”
“Good.” I nodded. “Nice to have a little more room.”
From the corner of my eye, I saw Dom cringe. Like a part of her was disappointed to not have to keep me so close now.
Maybe she’ll grow a pair and just say that.
Unlikely.
“Food’s ready.” Spencer called from the kitchen.
We all grabbed our plates and ate. Spencer was the only person I’d trust to walk into any kitchen and throw together something delicious.
She didn’t need much to cook a yummy meal.
When I first came around, she told me it was because she grew up so broke.
She was used to digging through cabinets for ingredients and figuring out what would work together even with limited resources.
The omelettes went down easy and we all sat around after, trying to figure out what to do with the rest of our day.
Lady was happy to have the excuse to stay in and sleep all day.
But as the morning turned to afternoon, all of us grew restless.
Dom stayed on her laptop while the rest of us oscillated between card games and telling stories.
It wasn’t until around 4 pm that Lady started to whine. We’d set out a towel on the ground, trying to direct her to it like a wee-wee pad but she wouldn’t take it. Dom had house-trained her too well.
“Shit, she really needs to go.” I bit my lip, worried about my girl as she whined up at me.
Shrugging, Spencer headed for the front door.
Shaking my head, I scoffed. “Where are you going?”
“To walk the dog.” Spencer gestured to the door.
“But the note…”
Looking back at Leo, Spencer pursed her lips. “Said to stay in at night. Didn’t say anything about day time. Besides, the doors are unlocked.”
Spencer walked closer. “Unless you want to stay inside with the grouch.”
Peeking back at Dom, I watched her scrunched up face, her jaw tense. If Spencer and Leo left me alone with her, I was afraid she’d take me again. And I knew my body couldn’t handle another session with my captor.
“Fine.” I crossed my arms. “But just to let Lady pee.”
“Totally.” Leo nodded, coming with us.
From the couch, Dom slammed her laptop closed and walked over to us. “Let’s go.”
“What?” It was too late to stop the question from leaving my throat.
Dom stopped at the entryway. “Don’t want my company?” The burning in her eyes told me I should lie.
Shrugging, I crossed my arms. “Whatever.”
Leo nudged me. “She can’t resist the bottle toss.”
Dom let out a growl. “I don’t give a fuck about carnival games. I just don’t trust these fuckers with Kiera unattended. Especially after last night.”
Spencer swung open the blast door and let Lady rush past her and down the steps of the dusty saloon below. We’d left a trail in the dirt when we arrived, and I couldn’t tell if there were more footprints now or not.
A part of me wanted to be pleased that Dom cared about my safety. But I knew she was more motivated by the shares that were about to be in my possession than any real affection for me.
Despite the nights we’d spent together, I had a sinking feeling that as soon as all of this was over, Dom would be done with me.
Maybe it was just my anxiety, or maybe she was really shitty about explaining her feelings.
I tried to brush the thought from my mind as Leo pressed the saloon doors open. The sun was bright as it began its descent, casting long shadows over the amusement park.
Desperate to pee, Lady zipped past us and found a patch of weeds growing through the pavement.
Once she was done with her business, she ran ahead and got out some of her zoomies.
When she would go a little too far away, Dom would give a low whistle that summoned our big rottie right back to our sides.
Spencer guided us back toward the rows of carnival games that we passed on the way in.
“How do you still remember this place so well?” I asked, grabbing her hand and lacing my fingers with hers.
A charming grin rose to Spencer’s cheeks. “I spent like every summer here with Jess. She worked at the admissions desk and would sneak me in sometimes.”
Leo clapped her hands together as we approached the striped canopy tents. “Oh, this one was my favorite!”
Laid out on a table were small fish bowls full of green water. Clumps of algae floated on the surface and lined the edges of the glass. Clearly, it was a far cry from what the place used to be.
I couldn’t stop myself from peering over the edge of the tent's wooden barricade, a way to keep kids at a set distance when playing.
No fish. A sigh slipped from my lips, relieved that the poor creatures weren’t stuck in such a disturbing small bowl.
Dom grumbled. “Probably been picked off by the hawks.”
“Fuck you.” Rolling my eyes, I turned my attention back to Leo who had vaulted the barricade and grabbed a handful of ping-pong balls.
“You first, darlin’.” Leo winked.
I took a deep breath before launching a ball toward the center of the table. The ball bounced off the rim of a few before settling between four bowls.
Leo’s voice was low and gentle as she moved behind me. “Pick a bowl and visualize the ball going inside.”
It was an old trick, one my dad had taught me but I often forgot to try. Maybe it would work, just this once.
Closing my eyes, I picked the first bowl that I saw when they opened. Before doubt could creep into my mind, I flicked my wrist and released the ping pong ball toward it. Tapping the rim, the white sphere bounced along the rim before settling inside and plunking into the water.
“Yes!” I cheered, Spencer jumping up with excitement with me.
With a huge smile, Leo stepped up to the barricade with a few ping-pong balls. She shot two off, both missing the bowls.
But as she pulled in a deep breath, I knew she was trying to win.
Just as she released the ball from her grip, Spencer yelped to distract her.
“Fucker!” Leo roared as her ball bounced off the table. Reaching her long arms out, she grabbed the fabric of Spencer’s muscle tee. But Spence was quick on her feet and just slipped from Leo’s grasp.
“Nice try.” Spencer winked.
But then I spotted the game I really wanted to play. The High Striker.
A tower of numbers and goofy slogans. At the very top, a rusty old bell rested — just waiting to be tapped.
Walking over, my eyes searched for the hammer that would certainly accompany it.
Leo and Spencer immediately went to work looking for it. The two of them were moving through brush hunting for it. Nearby, Lady trounced through the park, investigating every corner she could find and enjoying the sniffies.
“Last game.” Dom called out, still leaned against the other tent.
I didn’t see what the problem would be, the sun was going down but it would be a while before it was dark.
“Got something.” Spencer stood up and held a small mallet in her hand. It wasn’t the kind intended for the game, far smaller and meant for hammering tent clamps into the ground. For our purposes, it would do just fine.
“Quite the challenge.” Leo looked up at the tower and then back down to the small mallet in Spencer’s hand.
With a wink, Spencer shrugged. “Not up for it?”
“Not what I said.” Annoyed by the challenge, Leo stepped up to the High Striker. “Do you mind, Princess?”
I shook my head, wanting to see her technique before blowing them away with my own.
From behind us, I saw Dom shake her head.
There’s no way she remembers this. Right?
Shaking out her shoulders, Leo’s face turned to a scowl as she lifted the hammer and smacked it down on the rubber block at the base of the tower.
The puck shot into the air, but fell a foot shy of the bell.
Spencer winced. “Ooh, tough luck. Doctor, not a soldier, right?”
Her cockiness was unbelievably hot, and so was the competitive fire building in Leo’s eyes. If I thought my body could handle any more of them, I might have let them have me right there.
Grabbing the mallet from Leo’s hands, Spencer stepped up to the strongman tower and cracked her neck. “Watch and learn.”
The two of them were jacked, Spencer just a tad more lean than Leo. Both of them were far stronger than I was. But I had a secret weapon, one I wasn’t going to reveal.
Spencer gripped the wooden handle tightly, slamming it down on the slab and watching the puck fling into the air.
“No dice. Let’s go.” Dom growled from behind us, a warm yellow glow beginning to fall over the row of tents.
“Fucker.” Spencer licked her teeth.
“My turn.” Holding out my hand, I waited for Spencer to place the mallet in my hands.
Clearly anxious, Dom roared. “Enough. No one has time for your bullshit tricks, Viper.”
I looked over my shoulder. “So you do remember?”
“You were seven. They rigged it for you.”
“Of course you think that.”
Now there was nothing more that I wanted than to hear the bell ding.
Stepping up to the game, I let air into my lungs. Fully exhaling it, I looked up at the bell. Like I was holding an axe, I placed my right hand at the top of the mallet’s handle and my left at the base.
The wood handle was worn and might give me a few splinters. But it would be worth it to get that smug scowl off of Dom’s face.
Over my shoulder, I heard rustling in the dark, abandoned restaurant. Trying to shake it off, I raised the mallet over my head. As I brought it down, I let my right hand slide down toward the base. Even with the smaller mallet, I felt the power flow through to the rubber block.
The puck shot up, a loud ding ringing out over the concrete.
“Ha!” I cheered.
Leo and Spencer’s jaws dropped as I jumped with joy.
Not so amused, Dom rushed over from the tents and grabbed my arm. “We need to go, now.”
“Chill.” Trying to yank my arm away, I groaned at her. “It’s fine.”
“No, it’s not.” Dom hissed as she kept her grip on my bicep, her eyes darted around us.
Following her gaze, Leo’s jaw tensed. “We can come back out tomorrow, Princess.”
Without another word, Dom started moving me toward the safehouse.
She didn’t bother being gentle despite Spencer’s annoyance. “Chill, she’s not going to run away.”
“It’s not her I’m worried about.” Dom grumbled.
That’s a first. If she was so concerned about our hosts, I wished she would tell us more. We were supposed to be past this, all the secrets.
Lady followed closely, jogging ahead of us as she sniffed and barked every few feet.
At that point, I was barely walking, Dom’s strong arms hauling me toward the western-themed section of the park.
We hit the intersection of two cobblestone paths, one way leading back to the safehouse, one to the entrance, another to the run-down waterpark, and the last to the massive roller coasters towering over the rest of the grounds.
As Leo and Spencer kept moving, I ripped my arm from Dom’s grip. “Cut it out.”
Movement in my periphery forced my gaze toward the sun. A golden, orangey glow had fallen over the amusement park. And standing in the middle of the cobblestone a few hundred yards away, was a person.
“Kiera. We need to go. Now.” Dom spat.
I couldn’t tear my eyes away. Her clothes were tattered, holes in her jeans and frayed edges on the baggy shirt she wore.
But it was the mask covering her face that sent a shiver down my spine. Even in shadow, the distinct, ghost-white face caught my eyes, splatters of red dirtied its surface. Black rings of makeup surrounded the eyes and mouth.
“What the fuck?” I muttered, barely able to speak.
Sensing my distress, Lady whipped around and started barking at the figure. Spit foamed around her lips, defensive of her people.
Even Dom’s whistle didn’t move her off the target.
Messy, blonde curls splayed out over the top of the mask.
“We have to get out of here.” Dom pulled on my arms as hard as she could.
A machete rested in her palms, drips of blood falling to the ground as she lifted her arm. Looking down, she used her free hand to tap her wrist where a watch would be.
Time’s up.
When my feet wouldn’t budge, Dom scooped her arm under my knees and lifted me into the air. “For fuck’s sake. MOVE!” Her words echoed off the concrete and cobblestone as Leo and Spencer sprinted toward the safehouse, Lady finally taking the cue and running off with us.
I couldn’t stop thinking about the figure, even as Dom took off down the path.
Who the fuck is that?