15. Kiera
KIERA
The crush of the crowd exiting the arena was spiking my blood pressure, as if Dom’s news wasn’t anxiety-inducing enough.
Leo and Spencer used their bodies to keep me insulated from most of the pressure of the squishing bodies but the Seattle team’s loss was making the fans a bit unaware of themselves. They swayed and pressed through, desperate for some air.
Dom kept a protective arm about Vivienne but she glided through the crowd like she owned the stadium.
The pressure grew strongest at the exits, the entire crowd pushing in to squeeze through the glass doors. But the relief of the open space just past it made everything feel worth it.
Spencer guided us back to the car, holding my hand through the crowd. I’d become so used to the comfort of her presence – of all of them. Even Dom’s hulking figure made me feel safer in a crowd.
Despite our disdain for each other, she’d made it clear that she’d do whatever it took to keep me safe. Even if it was just for control of Zeus.
They’re closing in.
Time was running out, a thought that kept repeating in my mind as we climbed into the SUV. While we enjoyed our Pacific Northwest vacation, Isaac and his goons were taking advantage of our absence. They were making sure that they hunted high and low for me.
The car doors slammed closed, silencing the anxious crowd outside as all of us stared forward.
My ears rang out, the noise of the stadium still reverberating in my ear drums. My throat ached from screaming along with the game, a part of me not sure I could speak even if I could find the words.
What the fuck are we going to do?
“Shit!” Dom roared as she slammed her fist into the dash. Her chest heaved with rage as she stared forward.
“No.” Vivienne hissed back. “None of that.”
The chastising was enough to calm Dom but meeting my eyes in the rearview made her shoulders drop. Her crystal blue eyes flicked around the car, panicked. Like a tiger that woke up in a cage. The walls were closing in on her and she was fucking terrified.
If she would just let me…
I knew she would never take my help or comfort. Nothing I could do would convince her that I was safe. Every time we got close, Dom found a way to pull further away.
Only after she’d revealed herself to me did I realize what her outbursts had been this entire time. It wasn’t anger, it was fear.
But this was a different beast entirely.
I’d never seen her like this, maybe not since that last night in the mansion when we were kids.
The more we’d talked about it, the more of it had come back to me.
The way her eyebrows had furrowed with concern for me, the disappointment in herself as she lashed out at me.
Before Dom could speak again, Viv lifted a finger to her daughter. “Just remember that every person in this car is on your team.”
Dom bit back her words for a second. Long enough to let Vivienne’s reminder sink in.
Leo sat with her head in her palms, pressing her thigh into me as Spencer stared out the side window, her hand on my knee.
They were here now, they had nowhere to go.
“It is what it is.” Dom growled, her teeth close to disintegrating under the force of her jaw.
Leo nodded. “Sorry we’ll have to extend our stay.”
“That’s okay, dear. You’re welcome as long as you’d like.” Vivienne nodded through the mirror.
What else was there to do?
Now we’d just have to wait and pray that the place Dom loved enough to restore – the place I’d started to think of as home – would be safe to return to.
We would cleanse the house and Valemont of Zeus’ parasitic reach, one way or another.