26. Kiera
KIERA
Before long, we were back on the ground, and Lady couldn’t have been more excited. I leaned against the side of a black SUV, watching Spencer run the dog at the edge of the tarmac. The least reward for being so chill during our unexpected ‘turbulence’ was a good chance to stretch her legs.
Leo, meanwhile, helped the rampies load our bags into the trunk while Dom had a word with the Cadillac’s driver.
I didn’t hear much of that conversation: just a few muttered “are you sures” and “thank yous” as Dom handed her a wad of cash.
Pocketing the tip, the driver made her way toward the plane, and Dom barked for the rest of us to pile into the car.
And just like that, we were off. Lady squeezed between Spencer and I in the back, while Leo rode shotgun to Dom’s driving.
The grassy pastures around the airfield stretched on for miles, and my lovers’ chatter was the perfect noise machine. I was still exhausted from our sexcapade on the plane, and everything about this drive was threatening to fast-track me to sleep.
But as Lady nuzzled her head into my lap, I fought hard to keep my eyes open.
There’ll be time to nap when we get home.
We weren’t going home, though. I didn’t remember that until Dom made an early exit off of the highway, driving through a wooded backroad on the outskirts of Valemont. And suddenly, I wasn’t so sleepy.
Despite opening up more since our trip to the Summit — and particularly since last night — Dom still hadn’t told us much about our new refuge.
For all I knew, we’d be hiding out in some cave in the middle of nowhere. And the deeper we got into the woods, the more I thought that might be the plan.
But thankfully, the winding dirt path eventually opened to a wide main road that was better paved than most of Valemont. It was strange, considering how isolated it was. As we drove farther and farther down the boulevard, I was surprised that there wasn’t a single other vehicle in sight.
Just us, the trees at the edge of the road, and the vague promise of civilization at the end of the paved path. As we drove, the mountains that looked so small from town rose behind the tree line like jagged teeth.
I scratched Lady’s head, trying to take comfort in the fact that this car was full of animals who would kill to protect me. But it felt like we were being swallowed by the very earth.
And apparently, my anxiety was shared. As we reached the top of a hill, Lady’s ears shot up, and she lifted her usually sleepy head to peer out of the window. I wasn’t sure what she’d heard, but then suddenly, a big wooden sign cropped up at the edge of the road.
“Feverpoint Amusement Park…” I muttered, shocked by how familiar the name felt on my tongue. I squinted at the big blocky letters, now faded from decades of sunlight and grime.
There’s no way…
But the next thing I knew, we were past an abandoned old toll booth and halfway through the parking lot.
“Where are we?” Leo frowned as Dom drove past the admissions gate and toward a small service road labeled Employees Only.
“The safehouse,” Dom grumbled, not slowing as we approached the wrought iron gate at the edge of the lot. I gripped the door, bracing for impact — what was her plan, to ram down the fucking fence?
As we approached though, the old automatic gate rumbled open. As if it had been waiting for us. Spencer, Leo, and I exchanged hesitant looks as the car bounced over the cobblestone of the main walkway.
But Dom just gripped the steering wheel tighter as the gate clanked shut behind us. “Welcome home.”