28. Dom
DOM
Stepping into the kitchen, the air felt off. My eyes snapped to Kiera’s, but that was a mistake. Her emerald green eyes made the pit of my stomach clench. Shaking my head, I turned away, shuffling toward the fridge.
Why is she looking at me like that?
Every time we locked eyes, the fear was there: that she finally recognized me, that she hated me.
I couldn’t keep living in that dread. But until things were resolved with Gabriel, there wasn’t a chance in hell that The Oracle would let me pass her off to some safe house.
Fucking Gabriel…
The fact that the asshole was dodging my calls didn’t make any of this easier. Neither did the fact that The Oracle was avoiding me too.
At that thought, a new pit of anxiety bloomed in my gut. Were they doubting my loyalties again? My mind was certain that the thought was paranoid, but the fraught thrumming of my heart begged to differ.
Sucking in a deep breath, I fought to still it. The only small comfort I could find in any of this was that, with security increased, at least we would hear if anyone made a move on the house. And with the search for Kiera coming closer to Valemont, that was a growing possibility.
Calming thoughts. I need to focus on calming thoughts.
I opened the fridge door, letting the cool air wash over my face. But before I could find a single fucking calming thing, Callahan slammed her shoulder into the cabinet next to me, leaning against it with her arms crossed over her chest. “Hey Dom…?”
“What?” I gritted my teeth.
“I was thinking, now that our girl is initiated, maybe we could leave the door to the yard unlocked for Kiera? No real risk of her getting into trouble now that she knows everything.”
I bit back a scoff. Kiera’s always getting into trouble. And she doesn’t know jack shit.
But instead of letting it out, I whipped my head around, shrinking Kiera with my glare. “Never just happy with what you’ve got, huh?”
The spark in her eyes told me she wanted to fight it, but a few weeks in the house had trained her well. She was still a fire-cracker — always had been — but she was learning to choose her battles.
Finally. Some basic fucking survival instincts.
Turning my face back to the cool fridge, I let out a sigh. It was hard to take her request seriously, even when Callahan was the one delivering it. The girl was practically never alone anyway. Spencer and Leo followed her all day like dogs in heat, so what was the point of giving her the access?
But Kiera was a dog with a bone at this point. She didn’t like being told no, and now she was fixated on pushing the limits until she felt like she’d won.
That thought alone made me want to say no. But keeping Kiera was a long game, thanks to The Oracle. And if this would keep her out of my hair and away from the South Wing while I figured out how to get rid of her, there probably wasn’t much harm in it.
Well, no more than anything else Kiera touches.
“Fine,” I grumbled, slamming the fridge shut. “But do something stupid, and I’ll take it right back.”
Kiera perked up, and I hated the way my chest tightened at the sight of it. Before she could make it worse, I strode from the kitchen and right out the front door.
I had no idea where I planned on going next, just that I couldn’t stand another second in the house with her. The memories it brought up were too fresh, the feelings too consuming.
I shook my head as I stalked toward my bike, running a hand over the seat. This Gabe problem had to go away. Now. Because I couldn’t last much longer with Kiera before our bloody past broke to the surface.