52. Spencer
SPENCER
It had been a few weeks since the argument with Dom. Christmas was only days away, but even the holiday spirit couldn’t quiet my seething rage with Dom.
I tried not to linger on it long, but it was hard not to when I was living in her fucking house. I’d get a break from her over the holiday at least — Caleb and Abi would be off from school, and lord knew their fuck-ass father wouldn’t bother with presents for them.
So I’d been saving up my pennies from the arcade and the shop, putting aside anything I could spare from their exit preparations to get them new laptops.
New to them, at least. Mendez had put me in contact with another sorority sister a few towns over who’d hooked me up with refurbished models for cheap.
Those Stillwater girls know how to make ends meet.
If it hadn’t been for the scholarship Atwood had offered me, I probably would have ended up at Stillwater University too.
I wonder if I still would have ended up in this mess over there… Probably.
Dom and her father had a way of infecting everything, it seemed.
I shook my head, trying to banish her from my mind. As excited as I was to have some time with my niece and nephew for the holidays, I was bummed to be missing out on Christmas with my little toy.
I hated thinking about Kiera stuck in the house with Dom, even for a night. But at least I knew Leo would be around to keep her happy.
And I wasn’t gone just yet.
After all, tonight was a big night for our little captive. I wouldn’t miss her getting her mark for the world.
When Leo told me, I was surprised to hear that Kiera was still going through with it. Given how badly Dom fucked up, I wouldn’t have been surprised if she backed out.
I’m not sure I’d want to be branded to that monster either. But it was too late for that.
According to Dom, we wouldn’t be able to get Kiera into Delphi to see The Oracle without a mark. And apparently, Kiera had too many unanswered questions to say no.
We all did, really.
But while Kiera was doing a decent job of swallowing down whatever frustrations she felt toward Dom, I could barely look at her. All of these years, she’d known exactly the wreckage her father had rained down on me, and she was just happy to let me live obliviously under her roof.
I couldn’t help my rage. Knowing what kind of monster had created her made me question everything about our friendship. My mother’s life wasn’t close to the only one he’d ruined, and Dom knew it. How could she stand to look at him, let alone work for him?
How could she let me get so close?
My stomach tensed as the gold Camaro pulled around to the top of the driveway, Dom sitting comfy in the driver’s seat.
Of course she wants to take this stupid fucking car.
While Leo helped Kiera into the back seat, I slipped in beside her, refusing to ride shotgun. Leo sucked her teeth as she shut the door for Kiera, but she didn’t press the matter, taking her spot beside Dom.
The music was loud — some angsty rock bullshit that Dom kept on CD — but no one bothered speaking as we rode into town. There wasn’t much to say to Dom, especially since she’d shown no real interest in apologizing.
I kept my eyes on Kiera, who was fidgeting with the edge of her skirt while she stared out the window. She tried to put on a brave face, but I knew she had to be nervous about what came next, if only a little bit.
Taking a deep breath, I draped my arm over the backseat, tracing my fingers lightly over her shoulder. Startled from whatever spiral she’d been on, Kiera stiffened in her seat before shooting me a sweet, if embarrassed, smile.
Sometimes, it felt like we didn’t need words to talk. I raised my eyebrow at her, tilting my head forward. You okay?
She shrugged with that adorable smile of hers before turning to look out the window. Okay as I can be.
I gave the back of her neck a little squeeze of reassurance as my own gaze drifted out the window. We were quickly approaching the tattoo shop, which meant we were minutes away from Kiera taking our mark.
She’ll be ours just as much as we’re hers.
Canvas & Coil’s sign blared bright through the growing dusk like a beacon calling us to shore.
With a remote on her visor, Dom clicked open one of the doors at Lucky Strike, pulling smoothly into the garage.
I couldn’t help rolling my eyes. “Too good for street parking?”
“Yep.” Dom grumbled, killing the engine and hopping out of the car.
Leo turned from the front, glaring at me over her shoulder. “Try to play nice for five minutes?”
I threw my hands up with a scoff. “It was just a question…”
Before we could get into it, Kiera popped open her door, and Leo did the same. I followed them out with a huff, trying to hide my sour expression before Dom saw me.
As we walked next door, I could see Kiera chewing on her lip.
“Sorry, Bunny.”
“For what?” She asked, her brows creasing as she looked up at me with those precious emerald eyes.
“Doc’s right. Tonight’s about you. No more bickering from me.”
“Whatever you say,” she teased. But even as she tried to brush the apology off, I could see the tension easing from her posture already.
As we passed the alley between the shops, Kiera glanced down it with a frown, scanning for her pup, no doubt.
We’d been leaving dog food out for weeks now. But the latest can was still untouched, and I knew the worry was eating at Kiera.
It was sweet how much she cared. The little furrow in her brows as she pouted down the alley melted my heart. To be fair, I was concerned too. That dog was young to be out on its own.
But we had tried. And if it had moved on, there wasn’t much we could do.
“Maybe tomorrow…” Kiera muttered under her breath.
I couldn’t help but smile. “Maybe.”
Once we passed the alley, there was only one thing left waiting for us: Kiera’s mark.
For me, stepping back into the tattoo shop was like visiting home.
Between my years in Laniidae and my time with Violence, I’d spent plenty of nights in C.J.
’s chair. And when she wasn’t doing my tattoos, she was always happy to have us hang around the shop to keep her company — even if she liked to pretend otherwise.
“What’s up, Ceej?” I called as the bell dinged over the door, announcing our arrival.
The music was already blaring with the usual alt-punk bangers, and the retro leather couches were full from end to end with familiar faces. And somewhere in the chaos — the back of the shop, I’d wager — C.J. was ignoring my call.
Whatever, can’t ignore me forever.
But while I felt right at home, Kiera had to be totally overwhelmed. She shifted nervously when a few of the sorority sisters on the couch gave her the once over, but all it took was one whisper from a biker to let them know that she was already spoken for.
Just in case the message hadn’t hit home, I laid my palm over her back, pulling her closer. “You sure you’re ready for this, Bunny?”
“Of course I am,” she nodded, a bit too fervently. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
I could think of a litany of reasons, but none of them would make Kiera feel any better. So instead, I shrugged as I smiled down at her. “I just want to make sure you’re taken care of, baby.”
Before Kiera could question me further, C.J. popped her head out from the small room in the back. “Hey, Dom. Ready when she is!”
“You’ve got it,” Dom called back before barking over her shoulder to Kiera. “Come on.”
My hackles raised at her tone. But getting into a fight with Dom right now was the last thing Kiera needed.
So instead, I swallowed down my irritation and wrapped Kiera’s hand in mine. “It’s show time.”
But despite my attempts to comfort her, Kiera’s nerves only grew the farther we strode into the shop. By the time she was stenciled and ready to go in the back room, all she could do was hover in front of the chair.
“Is something wrong?” Dom asked in what I’m sure she thought was a reassuring tone.
“It shouldn’t hurt too bad.” Leo promised, sitting forward on a leather couch against the wall. “But you can squeeze my hand if it helps.”
“Thanks…” Kiera frowned. “I think I just… need a minute, maybe.”
Dom barely contained her eye roll from the corner of the room, and I barely contained my urge to punch her.
But then, an idea hit me. I stepped forward, placing my hands on Kiera’s shoulders. “Want me to go first, Bunny?”
“We’re not here for you to add to your collection.” Dom grumbled.
“I just think that maybe if someone else goes first, it’ll help with her nerves.” I glared at Dom before sweetening my gaze for Kiera. “What do you think?”
“Please,” she sighed, retreating to Leo on the couch. “Thank you.”
While Kiera got settled in, C.J. smirked up at me from her stool. “Cute. But I’m adding this to your bill for sure.”
“I’d expect nothing less,” I winked before pacing over to her computer station.
“What are you thinking?” she asked, reaching for the flash binder.
But I halted her with a wave, pulling my phone out of my pocket. “I was actually thinking something custom might be a better fit.”
“This better not take long,” Dom grumbled under her breath.
Ignoring her attitude, I looked down at C.J. on her stool. “I was thinking inner lip? Whatever size will look best.
C.J. nodded as she looked over the image on my phone. “I can make that work. Send it to me?”
“You’ve got it, boss.” I did as she asked before hopping up into the seat and letting her get to work. As she cleaned up some of the blurry edges on her drawing pad, Kiera eyed me skeptically. “What are you putting on your lip?”
“Something tasty,” I winked. But before Kiera could press further, C.J. was wheeling over to me with the finished stencil.
“Think you can stay quiet long enough for me to do my job?” she needled.
“Only if you’re gentle with me,” I teased before pulling down my lip and letting her get to work.
I hadn’t anticipated how many paper towels would be involved in the operation, or the fact that maybe it would hamper the intended sexiness of my stunt’s execution.
But it was all about sticking the landing. And I knew for a fact that Kiera was going to lose her mind when she saw it.
“Alright,” C.J. announced, as she set down the needle. “You’re all done.”
Dom was still sulking in the corner, but Kiera was sitting straight up, her knuckles white against Leo’s knee. “Do we get to see it now?”
Smirking, I pulled down my lip again for her to see. And the gasp she let out was like music to my ears.
“Spencer!” She shot up, shock written all over her face. “Is that my fucking name?”
I laughed, letting go of my lip so I could talk. “Your signature, actually?”
“How—?”
“I snagged it from a photo of one of your sketches. Do you like it?”
“Yes, but I mean — are you crazy? Why would you do that?”
I shrugged, hopping down from the seat and sauntering toward her. “So I can always taste you.”
I pulled her closer and pressed my lips to hers, not minding the sting of my freshly tattooed lip.
But my artist clearly wasn’t a fan. “Are you kidding me? On a freshly opened wound?”
I pulled away from Kiera with a chuckle before rolling my eyes at C.J. “I don’t remember you being this much of a cockblock a few years ago…”
“This isn’t the Station.” C.J. frowned. “And it doesn’t take Callahan to tell you that you’re testing your luck on an infection. Now get out of my way and make room for the newbie.”
And just like that, it was Kiera’s turn.