60. Kiera
KIERA
The pounding in my head hadn’t subsided by the time Dom pulled the gold Camaro into a spot near The Hollow’s entrance.
I felt my heart beating in my throat as I tried to calm myself down.
I knew what they did know, what my angels got up to when I wasn’t looking. And when I was.
But that didn’t change how terrifying the Gauntlet had been to watch. It was almost worse that I hadn’t seen the end. My mind had gotten pretty good at filling in blanks with more unimaginable terror.
Dom kept the engine running as she stretched out her long legs in the driver’s seat.
Pursing her lips, she kept an eye on the metal door that marked the Hollow’s entrance.
Around it, the usual burn barrels were surrounded by tough bikers, their leather jackets lined with fur now as the cold of January held its iron grip.
My eyes wanted to watch her every movement. In my periphery, I could see her tilting her head back, resting her crown on the head rest and leaving her tattooed neck exposed.
It would be so easy to lick along her jawline, to feel the bone under my tongue.
I bet she’d moan.
Shaking myself out of whatever ridiculous haze I was in, I sucked my teeth. “What on earth are you waiting for?”
“Spence and Leo.” Dom threw it out, knowing I would ask. “They’re coming to get you.”
Predictably nosey. Who could blame me? I’d accidentally stumbled into a death cult and was starting to fall for two of its members.
My eyebrow raised, immediately suspicious of where she might run off to without supervision. “Aren’t you coming in?”
“No. Just dropping you off at daycare.” Dom turned to meet my eyes now, the blue burning with a sky of rage. “Since you can’t be trusted on your own.”
“Oh for fuck’s sake…” I was ready to rip into her, to remind her of who exactly had been lying for two fucking months. But I knew what would get under her skin more.
“No. You’re coming in.”
“Funny, Viper. Didn’t know you had a tight five.” Dom’s jaw tensed as she smelled a challenge.
Shaking my head, I held her gaze. “Nope. It’s my fucking birthday and you owe me. You ruined the gallery. And you ruined the last decade of my life. You’re coming.”
Dom leaned closer. “Is that right? Why do you want me to come so bad? Want me to take you in the dark?” A terrifying laugh ripped through her chest. “I protected you. I’ve been protecting you from me . Because once you beg for it, there won’t be any escaping me.”
I was tempted to look away, to give in to the fear and lust that flowed through me. But I held strong as she got closer.
“You want the truth so goddamn badly, Kiera? Here it is: you’ll run as soon as you see what I have in store for you.”
My nostrils flared, anger rushing through every part of me. I’d given in to her rage and let her push me.
I shrugged, leaning back in my seat as Leo and Spencer popped out of The Hollow door and waved. “Fine, then I guess we’ll just sit here in silence. And you can explain to your pals how you fucked-up their night again. ”
Dom didn’t peel her eyes away from me, trying to break me. But as Leo and Spencer came closer, her breathing grew feverish. The ice between them hadn’t thickened, not yet. And Dom was at risk of drowning with each passing second.
“Fuck.” Dom grumbled. “Fine. Let’s go then.”
There was no point hiding the satisfied grin that took over my face as I grabbed the door handle and swung it open. Dom killed the engine and followed behind me.
We met Leo and Spencer halfway to the door, exchanging hugs and sloppy birthday kisses.
Both of them looked amazing and they were sure to tell me the same.
Despite how frigid it was outside, Leo wore a short sleeve forest green polo.
Her tattoos stretched over her muscular frame, the sight of her biceps testing the cuff of the shirt making my body desperate.
And then I got a good look at Spencer. In a baggy, long sleeve, she’d left the shirt almost entirely undone, leaving just the bottom few buttons clasped. But her tight, black sports bra was in full view.
My mouth was watering, my body craving more of them.
Dom caught my eye, rolling her eyes at me as she took the lead toward The Hollow’s ominous cement entrance.
Leo and Spencer followed closely behind me, both of them checking out my ass. I could’ve sworn I’d heard them smack their hands together — some sort of no-so-gentlemen’s agreement being made.
As soon as Dom reached for the metal handle, my chest tightened. All the nerves of being back here swarmed my mind.
Stopping in my tracks, Dom turned to look at me and place a soft hand on my forearm. “No fight night. Just a party. A very big one.”
The warmth of her surprised me, not the usual burning that her touch inspired. Instead, it was like a soft embrace, and deep breath from her to me.
I’d seen tonight just how powerful she was, the mountains she could have moved when she wanted to redecorate. If Dom said there wasn’t a fight night, there wouldn’t be one. I was starting to think she’d sooner jump into the Gauntlet herself than let me see that shit again.
Even then, she had been furious that Spencer and Leo had let me see it. At the time I was convinced that it was her way of keeping me out, not wanting me to see her club.
Now, I saw it for what it was. A recreation of everything I’d scrubbed from my mind, Dom afraid of it all coming back to me before she could confess.
“Good, birthday girl?” Spencer leaned in, a soft hand on my lower back.
A nod was all it took for Dom to swing the door open. Even from up here, the bumping music deep in the Hollow shook the concrete walls. Dom took her hand back, instead heading down the stairs.
Each step made the house music pulse louder.
Even so, nothing could have prepared me for the crushing crowd down the long tunnel.
In a large open concourse, a massive dance floor had broken out. It was triple the size of the last time I’d been here. And a large stage had been set up on the far end, a DJ playing a set as the bodies in the throng pressed together.
Swallowing hard, I tried to steady myself.
No fight night. Just dancing .
For a moment, I made a game of spotting matching marks. Sword and wings; sword and scales; sword and dripping honey; snakes; scorpions. There were what felt like dozens of variants. All of them symbolized the same thing: Justice.
My shoulders eased, the relief of knowing these people could be trusted.
Maybe it shouldn’t have been comforting. The truth was, each mark also meant death. At least one. I saw firsthand what kind of person ended up under the Violence’s knife.
They had all deserved it.
As we walked toward the crowd, it parted for Dom. With each step, Dom drew a command over the room. Random patrons nodded their heads to her, others shook her hand. Her presence demanded to be acknowledged and no one in the Hollow would be caught dead without paying homage.
Once we were at the center of the floor, the crush moved in on us — swallowing us whole. Not that any of us minded being all that close. Except Dom who managed to hold firm, keeping her arms crossed a foot or two away.
Turning to Leo, I pulled her ear to my lips. “Why is everyone trying to talk to her?”
Leo followed my gaze to Dom’s pouty face. “She doesn’t come to stuff like this often. She’s like the King of Valemont. Nothing happens here without her approval.”
I let the music wash over me as I thought about it. Closing my eyes, I let my body move along to the DJs mix. But when I opened them, Dom had disappeared into the crowd.
Spencer danced in front of me, her hands on my waist as she bobbed to the beat. Her dark eyes met mine under the red, strobing lights of the dance floor. A devilish smile passed over her lips as she felt my hips.
From behind me, Leo’s hands teased my legs. Her long fingers trailed up my dress, my clit pulsing under their touch.
My head rolled back, enjoying every second.
Until Dom’s raspy voice broke the spell. “Here.” In her hands were four drinks, all balanced in her massive hands. If she wasn’t a tech executive, she would’ve made an impressive bartender. Although, she certainly didn’t have the people skills for that.
“Thanks, Dom.” Leo nodded to her as she grabbed a cup off the stack, passing me one as she did.
Turning to Spencer, Dom held out one of the two remaining cups.
Without a word, Spencer snagged the cup and threw the drink back. In one, greedy slurp, Spencer took the entire thing down. She held the cup out to Dom, her mouth sealed closed. I knew from experience that the burn of whatever liquid was inside would be heating up Spencer’s tongue by the second.
“Seriously?” Dom growled, ripping the cup from Spencer's hands and putting her own cup inside it before swallowing her drink whole.
The two of them hadn’t cooled off since the night of Dom’s meeting with Gabe. And even after the holidays and some time away, Spencer could hardly stomach being in the same room as Dom.
There was only one thing left to do: distract myself from their strap-measuring contest.
Looking into the clear liquid in the strobing red light, I could hardly tell what it was.
Leo leaned into my ear, her rumbling voice managing to drown out the music. “It’s Hollow Moonshine. Strong shit, but you’ll party.”
“Perfect.” Before I could let the fear creep into my mind about what this shit would do to my stomach, I put the cup to my lips and tilted my head back.
“FUCK.” I yelped as the music reached a crescendo, the hot acid of the liquor dumping down my throat as I swallowed.
Spencer grabbed my hips. “That’s my brave little Bunny.”
Just as the drink went down, Dom grabbed my cup and stacked it with the other empties, the DJ cleared off the stage and the place went eerily quiet for a brief moment.
My nerves were on edge, the sudden vibe shift making my pulse race. But from the look on Spencer, Dom, and Leo’s face, this was to be expected.
A low thrum rang out from the speakers, a drone like a summoning call.