62. Leo
LEO
To be honest, I’d been itching for something to take my mind off all the drama in the house. But The Oracle’s latest mission wasn’t exactly what I’d had in mind.
Kiera’s birthday had been a nice change of pace — for once, Dom let us loosen her lead, and she looked happy. Free, almost.
But as we loaded up on the bikes, Kiera was looking less like her brazen self and more like the scared little thing we’d rescued from the bar.
Fumbling with the zip of her jacket, Kiera looked up at me with those big green eyes, full of fear. “Are you sure he won’t be there?”
“Positive,” I nodded, rubbing her arm. “A scout has eyes on him. And if he moves… I’ll have you out of there long before Gabe is a concern.”
The reassurance didn’t quite soothe her, but it eased the tension in her shoulders just a little.
I loathed that we had to ask Kiera to come with us on this mission. The Oracle believed that there was something in Gabe’s apartment that was paramount to our takedown of Zeus. And they’d ordered the three of us to find it.
The four of us.
I shook my head as I watched Kiera slip on her helmet over the wig that she managed to make hot and fasten the chin strap.
After our first little visit to Gabe’s apartment, Zeus had moved him into some high-rise fortress. This wasn’t going to be as easy as the last time we broke in, but it was necessary.
And, as backwards as it felt, having Kiera with us was a necessity, too.
We couldn't guarantee that the house would be safe forever. A few months ago, I would have bet my life that Zeus had no idea this place existed. But a lot of what I’d known to be true then was a lie, apparently.
It had already been a lot to hear Dom’s latest confession: that she’d been sending us to watch Kiera for months before we found her outside Red Poison. All those months Spence and I were convinced that we were making headway on discovering what disease was spreading through the Hudson Valley.
Let alone the anxiety I was starting to feel about my own parents' connection to Isaac. As far as I knew, they’d been casual acquaintances. But I knew better than to trust a word out of their mouths.
I tried to take comfort in knowing that we’d been Kiera’s guardian angels for longer than I knew. But it didn’t stop the betrayal from hurting any less.
What I knew for certain was that the longer we had Kiera, the more Zeus was stepping up their efforts to find her. And it would be reckless to leave her unguarded off an assumption about their intel.
As much as I trusted the rest of Violence, there was no one I trusted to watch over Kiera like the three of us. Keeping her with us, as hard as the mission would be, was a guarantee that Zeus would have to leave three bodies in their wake before they could lay a finger on Kiera.
And even that assumes that one of their weak ass grunts could knock down a Valemont Violence biker.
At least we were still united in our willingness to die for Kiera.
I sighed as I pulled on my own helmet and hopped onto my bike. It seemed like that was the only thing we had in common, nowadays.
As I guided Kiera onto the bike, I couldn’t help but scowl at Dom, already revving her engine up ahead. The birthday gesture had been nice, but it wasn’t an apology. And from her stubborn fucking attitude, it was clear that none of us should expect one anytime soon.
Things were the worst between her and Spencer. Dom had tried getting Spencer gifts and doing her favors, buying disgustingly expensive gifts for the kids — really, everything short of just fucking apologizing.
Spencer wouldn’t have it, though. I’d found designer sneakers in the garbage, along with gaming consoles, new cellphones, and even straight up cash. Fuck, Spencer would hardly look at Dom, let alone speak to her.
And to be fair, Dom still couldn’t manage to say two simple words.
And all the drama was giving me a headache.
Frankly, both of them were in the wrong.
Dom needed to get it through her head that this wasn’t about the money from the lawsuit and actually apologize for lying.
And Spencer needed to stop throwing a tantrum long enough to see that, in her own way, Dom was trying to make things right.
But I wasn’t getting involved — it wasn’t my place. They were both grown-ups who could figure this out on their own without a mediator. At least, they should be.
Eventually, Spence got situated on her bike, and we took off down the road.
Still, in the silence of the drive, I couldn’t help seething just a little. It wasn’t like I didn’t have my own grievances with Dom. Everyone else was so caught up in their own shit that it seemed real easy for them to forget that I’d also been lied to.
I was just choosing to handle my feelings like an adult: by letting go of the shit I couldn’t change. I couldn’t change that Dom had lied, I couldn’t change that she didn’t know how to apologize, and I couldn’t change that the whole world seemed to revolve around her whims.
Walking away wasn’t an option for me: this was the only real family I’d known. Which left me with two choices: throw a tantrum, or keep it pushing. And one of those options was significantly less drama than the other.
Still, I couldn’t help the questions that rose to the surface in quiet moments like this. I’d known that my parents knew Dom’s. At a school like ours, it would have been hard for two powerful families to not be passing acquaintances at least.
And as shit got weirder, it was hard not to wonder how close our parents had really been. Were my parents involved in any of Zeus’s dealings?
It doesn’t really fucking matter, does it? I’m basically estranged from them.
But even as I tried to let logic wash away the worry, the feeling still burrowed somewhere deep in my chest, stubbornly trying to claw its way out.
Lucky for me, my nagging worries were out of time for now. Arriving back in New York City, I followed Dom’s lead down a dingy alley between the high rises, letting Spencer take up the rear.
While Spencer and I got to work stowing the bikes under a black tarp she’d brought along, Dom got busy at the end of the alley with a pair of binoculars.
We were about a block away from his apartment, but the binoculars gave her a chance to take one final peek into the apartment and ensure that it was empty.
“What’s the plan?” Kiera bit her lip as her eyes shifted between us and Dom.
Letting Spencer secure the last of the tarp, I took a step toward Kiera, taking in a deep breath that I hoped she might copy. “We’ve got Zeus security badges that Dom was able to snag from work. That’s going to be our in.”
Kiera’s eyes widened. “Security? There’s no fucking way they’ll buy that I’m security.”
“You’re not security...” I closed my eyes as I prepared for how this would sound. “You’re… they’re going to think you’re an escort.”
“A sex worker?” She blinked. “The entire time that we were together, was he…?”
“Do you really want me to answer that question, Kiera?”
“I hate this plan,” Kiera shook her head. “Is there any other way that?—?”
“Let’s go,” Dom grumbled from the end of the alley, tucking away the binoculars. “Apartment’s empty, but the longer we wait, the less likely it is to stay that way.”
I could see the terror in Kiera’s eyes as Spencer and Dom made their way toward the street, determination written all over their faces. I wanted desperately to hang back with her, to protect her from what might be waiting in that apartment.
But I couldn’t leave Spencer and Dom to handle this alone, either.
“Trust me,” I looped her arm with mine before trying to catch up with the others. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”
She still looked skeptical, but the words got her walking, and I would take that small victory. We caught up with the others as we approached the main lobby, and I was forced to drop her hand.
Dom strode up to the front desk, the picture of stoicism. “Penthouse 2. Delivery for Mr. Cortes.”
“Of course,” The doorman smiled up at Dom. “May I see some ID?”
As the rest of us handed over our badges, I could practically feel Kiera shaking.
As sick as it was, her nerves were probably for the best. If I knew anything about what Gabe looked for, terrified was probably best.
The doorman scanned the IDs into the system, barely sparing them a glance as she offered Kiera a gentle, knowing smile. And watching the way she shrank under his gaze, it took all of my self control not to pull her out of here and run for the hills.
Later. I promised myself, jaw tightening.
But the show had worked. He didn’t even bother asking for Kiera’s ID before pointing us down to the elevator bank. “Good luck.”
At that, even Dom’s fist clenched. But the best thing we could do was to keep Kiera moving, to get into that apartment and get the fuck out of it as fast as we could.
She wouldn’t have any fucking peace or a chance at a normal life with these fuckers hunting her. And once we sunk their ship, I would be damn sure to hunt down every last rat who’d hitched a ride on it.
As we glided up to the top of the building, I allowed myself a brief squeeze of Kiera’s hand. “You okay, Princess?”
I could see in her eyes that she was shaken, but she just shuddered and held her head higher to compensate. “This is so fucked up.”
“No kidding,” Spencer scoffed.
The next thing I knew, the elevator doors were dinging open to reveal the pent house hallway.
On one side, there was the door for Gabe’s neighbor in Penthouse 1: a skeevy lawyer for one of the country’s leading prediction markets.
And on the other, there was the flashy number two that marked our target.
“All clear?” I asked, dropping Kiera’s hand as I paced toward the door.
“All clear.” Spencer confirmed, peeking down the fire exit stairs for any stray apartment dwellers while Dom scrawled over the peephole for the neighboring penthouse.
With the go ahead given, I squared myself to the door before driving my heel forward just below the doorknob.
“Holy shit!” Kiera gasped, covering her mouth as she scurried farther down the hallway.
Another kick, and the frame started to crack.
“One more,” I muttered, before driving my heel into the ground and funneling the force straight into the door.
The door collapsed with a ringing crash that shook the hallway. Spencer and Dom wasted no time, charging past me and into the apartment. I looked back at Kiera, still frozen in the hallway, and tried to wave her in. “Come on.”
The clock had started ticking the moment the door fell. We had to find whatever The Oracle was looking for, and fast.