Chapter 14 Dom
DOM
Fuck, fuck, fuck!
The word echoed off the walls of my mind. My footsteps on the hardwood sped up to match the heartbeat thundering in my ears.
I never should have agreed to let her stay — I should have dragged her out the night she showed up, before I ever found out who she was. I should have burned this entire house down years ago. Instead, I’d built a home on haunted grounds and was surprised when my demons came back to play.
It’s Kiera — my Kiera.
I shook my head. Kiera was never really mine. It just felt good to pretend she was.
It would be more accurate to say that I was hers — her watchdog, her shadow. One peal of her laughter was enough to crank the vise around my lungs. One tear, and I would rip whatever had hurt her apart with my bare hands.
But that was then. And now —
I found myself standing in the center of this old bedroom, holding vigil to the dust my idiot roommates had unsettled. I’d meant to head for my office, but of course my feet brought me here instead.
Eyeing a crease in the dusty, pink duvet, I scowled. All I wanted to do was send her away.
But that wasn’t an option — not without a plan that would keep her hidden, safe.
I paced, looping between the window and the door but careful not to touch any of the furniture.
Maybe it’s a good thing she’s back. I tried hopelessly to convince myself. If I could keep Kiera close, keep an eye on her, maybe I could figure out how much she remembered.
Not much, it seems. I scoffed, scuffing my foot over the worn floorboards, ignoring the sharp pain in my chest.
If this was Kiera, then her boyfriend — the douchebag Leo and Spence had beaten up — was definitely Gabe. It was too strange to be a coincidence. I’d been desperate enough to convince myself it wasn’t true before, but I couldn’t keep running from the truth.
Does Isaac know? A chill ran down my spine. Definitely.
It was his trade, after all, to know. Brokering privacy into false security for the customer. Turning their private data into a profit for shareholders.
Decades of practice let me build a life within the margins of his blindspot, but someone as loud, brash, bold as Kiera? He knew exactly who she was — probably sent Gabe after her, if I had to guess.
The real question was why.
I’d hoped they would let her fade into the past, an unfortunate yet insignificant blip — it was certainly what I wanted to do. But if they were keeping her so close, they must know something I didn’t…
Lucky for me, Gabe’s little fuck up had given me an advantage here — they’d lost an asset, and I’d gained a clue.
It didn’t come free, though — if Isaac found out that my roommates were the ones to come after Gabe, he’d weaponize the morality clause in my contract and have me removed from Zeus’ board — The Oracle wouldn’t stand for that.
And if he found out Kiera was here? He might just kill me.
Is that why she’s here? To spy on me? To kill me?
It felt like it — every time those deep emerald eyes landed on me, they threatened to steal the very breath from my lungs.
But the curiosity sparkling behind them was too gentle — not the calculated prodding of a reporter.
More passive, distracted — like she was trying to remember a song she used to know.
A gentle knock at the door broke my attention. I whipped around, gripping the edge of the small vanity to steady myself, smearing fingerprints across the fine dust.
“All good in here?”
I scowled, trying to separate Leo’s broad form from memories of the doorway she leaned against. “What do you want?”
“That’s not an answer to my question, is it?” As she spoke, Leo pushed off the doorframe and crossed over to the tarped armchair by the bookshelf. My shoulders tightened as she plopped down onto it, kicking up a fine layer of dust.
If the tension travelled to my face, Leo didn’t notice.
We lingered in the stalemate for a long, quiet moment before she finally adjusted in her seat, her scoff underlined by the soft crinkle of plastic. “Alright. Who is she?”
I dropped my grip on the dresser, resuming my pacing. “How the fuck would I know? You’re the one who brought her here.”
“And you’re the one who’s taking that as a personal offense.”
“You know I don’t like guests.”
“I’ve never seen you get your panties into such a twist over a girl.”
“That’s not what this is.” I whipped on my heel, glaring daggers into her.
I could practically hear them clatter to the floor, useless against Leo’s persistent, cool demeanor. “What is it then?”
I grumbled, turning my gaze back to the worn boards beneath my feet, lighter in the spots I paced most. I wanted to tell her exactly what she’d done — to rip her and Spencer a new asshole for the hellfire they’d brought to our door.
But I couldn’t go there. It was better — safer — for everyone if this secret remained mine. I squared my shoulders, lifting my chin as I glared down the bridge of my nose at Leo.
“I have too much going on right now to concern myself with your little pet. You want to keep her? You want to pull rank with your mark? Fine. But while you’re busy cosplaying The Oracle’s mission, I’ll be busy actually carrying it out. And I swear to god, if she gets in the way—”
“We’ll keep it clean. Separate.” Leo nodded, recognition lighting behind her eyes. She’d seen just how exacting The Oracle could be, and she was buying the excuse. “Kiera won’t be a problem.”
I had to bite back the bark of laughter burning at my chest. You have no idea who you’re dealing with.
Kiera couldn’t be controlled — any attempt to do so ended in disaster for her and everyone around her. I’d already learned that the hard way.
But there was no explaining that to Leo. “She’d better not. Or we’re going to have a problem. You hear me, Major?”
“Loud and clear.” Leo nodded, standing from the arm chair and heading for the door. She stopped just short of the hallway, turning like she wanted to say more, but I kept my eyes down, refusing to meet her gaze as I paced over to the window.
A second of weighty silence.
Then footsteps retreating down the hall. A plastic tarp crinkling at the final doorway. She was gone.
And I was alone, as always. Cleaning up Kiera’s mess, as always.