Chapter 25 Dom
DOM
The bourbon burned as it slid down my throat, the bottom of my glass lifted to the ceiling. I drained it all before setting it back on the bar, stretching my stiff neck as I surveyed the room.
I fucking hated wearing those dress shirts. There was no greater relief than leaving the office and undoing the top buttons as my real work began.
What exactly I was looking for in the bustling crowd, I couldn’t describe. But I knew it when I saw it.
The Oracle can fuck itself.
This was my vigil, my watch. The higher-ups had far too many rules and regulations.
I fixed the cuff on my rolled up sleeve as the bartender grabbed my glass. “Another?”
The buzz of the old fashioned rushing to my brain as I shook my head. After the day I’d had in the office, I should’ve wanted another stiff fucking drink. Especially considering who I had to go home to.
But there was work to do.
I wanted to stay as far away from Valemont as possible — but even driving to another state wouldn’t have gotten me far enough away from her.
And being this close to the office wasn’t much better. The crowd here was far bolder. The patrons were used to getting what they wanted from women, and they didn’t take kindly to being told no.
More than anything, the bouncers could go fuck themselves — letting in underage girls who didn’t know what these men were capable of.
Even now, I could see a few guys circling them. Slowly herding them into corners and bribing them with free drinks.
We can’t save everyone.
It was a mantra I had to repeat to myself near daily, knowing the limits of our world. There was only so much we could cover up. Something Laniidae seemed intent on testing every semester.
Looking back at the wooden counter, I clenched my jaw. Her face wouldn’t leave my mind. Those green fucking eyes, that hair. The freckles. Something I never wanted to see again. All I’d wanted was to leave her and the trouble that followed her in the past.
I should’ve known it was her.
Maybe another drink was in order.
The clink of another drink on the counter felt like a hand of god. Nodding to the bartender, I let myself grab the cool glass. I needed to be aware, alert to handle what came next. But I knew how to hold my drink
I watched one particularly smarmy walk into the bar. He wore a cheap shirt and an even cheaper smile. Even the young ones knew to stay away from him.
As I sucked the bitter liquid of my third drink into my mouth, I reminded myself that Kiera would be fine.
As much as I hated the looming reminder of everything that had happened, everything I’d done, she wasn’t in imminent danger.
And until I could get rid of her, being trapped in that house was the best thing for her.
Even if I wanted her gone. Lost to the well of my memory forever.
Taking a deep breath, I thought about the disgusting look on my father’s face that he must have had when he decided to make Kiera his insurance policy.
Isaac would have set Kiera and Gabriel up, unable to keep his hands out of anyone’s affairs.
With Kiera close by, he’d be able to get closer to Maura and what he really wanted.
Maura. That fucking gold digger.
She hardly gave enough of a shit to keep an eye on Kiera, let alone to participate in the company her money came from. That was Maura all right — happy to leave the responsibility to someone else.
Anger bubbled in my chest, as I remembered the countless times I had to lead little Kiera from a room full of intoxicated adults, taking her upstairs to play.
My hands balled into fists, nails digging into my palms as I came back to Earth.
No cause for concern. Kiera would be fine, other than Gabe being a controlling ass.
But that didn’t stop my dark mind from conjuring worst case scenarios, not when Isaac was as smart and well-connected as he was.
Just like this asshole.
The creep had a woman pressed against a pillar, spewing his whiskey breath all over her. His eyes flicked down to her chest, not shy about what he was after.
No way she’s older than 19. And in this city, she might’ve been even younger. The kids around here loved to party. Too much money and too much time.
From the bar, I watched his hands inch closer and closer to her waist, ready to sink his claws in.
My teeth could have shattered from the force of clenching them together.
Standing from my stool, I crossed the bar, keeping my head low as I approached. I didn’t want it to look like I was headed straight for them.
There was little I could do here — the bar was crawling with guys who would have his back.
So instead, I squeezed past him and used my broad shoulders to push him away from her. The force tossed him into the crowd, giving the girl just enough time to slip out.
When he threw an angry look my way, I raised my hands in surrender, mouthed an apology, and kept walking.
Over my shoulder, I watched him search the bar for his escaped prey. But the cage was empty.
Stupid fucker. Those were the worst kinds — the ones who were too stupid to take the hint. Or even worse, the ones who got off on playing with their catch.
He was about to learn exactly what that felt like.
I found a dark corner to wait in until the asshole decided to leave. He didn’t last long after she got away, bored without someone to terrorize. Too agitated to notice me trailing him as he tripped toward the exit.
Shitfaced, he stumbled out onto the quiet street. All the commuters besides me had gone home. It was dead out here, except for a few straggling bargoers.
The loud music faded as he made his way down the block, with me as his unknowing chaperone. He hadn’t even looked over his shoulder once.
My job just got easier.
It was the most disturbing part of this whole thing, every man walked out of that bar like they had no fear. Not of retribution, not of consequences, not of random acts of violence.
They lived in a world free of it, except of course that which they committed unto others.
My heart pounded as I got closer to him, just as he was turning down a dark, quiet street. Most of the streetlights were out, only one or two of them still casting light onto the sidewalk.
It wasn’t until then that my mark noticed the heavy, pounding footsteps behind him.
Whipping his head around, he snarled, though his eyes were still heavy from his John Collins — unable to take hard liquor without sugar. “Not this fucking dyke again. What do you want, huh? Came to see if I could change your mind?”
Sucking in a big breath, he turned his body to face me and puffed out his chest. “You fucking dykes can’t ever mind your business.”
I kept my pace, not slowing down as I got closer to him. He was too drunk to stop me.
As soon as he was within reach, my right fist cratered his face sending him stumbling back.
He cried out, grabbing his nose as he checked for blood. “What the fuck!”
Before he could move, I bunched his cheap shirt in my fists and kneed him in the crotch. As he doubled over, clutching his balls, I loosed another knee into his face.
It was enough to send him straight into the pavement and onto his back.
I almost wished he would put up a fight, give me a challenge for once.
But as I dragged him into a nearby alley, he didn’t bother.
Screams pierced the air as I pressed my heel into his nuts. It was a beautiful sound, but one that would get me caught. And I wasn’t done playing with my prey. Savoring the last of his whelps, I sank to my knees, smashing my fists into his face again and again.
The blood running from his face was all I could see.
I knew I would pay for this later, that the bruising on my knuckles would be unpleasant at best. But I didn’t care.
As I pummeled his face, keeping his body pinned down with my legs, only one thing came back to my mind.
Her. Kiera’s face, over and over. With each crack of this asshole's bones, a clearer picture of her came back to me. Not the adult woman who was occupying my house.
No, the way she looked that night at just twelve. Soft, sweet, innocent. Before they tried to ruin her.
And then my father’s face came with the next punch. That sinister smile of his. The night I confronted him about what he’d done. How his lips curled into pride at my violence despite it spoiling his deal.
I should have seen him. The one that did it to her. Tried. Fuck I couldn’t even remember how far it went before I found them.
But it’s not him. No, it’s her that keeps coming back to my mind and the bastard responsible for all of it.
Under my fists, my mark fell limp.
Still breathing.
I wouldn’t kill him, not tonight.
I wanted him conscious for what came next.
Grabbing his shirt, I hauled him off the ground and closer to my face. Close enough to spit on his bloodied carnage. “I’ll be watching from the shadows. Everywhere you go. You’ll never be certain that I’m not around every corner. Waiting to destroy you the second you step out of line.”
Through his broken teeth and blood-filed mouth, the man sobbed out, “What the fuck?”
Dropping his shirt, I let his head slam into the concrete before getting off of him and leaving the dark alley behind me.
But as I straightened my shirt, fixing the bloodied cuffs of my button down, my heart fell into my stomach.
She was breaking something in me, something I’d painstakingly locked away. And if I couldn’t keep this demon inside of me at bay, we’d both have hell to pay.