Chapter 53 Kiera
KIERA
That terror thrummed through my veins with each passing second. Flashes of The Hollow and this house and bloodied fists cycled in my mind on an endless loop. These hands that had been so gentle with me could become violent so quickly.
Spencer frowned slightly. “Would a different seat be better?”
Shaking my head, I snapped back to reality. “Here’s fine.”
At least I can see the door from here.
I sat down, letting her push my chair in behind me. Once she stepped away though, I pushed my chair out slightly, keeping my legs angled outward just in case I needed to flee.
But even through my adrenaline, there was only so much I could do to deny my hunger. Especially with the five-star spread they’d laid out.
On platters all along the wide table were mountains of every breakfast food I could imagine, including a handful I’d never heard of.
Rich, flakey pastries sat beside fried ham, grits, and frittatas.
At the center of the table, surrounded by an assortment of cut fruit were pitchers filled with different flavored smoothies.
And of course, at the edge of the spread were fresh, gooey grilled cheese sandwiches.
These bikers might be sick fucks, but damn are they good cooks.
Ignoring the grumble in my stomach, I crossed my arms. “Looks like you’re trying to feed an army. Your friends from The Hollow visiting today?”
“Just us three today.” Leo smiled, leaving an empty seat between us.
No Dom. After the events of last night, I wasn’t sure whether to feel relieved or concerned by her absence.
Unfolding a napkin on her lap, Leo continued, “We just wanted to make sure you had your choice of anything you might want.”
“And we wanted to say we’re sorry,” Spencer added, darting her eyes up to meet mine sheepishly. “Everything that happened last night… You weren’t supposed to find out like that. That wasn’t fair to you.”
“No kidding,” I scoffed. Was there a ‘fair’ way to find out your crushes killed men for fun on the weekends?
Spencer dropped her gaze to the table at my rebuke. “You have every right to be mad at us, and to be scared and confused. But we thought maybe this breakfast could be an olive branch.”
“You must have questions,” Leo nodded. “We can sit here as long as you’d like answering them. But let’s get some food on your plate. Whatever you’ve got in the mini-fridge couldn’t have been enough for dinner. What can I serve you?”
I bit my lip as I contemplated the spread, deep unease blooming at the pit of my stomach.
“Don’t worry,” Leo prodded, “None of it’s poison.”
My shoulders stiffened at the joke. I hadn’t realized it until the words left her mouth, but that was exactly what I was worried about.
Catching my reaction, Spencer rubbed the back of her neck. “I know you don’t trust us right now, but if it makes you feel any better, poisoning you would kind of negate the whole ‘hostage’ thing.”
The logic was sound. Still, I narrowed my eyes at her. “...Take a bite of the eggs.”
Reaching into the platter with her fork, Spence scooped up a huge biteful, raised it to me, and swallowed it down in a single gulp. “See?”
My posture relaxed slightly as I loaded up my plate with hashbrowns, sausage, and a hefty helping of cheese bake. Freed from the fear of poisoning, it almost felt like a normal breakfast. Almost.
Once I’d made a decent dent into my food, Leo cleared her throat. “So, how are you feeling after last night?”
“Bad,” I muttered, locking eyes with Spencer. “Betrayed.”
Guilt flickered behind her eyes. And as bad as I felt, I couldn’t help the small prickle of satisfaction her remorse brought me. “You guys aren’t who I thought you were. Which makes everything that’s happened between us feel like a lie.”
“None of it was a lie,” Spencer interjected, horrified by the suggestion. “Anything personal that happened between us was genuine.”
Leo grimaced. “I’ve never lied to you, Kiera. But some of the details… we weren’t sure how to tell you without scaring you.”
“Too late for that,” I scoffed. For a long moment, the only thing cutting the silence was the sound of my cutlery against my plate. But I wasn’t here for a pity party. I was here to finally get some fucking answers.
Clearing my throat, I let my gaze flick between my two shame-faced angels. “Alright then, now that I’ve seen the ugly truth, there’s no need to hold back. What the fuck was that?”
Spencer caught Leo’s gaze, before looking back to me. “It’s called The Gauntlet. Valemont Violence isn’t just a motorcycle club. It’s part of a collective that delivers abusers to justice. The Gauntlet is one of the ways we achieve that goal.”
My head reeled as I tried to keep up with her explanation. “You just catch assholes and execute them for sport?”
“It’s not quite that simple.” Leo clenched her jaw.
“The ideal outcome is always rehabilitation. But serial offenders… when the collective gets a hold of them, they’re given a choice of how they want to pay for their sins.
The Gauntlet offers an opportunity of freedom to anyone who can beat our strongest fighter.
But if they don’t win, they don’t walk.”
My brows furrowed. “When was the last time an offender made it out of The Gauntlet alive?”
“Never.” Leo held my gaze.
Spencer shook her head. “Those assholes always underestimate their competition.”
I let the weight of that settle over me. The context certainly took the edge off of my horror, but that man’s face… I couldn’t shake the image of his pathetic cries and pained screams.
“What did he do?” I asked, pushing a potato around my plate. Maybe knowing would help me reconcile his fate.
“I don’t know the details of his case.” Leo frowned. “I can try to find out, but…”
Spencer lifted her eyes to meet mine. “The only people brought to The Gauntlet have committed some form of sexual assault. Usually rape. And they’re not repentant for it.”
Neither of them said it, but I could read between the lines of their responses. Did the specifics really matter?
Deep in my gut, I knew they didn’t. And the swiftness with which that quieted my concern unsettled me.
Clearing my throat, I moved onto my next big concern. “So this collective… Is that The Oracle ordering you to keep me here?”
“Sort of.” Spencer tilted her head.
“The Oracle leads the collective, but the collective isn’t part of The Oracle, if that makes sense.”
“I think so…” I bit my cheek, steeling myself for the question that scared me the most. “Why did they tell Dom to keep me here?”
The two of them exchanged an uneasy glance.
“We’re not entirely sure.” Leo frowned.
I inched my chair back and set my fork down, but Spencer waved her hands for me to stop. “She’s being serious. Dom won’t tell. Says she’s not quite sure either.”
My brow hitched. “And you believe her?”
“Honestly?” Spencer sighed. “I’m not sure. The Oracle likes to work in the shadows. The chances they won’t tell her the reason are very high. But the chance that Dom would take the command blindly…?” She threw her hands up in a shrug.
The Major leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table as she intercepted my gaze. “All we know for sure is that they want us to protect you. And we have every intention of seeing that order through.”
I knew I shouldn’t trust her. But Leo never lied to me. And if she was stating so plainly that her orders were to protect me… I had no choice but to trust that was the truth.
“Okay…” I shook my head, hardly able to believe the words leaving my mouth. “I hear you.”
Both of their shoulders loosened at that, but I was quick to correct them. “Make no mistake. That doesn’t mean all’s forgiven. But I understand where you’re coming from. And if I have more questions, I expect them to be met with this same level of transparency. Got it?”
“Yes ma’am,” Leo nodded, hardly concealing the grin on her face.
But as I pushed out my chair to stand, Spencer held up a hand. “Before you go, there’s one more thing we need to talk about.”
Tilting my head, I inched my chair forward, folding my hands in my lap until she continued. “We’ve had another order come down…”
She turned her gaze to Leo, looking for an assist. Leo’s jaw flexed as she turned to face me. “Since you’re going to be here for a while, you’re going to officially join Valemont Violence.”