But Dom wasn’t having it. “Where’s the ham?”
Next to Kiera. Of course.
I watched as Kiera rolled her shoulders back and lifted the plate, trying to steady the shaking in her hand. But as brave a front as she put up, I could tell that Kiera was afraid of Dom. Who wouldn’t be after last night?
Just the thought of Dom handling Kiera that way was enough to make my blood boil. If holding her hadn’t been a direct order from The Oracle, if I hadn’t seen what Kiera did to Dom’s handlast time they were alone, I would have broken Dom’s fingers right then and there.
It wasn’t right, and Dom knew it. If I ever saw her like that again…
I shook my head, trying to keep my cool. The only thing that calmed my rage was the fact that Kiera was okay — the fact that she was even still talking to us was a fucking miracle,
The Oracle’s involvement complicated everything, and the last thing we needed right now was infighting. But Dom was making that nearly impossible to avoid.
Hunching over with both elbows on the table, Dom had her eyes locked on Kiera as she ripped into a hunk of ham with her bare hands and shoved it into her maw like a wild animal.
Across the table from her, Kiera kept her eyes down, trying to ignore Dom as she delicately cut her pancakes into smaller and smaller pieces that she wouldn’t eat.
I couldn’t blame her — I would have lost my appetite too if a beast was eyeing me from across the table like I was its next meal.
Ever the mediator, Spencer tried her luck again. “Leo, you really killed it on the French toast bake.”
Kiera murmured her agreement, but I could hardly get my thanks out before Dom slammed her fist against the table, “French toast bake! That’s what I should have next.”
The bang was hard enough to clatter the place settings. Loud enough to startle Kiera into dropping her utensils on the ground. Her gaze was panicked as her eyes flickered between Dom and the floor, unsure how to proceed.
“Whoops.” Dom smirked, stabbing her fork into the stack of pancakes.
I locked eyes with Spencer across the table, a silentwhat the fuckpassing through the gaze. Dom hated being told what to do,and she could be a real bastard when she was irritated, but this? This was personal.
Why the fuck does Dom hate this girl?It was a question that I’d been trying to wrap my head around for weeks now to no avail. It was hard to know why Dom did most of the shit she did, and for the most part, it was better not to question it.
That had been easy enough when we could keep the two of them apart most of the day. But now that Kiera was joining Violence? It was like watching two rockets on a collision course.
Does she know something we don’t?She must. I’d seen her be a bitch plenty, but I’d never seen her act like this much of a monster before. It wasn’t just a guest or a new member — it was Kiera specifically that got under her skin. And if we were all stuck together, I was going to have to figure out why.
But before any of that came Kiera, who was sitting at the table with her hands folded in her lap. She tried hard not to shrink under the pressure, but Dom’s tantrum was pushing her to the verge of tears.
Like fucking hell am I going to sit here and watch this girl cry.
“Come on.” I stood up, gesturing for Kiera to follow.
Under furrowed brows, her green eyes were glossy as she looked up at me. “Where are we?—?”
“To get some air.” As I pushed in Kiera’s chair, Dom couldn’t stop herself from scoffing. I shot her a glare as Kiera scurried out of the room. “If you want to keep being a skulky fuck, that’s fine. You don’t have to tell me what’s up your ass, but you’d better get it sorted out. She’s not any happier to be stuck here than you are.”
Shoving my own chair into the table with a slam, I took a deep breath before joining Kiera in the hallway. All alone, she looked petrified, but I watched her try to shove it down as she heard my footsteps approaching. “You didn’t have to?—”
“She was being an asshole,” I grumbled, trying to pull back the irritation from my voice. “Are you okay?”
She crossed her arms over her chest, keeping her eyes on the floor as she nodded.
“Hey,” I reached down to stroke her cheek, trying to hide the hurt from my face when she flinched. “Look at me. Please.”
Those shiny green eyes tugged at something deep in my chest. All I wanted to do was pull her closer, smooth the hair on the top of her head and promise I’d make it all right. But that’s not what Kiera needed right now. And it wasn’t a promise I was certain I could fulfill.
Instead, I smiled down at her, inviting her to do the same. “When I ask you a question, I don’t want you to lie to me. I’m a big girl. I can handle the truth. Okay?”
“Okay.” Kiera nodded.
