Grabbing the last two knives, I ran the brush over them with renewed vigor, channeling my frustration with Dom into each stroke.
She could act like she was some saint giving me shelter as long as she wanted, but we both knew the truth. She was a sadistic fucking monster who had to keep her friends on a payroll for them to have any interest in her.
She wasn’t reclusive, she was repulsive. And what she was doing with me was just the next evolution of her depravity. Even if The Oracle hadn’t stepped in, I bet she’d have found a way to keep me here just so she had something fresh to torture.
The rage simmering in my gut wanted me to spill the tub of bleach all over the shop floor, to spit in her face and tell her exactly what I thought of her.
But it was just two more knives. Two more, and I wouldn’t have to look at her stupid, chiseled face for a few more days, hopefully.
Dom couldn’t just take the silence as a victory, though. She wouldn’t stop poking the bear until it bit.
Flicking her eyes over me, she sneered. “If this is how messy you are with the weapons, you’ll be fucked if they find the car. Who knows how many of those pretty red hairs of yours are tangled in the carpet fibers? Or where the ones from your hairbrush could end up if you keep causing problems?”
Bitchy comments I could handle, but threats were where I drew the line.
Flying up from my knees in a fury, I gripped the silver knife in my fist as I stormed over and swung it at Dom — lodging itinto the leather cushion square between her legs. Her icy gaze cracked, giving way to shock as they flicked from the dagger between her legs up to my eyes.
“Be careful who you threaten. If you’re coming for me, then you’d better follow through.” My chest rose and fell as I towered over her, drinking in the power of her shock.
I knew the moment was fleeting. It would only be seconds before she smacked me down or worse. It’s what Gabriel would have done, after all.
But to my surprise, instead of striking back. Dom just let out a deep, hearty laugh that almost sounded… proud. Her eyes carried an almost excited fire now. I furrowed my brow as she tilted her head back, letting the sound come deep from her chest.
“What’s so funny?” I barked, but my bravado shattered as Dom stood, sending me scrambling back. She took a step toward me, raising her hand, and something like relief washed over me as I braced for the strike I’d been certain was coming.
Here it is.
But she didn’t hit me. Instead, she clapped a rough hand against my back before disappearing into the shadowy backroom of the shop. “I knew that fire was in there somewhere. Welcome to the club, Viper.”
69
KIERA
Who doesshe think she is?My mouth dropped as I watched Dom stride across the shop, trying to disappear through the shadowy office door.No. She doesn’t get to walk away from this that easily.
This late at night, the shop was nearly empty. Only Spencer and Leo hung around the far end, pulling crumpled panels off a Maserati that was somehow in worse shape than the car I’d just cleaned.
“Where do you think you’re going?” I shouted at Dom’s retreating form.
Even with an audience of two, the comment was enough to hit her ego, making her back tense. “Some of us have real work to do around here. Do you need something to do? I can find you another car to clean.”
“I mean that depends. What the fuck did I just clean up?” I crossed my arms over my chest, and even through the fabric of my shirt, I could feel the heat rising there.
“Someone who deserved it.” Dom grumbled.
“Who?” I spat, taking a step toward her. I could feel Spence and Leo’s eyes on me as they set down their tools, but I didn’t care if I was causing a scene, I wanted some fucking asnwers.
“We don’t always get the luxury of knowing.”
She tried to turn away, but I grabbed her wrist, feeling tendons and bulging veins strain beneath my fingers. “I’m sick of this vague bullshit. I can’t keep operating off aphorisms. I need something real.”
For a second, the icy facade cracked as she glanced down at her wrist, but it froze right over the second her eyes met mine. “You need order. Control.”
She wrenched her arm away, flicking my hand aside as she advanced on me. “You need someone telling you what to do until you learn some fucking self control.”
My face screwed up as I stepped away from her, “I don’t need anything from you.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, Viper.” She took another step forward and then another, forcing me to back away or risk colliding with her mountainous frame.
