“You can deny it all you want, but when it came down to it, you were a good girl, weren’t you? You threw a fit and still did as you were told.”
As I stepped away from her, I felt my back crash into one of the cars. She slammed her hands on the roof, caging me between ropey arms. Any warmth she’d shown me a minute ago was gone now, replaced by a destructive impulse to dominate.
I screwed my eyes shut, shrinking away from her as best as I could. But she was inescapable. Dom stood there for a moment, warm breath washing over my face until a depraved smirk painted her lips. “Maybe we can tame you after all.”
Smacking the roof of the car hard enough to make it shake, she pushed off and strode away toward the office, letting the door slam behind her. My head whipped toward the sound, butwhen I set eyes on the big glass windows, I saw that she’d already drawn the blinds.
Sickness churned in my stomach in the aftermath. She was completely off base. I didn’t help with the cover up because I’d been ‘broken in.’ I didn’t have a choice in the matter — Dom had made that pretty obvious in her abundant threats.
But… had they really forced me?
I could have walked out. I could have refused. Even if it had resulted in a punishment, that was technically an option. But even if I’d known… would I have walked away?
I knew deep in my gut that the answer was no. As frustrated as I was with talking in circles and the lack of information, I believed my captors. For better or worse, I wholeheartedly trusted that whoever’s blood was in the back of the car did deserve it. And I was fine to cover it up.
But that wasn’t something I wasn’t ready to admit out loud — certainly not to Dom. And I still had a bone to pick with my angels.
“You two.” I barked, setting my sights on a softer target. Spence jumped to attention, but Leo simply crossed her arms and leaned against the Maserati. “How dare you let me walk into that blind?”
If Leo shared any of Spencer’s guilt, she didn’t show it, which only made me more angry. “Maybe you guys chose this, but let me remind you that this is a fucking hostage situation. I didn’t ask to get pulled into whatever shady shit you guys are doing, I didn’t ask to have my DNA all over a murder vehicle, and I certainly didn’t ask to have Dom fucking blackmailing me while I cleaned up a stranger’s blood. What the fuck?!”
My chest was heaving at this point as I waited for one of them to break the silence with any sort of explanation. Leo’s eyes were placid as she took me in, not nearly as easy to rile up as Domwas. I expected her to come back at me with some milquetoast explanation before urging me to get used to it.
But to my surprise, it was Spencer who spoke first, shrugging as she hit me with those deep brown eyes. “Sorry, Bunny. It’s initiation: everyone does it at some point. Us interfering would only make things worse.”
I was shocked to find tears welling in my eyes at the idea of my two saviors doing the same thing.
The reason didn’t matter ultimately. What I really needed wasn’t an explanation, and Leo knew that.
“It’s okay, Princess.” She stepped forward, pulling me into a hug. “You’re okay. It’s a complicated thing, but you haven’t done anything wrong.”
I didn’t realize how badly I needed to hear that until the words left her mouth. I sank into the hug, letting her warmth bleed through me as her firm grip soothed the ache in my muscles.
“Are you sure?” I felt a tear eek from my eye as I pressed my face into her shoulder.
“Absolutely.” She murmured into my hair.
Spencer stepped behind me, rubbing circles into my back. “Hey, I’ve got an idea for a little reward. Might help you feel a bit more like… you. Or at least get your mind off of things for a while. You in?”
Letting out a deep, shuddering breath, I wiped the tear from my cheek and tried to pull my brave face back on. “Where are we heading?”
70
KIERA
The ideaof getting the fuck out of the shop was more than enticing after the day I’d had. Ever since Spencer brought me home last night, my life had been a whirlwind. First to the DA’s office, then trying to hunt down mansion records, and then cleaning up an apparent crime scene.
I needed a fucking break.
Whatever work had been done on Spencer’s bike must have been finished, because Spence rolled the blue Suzuki off the small lift and brought it to the front of the shop, Leo following behind her with the bright red Ducati.
“Ready for a ride, Princess?” Leo winked as she passed me a helmet, slipped her own over her head, and flicked the visor down.
It reminded me of the night we met. How who she was didn’t matter to me. The way I felt safe for the first time in my life as she brought Gabe to fucking floor with one clean punch. My throat tightened at the thought, knowing now just how good her muscles would have looked from the force of the blow.
Shaking myself from the memory, I nodded. “Yep.”
As soon as Leo lowered herself onto the bike, I threw my leg over and positioned myself behind her. Spencer winked at me, our little secret still lingering between us. I knew she wouldn’t mind seeing me backpack Leo. She knew I still had a lot to figure out.
