“But—”
“Save it, Major.” Pushing the door open, Dom didn’t bother to look back. “The Oracle demands it.”
Before I could protest any further, Dom disappeared into the house. Standing in the doorway, I let a sigh escape from my lungs — expelling the chill of the winter night from my body.
I guess we’re going to find out if our little toy will break under pressure.
But the thought made my body shudder. As tough as Kiera acted on the surface, bold enough to confront Dom to her face, I knew that she was far softer than she let on. There was a delicateness to her, something deep in her soul that told me she needed to be protected.
And as soon as she stepped foot into our house, I decided I’d be her protector.
With Dom pushing Kiera further in, I feared my ability to keep her safe would be too limited.
Can Kiera really handle being pushed in any deeper? I could see how much the cleanup tonight had really gotten to her, the reality of the work we did finally sinking in as she scrubbed away at the bloodstained fabric.
The Oracle demands it.
So what choice did we really have?
75
KIERA
I’d shutthe lights off hours ago, but I couldn’t quiet my racing thoughts.
When I’d asked Leo to walk me back, I hadn’t been planning on kissing her. I just wanted to spend another minute in her company, and like always, I acted faster than I could think.
But that kiss… that kiss was everything and then some. I couldn’t stop picturing her cute furrowed brow, the shock on her face, the gentle way her hand tightened around mine as our lips met. The thought of her played in my head on a loop as I tossed and turned like a lovedrunk teenager.
But that wasn’t the only thing that had me tossing and turning.
A few weeks ago, I’d been thoroughly convinced I was straight. And now… I had no clue who I was. On the one hand, it didn’t matter — I could just explore how things felt and not worry about defining it.
But Spencer was supposed to be the experiment. Leo…
I scrunched my nose, burying my face into the pillow.
When I thought of her sweet face, I couldn’t stomach the thought of hurting her. And as much as I’d enjoyed that kiss, Icouldn’t make her any promises about the next one, or the one after that.
I had no fucking clue what to tell her. And every minute closer to dawn was a minute closer to having to explain myself anyway.
Rolling over, I grabbed my phone off the nightstand with a grimace. It was already three.
No fucking way I get any sleep.
So instead of rotting in bed feeling sorry for myself, I pulled on a big t-shirt and thick socks before heading for the door.I just need to move. Clear my head.
Cracking open the door slowly, I waited and listened for any signs of my captors. But even the night owls were asleep by now.
Pacing the big hallway, I kept to the sides where the floorboards were less creaky. Something about the feeling of my socks on the old panels of hardwood felt nostalgic.
I’d never been a great sleeper — not since my dad died, at least. And my mom wasn’t the kind who comforted when it came to nightmares. Which meant I’d spent many sleepless hours pacing hallways just like this as a kid.
When I was really little, there were nights I was so scared of the shadows that I couldn’t even get out of the bed. But then this girl told me that the trick was to let the monsters think I was one of them. If I pretended to be a ghost, none of the other monsters would be able to touch me.
Even now, I caught myself repeating that as I drifted down the halls.I am a ghost, and you can’t hurt me.
It had been ages since I thought about that story though. Most of my childhood memories were pretty foggy — snippets of images scattered through time, tied together with deep currents feeling. I couldn’t even picture that girl’s face at all, but the memories of her felt warm. I had no idea when or how I’d mether, but I could still hear a woman’s sing-songy voice calling for Madeline.
