The more I learned about them, the more certain I became that this entire mansion was built on their crimes. That they were somehow more dangerous than whatever was waiting for me out in the real world.
I should’ve been repulsed, but all I wanted to do was hide in their dark underworld, to stay their little captive forever.
37
LEO
The music was way tooloud for this conversation.
But that didn’t stop Spencer from droning on and on about her date with our girl. “She's shockingly good at video games. But she said she didn’t really play them as a kid.”
With a cold bourbon in hand, Dom scoffed and muttered to herself. “Had better things to do with her time.”
It had been days since Spencer had taken Kiera to the arcade, had her all to herself. And yet here she was, still spilling details. Spence was lucky that we were on a mission watching some fuckhead scumbag across the crowded bar, or I would have smacked that smug smile off her face half an hour ago.
What had really pissed me off was how Kiera had left me like that on the couch. And I wasn’t sure what was wrong with me. I had manners, sure, but I’dneverbeen one to let a woman walk all over me. Once we were in the bedroom, all the guardrails were off. She’d be lucky if I even bothered to give her a safeword.
Dom polished off her drink. “You shouldn’t be messing with her. She’s not staying.”
“We’re friends.” Spencer shrugged.
Shaking her head, Dom kept her eyes on the guy in the Gucci polo across the dance floor. “A friend you’d rather have as one of your little fucktoys.”
“No, she’d be more than that. For sure.” Spencer leaned against the bar as she tried to get her mind off the gorgeous girl locked up in our house.
I couldn’t shake the image of her either. And despite her attempts to act unbothered, it seemed like Dom couldn’t either. She’d grown far more irritable since Kiera had been in the house and even more so as we started letting her have more freedom.
The threat of her ex-boyfriend was dissipating by the day. I was sure he’d already moved on to whatever girl he could find by now. But Dom didn’t seem to think so. Even though she tried to hide it, I could tell Dom was worried about her. That something about Kiera was putting her on edge.
Whatever it was, I didn't mind. It was all an excuse to keep Kiera close. And in my eyes, that was never a bad idea. Trouble followed that girl like a dog following bacon.
Hell, maybe I was the dog.
Even as we stood in this crowded bar, I couldn’t stop myself from picturing her. The way she’d towered over us, taking her first sip of power over me, had sent me into another dimension. I’d barely slept that night, going back to my room and rubbing out a few more orgasms at the thought of her pretty ass slamming into my hips.
Trying to refocus, I followed Spencer’s gaze, a small camera in her hand.
Our mission was as vague as they always were: go to 13th Floor, watch for a man dressed in a red polo. Watch his movements and who he speaks to.
And finally: Do. Not. Intervene.
Fuck The Oracle for that.
My blood started to boil at the thought. All of us knew exactly what happened to these girls the second they left this place with those assholes. They’d take everything they wanted, leaving no trace of the women behind.
Tapping my finger against my trousered thigh, I bit the inside of my cheek. The Oracle had been circling the rising crime issue in Valemont for a while now. It had started in the neighboring towns, but Valemont had been a safe haven: protected by the Violence and Laniidae, by The Oracle’s oversight.
But whatever this was was seeping through the cracks.
And The Oracle hadn’t done shit about it.
It was starting to make me feel like the military had. Trapped, useless, and unable to defer from the orders of my superiors. I hated being shipped off to god knows where, told who to hurt and who to heal.
I mean, fuck. I’d ditched that shit just to end up a powerless pawn again.
“Do you think she’ll stay nearby once she’s safe to leave?” Spencer wondered as she stared out at the mark, a new friend dapping the guy up as they started to chat.
Barking, Dom whipped her head to look at Spencer. “Enough already. She’s better off gone.”
