My eyebrows lifted at the snap. I’d seen her like this a couple times, but never for this long.
As I stared at her hardened face, the veins bulging across her tattooed neck, I knew something bigger was going on. Something Dom didn’t want Spencer and I to know about. But I was going to figure it out, whether she wanted me to or not.
Suddenly, the mark moved toward the door, pulling our attention with him. Reaching into the pocket of his pants, he pulled out a black business card. From this distance, it was impossible to make out any of the details.
From my side, Spencer’s camera clicked off a few photos. It was a special piece of equipment, one we’d been given from The Oracle’s mysterious Research and Development team. Compact and powerful, the thing could take close up pics from yards away, all while being small enough to dupe security scanners.
I’d tried poking around with it in the shop before to figure out how it worked, but once I heard a screw straining, I gave it a rest. After all, I knew medicine, not tech.
Once the guy handed over the card, he headed for the door.
Spencer pulled out her phone, tapping to zoom into the photo. “It’s the fucking eagle again.”
Without looking away from the mark, Dom asked, “With the lightning bolt?”
Nodding, Spencer sighed. “Yep.”
It killed me letting that fucker walk out of here alive. He should be dead in a ditch, and we should be the ones doing it. That was our job. All of this other espionage bullshit wasn’t what I’d signed up for.
For a moment, I thought the set of Dom’s jaw meant that she agreed with me. But then I saw how all the color had drained from her face, the restless tapping of her boot against her barstool. It wasn’t just rage coursing through her veins; it was dread. The symbol meant something to her, it must have.
I needed to find out what Dom knew. It was unlike her to hide something like that from us, especially on a mission. And while a part of me was worried about her, a larger part feared for my and Spencer’s safety. For Kiera most of all.
Secrets could be fatal in our line of work. And I wouldn’t let Dom put our sisters at risk.
38
KIERA
I heldmy breath as I popped my head into the kitchen, then let it out in a long, steady stream.No dice.
My first couple of days here, I’d been under lock and key any time my saviors were away, which meant that any time they were home, I was waited on hand and foot. Now, I’d gotten the freedom I’d asked for — access to the living room and kitchenonly, revocable the moment I crossed a toe over another threshold — but it came at a price.
Today, that price was making my own lunch.
I pouted as I slunk over to the fridge and pored over the selection. The ingredients available were random at best. There was a stack of pre-prepared lunches on the top right shelf, but it had been made amply clear to me those were property of Dom, which meant no touching.
Whatever. I don’t want her stupid gym bro protein garbage food anyway.
Spencer might be able to whip up a killer grilled cheese or a beautiful breakfast spread from nothing, but I was much more of a box mac and frozen nuggets kind of chef.
I threw the fridge shut and let my head roll back with a groan. Maybe I could wait for my saviors to come home.That might be hours, though.
Lately, they’d been gone more frequently and for longer stretches. They wouldn’t tell me what they were up to, but based on what I saw at the arcade with Spencer, I had a feeling I didn’t want to know. Or I didn’t wantthemto know that I knew, more aptly.
Maybe I can just starve.
But as my eyes caught on the shelf of cookbooks across the kitchen, a new idea struck me. I hummed, crossing the room and grabbing a book with a beautiful bundt cake on the cover.
Cakes were made out of the same stuff as waffles and pancakes, right? Which meant that not only did we probably have the ingredients, but I could justify the sugar bomb I was about to drop on my empty stomach as a second breakfast.
I flipped through the pages, looking for a pretty one that didn’t seem too complicated. A cake seemed like a good way to thank my saviors for keeping me around. I had no idea how to bake one, but how hard could it be to learn?
Besides, I’d welcome anything that got me out of my head at this point. Being alone in the house was creeping me out more than I liked to admit considering it was the only place I had to live right now.
I figured the chill the creaky hallways sent down my spine would ease with time and exposure, but it was only getting worse by the day. I didn’t like to walk the halls at night. Sometimes, when I was here alone, I forced myself to sit at the end of the hallway, to face the fear.
Everytime, I felt like a scared little kid hiding from a monster. When I closed my eyes and pictured the halls, the shadows felt alive, and everything seemed so much bigger than it was in real life.
