But it stayed quiet down the hall.
Maybe they think giving me space is better.
They were right. Nothing could convince me to stay. Not with a bunch of murderers. Accomplices at the very least.
Then I remembered the way they’d jumped on Gabriel, how quick they’d been to violence. It was like nothing to them, taking some guy down to the concrete. Clearly it really was nothing. Nothing compared to what The Hollow presented every week.
Once the bag was stuffed, with as many of my belongings as I could manage — including the big tshirt Leo had loaned me on my first night in this terrible place — I paused.
Am I really going back out there?
Gabe was still looking for me, I was almost sure of it. He’d want revenge even if I tried to disappear.
But I couldn’t stay here. My life was in danger no matter where I went. And getting help from two murderers didn’t seem like my best bet.
Grabbing the handles of the zipped duffel, I headed out of my room and down the stairs. As I rushed down the steps, Leo and Spencer stood up from their vigils on the couch and pressed through the doorway of the living room.
All of us hovered in the foyer, a strange standoff.
Spencer’s face filled with concern as her dark eyes landed on my bag. “Where are you going, Kiera?”
“Anywhere but here, you fucking monsters.” The words were like acid on my lips. I’d be feeling their sting long after I’d disappeared down the dark highway on the back of some bus. But as much as it hurt me, I couldn’t stop the cruelty from seeping into my words.
“It’s not what you think, Bunny. We can explain.” Stepping forward, Spencer held out a delicate hand to me. The furrow in her brow begged me to slow down, to take a breath.
“What is there to explain?” I scoffed. “I watched a man die tonight. And you knew it was going to happen.”
Leo shook her head. “We didn’t want you to see The Gauntlet yet. It’s complicated.”
“Yet?” Bile burned at my throat. But before I could say more, the front door swung open, revealing Dom’s hulking figure.
I nodded toward her as she crossed her arms over her chest, trying to wrap her head around the scene unfolding in her foyer. “Does she know about all of this?”
My eyes flicked between Leo and Spencer as they failed to come up with a response. That was all the confirmation I needed.
At least she tried to stop Leo from bringing me.
It might be the first respectable thing Dom had ever done for me.
Leo took a step forward, holding her hands out like she was approaching a scared animal. “Kiera, we don’t keep secrets. But it’s not just some guy, he was a monster.”
Laughing, I shook my head and moved toward the front door. Toward Dom. “I don’t care. He’s dead. Because of you.”
Spencer lifted her hands in surrender. “Can we just sit down and talk about it? Please.”
The duffel bag bit into my shoulder, begging to be set down. And the look in Spencer’s soft eyes told me that watching me walk out that door would be enough to destroy her.
I couldn’t stay.Right?
Sensing a break in my armor, Leo toward me again, reaching out a hand toward my shoulder.
Whipping my head up, meeting her golden-brown eyes, I lifted a palm to her. “Don’t bother, Leo. It’s too late.”
Her jaw clenched as I took a step toward the door. Reaching past Dom I grabbed the doorknob and looked up at her placid face before letting out a growl of my own. “Have your fucking house back.”
A gust of chilly fall air rushed in as I yanked the doorknob. But before I could swing it open fully, Dom’s strong hand slammed into the wood door and slammed it shut.
There was no way I could open the door now. Even as I tried to tug on the knob, Dom’s muscular arms kept it closed.
