She blinked, seemingly shocked by my explosion. “What do you?—?”
“I wanted you to come back for me! Even as a kid, even in all of the confusion, all I wanted was to have my fucking friend back! After my dad died, you were the only person I had. And then you were just fucking gone!”
My chest fell and rose as I let the words settle between us.
Even as they left my lips, though, I knew it was only half of the truth. As a kid, I had daydreamed about being rescued. But that was before I had any idea what Dom’s life really looked like during those years. The scars on her back told me that path wouldn’t have been any easier.
And even if she’d waited until I was older, until she had the mansion and a place to hide me away, I couldn’t imagine a world where I would actually have said yes. Would I really trust this shadowy stranger stepping back into my life enough to leave my mother or even Gabriel behind?
No,I scoffed internally.I was way too entrenched in their abuse to see their lies for what they were.
But knowing that was true didn’t dull the resentment roaring through my heart. After all, my life without her hadn’t been sunshine and daisies. I’d seen the absolute worst of humanity growing up, and it only got worse the less money Maura had.
I’d been neglected, abused, and entirely forgotten by the people who were meant to take care of me. And even if I knew that the alternative wasn’t any better, I couldn’t help feeling like Dom hadn’t followed through on her promise to my father to protect me.
After a moment of silence, Dom shook her head. “I’m sorry. I wish things had been different, Kiera. If nothing else, I hope you know that.”
The air between us was charged, though I couldn’t have named the exact feeling that lingered. And then, as quickly as that window of honesty had opened between us, it shut.
Dom took a step back, clearing her throat as she gestured toward the Grey Ghost. “It’s yours now. If you want it. Happy birthday.”
I looked at the bike for a long moment before looking back at her. “Someone still has to teach me to ride it.”
“That’s a job for someone you trust. With your life, potentially.”
But as she took my arm and led me toward the gold Camaro, I couldn’t help looking back at the Ghost. And despite all of the anger and hurt that was left for me to sort through, the sight of that bike left me with one thought.
After all of the dust settles, I hope that it's you.
58
KIERA
Eager to leavethe weight of the conversation behind us, I let Dom help me into the Camaro and drive away into the night. I still wasn’t sure where we were going, and for a moment, I didn’t care.
As long as we’re far away from this haunted fucking house.
Though the car ride was long, the silence stretching between us was longer: it seemed that we’d left everything there was to say on the garage floor.
For months, we’d barely spoken — by her own design, I now realized. And now that I knew her secret, I wasn’t sure what to say.
A saccharine smirk tugged at my lips with that thought. When we were kids, Madeline and I had been inseparable. I was always chasing after her, trying to be like her, thinking that everything she did was so cool.
Even as she’d become a teenager and our lives became more complicated, she was always a steadying presence for me. She was the only person who bothered to ask about my interests, let alone check on me. She never made me feel like the annoying little kid tagging along with her.
But those innocent versions of us had both shattered a long time ago. The woman beside me whiteknuckling the steering wheel was not the little girl I used to know. Our history would always linger, but she was someone different now. So was I.
And now that the wall between us was crumbling, I owed her the grace of letting her be someone new: of meeting this new version of her with an open heart.
Because she was so fucking delicate with my heart last time.
I rolled my eyes, as frustrated by my own irritation as much as anything else. Maybe she did mean everything she’d said, or maybe it was all a bullshit apology. Another lie to get what she wanted from me.
I’ll believe it when I see it.
My thoughts were so consuming that I didn’t realize we’d gotten anywhere until Dom parked the car on a side street in the city and hopped out of the driver’s seat. My heart clenched as I peered out the window, hoping the tinted windows did something to obscure my face.
For months, Dom had been keeping me locked up inside her mansion for safety, insisting that I wear some itchy fucking wig or disguise every time I stepped foot off of our turf. So on what fucking planet was she willing to flaunt me on a major city street full of security cameras?
