I was completely caught off guard by the disapproval in her voice. As if I owed her something, as if I was the one who had made this petty. At the sound of her tone, the fear coursing through my veins turned into white hot rage.
How fucking dare she?
“You know what they say. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.” I spat back, glancing past her arm for some other way out of the garage.
But Dom leaned into my sightline, her hulking frame dominating my field of vision. “Be honest, Kiera. How much more is it going to take for you to forgive me?”
“You need to want it, for starters.”
“I do want it.”
“Oh?” I crossed my arms over my chest. “Your little bitchfit upstairs, that’s you wanting forgiveness? If that’s the case, I’dhateto see you angry.”
“Upstairs was…” She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “I was in a bad mood. Thinking about too many things at once. But if that’s what you’re mad about, we’re even, right?”
She gestured over to the precious gold Camaro behind me, its trunk still glistening with my excitement. “Certainly that was enough to get your point across.”
“That’s not what this is about,” I grumbled. “There’s no way in hell we’ll ever be even.”
“Do you hear how crazy that sounds?” Dom threw up her hands, pacing away from me before wheeling right back. “You want me to just live in this purgatory forever? Taking all of your slights and demands and accepting the fact that none of it will ever be enough for you? That you’ll always look at me like some monster? I don’t get it Kiera, seriously. It’s like youlikebeing mad at me.”
“Ihatebeing mad at you!” I snarled, throwing down the pants as I stepped closer to her. “I don’t want to be mad at you, okay! I just am! And every time I think I’m close to getting over it, you have to do some stupid shit that makes me question you all over again. This is exhausting for me!”
“I’m never allowed to have a bad day? Is that it then?”
“Oh my god,” I threw my hands up. “It’s like talking to a fucking brick wall.”
“No, seriously, since we’re keeping score, let’s tally up my points. I protected you your whole childhood, I saved your fucking life…”
She was pacing the room now, her chest rising and falling hard with each breath. “I sheltered you from a psychotic cyberstalker, I’ve kept you fed and comfortable, I have killed two men for you! I made you Christmas dinner, I closed down an art gallery for your birthday, and not only did I let you get your fucking dog, but I have let her terrorize my expensive furniture and continued to train her anyway!”
Her breathing was absolutely ragged as she towered over me, snarling. “And what you’re mad about is a lie I toldto protect you. A lie I’ve already fucking apologized for!”
My throat tightened as I met her eyes, uncertain what to say. But before logic could have me conceded, my ego pushed the words past my lips. “Oh, so you admit it? You only did that shit to get on my good side?”
Her eyes widened as the tension in her shoulders ratched. “No! No, Kiera, that is not the only fucking reason.”
The set of her jaw feigned rage, but for just a moment, I could see the faint flicker of emotion behind her eyes: panic as the walls began to set in, fear that I might actually never forgive her.
As she closed her eyes, every muscle coiled against the feeling, quickly caging it off before she met my gaze again. “I don’t know what you want from me, Kiera. I’m begging for forgiveness.”
“I don’t see you begging.” I spat back, pacing across the garage before I could be tempted to forgive her.
“What?” she tilted her head. “What do you want? For me to get on my hands and knees?”
As I got closer to the Camaro, Dom started to stalk behind me, reaching out a hand to grip my shoulder. But I slapped it away, glaring at her over my shoulder. “It would be a start.”
I strode away from her, hopping back up on the Camaro’s trunk. But as I took my seat, she just stood frozen in the middle of the garage, jaw tight as she tried to piece together what was happening.
I waved my hand at her dismissively. “Go on, then.”
Snarling, Dom dropped to her knees with a thud, her chilling gaze never leaving mine. “Kiera, pl?—”
“Can’t hear you.” I snapped, picking at my nail. “Too far away.”
“And how exactly do you suggest I fix that?”
I raised an eyebrow, lowering my gaze from her eyes to the floor with a shrug. I knew she’d have a limit, a point at which she wouldn’t indulge my demands. But so far, she was doing exactly as I said.
