Almost like they’re on orders to never leave me alone in the house.I rolled my eyes, shifting my leg away from Spencer’s. Her attention hadn’t come off her phone in a few hours, too distracted by the kids and her brother-in-law.
I’d have thought that killing a man and pledging myself in their crazy, sex cult ritual would have earned me enough trust to be left unsupervised in the house. But apparently, not.
To be fair, the only reason I want that is so that I can break their rules. Probably good instincts on their part.
My mulling was interrupted by the slam of a door on the second level before my captor-in-chief came thundering down the stairs. Ducking her head into the doorway, Dom took a quick glance at what we were watching before grumbling to Spence and Leo. “I’ll be back late. Gotta grab some weapons from the Vault and then talk to Teresa about installing some more security cams…”
Spence gave a half-assed nod, barely listening as she managed a crisis on her screen.
“You’re not coming with us?” I sat a bit straighter, tilting my head. Ever since Initiation, Dom’s attention had an unwelcome effect on my body. It was like I couldfeelher gaze against my skin, and I didn’t like how much power that awareness gave her.
Her icy blue eyes flicked to mine, a slight snarl pulling at her lip as she gestured down at herself. “Does itlooklike I’m coming with you?”
Honestly, the answer was yes. Dressed in her usual button down and slacks with her hair slicked back, Dom looked like she’d stepped straight out of a mafia movie. Which wasn’t far off from whatever The Oracle was sending us to do, I guessed.
But I didn’t get a chance to answer before she was striding down the hallway to the foyer. As the front door swung open, she called back, “Try not to get killed tonight.”
“No promises,” Spencer teased, immediately earning a smack over the head from Leo.
And as the door slammed, the wave of irritation washed over my body in full force. “God for-fucking-bid I try to be nice…”
It wasn’t my fault I didn’t know who was on this mission. Despite being fully initiated, I still hadn’t had any direct contact with the higher-ups. So when Leo had let me know about the mission, I just assumed…
Despite the irritation, a part of me wondered if I even wanted to speak with The Oracle directly. Whoever they really were, they seemed like a bunch of pretentious pains in the ass.
Maybe they’ll do me a favor and take Dom off of our hands. Seems like she’d fit right in with those jerk-offs.
“Don’t mind her too much, Princess.” Leo looped her arm over my shoulder with a squeeze. “She gets bitchy when she’s stressed.”
‘Bitchy’ didn’t seem like quite the right word for the vitriol that made a home where Dom’s heart should have been. She might call me Viper, but she was always coiled and ready to strike.
But Leo wasn’t one to cower, even in the face of a monster like Dom.Fucking snake-charmer.
“You should probably start to get ready, though…” Spencer glanced down at the time on their phone.
“What?” I groaned, “We’re not leaving forhours. I just wanna veg.”
“As much as I’d love to keep you down here all day, you’re going to want some extra time to cover the hair and the bruises.”
Groaning, I threw my head back against the sofa. “No fairrrrr. What are you two going to do while I get ready?”
Spencer glanced at Leo over my head. “...Call of Duty?” Her phone was still dinging every few seconds with a new text, but that wouldn’t stop her from enjoying some game time with her bro.
“Call of Duty,” Leo nodded back solemnly.
“Ugh, you guys suck,” I pushed off of the couch with a scowl. “All you’ve gotta do before we leave is comb your hair. Some masc privilege bullshit.”
Spencer chuckled as I stomped toward the door. “Sorry, babe, can’t help that I’m a natural beauty.”
Leo flicked her eyes from my thighs up to my face hungrily. “Real privilege is getting to see you all dolled up and feeling hot.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I rolled my eyes, trying to hide the smirk from my face. “You’ll get to look, but we’ll see if you’re lucky enough to touch.”
My palm gripped the doorframe as I prepared to turn down the hallway, and somewhere in the back of my mind, I felt the urge to swing through the doorway: an urge that came as naturally as if I’d done it a thousand times.
The feeling was driving me crazy — all of these tiny, blurry glimpses of another life, a whole world mapped beneath the surface of this house. I couldn’t even make it a step before the feel of that wood teased at a memory, something so infuriatingly close yet just out of reach.
I was growing more certain every day, this house didn’t just look like one of the hundreds of mansions my dad’s friends owned. I had been here — more than once, I’d bet. But all the memories felt like they were frozen behind thick ice, too hazy for me to see.
