Fucking Gabriel…
The fact that the asshole was dodging my calls didn’t make any of this easier. Neither did the fact that The Oracle was avoiding me too.
At that thought, a new pit of anxiety bloomed in my gut. Were they doubting my loyalties again? My mind was certain that the thought was paranoid, but the fraught thrumming of my heart begged to differ.
Sucking in a deep breath, I fought to still it. The only small comfort I could find in any of this was that, with securityincreased, at least we would hear if anyone made a move on the house. And with the search for Kiera coming closer to Valemont, that was a growing possibility.
Calming thoughts. I need to focus on calming thoughts.
I opened the fridge door, letting the cool air wash over my face. But before I could find a single fucking calming thing, Callahan slammed her shoulder into the cabinet next to me, leaning against it with her arms crossed over her chest. “Hey Dom…?”
“What?” I gritted my teeth.
“I was thinking, now that our girl is initiated, maybe we could leave the door to the yard unlocked for Kiera? No real risk of her getting into trouble now that she knows everything.”
I bit back a scoff.Kiera’s always getting into trouble. And she doesn’t know jack shit.
But instead of letting it out, I whipped my head around, shrinking Kiera with my glare. “Never just happy with what you’ve got, huh?”
The spark in her eyes told me she wanted to fight it, but a few weeks in the house had trained her well. She was still a fire-cracker — always had been — but she was learning to choose her battles.
Finally. Some basic fucking survival instincts.
Turning my face back to the cool fridge, I let out a sigh. It was hard to take her request seriously, even when Callahan was the one delivering it. The girl was practically never alone anyway. Spencer and Leo followed her all day like dogs in heat, so what was the point of giving her the access?
But Kiera was a dog with a bone at this point. She didn’t like being told no, and now she was fixated on pushing the limits until she felt like she’d won.
That thought alone made me want to say no. But keeping Kiera was a long game, thanks to The Oracle. And if this wouldkeep her out of my hair and away from the South Wing while I figured out how to get rid of her, there probably wasn’t much harm in it.
Well, no more than anything else Kiera touches.
“Fine,” I grumbled, slamming the fridge shut. “But do something stupid, and I’ll take it right back.”
Kiera perked up, and I hated the way my chest tightened at the sight of it. Before she could make it worse, I strode from the kitchen and right out the front door.
I had no idea where I planned on going next, just that I couldn’t stand another second in the house with her. The memories it brought up were too fresh, the feelings too consuming.
I shook my head as I stalked toward my bike, running a hand over the seat. This Gabe problem had to go away. Now. Because I couldn’t last much longer with Kiera before our bloody past broke to the surface.
29
KIERA
For a missionthat was supposedly picking up pace, very few orders had come down from The Oracle in the past few weeks. Very few involving me, at least. Which meant that I was stuck back in the house again, desperate for any type of entertainment.
Leo and Spencer did their best to keep me occupied, but the same four walls got boring the more you looked at them. Even walks outside weren’t doing much for me right now.
Before all of this, I’d rarely spent time at home if I could avoid it. A nervous habit from childhood? Maybe, but I also just liked a change in scenery. It gave me something to think about, something to keep my mind off of… me.
Okay, definitely the childhood trauma talking.
The longer I was in the house, though, the harder it was to fight back the paranoid thought that something was very wrong. Maybe they were going on missions without me. Maybe The Oracle had changed its plans for me. Maybe I wasn’t as safe here as I’d let myself believe.
But when I was with Spencer and Leo, those fears grew quiet. Strange as it might seem, I knew that there was nowhere safer for me than under their protection. At least not now.
I rolled over in my bed, trying to pull the duvet up enough to block the rising sun. But before I could convince my stubborn mind to drift back to sleep, there was a knock on my door.
“Hello?” I mumbled, voice still grumbly from sleep.
