As she grabbed her protein drink and gave it a shake, I had a head-on view of her back. She’d kept her Violence tattoo hidden for so long, but now, it was impossible to miss: a massive broadsword extended from the base of her neck down to the dip of her spine, with heavy, dark wings inked over her shoulders.
Unlike the other Violence tattoos I’d seen, Dom’s had its wings spread wide, ready to take flight. It was as big of a tattoo as she could hide under a dress shirt — and certainly the biggest tattoo I’d ever seen.
The visual evidence of her commitment almost made me feel silly for questioning Dom’s loyalty… Almost.
What really caught my eye though was what hid beneath the tattoo. Nearly every inch of her back was covered in thick,raised scars. They branched out from the center of her spine like hungry roots, searching for more of her to claim.
It was hard to tell how many or how old they were under all of the heavy black ink. I wasn’t sure how she’d gotten them exactly, but I had a few guesses. And I knew one thing for certain: none of the options were fun.
Peering back at me over her shoulder, Dom grabbed a loose black tank top from the counter and threw it over her head before walking to the coffee machine.
Once she was dressed, she turned to the island, sliding over a fresh cup for me.
Blinking, I looked down at the mug and realized she’d already added the milk and sugar: the perfect amount, too.
Narrowing my eyes, I looked back up at her and almost asked how she knew. But I had too many questions, and I wasn’t going to waste my time on that.
I waited another second, giving her a chance to speak up. But it was clear from the look on her face that she wasn’t eager to push her luck after last night.
For once, I had the power here. And I’d be damned if I wasted it.
I swallowed my stubbornness and grabbed the cup before meeting her gaze. “The house looks so different.”
Dom shrugged, “Kind of the point.”
“Were you ever going to tell me?” I took a sip, hating how comforting the warmth was.
“No.” She fidgeted with the cap of her shake. “Not if I could help it.”
At least she’s honest.
Shaking my head, I let out a sigh. “Why would you even buy it? With all the money and all the resources at your disposal, why choose to live in a place where so much horrible shit happened?”
At that, Dom paused for a moment, letting her gaze drift away out the window. When she returned her gaze to me, I was surprised by how earnest she looked. “It felt… unfair to let it rot. It was a family home, even if it was a dysfunctional one. And a lot of my favorite memories happened here. It was the last place I saw my mother alive.”
Her eyes shimmered with something like hurt, flicking down to the counter before returning to mine. “I didn’t want the darkness of what happened toward the end to swallow up all of the good.”
I set down my coffee, holding her gaze while I considered her answer. There had been happiness here at one point — I knew that it was true. But it could be hard to remember under all the layers of pain.
I was surprised that she could still see it that way, especially given how much of a brute she’d become.
But Madeline was always the optimist, always the planner.
Pressing her palms to the counter, Dom rested her weight forward, letting her shoulders curve just slightly as she looked up at me through thick black lashes. “Kiera, if you really don’t remember… there’s more I need to tell you.”
I shifted under the intensity of her gaze, made nervous by the softening of her tone. But she held steady. “I didn’t want the others to hear if you weren’t ready for that. But I’m not sure when we’ll get a better chance than this to talk.”
She’s right.
I swallowed hard, hoping to choke down the fear rising in my chest. All I’d wanted all this time was the truth. But now that it was right in front of me, I was scared to know what my mind had been hiding from me all this time. Scared that whatever she was about to say would change everything.
48
KIERA
Sucking in a deep breath,I nodded, ready to face my fate. “Tell me everything. Play by play, Mads.”
The old nickname caught me off guard as it rolled off my tongue — Dom too, if the tensing of her shoulders was any indication.
