So I’d been saving up my pennies from the arcade and the shop, putting aside anything I could spare from their exit preparations to get them new laptops.
New to them, at least.Mendez had put me in contact with another sorority sister a few towns over who’d hooked me up with refurbished models for cheap.
Those Stillwater girls know how to make ends meet.
If it hadn’t been for the scholarship Atwood had offered me, I probably would have ended up at Stillwater University too.
I wonder if I still would have ended up in this mess over there… Probably.
Dom and her father had a way of infecting everything, it seemed.
I shook my head, trying to banish her from my mind. As excited as I was to have some time with my niece and nephew for the holidays, I was bummed to be missing out on Christmas with my little toy.
I hated thinking about Kiera stuck in the house with Dom, even for a night. But at least I knew Leo would be around to keep her happy.
And I wasn’t gone just yet.
After all, tonight was a big night for our little captive. I wouldn’t miss her getting her mark for the world.
When Leo told me, I was surprised to hear that Kiera was still going through with it. Given how badly Dom fucked up, I wouldn’t have been surprised if she backed out.
I’m not sure I’d want to be branded to that monster either. But it was too late for that.
According to Dom, we wouldn’t be able to get Kiera into Delphi to see The Oracle without a mark. And apparently, Kiera had too many unanswered questions to say no.
We all did, really.
But while Kiera was doing a decent job of swallowing down whatever frustrations she felt toward Dom, I could barely look at her. All of these years, she’d known exactly the wreckage her father had rained down on me, and she was just happy to let me live obliviously under her roof.
I couldn’t help my rage. Knowing what kind of monster had created her made me question everything about our friendship. My mother’s life wasn’t close to the only one he’d ruined, and Dom knew it. How could she stand to look at him, let alone work for him?
How could she let me get so close?
My stomach tensed as the gold Camaro pulled around to the top of the driveway, Dom sitting comfy in the driver’s seat.
Of course she wants to take this stupid fucking car.
While Leo helped Kiera into the back seat, I slipped in beside her, refusing to ride shotgun. Leo sucked her teeth as she shut the door for Kiera, but she didn’t press the matter, taking her spot beside Dom.
The music was loud — some angsty rock bullshit that Dom kept on CD — but no one bothered speaking as we rode into town. There wasn’t much to say to Dom, especially since she’d shown no real interest in apologizing.
I kept my eyes on Kiera, who was fidgeting with the edge of her skirt while she stared out the window. She tried to put on a brave face, but I knew she had to be nervous about what came next, if only a little bit.
Taking a deep breath, I draped my arm over the backseat, tracing my fingers lightly over her shoulder. Startled from whatever spiral she’d been on, Kiera stiffened in her seat before shooting me a sweet, if embarrassed, smile.
Sometimes, it felt like we didn’t need words to talk. I raised my eyebrow at her, tilting my head forward.You okay?
She shrugged with that adorable smile of hers before turning to look out the window.Okay as I can be.
I gave the back of her neck a little squeeze of reassurance as my own gaze drifted out the window. We were quickly approaching the tattoo shop, which meant we were minutes away from Kiera taking our mark.
She’ll be ours just as much as we’re hers.
Canvas & Coil’s sign blared bright through the growing dusk like a beacon calling us to shore.
With a remote on her visor, Dom clicked open one of the doors at Lucky Strike, pulling smoothly into the garage.
I couldn’t help rolling my eyes. “Too good for street parking?”
