Page 113 of Road to Redemption

Biting my lip, I stepped down onto the garage floor, picking my way carefully through the lines of cars.

“Hello, Earth to Dom?” I shouted to no avail. “Need any help down here?”

I circled wide around her workstation, hoping to wave her down from her periphery. But the second I stepped into her line of sight⁠—

“Jesus fuck!” She jumped, winding the polisher back over her head.

“I tried shouting!” I flinched, holding my hands up at the machine in her hand. “What was your plan? Bludgeon me with the fucking polisher?”

“Maybe. Still might be my plan,” she growled, setting down the machine. “What do you want?”

It was hard to push words past the pulsing arteries by my throat. “I just wanted to see if you needed any help. It’s been a while since we really talked.”

“I don’t need help,” she frowned, switching the machine back on.

She held the machine steady, swiping it across the machine methodically with what I suspected was more force than necessary.

“Are you serious?” I shouted, but kept her eyes on her work. “You can’t even talk to me?”

Dom was nothing if not stubborn, but so was I. As she geared up for another pass, I walked over and slammed my palm flat on the surface, daring her to maim my hand for her petty game.

Cornered, she shut the machine off with a frustrated growl. “What is wrong with you?”

“What’s wrong with you!” I threw my hands in the air. “I’m just trying to talk to you. Clearly, you’re upset.”

“Yeah, I wonder what could have me on edge,” she scoffed, stalking across the line of cars.

“We’re supposed to be a team, Dom. Teams talk⁠—”

“Being a team doesn’t mean we have to braid each other’s hair and sing campfire songs all day.” She growled. Her palms rested against the hood of the Camaro, putting the swell of her powerful back on display. “You fucked up, we’re dealing with it. Why can’t that be enough?”

“Because I hate seeing you like this!” I shouted. The pressure in my chest burst, “I know I fucked up. I am sorry for putting you at risk. Really. But I don’t want an honest mistake to ruin everything between us. I⁠—”

The words shriveled and died in my throat. There were a lot of things I could say to Dom now that I couldn’t before. But those three words were not one of them.

“What do I have to do to fix this?” My arms dropped to my sides. “I am begging you to just tell me, and I’ll do it.”

Sharp silence stretched between us. She lifted her head to glare over her shoulder, to let her icy blue eyes slide over me like a scalpel as she dissected the soul I laid bare for her. After a long breath, she turned to face me with gravel in her voice.

“When I fucked up, you made me crawl across this garage floor.”

Heat prickled up my neck. “That was different, you⁠—”

“You made me beg at your feet. You denied me, Kiera.” Suddenly, the ice in her gaze was melted away by wicked flames. She stepped closer, cornering me against one of her cars. “Do you want to know how that feels?”

I trembled, terrified by the darkness in her voice. “Dom, I⁠—”

Her fingers dug into my hips, slamming me against the car she’d just polished. I’d seen her cruel appetite before, but this time was different. Now, I had a penance to pay, and we both knew it.

How far is she willing to push me?

Fear shriveled every brave part of me as she towered over me, her gaze darkened by hunger.

“You want forgiveness, Viper? Then it’s time to beg.”

60

KIERA