Page 145 of Road to Redemption

I held my breath, trying to calm my shaky hands as I slipped the key into the right cuff. Much to my relief, the lock opened quickly.

After popping my left thumb back in, I gripped the knife in my right hand and slunk over to the door. If I acted quick enough, I could get at least one of them before they shot me down.

But before I made it over, the door burst open.

Not to guards, but to three familiar figures. My angels.

My saviors.

Tears welled in my eyes as Leo and Spencer burst into the room ahead of Dom. All three of them were covered in blood: from the looks of it, they’d slaughtered every man in this building to get to me.

Relief knocked the air right out of my lungs. The knife fell from my fingers and clattered to the floor. My lovers quickly whipped their attention in my direction, nearly pointing their guns at me.

But as I stepped forward into light, relief washed over their faces too.

“Kiera?” Dom’s voice wavered, her eyes quickly shifting from me to Gabe’s dead body in the center of the room. “Are you⁠—?”

I ran to them, throwing my arms around Dom’s neck. For a long moment, I couldn’t get words past the lump in my throat. There was only sobbing, all of the fear and sadness and anxiety I’d held in bubbling out all at once.

“It’s okay.” Dom stroked my hair as she cradled my head against her shoulder. “We’ve got you.”

Spencer cased the room while Leo hovered over Gabe’s body, making sure that he was really dead. And Dom held me, letting me cry and cry into her shoulder until I could breathe again.

“I thought we lost you,” she muttered, pulling me closer in her arms. “We’ve been looking for you for days. I didn’t know what they had done to you, I didn’t know—” she pulled back abruptly, searching my eyes with concern. “Did they hurt you? Did they⁠—”

“No,” I shook my head. “They barely touched me, and the one person who did…”

I looked back at Gabe’s body, surprised to see it was still dead.

“I was selfish, Kiera. I knew that keeping you so close was a risk, and I convinced myself it wasn’t. I should have never let you back in that house, I should have insisted⁠—”

“Don’t,” I shook my head, “I belonged there. I belonged with you.”

“I thought I lost you,” she muttered again, and this time, it was her eyes that brimmed with tears. “I thought I lost you forever.”

“I’m here,” I reached for her hand, pulling her tattooed knuckles to my lips. “I love you.”

The words tumbled from my lips before I had time to consider her reaction. Just a moment ago, I had been convinced I was going to die without ever saying them. And now, I knew I couldn’t live without telling the truth.

“I love you, Dom. I will always love you.”

And in an instant, I watched the doubt and the fear and the darkness fade away from her eyes. All there was were crystal clear skies and the single tear rolling down her cheek.

“I love you too, Kiera.” Cradling the nape of my neck, she pulled my lips to hers. The kiss was fevered and passionate. Admitting what this was made the weight of what we’d almost lost hit even harder.

There was still so much to figure out — we hadn’t made it out of the woods quite yet. But as my lips met hers, for a moment, everything was right in the world.

As we parted, my other lovers hovered across the room, looking absolutely aghast at the admission. Leo rolled her eyes, “Get a room, lovebirds.”

Spencer just shook her head, “I’m sorry, is that the first time you guys have said that? I didn’t think that was news.”

I couldn’t help but smile up at the teasing. “What can I say? I’m a late bloomer.”

The laughter that bubbled from my chest filled me with a new wave of energy. After countless hours in this dark room, I could finally see the light.

“Enough of this sappy shit, Viper. We’ve gotta go.” Dom murmured, shifting me off her lap so that she could stand.

Peering up at her, I realized I had no idea what came next. “What day is it, even?”