Chapter 11
ELEVEN
HAYZE
After a few tense words with Arrow and Malakai, they agree they should follow the orders given and leave us to it. Hesitation from any of us would only draw attention and create questions we don’t want to answer.
Without another choice, Cross and I lead a naked Delilah from the gathering room past the women who are buzzing dutifully around the kitchen preparing the morning meal.
They keep their heads down, eyes averted, but by the stiffening of their posture, they definitely aren’t oblivious.
How could they be? What they are witnessing from the corners of their eyes is not anything they see on a regular basis.
Not a single woman in this compound has seen how bad things can really get, except Eight.
None of the others were present when my father took her tongue.
Those of us who were … we remember. I’m also not fooled into thinking that they don’t understand the trouble Twenty-Three is in.
If I had to make a guess, it’d simply be that they are glad the Collective’s focus is anywhere other than on them.
It’s clear this is a learned response. They do nothing to draw attention to themselves. Ever. Why did I not notice this before?
I throw the side door open, and a dense mist greets us.
Delilah visibly shudders at the nip in the air.
Fuck. She’s gonna be cold. I grit my teeth.
There’s nothing to be done about it. I catch Cross’s eye and gesture to the old tree with gnarled branches that’s situated near the barn a good distance from the main building.
We were given very specific instructions.
Tie Twenty-Three to that particular tree.
Leave her there for the day. Give her time to think about her place in this compound and how she wants the rest of her life to play out.
And then, based on her behavior, they’ll make a determination as to what they’ll do next.
I dread every bit of what she’ll go through.
Delilah’s lips part as we come to a stop in front of the sturdy apple tree, and she shoots me a disbelieving glare, pretty face pinched in anger.
“I’ve gotta get the rope. Be right back,” Cross mumbles as he sets the chain he holds on the ground.
Before he can get far, I grind out, “Wait,” then gesture that I need to have a private word with him.
Cross’s brows pinch together as he takes a few strides back to meet me.
“Stay here,” I grunt, holding up the chain to remind Delilah she’s not going anywhere fast. She shoots me a withering look, but remains still.
On a heaved breath, I approach Cross, jaw grinding. He watches me, expectantly as I mutter, “What the fuck are we going to do?”
His eyes flick toward the main compound, scanning. “We’re gonna tie her up and leave her here. And you? You’re going to get your head on right.”
At the implication I’m losing it, my jaw twitches. Hard. The worst part is, I know it’s the truth. I turn my head, eyes flicking to Delilah.
“Hayze.” He grips my shoulder, bringing my attention back to him. “You can’t go soft. You know what will happen if we give a single signal that we didn’t handle this exactly as we were meant to.”
I grimace, shaking my head. Blink a few times before training my gaze on him. “Sorry. What happened back there. It got to me. I thought for a minute—”
“That I was an asshole?” He huffs out a noise of disappointment. Glancing at Delilah, he murmurs, “If I were an asshole, I’d have dropped that chain hooked to her collar and not cared if it yanked on her neck.”
True enough, but— “Why did you alter the correction?” It’s not the first time I’ve realized I really don’t have a fucking clue what he’s thinking.
“I had to.” He props his hands on his hips.
“Hayze, you have to fucking watch what you say and do where she’s concerned.
You, Arrow, Malakai. All of you looked on the verge of a rampage.
And I … I don’t know.” He grimaces. “Where she’s concerned, I couldn’t let them have a clue what’s in my head.
I don’t owe them that. Neither do you. And if that means things go a little sideways sometimes …
” He grabs me by the back of the neck, tugging until our foreheads meet.
He stares at me dead in the eye. “We can talk more later. Get the collar off her.”
Hating that he’s right, I shove him away before pivoting.
The chain links clank together as I loosely coil the length on the ground beside Delilah.
Her eyes ping from Cross’s retreating figure, then return to search mine.
I don’t even know what to say to her. “I’m sorry,” I grit out, but the apology feels hollow, like it carries no fucking weight.
It doesn’t help that we’re about to abandon her out here, and she knows it.
She huffs out a derisive chuckle. “You aren’t sorry. Not about any of it.”
Rubbing my free hand over my face, I take a step closer to her and reach into my pocket for the key to the collar and unlock it. Expelling a breath, I murmur, “I am. You don’t know how much.” Unhooking the metal, I free her of its weight and drop it near her bare feet.
Her toes curl into the cool, damp grass, and she wraps her arms around her body, watching me cautiously with a narrowed gaze.
She mutters, “You’re a liar, Hayze. I don’t believe a goddamn thing you say.
Won’t ever again. I may as well ignore every word that leaves your mouth. Nothing you say means a thing to me.”
“When did I lie?” Irritation flares within me, but at the blaze in her fiery blue eyes, my mouth snaps shut.
I get it. She doesn’t understand the intricate balance we’ve been walking.
A voice in my head whispers, You didn’t do enough to protect her.
But how the fuck was I supposed to do more?
I grind my teeth. I can’t yet see how we’ll be able to break free of the hold the Collective has on us.
I’m unsure whether it’s even possible. And I doubt she has any idea what’s in my head …
or that she’s the reason for the upheaval festering inside.
The tension between us escalates until it grows arms and threatens to strangle me.
“Why was Finneas wearing the fucking wolf mask, Hayze? You told me to watch for it.” Fuck.
His motherfucking mask. I exhale hard, understanding dawning.
Blinking rapidly, she finishes, “You told me you’d come for me.
You lied.” Her breath hitches on that final word, an angry sob wrenching from her chest. “Just go away.” She pushes at my chest, her face contorting when I don’t budge. “I don’t want you anywhere near me.”
Every bit of the angst and betrayal she feels cleaves my heart in two.
She’s not wrong. But she will never understand our life.
I let loose a ragged breath as I step close, eyeing her.
“I didn’t lie. We tried to find you. Tried to help you.
And when we finally located you, we did the best we could to extract you from the situation unscathed. ”
At that, a disjointed sound that might be a laugh falls from her lips. “Unscathed? Is that what you call this?” She glances down her body as a tremor rolls through her.
“As for the mask—Finneas is the wolf, yes. But mine is identical to his by birthright.” Because I’ll take over this madness someday.
“I had no idea he’d returned, not a fucking clue that it’d be a problem when I said it.
” I rub an agitated hand over my face. “I didn’t have any way of knowing, Delilah.
Believe me, if I had—” I don’t know what I would have done differently.
I don’t. My next exhale is heavy as I wait for her response.
She presses her lips together, as if she doesn’t quite know what to make of what I’ve said, as if she’s hovering on the edge of disbelief and clarity.
I’m still trying to figure out what else needs to be said when a commotion rises from the back of the main building.
Frustrated by the interruption, I let out a groan, eyes wandering as I seek out the source.
Shit. Finneas, Henry, and Kiefer appear, stalking off toward the tree line like they’re on a mission, which they probably are.
My brow furrows. They’ll be organizing putting all the parts in place as we get ready to reconstruct the bridge.
Those chosen to work out there today with them trail in their wake, striding quickly through the high grass.
At a glance, I spot Arrow and Evren, followed by both of my brothers, with Gannon’s lazy ass bringing up the rear.
They’ll have left Leif and Fenix to deal with the feeding of the animals and any other task they’re deemed old enough or strong enough or knowledgeable enough to deal with on their own.
Aside from Cross and me, the only others notably absent are Nolan and Malakai.
“I heard you.” Those words have bite and steal my attention as they shoot from Delilah’s mouth. Each one impales me in the chest with their ferocity.
“What are you talking about?” I stare at her, scrambling to piece together what she’s referring to, then sneak a glance behind me.
We’ve got an audience. As I begin backing her up to the tree, her eyes grow wide with distrust. In low tones, I murmur, “We’re being watched.
” Pinning her to the tree, I make a show of putting a hand around her throat.
The farther away the work crew gets, the better off we are, but I can’t take any chances.
“It doesn’t matter what you want, Twenty-Three!
You have no say. Next time just spread your thighs and accept the Hunting for what it is.
It’s a fucking privilege,” I snarl loudly.
Her blue eyes flash, and they race over my features, assessing before they dart toward the group of men walking toward the woods. Instead of arguing, she thrashes in my hold, though only just enough for show.