37. Ivy
Ivy
The flames in the fireplace danced, casting shadows on the wall as I paced in the library. I hadn’t been locked in. Ross knew I had no way to escape. His words from earlier played through my head repeatedly.
After breakfast, I glanced at the front door, thinking about what it would take to slip out of the house. How hard would it really be to escape from the estate? But if I did that to save the baby I was carrying, how would it impact Maya and Katya? What would happen to Rhyker? It weighed heavily on my soul, the knowledge that whatever choice I made would be wrong. Did I try to save myself and the last piece of Cam that I had, or did I sacrifice the pieces of me to ensure the future of those around me?
It was all I could think about as I walked around the room, my heart racing fast enough to make me lightheaded. Even surrounded by hundreds of books, I couldn’t make the thoughts stop, or the worry lessen. There was no comfort in the leather-bound tomes or the wingback chair I curled up in to escape for hours at a time, only a sense of impending doom and sorrow.
A series of rapid pops pulled me from my thoughts, and my eyes widened. Perhaps there was hope, after all. I tried to remind myself that it could be anyone. Just because there was gunfire didn’t mean that it was one of the men I loved or that the cavalry had come to save me. But the sound gave me a small thread to hold on to.
Even if it were another of Ross’ enemies, perhaps they would have mercy on my soul and take me with them.
I peered out of the unlocked door, and what I saw made my eyes burn. I couldn’t take in a full breath from the emotions that were flooding me. Even before he tore off the black mask covering his face, I knew solely from his gait who was walking towards me with dried blood on his skin.
He yanked off the mask and shoved it into the waistband of his pants before giving me a smile. “ Solnyshka .” His voice was gravel, and his eyes shined with unshed tears. His arms wrapped around me, blanketing me with his scent. When he spoke again, he whispered, his breath tracing along my skin. “If you ever pull a stunt like this again, I’ll chain you to the bed myself.”
“You don’t—”
His lips pressed against mine, silencing me. The kiss was possessive and desperate. “We’ll have plenty of time to discuss everything that happened, but we need to get out of here.”
I shook my head at him. “Rhyker is in the basement. We can’t leave him.”
Niko nodded at me and squeezed again before letting me go. There was so much to process and so much to think about, but it wasn’t the time. There would be plenty of hours in the middle of the night when everyone else slept for me to do that.
He grasped my hand, and we jogged through the halls that had once been a familiar prison. It was funny looking back on everything that had happened in my life. I’d been moved seamlessly from one prison to another. The bars were often gilded, making it look like it wasn’t a way to cage me, but that’s all it was… yet another way to contain me.
My father had kept me locked up tight for his own reasons: to sell me and keep me pure. My “aunt” had done the same, knowing that I was promised to Abraham Wells. Wells had done it at the Gilded Lily. Ross had done it to keep me to himself, even if he had somehow been less cruel than the others.
Perhaps even Cam had tried to do it in his own way. He’d already labeled me and put me into a box I didn’t belong, all because of my past. It was something that had happened all of my life. I was the “rich” girl who’d never wanted anything, the “smart” girl, the “good” girl, the “new” girl. It didn’t make me stop missing him, but it was yet another thing to work through in the back of my mind when I was alone.
“Show me where Rhyker is. Caleb is calling in clean up for Ross’ men, and I need to know what we are working with.”
My heart galloped in my chest as I pulled him down the stairwell into the sterile basement. “I don’t know if there are people behind the other doors,” I whispered. I didn’t know what was going on, but whoever was there—if anyone—deserved to be free, too. “Rhyker’s in this one.”
I touched the door and glanced up at Niko. I could see in his eyes that he had the same hope I did. Maybe there was a miracle in one of the rooms. Behind the locks, Cam would be sitting in a chair or lying in a bed. Maybe he was chained to the wall. Just maybe he was still alive, his heart still beating.
Hope was this funny thing that welled up inside of me sometimes when I tried to push it away. After all, Ross had told me that not even he could perform miracles, but maybe something good could come from everything that the Order had done. Maybe he was still alive, and we could forgive one another and live happily ever after.
Surprisingly, Rhyker’s door opened, the hinges creaking as I pushed. Niko sucked in a breath as he took in the tubes and lines, the machines still holding him together. “What in the fuck did they do to him?”
It was a simple question I didn’t have an answer to. “He needs a doctor, and we need to move him.”
He pulled out his phone, dialing a number. “Yeah, we have her, but I need more than just cleanup. Her other brother is here, and I need transport… somewhere.” He hummed and nodded to whatever was said. “Probably an ambulance, considering the condition he’s in.”
Without looking at me, he stalked to the other rooms in the corridor. He flung each open. Unlike the times I’d been in the basement, the doors were unlocked. It was strange, but perhaps Ross had known that his time was coming to an end. Or maybe he’d just been careless.
In each room was a bed positioned against the wall. Other than that, they were empty. Any hope that I had vanished. At least no one else had been held captive, but that didn’t stop the ache from spreading yet again.
Niko clasped his fingers with mine and tugged me against his chest. “Stop sacrificing yourself to save us. You’re my home, Ivy; without you, I have nothing. I wasn’t lying when I said I’d chain you to my bed. Promise me you’ll stop whatever this is. You aren’t a martyr. If one of us falls, all of us do.”
I swallowed roughly and buried my head in his chest, inhaling the slight scent of sandalwood. They were my home, too. “I promise. I thought I was doing what was right.”
He cleared his throat and laid his chin on the top of my head. “For once in your life, I want you to be selfish. It doesn’t matter what’s wrong or right anymore. You’ve given up enough. We all have.”
The ache spread further as he spoke. They had given up enough. We’d all had enough pain for an entire lifetime. Caleb had lost his entire family, even if they were trash. Trey had sacrificed everything for his friends. Niko, he’d raised his siblings, and fate had taken his lover. That was brushing over everything else that had happened along the way. It felt dismissive to summarize it so succinctly.
His pain called out to me, and I wrapped my fingers in the edge of his shirt. “I’m sorry. Thank you for finding me.”
The emotions of the day left me feeling raw and exposed. Somehow, they’d managed to find me in time. I wouldn’t see the doctor Ross had arranged to examine me. The piece of Cam I was carrying inside of me was still safe. I just had to keep it that way for another few months.
Another thought struck me as I nuzzled against Niko’s chest. I wouldn’t be locked away anymore, at least not here. Strathmore was a different type of prison, one that I’d gladly take for a while.
Footsteps echoed down the stairwell, and for once, my heart didn’t race, and adrenaline didn’t flood my system. I knew who was walking toward me without even looking up. Warmth seeped into my skin from behind as they laid their head on my shoulder. “New girl, I want to let you know your brother has a tracker ready to insert under your skin as soon you get home.”
I choked out a laugh. Once upon a time, I’d argued with them about not wanting to be tracked. Now, it made me feel a little lighter. As odd as it sounded, the threat meant that they cared.
“What about the Order?”
Caleb’s voice echoed against the painted cinder block. “Taken care of for a while.” I lifted my head to see him leaning against the wall. His expression was unreadable, but he hooked two fingers toward me, beckoning me to come to him. The hold of Niko’s and Trey’s arms loosened, and I walked to him, unsure of what he’d do. He kissed my cheek, his lips featherlight against my skin. “You scared us, wife.”
His fingers skimmed my jaw, turning my face from side to side to examine me. When he seemed satisfied, his mouth pressed against mine. The kiss conveyed everything that I felt: grief and celebration. It was complicated—we were complicated—but I didn’t want to change it, not after everything.
When he pulled away, he looked into my eyes, searching my soul. “Never again, Ivy. You belong with us. Whatever promises our enemies make, I need you to understand that they’re false. He’s gone, and he’s never coming home again.”
His words hurt, taking my breath away, but I knew they were true. How long had it been since I’d seen him? Since I’d heard his voice? Still, I couldn’t regret trying. If I hadn’t, what would have happened to Rhyker? Frankie had raised him like he was her son, and out of everyone, she’d sacrificed enough as well.