Chapter 35 Ophelia
Ophelia
It’s been a couple of days since the ritual, and things have been good.
Cain has talked about going home at some point to help his brother, but he’s spoken to Samuel on the phone, and Sam insists everything is fine.
It would seem even their mother is relieved at the news of her husband’s death, and the mood at home is more celebratory than mourning, so there’s no rush for Cain to leave.
On a purely selfish level, I’m happy about that.
Yes, maybe Cain should be with his family, but we’re his family now, too, and I don’t think it would do Cain any good to be away from us.
Not when his birth family caused him so much trauma and pain.
It certainly won’t do me any good to have him far away.
I’ve just exited my calculus class, which I’m loving, and the air is chilled in the hallway.
I stare at some of the heavy oil paintings adorning the walls and think how ancient this place is.
Mackenzie told me that when she first started here, women weren’t allowed to take classes like calculus, but, over time, her influence over Dom and his father has changed things.
I’m clutching my books to my chest when one of the other students, a girl with red hair whose name I don’t know, catches my attention.
“Ophelia, you’re wanted in the dean’s office.”
My stomach drops as I flash back to the last time I heard those words, when my parents were waiting to take me away. What now? Can’t I ever catch a break?
“Do you know what it’s about?” I ask.
She shrugs. “No, sorry.”
I don’t want to bother the Preachers with this. They’re already at their classes or in the gym, or in Roman’s case maybe communing with nature, and whatever else they get up to when we’re not in the water tower, together. Life has slipped into some kind of normality, and I’m grateful for that.
But the knowledge that I need to see the dean tears at old wounds, and I wonder if I’m being stupid not at least calling one of them.
I can’t always run to them, though, whenever I’m faced with any kind of threat or difficulty.
I must start to stand on my own two feet, too.
Mind made up, I straighten my shoulders and give the girl a small smile.
“Okay, I’ll head right there.”
I turn in the opposite direction and rush toward the dean’s office. I’m praying it won’t be anything important, but I also know I wouldn’t have been asked there if it wasn’t.
I lightly knock on the door and wait for him to call ‘enter’ before stepping inside. He’s sitting behind his desk, a handsome man, despite being middle-aged.
“You wanted to see me?”
“Ophelia, yes. I’ve had your father on the phone. He needs to speak with you, and it’s urgent.”
The sinking feeling hits twice as hard, and I hold back a groan.
I still love my dad, but I don’t really want to speak to him.
I’ve ignored a couple of calls from him, thinking he was just trying to make amends.
I hope he’s feeling guilty over what he did to Roman, though I doubt that would be a reason for him to contact me through the dean.
A second thought jumps into my head. What if my mom is sick? Maybe that’s why he’s calling the dean.
“He wants you to call him back immediately.”
Nataniele pushes his landline phone in my direction. I pick it up and call my parents’ house. My heart pounds as the number rings.
My father answers on the first ring. “Ophelia?”
“Yes, Dad. It’s me.”
There’s no warmth in my voice, and that’s deliberate. I turn my back a little as a way of creating an illusion of privacy.
“Ophelia,” he says. “I don’t want to be the one to tell you this, but I’ve had some information.”
“What’s wrong?”
“The facility where I sent you hasn’t forgotten what happened.”
My blood runs cold. “What do you mean?”
“I’m talking about your friend—and what he did. Those at the top of the chain haven’t simply let bygones be bygones. Plans are being put in place. They’ve been poking around, trying to learn where to find him.”
This is the last thing we need, and I wonder if my father has anything to do with it. “And… did you tell them?”
There’s a long pause. “Ophelia, I know I’ve made many mistakes, but trust me, I don’t want to lose you, or hurt your mother, so no, I haven’t told them anything.”
“Do you know the identity of whoever is behind the facility?” I press.
“No, I don’t, or I promise I would give you a name.”
I appreciate that my dad called to tell me, even if he has no real power to protect Roman. Maybe this is his way of making it up to me—making it up to Roman. It helps, but it doesn’t take away what he did. Roman could have died.
“You need to tell your friend,” my dad says. “Warn him. He needs to keep his eyes open—watch his back. You too. Maybe you’d be safer at home.”
“No.” My answer is immediate and out of my mouth without me even thinking about it. “My place is with them, Dad.”
“I understand. Just… Please, all of you, be careful. I’ve already told Nataniele some of this, and I’ll ask him to make sure that security is alerted, too, but it sounds like some of the people after your friend have a lot of power.”
My mind is racing. “Okay. Can you tell me anything else? Where are we likely to find the people in charge.”
“The facility is your best bet. Otherwise, I don’t know.” He pauses and then adds, “I’m sorry, Ophelia. Sorry that I wasn’t a better father to you. Sorry I wasn’t a stronger man.”
Tears fill my eyes. “Thank you,” I whisper.
He ends the call before I can say goodbye, and for a moment I simply stare at the receiver before handing the phone back to the dean.
My dad doesn’t know Cain’s father was the person responsible for my kidnapping as a child, and we will keep it that way. No good will come of the secret getting out. It’ll only give people a reason to suspect the truth behind Cain’s father’s death and give my dad a reason to hate Cain.
“Are you okay, Ophelia?” the dean asks, raising one salt and pepper flecked eyebrow.
“Yes, fine,” I squeak, not able to talk about this right now.
Not knowing what else to say, I rush out of the room and race down the corridor, my heart pounding. My father will speak to the dean anyway and make sure the college is on extra high alert, but still, it’s yet one more threat aimed at us. At Roman.
Pure terror propels me forward as I run, not even sure where, just needing to get out of the suddenly too-narrow walls surrounding me.
I can’t do this again.
I just can’t.
We’d finally found some kind of stability, and now here’s another threat.
Will it ever end? I know, in some ways, it won’t. After all, Roman, Cain, Malachi, and their families—and mine—live on borrowed time. They deal with dangerous men every day, psychopaths with big egos, big wallets, and even bigger gun arsenals.
And yet, I’d managed to convince myself we might be okay, at least for a while.
Tears stream down my face. As the fog of utter panic clears, I focus on one thing, and one thing only.
I need to find Roman. I know there’s no immediate danger, no one is getting on the grounds that easily in broad daylight, but we need a plan because we can’t stay hiding here forever.
I bump into Vani in the hallway, and she must spot my tear-stained face because she stops in her tracks.
“Oh, my God,” she says, “what’s the matter? Are you okay?”
I open my mouth to speak, but my throat is clogged and only a strangled sob comes out.
“Has one of those Preachers done something to hurt you?” she asks.
I shake my head and manage to speak, shocked at her question. “No, of course not. They’d never hurt me.”
“What’s wrong, then?”
I swipe at my eyes. “It’s hard to explain.
Someone out there still wants to kill Roman.
They’re resurfacing when I thought we might be in the clear, and, according to what I’ve just been told, they’re after him again.
” Another sob breaks free. “I’ll never be able to just live my life with my men in peace the way you or Mackenzie can.
It’s too much. It’s endless, and we’re powerless to stop it. ”
Vani purses her lips and looks as if she’s thinking about something, but I need to move. I must get to Roman and warn him.
“I have to tell him,” I whisper. “I don’t know what else I can do. I don’t know how much more we can take.”
I glance around me as if the portraits on the wall can answer my questions and quell my fears, but I only see stern, patriarchal faces, and my stomach twists.
“My dad said to warn him,” I add softly as more tears fall.
Taking hold of my hands, Vani squeezes them.
“You’re not in this on your own,” she says.
“Okay? We stick together.” She chews her lip in thought.
“Listen, I know you need to go and tell him, but waiting another thirty minutes isn’t going to hurt, and I think you need to calm down so you can give him the information clearly.
Why don’t you come back to the house with me? ”
She means the mansion where she lives with the Vipers, and I’m not sure I want to see them now.
As if reading my mind, she smiles softly. “The guys aren’t there. They’ve gone to pick up a new car with Lex.” She rolls her eyes. “What do you say? Let’s go talk this out, and you can calm down a bit?”
She’s right. I am a mess, and while I’m sure they’ll understand after all I’ve been through, I don’t want to keep falling apart in front of my men.
Besides, I don’t even know where to find Roman.
He’s most likely out walking in the woods, and, knowing him, he won’t have even taken his cell, as he sees it as barrier between him and Mother Nature.
I link Vani’s offered arm and give her a shaky nod.