3. Ivy
Ivy
Sunlight streamed through the stained-glass windows covering every inch of the walls inside the church. Portraits of unnamed saints looked on as cold adrenaline raced through my body, threatening to suffocate me. My heart pounded in my ears, drowning out the sound of the instrumental music quietly playing in the background. Lacrimosa . It had been my one request for the ceremony. The word translated as weeping, summing up the entire event unfolding around me.
The look on Niko’s face was enough to break my heart, so I closed my eyes, praying that a greater power would hear me. That they would help me pull my plan off without a hitch. Whatever happened, at least I knew I had tried.
The people sitting in the pews to my left reminded me I had people who loved and supported me. Niko, Cam, Trey, and Caleb sat huddled together. The looks on their faces ranged from devastated to furious. Their sisters, Maya and Katya, openly sobbed. They had begged me not to go through with the wedding, but I was doing it for them. They deserved a better life than being chained to the Order. Sergei was a blank slate, staring off into the distance.
I tried not to think of what would happen to us if I failed. Being married to Abraham Wells would be bad enough, but the fact that there was no future for me and the guys was worse. That they had threatened to murder them in cold blood. And that the girls could be forced into a basement or a place like the Gilded Lily to be used as nothing more than an item, caused me to hold my head a little higher. I couldn’t fail, not for them.
Rosalyn and Frankie were behind them, their arms crossed over their chests like they were ready to go to battle if given the word. Both of them would murder for me, no questions asked.
And then there was my brother—well, one of them. Rhyker hadn’t shown up, probably caught up in the change in command of the Forsaken. Angel would take over, forever impacting his relationship with Ros.
Hunter Nicholson was the support system I hadn’t known I needed. He hadn’t been able to save me, but he had given me the push needed to save myself—that and a healthy dose of advice.
His friends and the love of his life sat around him. Ethan, Dominic, Rayne, and Hunter were positioned casually behind everyone, with a tall man behind them. I still didn’t know what any of them did, but that they had shown up comforted me in a way I had never known.
Abraham Wells’ hand was still digging into my arm, sending ice through my veins. How had I ended up here, standing in front of him at a church wearing a wedding dress? When I moved to Clearhaven I thought I would get a fresh start, some place to escape my past. That hadn’t happened, at least not yet.
Wells’ fingers squeezed, reminding me he would make me pay for whatever transgressions he felt I had committed later. It also reminded me that if I failed, he would probably lock me in a basement again, trap me in hell, and attempt to break me just like at the Gilded Lily. Olya’s body swinging from the ceiling flashed through my mind, reminding me that what I was doing wasn’t just for me. It wasn’t just for Maya or to ensure the safety of Katya. It was for everyone that the Order had hurt—all the lives they had ruined.
Ros’ grandfather’s voice filled the room, and my fingers twitched at my side. “Romans 12:1 states, ‘Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.’ Today, Ivy Spencer offers herself as a living sacrifice to Abraham Wells. This is an occasion that those of us in the Order have been waiting on for many years. Most wedding homilies I give impart wisdom about love, but today, I think obedience is more fitting.”
The world around me tilted as I tried to ignore what he said. He could go fuck himself if he thought I would blindly obey anything that my future “husband” wanted. You’re doing this for Maya and Katya. The men that you love. They would have to kill me if they believed I would mindlessly follow any command they gave. There were fates much worse than death. Like being chained in a basement or raped by the cousin of the man you love. Or seeing him standing beside your best friend while they pretended to be smitten.
Or being told that you had wanted all of it to happen.
Cam’s words still cut me deeply in the middle of the night when everyone else was asleep. Everyone who said words would never hurt them was lying to themselves. My fingers twitched against the exposed skin of my leg. The slits in the dress had been intentional, and my hand skimmed against the cold steel lying on my thigh.
“What’s this favor that you need?” Angel asked, his deep voice rumbling in my ear. The party helped to cover my conversation. Not even the guys could know what my plan was. They would want to save me or convince me they could do it. After the threats from Wells, I couldn’t put them in that position.
Hunter had spoken to me earlier in the day. “I can’t be the one to pull the trigger this time.” I didn’t know what this time meant or anything about his life, but he assured me he would stand behind me. “If we need to, we can ensure their siblings disappear. They’re safe, Ivy. I promise you.”
His words repeatedly played in my head, and I cleared my throat. “A revolver. Something to hide under my dress. You’re the only person I can trust with this.”
He chewed on the inside of his cheek for a moment. “Are you sure? If you do this, it starts a war.”
Deacon Jensen turned to me, and he sneered. “Ivy, do you take Abraham Wells to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold from this day forward? For better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and health?”
His words made my stomach churn, and my fingers wrapped around the handle. My heart raced, and I drew in a quick breath, reminding myself that the sick feeling was adrenaline, not a heart attack. Nothing was wrong with me, not physically. Time itself seemed to freeze when I pulled the gun out from beneath my dress. Wells’ eyes widened a fraction as I pointed the gun at his chest and squeezed the trigger. “Not a chance in hell,” I mumbled as my hands shook and crimson spread across his white shirt. He clutched the wound and fell to his knees.
I had done it.
Someone knocked into my side, but my eyes were so fixated on the blood pooling in the middle of Wells’ chest that when I stumbled, the gun in my hand discharged again. I glanced to my side and saw Ros’ grandfather holding his shoulder, his mouth wide open. “Don’t do this, Miss Spencer. The book of Isaiah says that if you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land; but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured–”
I’d heard enough. The first shot had been a mistake from impact, but the second wasn’t. I was sick of people telling me what to do and using a higher power’s words to mold me into what they thought I should be or how I should act. Who I should marry. And if those were the words of a just god, did I want to follow him? I leveled the gun on him and pulled the trigger. The bullet found its mark on his face, stopping his words. Perhaps I could pay penance later, but the adrenaline coursing through my veins made me feel hot and sick.
Fletcher Vance and Luthor stood, but the click of guns being cocked filled the sanctuary. “Don’t fucking think about it,” Hunter’s voice rang out from behind me. “Come to me, Ivy. We’re leaving.” I glanced around to see every single person on my side of the sanctuary, minus Maya and Katya, had a gun leveled on the remaining members on the opposite side of the church, including Frankie. She winked at me before glaring at Vance.
“You’re making a mistake, Caleb. You know the price of disobedience.” Bile rose in my throat at the thought of him returning to his family after everything. I didn’t want him to. They would either kill him or leave more scars on his skin that would never heal.
Caleb took several steps, and my throat felt like it would close up at any moment. Was that really it? Was he going to blindly listen to the man who had raised him all because of loyalty? What happened next surprised me. Midstride, he stopped next to me and grabbed the gun in my hand, prying it from my fingers. “Let me hold on to this for you, princess. You don’t need it anymore.”
A sob escaped from my body, and my muscles felt weak. Without a word, Caleb lifted me into his arms, cradling me against his chest like I was the most precious thing in the world. He walked back to where Niko, Trey, and Cam stood. None of them looked at me as they stared at the men still standing.
“You’ll pay the price, son,” Vance said, his cheeks ruddy from anger. “Vengeance is mine. You’re wrong if you think Ivy is safe because Wells is dead, or your betrothal to Ros is void.”
“Get off your high horse, Fletcher. You’re just mad that they outsmarted you,” Frankie shouted before grinning at me. “And given the number of guns leveled on you, I’d consider shutting your mouth.”
The black-haired man beside Hunter gave Caleb’s grandfather a cold smile, and shivers skated down my spine. Dominic. “Sorry to cut this short, but we have somewhere to be. I’m sure we’ll see each other again soon. If you’ll excuse us.” He nodded to the guys surrounding me, and they walked as Hunter and his friends kept their guns leveled on Luthor, his grandfather, and the bodyguards. Who was my brother?
Hunter’s girlfriend, Rayne, approached us and gave me a gentle smile. “That’s our cue to leave.”
Niko tipped his chin at her, and Cam motioned to Katya, Maya, and Sergei. The cool December wind whipped around me when the door opened, and we walked into the parking lot. Rayne’s demeanor changed from the woman I had seen at Inferno, laid back and full of jokes, to someone entirely in charge of everything happening. “Joey, help them get in the car. Make sure that Ivy receives the clothes I packed for her. Nikolai, you and your siblings will ride with Joey in the other car.”
Sergei scowled. “Listen, lady. I don’t know who you think you are, but I can’t leave with y’all. The Forsaken would never allow me outside of the city.”
Niko glared at him. “Shut the fuck up, Sergei, and get in the car. I’ll talk to Angel, but we have to go now. Before they call the cops.”
The blond-haired man, Ethan, smiled at Niko. “Yeah, every time the cops get involved, things are way more complicated.”
Sergei opened his mouth to argue, but Dominic cocked the gun in his hand and tipped his chin up. “We’ll argue later. Get in the fucking car.”
I didn’t know what I had gotten involved in, but as Caleb deposited me inside the SUV next to Cam, I hoped that wherever we were going would be different. As I peered out the window, I watched Frankie and Ros get into Black Betty, and my throat tightened. Hopefully, they would be safe, and things would change for them, too.