4. Cam
Cam
The outskirts of Clearhaven fell away to fields and farmland, letting me breathe a sigh of relief. The scenery outside the SUV passed in a blur as tension melted from my body. Surprisingly, red and blue lights weren’t following us, meaning that Vance hadn’t called the cops, even though most of them were in his pocket.
I was also grateful that Ivy hadn’t gone through with the wedding. Not that I thought I deserved her because I didn’t. I probably never would after the hell I had put her through, but I couldn’t stand to see her marry Wells. As much as I hated Caleb, even he would have been a better choice.
Hate was probably too strong a word. Dislike was perhaps more fitting. Or, if I was being honest with myself, maybe it was just jealousy. Seeing him walk her down the aisle and kiss her cheek had made my heart stop, but watching him cradle her against his chest nearly ripped my soul into pieces.
The look on everyone’s face when Ivy pulled out a gun from beneath her dress was priceless. There should have been a photograph of that singular instance, and it was a shame that I hadn’t taken my camera. No one wanted to memorialize the person who you loved marrying someone else. That felt like a special type of hell.
I hadn’t expected her to pull the trigger. Wells was dead. There was no way he had survived a bullet to the chest. Jensen got what he deserved when he’d provoked her. Luthor and Vance were still alive, which needed to be rectified.
I was proud of her for what she had done. She’d taken matters into her own hands even when ours were tied. I still regretted everything I had done to her, but only time could fix that. If I could fix it at all . I also hated that when she sat beside me, her fingers twined with mine as we sped away, causing a tiny seed of hope to bloom within my chest.
“Where are we going?” Ivy asked Hunter, and I squeezed her hand, hopefully to reassure her. I had the same question, but after Dominic pulled a gun on Sergei, I decided to ask questions later.
Rayne looked at her, her expression gentle. “Somewhere safe where no one can find you.”
Her answer was vague, and I sucked in a quick breath. “Where is that?”
Call it hypervigilance or apprehension, but I didn’t necessarily trust anyone. Not after the events of the morning. Or even the past several weeks. Our party was split into three vehicles, hurtling down the highway over the speed limit. Was Trey even safe with Hunter’s friends? At least he could take care of himself. What about Niko? He would protect Maya and Katya with his life, but... We didn’t know any of the people who were supposedly helping us. Nearly everyone had been carrying a weapon at the wedding, including Rosalyn.
Ivy’s brother pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration as he changed lanes. “What if I told you just to trust me?”
Rayne stared at him for a moment and then rolled her eyes. “If you had told me that when I first met you, would I have trusted you?”
“Highly doubtful,” he mumbled under his breath, looking straight ahead.
She shifted in her seat to look at the three of us. “Strathmore. Ivy is originally from there, but I doubt she hung out on the side of town we’re placing you. Everything you need will be provided until we figure out what to do, but tonight should be a celebration. It’s the first step to freedom.”
Caleb laid his head back on the seat and closed his eyes. “No offense, but I doubt you can dismantle an entire secret society. You’re barely older than any of us, and with my grand—”
The look on Rayne’s face morphed from calm to anger quickly, and I shuddered, glad that I wasn’t the one she was glaring at. Caleb brought up a valid point, though, one that I had been curious about. The Order had ensured that all our hands were tied. And how did you dismantle an entire secret society? You couldn’t.
Even her tone was scathing when she spoke. “I might only be a few years older than you, but if you need to know, I’m responsible for Ivy’s father’s disappearance.”
It was time for me to be shocked, or perhaps even awed. But if Ivy and Hunter were siblings…"Wait. You’re sleeping with your father’s killer?" I asked out loud.
Hunter glanced in the rearview mirror and lifted one shoulder. “It had to be done. Can you imagine what she would do to me if I tried to leave her?”
Rayne punched him in the shoulder, the anger slowly leaving her. “You’re such a dick.” She glanced at Ivy, and the corner of her lips tipped up in a weak attempt at a smile. “Do you want us to stop somewhere so that you can change into the clothes I packed for you? Maybe clean up some?”
“Yeah, I think so,” Ivy said, her voice quiet. I didn’t know if it was the adrenaline leaving her body or the blood splatter on her skin, but she seemed distant as Hunter pulled into a gas station.
I unbuckled and pulled my jacket off, handing it to her. It would hide the tiny speckles on her arms. A cursory glance told me that her face still looked okay. The bathroom was on the side of the building, and as I opened my door, I looked over at Caleb. “Get her a soda. Her favorite flavor is lemon-lime.” She opened her mouth to argue even as she shrugged on my jacket. I held out my hand, silencing her. “Come on, little ghost. Let’s get you cleaned up.”
Seeing her dressed in my clothing did something to me. It always did, but now the feeling was intensified times a million. It did things to my emotions I couldn’t explain, not even to myself. The image of the soiled and bloodied princess wearing a black wedding dress was burned into my memory. Not even an hour ago, I thought she was doomed to marry someone else. After she climbed out of the car, I grabbed the bag Hunter’s girlfriend had packed. Lacing our fingers together, we jogged across the parking lot. The SUVs carrying everyone else pulled in behind Hunter, gravel crunching beneath their tires.
We entered the small, dimly lit restroom together, and I locked the door, blocking out the world so Ivy could change. She stood in the middle of the floor with a blank expression. She was always beautiful, but under the fluorescent lights, her skin glowed, making her look like a literal ghost. “Just stand here.”
She watched me silently while I wet a paper towel and cleaned the tiny scarlet droplets from her skin. Her eyes were wide, and vulnerability shone through in a way I hadn’t seen before–not even when I had broken her and pushed her over the edge. It struck me that the front she showed the entire world was an illusion. Behind it all, she was still fragile—broken, yet fierce—unlike anyone I had ever met.
If she wanted a whispered confession of love, a promise of protection, or for me to tell her everything would be okay I couldn’t, not after everything between us. The closest thing I could give her was this moment.
The silence between us was so thick that it nearly choked me as I wiped along her arms. When I finished, I balled up the paper towel and threw it into the waste bin behind us. A soft sigh escaped her lips as she glanced at the mirror in front of us. “Better.” It was the only word I could manage.
Slowly, she began to undress, her fingers clumsy as she struggled with her dress. Rather than watch her, I moved behind her, unzipping the swath of fabric binding her. It fell to the floor, exposing her to the cold. A strangled sound left her, taking me off guard. She put her hands over her face, and I did the only thing I knew how. I pulled her into my chest, holding her tight. I couldn’t bring myself to say the words she needed, but I managed to say something. “Every time, it gets easier. By the third person, you won’t feel this way. Just numb.” I smoothed down her hair. “Besides, that motherfucker deserved that and more.”
Her body trembled against mine, and she sniffled. “I don’t know why I’m crying.”
I arched an eyebrow at her. I knew exactly why she was upset. She’d lived through literal hell and had been ready to sacrifice her happiness for everyone around her. I planted a soft kiss on her forehead, a contrast to my typical demeanor, before pulling away. “Now you need to pull yourself together and change. There’s time to cry after we’re in Strathmore.”
And there would be. Time for all of us to reflect on what we had done and the parts we had all played. And how we could fix the fucked up situation we were all stuck in. Vance would never let a slight like this go. Not in a million years.