Chapter 26
Ivy
Lying on the tiled bathroom floor, I stare at my sister, hanging above me.
She hasn’t opened her eyes again since Rogue touched her makeshift cage.
Her pink hair hangs in thick tendrils around her head.
She breathes slow and deep, her rib cage moving with the motion.
West must have sedated her again at some point.
It’s almost as if she’s in a trance.
The ropework that binds her legs, arms, and torso is called Shibari. That’s what he called it when he explained to us that Lily went through a traumatic event that forced a part of her mind to splinter in order to cope, and that’s when Dizzy was created.
Dizzy is the girl hanging above me.
Or that’s what West told me, but I’m not sure. I have no way of telling while she’s under. But there’s nothing to suggest my bouncy, cheerful, crazy Dizzy is in there. Other than his assurance.
The rest of his explanation was confusing, probably because there was no time. Dizzy reverted to Lily due to the stress of confronting Nicole. And when she’s Lily, she doesn’t remember what she’s been through.
It’s like my precious sister created Dizzy to carry the trauma for her.
The problem with that is Lily’s trauma is vast—West refused to go into it beyond that—and the toll that it takes on Dizzy when she resurfaces is somewhat like drowning in reverse.
All that trauma, all the emotions, are suffocating until she gets control of them.
Until then she is a danger to herself more than anyone around her.
He protects her. Every time he’s seemed overbearing or dangerous he’s been protecting her.
Like he is by binding her in the soft, twisted rope.
It’s designed for restraining someone in an intimate setting as a sensory form of therapy with the functional advantage of keeping her from being able to hurt herself.
West said it helps the nervous system regulate and provides deep pressure that creates a sense of safety.
I looked it up when he and Rogue left to help get Summer back. I was going to cut her down, but what I found online backed West up enough for me to give him the benefit of the doubt for now.
The shock of finding her like this is wearing off, and the details are standing out. The net itself is exquisite. Artistic. Completely inescapable. I’ve never seen anything like it before. It’s like she’s woven into a delicate pink spiderweb.
I imagine in some circumstances it could be… incredibly sensual. The way West has used it…. It is almost like a cocoon, inside of which, she is hibernating.
The medley of scars that cover her thighs and midsection are worse than I realized. I hardly had a chance to study them in the middle of her melt down when we were on the plane. Some of them are fine lines, barely blemishes. Whatever caused them probably didn’t cut deep.
The others are much wider, the skin jagged, puckered, and raised.
What happened to my sister? What hell has she seen? Are these cuts of her making? Or to do with what happened to her at the hands of Robert Hawthorne? From Nicole’s threats he did something awful…
I can’t even imagine her trauma. And I don’t wish to.
I force myself to focus on literally anything else. The rope is hot pink with silver threads woven in. Totally not a West thing. He would have picked black, or midnight black, or gothic black.
If I’m being lenient, he would have at minimum picked some other functional color.
Lily… well, I don’t know… I haven’t been aware of her long enough to get to know her or what she likes.
Dizzy on the other hand… Dizzy would have picked hot pink.
She would have teased and taunted West until he gave into her.
That means at some point she was involved…
she chose or consented to him confining her in this manner.
And if the woman above my head is Dizzy, she’s right where she needs to be.
Her heavy lids open on unfocused eyes. “West?”
I straighten to my feet. “He had to leave for a little while. But he let me stay with you.”
“Ivy?” Tears run down her pale cheeks. Pain washes off her and over me like a tidal wave. “Sister.”
My own eyes sting and grow wet. Seeing her like this makes my chest ache. She’s my Dizzy, but she’s not at the same time. That’s going to take some getting used to. I clasp her face with both my hands. “I’m here.”
“You didn’t leave me,” she says. “You know who I am and you didn’t leave me.”
“I promised you I wouldn’t.” I brush the tears flowing down her cheeks away. “You doubted it?”
“West said if you knew what I did to Alec you wouldn’t look at me the same way.”
In some ways West is right. What she did to Alec was vicious and terrifying.
I shouldn’t be able to look at her without seeing the monstrous thing she has done.
Even if it feels like a karma he deserved.
But all I see is my sister. Who killed to protect me.
Who chased down my monster and put him down the way I wanted to.
I can’t punish her for that. I press my forehead to hers. “We’ll always be sisters, Dizzy.”
Her pain seems to ease. Her eyes flutter and grow heavier. “I’m so tired.”
“Go back to sleep,” I tell her. “I’ll be here. I’m not going anywhere.”
“But it’s your big day tomorrow. You’re getting married.” She goes quiet for a moment. “I don’t think I can be your bridesmaid.”
I wanted so much for her to be my bridesmaid. She was so excited.
“Don’t worry about that.” I kiss her cheek. “Just rest.”
I leave the bathroom to make a cup of coffee. Who knows what time the others will be back. Or what state they’ll be in, so I need to be prepared for the long haul. Thankfully, I doubt I would have slept tonight if everything had been perfect either.
I’m marrying the man of my dreams in way less than twenty-four hours.
I glance at the clock on the microwave. More like fourteen.
And it doesn’t matter that we haven’t worked out who is working with Nicole, or who killed the poor goat, or how to fix any of the little things that have gone wrong in the way wedding things normally do.
The only thing I need is Rogue and the others to come back in one piece.
I hope they’re back sooner rather than later. If Summer’s hurt… or the babies… If any of them are hurt… I shut my eyes and pray while I heat the water for my drink.
Footsteps outside makes the hairs on the back of my arms stand up. It’s followed by a rustling, like something brushing up against the side of the cabin.
I glance at the bathroom—I kept the door open. Dizzy is exactly where I left her.
All I can hear is my own heartbeat pounding. I pad toward the one window in the cabin and tug the curtain aside an inch so I can see out. Surely, it’s someone walking past on the way to their own cabin, but I can’t risk it in blind faith.
Nothing.
Okay, I’m losing it. I’ve barely slept in two days. I’ve been in a car accident. I’m on edge. My sister is tied up in the bathroom. It’s possible I’m just jumpy at this point.
Tex is out there somewhere anyway. Keeping an eye out for Ro whose cabin is mere yards away. There’s nothing to worry about.
I check the coffee machine. It’s finished brewing, so I pour myself a cup and add the fix ins. I need to get back to my vigil.
I’m on my way to do that when I hear the noise again. There’s no way I’m imagining the heavy footsteps outside. I look around for a knife or something I can use to protect myself but come up short.
Dizzy is a killer. West probably is too. And yet there’s not a weapon to be seen. “Are you kidding me?”
I take out my phone to send a text to Davis. We’re on the ranch. Surrounded by security. Why does it seem like the most dangerous place on the planet right now? And where the hell is my bodyguard?
Unless… I’m overreacting, aren’t I? It’s just him… doing a check of the area. He’s been staying close with everything that’s been occurring around us.
The footsteps are on the porch, right outside the door.
My breath catches. What if it isn’t?
The doorhandle turns. Rattles. The door shakes.
“Davis?” I call out loud enough to be heard by the person on the porch.
Silence. No Davis responding to let me know that it’s him. No, someone else is rattling the door, like they’re coming in whether I like it or not.
But surely Davis would have called out.
I can’t get enough air. I break out in a sweat, my heart beating rapidly. My gaze catches on Dizzy in her web. The door that divides the rooms. One more lock between us and whoever is outside. If it isn’t Davis, that will buy him more time to get to us.
I run across the room. The cabin door opens with ease—they must have picked it—as I shut and twist the lock on the bathroom door.
The iron bolt slides through the metal arch on the frame.
Breaths shallow; I back up until I’m underneath Dizzy again.
Who the hell is on the other side of the door? Who did Nicole send for me?
“You might as well let me in. I’m coming in anyway.” His drawl is like Summer’s brothers. Whoever he is, he’s definitely not my bodyguard. He’s from around here. But I don’t recognize the speaker. Or… I do and I can’t place it yet. His footsteps recede.
That’s weird. Unless…
The sound of splintering from the other side makes me cry out. I cover my ears as I back up until my hip hits the vanity.
Thump.
The whole wall seems to shake this time.
Dizzy opens her eyes. They’re full of confusion. “Ivy? What was that?”
Thump.
“Someone’s trying to break in.”
The doorframe splinters. The iron hook tears from the wood and clatters on the tiles. The door swings in, the bolt hanging uselessly from the panel.
The man on the other side steps inside. He looks up at Dizzy through the slits in the ski mask that hides everything but his eyes and mouth. “Well, well, well. What have we got here.”
“My bodyguard is on his way. He’ll be here any second,” I put as much conviction into it as possible. Where is Davis? He should be here by now.
“I wouldn’t count on it,” the man says.
“What did you do to Davis?”
“I gave him a little bump on the back of his noggin.” I don’t notice the gun he has pointing at me until he lifts it to aim at Dizzy. “All three of you pretty birds in one night. That’s an achievement I can be proud of.”
“What?”
“Call Rochelle Kitt and tell her you need to see her. Or I’ll start with making you watch me shoot her.” He rubs the gun against the side of Dizzy’s temple. “And then I’ll move onto you.”
“No.” I’m shaking, but I’ll be damned if I let him see how scared I am. Why does he want Ro anyways? Is this the stalker who’s been following Riot? Who is this man?
He tilts his head, gaze looking up for a brief second before he refocuses. “Okay.”
He pulls the trigger.
I scream.
Click.
My gaze shoots to where he holds the gun to Dizzy’s temple. Expecting… a wound… blood… something that I’ll never be able to unsee.
But she isn’t hurt. Was there no bullet? There mustn’t have been.
His narrowed gaze is intense through the holes of his mask. He towers over me, the muzzle of the gun hitting on my ribs. “Do I have your attention now? I won’t warn you again.”
“Okay. Okay. I’ll call Ro.” I fumble with my phone. I need to buy time. I need to warn her to find Tex without giving myself away.
“Text her. Show me before you send it.” He breathes hot and heavily, keeping me trapped against the vanity.
Crap. There’s no way to warn her without him realizing.
Ivy: Can you come to Dizzy’s cabin? I need to talk to you.
“Good,” the man says reading it when I move my head out of his way. “Send it.”
Ro responds quickly.
“She’s on her way.” I put my phone in my pocket, aware that Rogue’s tracker will come in handy if the masked man decides to move us and security doesn’t realize what’s happening before-hand.
“Ivy?” Ro asks when she walks in five minutes later. “Is everything okay? Where are you?”
The man keeps the gun trained on me indicating I should answer.
This would be a great time for Dizzy to be herself. And not tied up in knots and struggling against the sedative West used, which must be a lot stronger than the Dramamine. She would take this asshole out before he realized what hit him.
As it is, I can only bide time and look for a moment of weakness I can use to my advantage. “We’re in the bathroom.”
Her footsteps come closer.
Run, Ro.
Ro appears in the doorway. Her eyes round as she takes in what must be an incredible scene.
“Get in here.” The man grabs her arm and drags her inside. He shuts us all in the little room. “Over there.”
“Dizzy?” She stands next to me.
“Long story.”
“Shut up,” the man says. He takes out his phone. His gaze flicks between the screen and us repeatedly as he taps away.
What is he waiting for? He has all three of us. Unless…
“Are you messaging Nicole?”
“No,” he snaps.
“Yes.” Otherwise he wouldn’t react so defensively. “When was the last time you heard from her?”
“Shut up.” His mouth twists into a cruel line.
“It wouldn’t have been since this morning at least.” I turn to Ro and pretend that this conversation is for her.
It’s easier than staring down the barrel.
“We made sure she couldn’t contact anyone.
He’s waiting for an order that’s never going to come.
He’s out here all on his own. Whatever she promised him…
” I look at him direct. “It’s not coming. ”
There’s no reward for killing us. No money. Or favors.
“Whatever your reason for agreeing to this…” I need to offer him a way out, even if it’s the last thing I want to do. Tex better hurry the hell up. “Perhaps we can come to some arrangement…”