5. Alive #2
He’s right. Logically, I know he’s right.
Dallas also has a lot more experience with murder than I do.
Surprisingly, Cameron Andino was my first. As practiced as I am with my knife, no one’s died from it before, though it’s spilt more than its fair share of blood.
I’m sure I’ll be amused by how easy it was to take a life later—mainly because I did it to avenge Haven even before I saw her like this—but, for now, I have to listen to the expert here.
“Haven,” I say softly, hoping like hell that, wherever she’s gone to in her mind, she can hear me. “We’re leaving now.”
Then, as carefully as I can without jostling her, I slide one arm behind her back and another beneath her knees. She doesn't fight me when I lift her. Doesn’t react again at all. In fact, she goes limp, and I squeeze her a little tighter as though I can give her all of my strength.
I turn. Dallas is there, and so is Bas. I quirk my eyebrows, a silent question.
“Adrian’s bringing the SUV around. He dragged Des out with him to keep an eye out for cops. He’ll call if we need to hunker down.”
Sounds good to me. Right now, everything sounds fan-fucking-tastic. I have Haven Smith in my arms, holding her close, and she’s alive.
She’s alive.
The thought keeps reverberating throughout my skull as I follow Dallas and Bas down the hall, poised to hide if necessary.
It isn’t. We make it outside without any complications.
Adrian stays in the driver seat. Dallas hops into the one next to him.
Bas joins Des, and I climb into the back row before settling Haven in next to me, her head in my lap.
Desmond sniffs. “What is that?”
Sebastien punches him.
He scowls at Bas. “What did you hit me for?”
Bas jerks his chin toward the back. “Bro? Seriously? When did you become such a grade-A asshole?”
In my opinion, after how he lost his shit when he discovered that Loni was using him as a front to hide her relationship with Adrian, he’s been one for nearly the last decade. Over Haven’s head, I glare at him, and Des looks away from me.
That’s what I thought.
So she doesn’t smell the freshest. Would you have after forty-three days in captivity? I sure as fuck wouldn’t.
Adrian guides the SUV out of the warehouse’s lot, and though I wish we could destroy Winter’s property—and Andino’s body—before we go, my entire focus is on Haven now. Her head is turned away from me, allowing me to stroke her hair and murmur soft promises to her that I only hope she can hear.
Maybe she did. Either way, within the first hour of our drive back to Harmony Heights, she passes out; I can’t even say she fell asleep since she began to whimper softly before she went under, my heart shattering even more with every pained sound.
I’m glad she’s unconscious for now, though.
Something tells me she didn’t get much rest during any stage of her captivity, whether she spent the entire time in that warehouse or somewhere else.
In fact, she’s still blissfully unaware of what’s happening an hour-and-a-half later as Adrian crosses into Harmony Heights. I am, and I’m expecting it when he clears his throat.
"We should bring her to the Fortress," he tells me.
We already decided against going to the hospital. Despite this being an Order town, the best hospital in Harmony Heights treats all citizens, whether they’re in the secret society or not. That means, if we show up with Haven like this, they’ll have to report it.
In the Fortress, we have a medical team that handles situations more…
discreetly. And while I appreciate their help, I’m sorry.
I’ve been thinking during the long night of travel—to Hamilton and back—and I’ve decided that, after Andino’s confession and the physical evidence that Haven’s been assaulted and most likely sexually abused, I can’t risk the King discovering what happened to her.
I know Jack. He won’t care about the circumstances. He’ll demote Haven to the Used, ruining three lives in an instant all because some wannabe gangster targeted an Offering from Harmony Heights.
"No," I tell Adrian. And it has to be Adrian. Like always, he’s the brains of the operation, the man with the plan, and everyone else in the SUV usually goes along with everything he says.
Usually.
Not tonight.
"Connor—"
"No." I tighten my hold on Haven. They’ll have to pry her out of my arms to separate us now. “I can’t risk it, Adrian. You know better. You know what Jack will do.”
On the ride back, I filled the others in on my pre-murder chat with Cameron Andino, as well as the state Haven’s in. Technically, Adrian is still Haven’s intended. It’ll fuck up his future plans with Loni if he turns on Haven now, and we both know it.
I can just see it. Jack demotes Haven to the Used, picks out a newer, younger, fresher Offering for Adrian, and, this time, he won’t let his nephew get around Claiming her.
Or maybe he’ll pull the same shit he did with Dallas’s Lucy: marry Haven off, and leave me spiraling even harder than before because he damn well won’t let me have her.
No. He won’t let me have her… but I can take her.
I can keep her.
The answer is so clear to me. Deep down, I’ve been plotting something similar to this for years, and I have the panic room to prove it.
And that’s why, when Adrian sighs and says, “Then where are we heading?,” I don’t hesitate.
I tell him where to drive to and, for the first time in six weeks, I grin.
Hold tight, darling Haven. I’m taking you home.