Chapter 38
Myles
Her scream is still ringing in my fucking skull.
I can't get it out. Can't breathe around it.
It's like the sound tore something loose in me, something I can't put back.
She's curled up on my bed, covered by a blanket. Her shirt’s torn, one sleeve hanging by a thread and her face is already bruising, dark and violent.
I failed her.
She needed me and I let her down.
I was right here. In the goddamn building when they came through the door. But I couldn’t get to her quick enough.
When she finally screamed, I was already in the doorway, too late to stop what I saw.
My hands won't stop shaking. Blood’s drying on my skin and under my nails, but I can't bring myself to clean it off. It feels like penance.
I'm on the edge of the bed, my back to her. I can't even look at her without wanting to break everything in this fucking room.
“I should’ve been there,” I rasp. “Before they touched you. Before they even looked at you.”
Then her voice, soft, hoarse. “Myles…”
I turn and—fuck—her face…
Ivy’s cheek is swollen where she was hit, dark purple already blooming like spilled ink. Her bottom lip is split, and her eyes are glassy but locked on me like I'm the only thing she sees.
“Stop,” she says, but her voice trembles. “You came. That's what matters.”
My chest caves in.
“No,” I shake my head. “They hurt you. One of them had his fucking hand between your legs…”
Dragging my hand through my hair, I scrunch my face trying to rid the image from my mind.
Her lips part, a flicker of memory flashing in her eyes.
Gritting my teeth, my voice drops to a raw whisper. “I’m sorry.”
“No, Myles,” she starts but as she tries to sit up, she grimaces and slumps back, hands clutching the sheets.
“Your head,” I say, already leaning in. “Shit. Ivy…”
She waves me off but she's obviously in pain. Just trying to downplay it.
“It’s my back. But it’s not that bad,” she laughs hollowly through shallow breaths, fingers still tight around the sheet.
Watching her brush it off breaks my heart. I slide closer, unsure of what to do with myself and all this rage still boiling in my chest.
Then she reaches up with trembling fingers and takes my jaw in her little hand. I freeze under her touch as every thought empties out of me.
Ivy pulls me forward and—as if I didn't just paint the floor downstairs with blood—she kisses me.
Not hunger and heat.
Slow, gentle. Like forgiveness.
As if I didn't fail her in the worst way imaginable.
At first, I’m afraid to move. Afraid to break it.
Until my hand finds the back of her neck, cradling it gently as I savour her soft lips. The taste of copper coats my tongue as our lips lock tenderly.
For a second, the chaos in my head quiets and I just breathe.
When she pulls back, she smiles softly at me with a glimmer in her eyes. A look I’ve been dying to see since the day I found her.
Trust.
It wrecks me worse than her scream. Because it’s her, finally choosing me. Knowing that I can be everything she needs. Understanding, I’d kill for her.
The adoration in her eyes pierces through my self-loathing and makes me feel like the man I’ve wanted to be for her. The one who won’t turn her away, withhold love or deny her anything.
I rest my forehead against hers, my eyes burning. “You're insane,” I chuckle breathlessly. “You kiss me like that… after I just killed three men in front of you.”
“I’ve seen men die before.” She looks away and purses her lips. “But you killed them to save me. No one ever stood up for me, even in my old life. But you fought for me,” she whispers.
Holding my shoulders a little differently now, a warmth spreads through me.
No one protected her either, huh? She knows what that feels like to be abandoned, left to fight for herself. And I made her feel protected. In her eyes, I didn’t fail.
For the first time in a long time, the quiet doesn’t feel suffocating. Just her steady breaths, my heartbeat and something unbreakable between us.
The peaceful moment shatters as the sound of heavy boots pound through the building, ripping us back into reality.
“Ivy?!” Phoenix’s voice is sharp and panicked.
“Myles!” Zane's voice is a roar.
My heart sinks a little at the intrusion.
“Up here!” I call out, lifting my head. “She's okay. I got her!”
The door slams open like it's been kicked in. Zane barrels in first, tearing off his burlap mask, bare chest smeared with blood. Phoenix is right behind him, Oni mask still on. Both of them take one look around and stop.
There's blood tracked in on the floor, on my shirt, the bed, on Ivy. Basically everywhere.
Zane's eyes go straight to Ivy. To the bruises and the torn shirt. The blood I dripped all over her.
Then to me, and his face twists into fury. “You let them get to her?!” he growls.
I jump to my feet. “I was here,” I snap. “I killed them all before they got further…”
“But not before they fucking hurt her,” he roars, gesturing to her face.
I take a step forward, but Phoenix moves quicker, catching Zane's shoulder. “Enough.” His voice is cold, hard. His eyes flick to Ivy, scanning, calculating. “She's alive. And those men aren't breathing. I trust Myles didn't hesitate.”
Zane breathes hard through his nose, lips in a tight line. He wants to swing at me.
But Ivy shifts behind me, sitting up, wincing again. “I'm fine,” she says, forcing a smile that wobbles at the edges. “Myles saved me.”
That pulls the air out of Zane's chest. He looks at her for a long beat, tension pouring off his shoulders.
She shrinks under his scrutinising gaze. It looks like he’s about to yell at her. But before I can jump in front of her, he whips around and storms out, slamming the door behind him so hard the wall rattles.
Her face falls, shoulders slumping.
My nostrils flare.
I don’t know what that look in his eyes was but, for the first time, I don’t trust him.
Phoenix sighs knowingly and steps closer to Ivy, inspecting her condition. Then his eyes land on the remnants of blood between her thighs.
He doesn't say anything at first. But his eyes flick to mine, sharp and unspoken.
Then, finally, he speaks, tone tight but controlled. “Give her one of your shirts. Then join me outside.”
Reluctantly, I nod.
I don’t want to leave her side ever again, but right now, she’s in my bed. Safe, where she belongs.
Phoenix lingers, then his hand lands on my shoulder. “You did good,” he says quietly. “She's safe. That's what matters.”
He means it. There’s a pride in his voice. And it makes me breathe easier.
He turns and leaves, footsteps fading.
It's just me and Ivy again. I sit beside her, gently this time. She clutches onto my wrist like she doesn’t want me to go and I’m barely holding it together. It hurts to leave her alone, but orders are orders. And Phoenix isn’t unreasonable; he’ll let me come back as soon as possible.
“I won’t be long. You stay right here, okay?” I say, voice rough.
She smiles faintly, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. “Okay,” she says softly. “Hurry back.”
Ivy needs me. Wants me. Trusts me. Everything in me should be feeling victorious. But there’s a truth tugging on my euphoria that weighs down any high I could achieve.
The leader of that cult is still alive and he’s not finished yet.
Pulling the door shut gently, after giving her a fresh shirt, I find Phoenix pacing in the hallway, mask hanging from his hand.
“They split their team,” Phoenix mutters, still pacing. “Zane and I walked straight into an ambush. They’d been watching—they know the safe routes through our traps. They’ve been waiting for us to leave her alone.”
“They’ve been one step ahead,” I growl, blood rushing to my head.
Phoenix gives a slow nod and lowers his voice before Ivy hears. “They weren’t just trying to get to her, Myles. This was a probe. They wanted to see if we’d fight for her. Two of them got away from us. They’ll send the message that she’s well protected.”
I drag a hand down my face, a growl rumbling out of my throat. They’ll come harder next time. There can’t be a ‘next time’.
“We find the leader,” I declare. “Find every last one of them and annihilate them.”
Phoenix studies me for a beat, unreadable. Then, a slight tip of his head. “That’s the plan,” he confirms, voice unwavering. “But not tonight.”
“That’s not good enough,” I snarl.
“It’s reality,” he snaps back. “You’ve already painted the floors red. You’ll get your shot. But we need to fortify. Make sure she’s safe and healing. We do this strategically, not kamikaze style.”
My knuckles crack as I clench my fists but I nod. I don’t trust myself to speak without promising to slaughter someone before sunrise.
Phoenix steps in closer, voice like steel. “Get your head straight, Myles. Don’t let Zane see you losing it, or he’ll be picking you out of his teeth,” Phoenix orders sternly before gripping his mask with two hands, as if he needs it’s strength before the next move.
“What’s going on with him? He’s never treated Ivy like this,” I grumble, remembering the way Zane had looked at her and ignored her.
Phoenix sighs heavily. “He’s regressing… I can’t have you going off the rails too. We need to lock this place down while they’re on the back foot. Then, we’ll go on the offensive.”