Chapter 7 #2
The world outside the window has shifted so gradually I barely even noticed.
We’ve gone from dense city blocks to quiet suburbs, which are now fading in the rearview, a long stretch of forested nothing ahead.
I keep asking questions about the Dollhouse, and Bailey answers what she can– some things vaguely, others with elaborate detail.
My brain is so busy trying to absorb everything she’s saying that it doesn’t even occur to me to ask the most obvious question: where we’re going.
The Jeep eventually veers off the highway, winding through a maze of narrow country roads before slowing and crunching onto gravel.
As Keane rolls to a stop, I look up to find we’re at the edge of a forest preserve.
Tall trees crowd the perimeter of the lot, sunlight filtering through bare branches and striping the ground with pale gold.
And there, parked at the far end, is an all too familiar black Escalade.
My stomach drops as I take in the three figures leaning against the hood, arms folded, their attention fixed squarely on us. The Kings.
My pulse detonates.
Every instinct in my body screams at me to curl up in the footwell and hide, but all I can do is shake my head weakly, a pathetic whisper slipping past my lips.
“No…”
Bailey glances back at me, and for the first time since we met, her expression softens completely.
“Sorry girl,” she says gently. “This is as far as we can take you. We’ve got our own agenda, and you’re safer with them than with us.”
A disbelieving laugh bursts out of me. “Those boys are the furthest thing from safe.”
She gives me a small, rueful smile. “Tell me about it.”
It suddenly clicks how she’s able to read me so easily. “You were a Doll, weren’t you?” I ask.
Her gaze drifts away for a second, like she’s reaching in her mind for a memory. Then she nods once, eyes locking with mine. “Best and worst thing that ever happened to me.”
Keane slides the gear into park and kills the engine, he and Miller stepping out first. They scan the empty lot with quiet, predatory focus before moving around to open mine and Bailey’s doors.
I climb out on shaky legs, sucking in a lungful of fresh air. Then we move together across the gravel lot as a unit, the Kings advancing to meet us in perfect formation.
They’re like a walking warning sign made of testosterone and bad decisions, every one of them a blazing red flag. Ford’s the first to speak, flashing a smile that’s all teeth and no soul.
“Well, well. If it isn’t the one that got away,” he drawls.
But he’s not looking at me.
He’s looking at Bailey.
She frowns back at him, stopping a few paces away and folding her arms across her chest. “Still a dickhead, I see.”
“My brother keeping you satisfied?” Ford asks, lazily running his tongue along his upper teeth. “Or do you need a reminder of what it’s like to fuck someone who actually knows what they’re doing?” He lewdly reaches down to grab his junk, winking at her.
Keane and Miller both stiffen, their expressions darkening instantly, but Bailey stops them with a single shake of her head.
“Cut the shit, Christian,” she says coolly. “You owe us big for today.”
As much as I hate Ford right now, I can’t ignore the sharp stab of jealousy that twists through my chest at the realization that he and Bailey clearly have a history.
Or the quiet, crushing sense of inadequacy that follows when I inevitably measure myself against her.
Wes breaks ranks and steps toward me, grey eyes wide and searching. I immediately flinch back, ducking behind Miller’s broad shoulder.
He doesn’t get to look at me like that. Not after what he did the last time I saw him.
Bailey straightens her spine and squares off with the Kings, her chin lifted. “I trust you idiots can take it from here?”
Raf jerks a nod, folding his arms to mirror her stance.
Bailey turns back to me and reaches for my hand, squeezing it tightly. “Good luck, Ava,” she murmurs, leaning in close and dropping her voice lower. “And don’t let them break you.”
I’m hit with a flood of emotion as I stare back at her, feeling an odd sort of sisterhood humming between us. I want to thank her, to beg her not to leave…
Instead, I just nod and squeeze her hand back.
She releases me and steps away, giving me one final nod before starting back toward the Jeep.
Miller and Keane fall into step behind her, and I watch numbly while the three of them climb in, Miller holding the door for Bailey while Keane slides in behind the wheel.
He fires up the engine, rolls down the window, and sticks his hand out to flip the Kings off before peeling out of the lot.
And just like that, they’re gone.
I’m left standing there, too close to my old life and the monsters that owned me. The sun is too bright, the world too sharp.
I don’t move, but the Kings do. They close in around me like sharks scenting blood, and the truth settles over me like a lead weight.
That although I just escaped one prison, I’ve only traded it for another.