Total pages in book: 169
Estimated words: 167671 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 838(@200wpm)___ 671(@250wpm)___ 559(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 167671 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 838(@200wpm)___ 671(@250wpm)___ 559(@300wpm)
Silas stares at him like he’s never seen anything more treacherous, and Max laughs under the palm of his hand.
“What the hell do I do with this?” Silas growls.
I grab the kitty box I have for vet visits and hold it out to him. “Here.”
I reach for Cora’s hand. “Let’s go.”
Heath
Ivy doesn’t want to leave Cora in my car by herself, so Max and Silas go ahead on their bikes while I drive in the car behind them.
I just fucking hope no one saw us even though I had my face covered with a mask and Max and Silas had their helmets. We’ll have to exchange license plates quickly to avoid any involvement.
But first, we need to secure Ivy and Cora.
The slow ride up to Spine Ridge University is nerve-wracking. She keeps throwing me looks through the rearview mirror while clutching Cora like she’d take a knife for her, and I don’t doubt she will. But I won’t be the one throwing it her way.
She’s got me all wrong, and I know it’s my fault. I made her believe she should fear me like she should fear Silas. All I was interested in was using her for all my devious needs and to watch her fall apart just because I could, because it felt good to be the one to give her what she wanted instead of Max. But the more I played with her, the more the lines started to blur. And now I don’t even know what I want anymore.
I sigh as we drive up the mountain, and I look out the window to take my mind off things.
But even in the trees, a shadow of her memory dances, irresistibly poisoning my mind with sweet agony. I can still feel her body close to mine, still taste that delicious skin … still feel his lips on mine.
I touch my mouth, and for a moment, I wonder if I truly have lost my mind.
There’s no way back.
I ruined everything.
Why couldn’t I just be content with sharing her instead?
“I want you to know that just because I’m coming with you doesn’t mean I trust you,” Ivy suddenly says, breaking my train of thought.
“I never said you should,” I reply. “But I do know one thing; Silas was right. The Skull and Serpent Society is about the safest place you can be right now.”
She snorts. “I doubt that.”
“You’re surrounded by killers.” I make eye contact with her through the mirror. “Killers who just swore to protect you and Cora.”
Cora’s hand entwines through Ivy’s, her little body trembling. “Killers?”
“He’s joking,” Ivy says, throwing me darts with her eyes. “Right?”
“Yeah. Totally.” I add a smile for good measure.
I’m not used to hanging around kids, and I have no fucking clue how to behave around them. But we’ll make it work.
I’m not going to let anyone harm the one girl who’s been out here wrapping us all around her finger.
When we’re at the house again, I happily shut off the engine, but my eyes still find the little bottle of pills lying on the passenger’s seat. Sighing, I grab it and take a pill, swallowing it down without any water.
“What’s that?” Cora asks, and I nearly choke.
“Nothing,” I reply.
“Pills,” Ivy replies.
“For what?” the little girl asks.
“People take pills if they’re sick,” Ivy says.
Sick.
Maybe I am.
“But if he doesn’t wanna tell, he doesn’t have to,” she adds, glaring at me through the mirror.
I nod, glad she’s not prying. “Thanks.”
I step out, close the door, and open hers instead.
“I can manage.”
“Just because you can doesn’t mean I shouldn’t,” I reply, smirking.
She rolls her eyes, but a tiny smile still quirks up her top lip, if only briefly.
“Cora, let’s go,” Ivy says, and she grabs her hand and helps her out.
I close the door behind them and follow them toward the door. Silas and Max have already pulled up to the house, and Silas is still wearing his broken helmet when he walks up to us.
“Why not throw that thing away?” I ask.
“And get shot in the head while driving?” Silas replies. “No, thanks.”
“Wait, someone followed us?” Max asks, the panic clearly visible in his eyes.
“No, I checked,” I reply, but he still won’t look at me, and it fucking hurts.
My fist balls, and I move on ahead. “Whatever.”
“Wha—” Max mutters, but I ignore him.
Ivy and Cora are already up ahead, and I’m more concerned with them right now. Ivy is being targeted by someone or something big, and I want to know why. Is it because she stole money from them too? Or is there something else at play?
Cora’s eyes nearly start to dazzle. “We get to live here?”
Ivy grabs her and pulls her closer. “Don’t get too excited. It’s only for a little while.”
“Aw …” Cora pouts.
“For as long as you need it,” I say, adding a smile.