Page 80 of Poison Ivy
Taking a deep breath, I march up to the front door and knock firmly. After a moment, I hear footsteps approaching. The door swings open, revealing a surprised-looking Tate.
“Ivy? What are you doing here?” His eyes rake over my pyjama-clad form, concern creasing his brow.
“We need to talk,” I say, pushing past him into the house. “Now.”
Tate closes the door behind me, glancing nervously towards the living room. “Ivy, this isn’t a good time?—”
“I don’t care,” I snap, whirling to face him. “Did you put out a hit on Torin?”
His eyes widen, and then he smirks. “Sort of. But it was Torin’s idea. He wanted to bring Poison to him after the hit on his dad went south.”
I blink and take that in.
“Hello, little killer,” Torin’s smooth voice says from the doorway that I assume leads to the living room. “Wanted to pick up where we left off?”
“I want to know why you have put me in this impossible situation!” I shriek, suddenly losing it and drawing Bram into the hallway. “Hey, Bram,” I say with a half-wave. “You up to speed?”
He nods, his purple eyes boring into mine, searching my face, raking over my body as if he is seeing me for the first time.
“Good,” I say, storming past Torin into the living room. The three guys follow me, and I round on them, my hands shaking with emotions that are bubbling up and flowing freely. “You know I have to go through with this or risk my fucking soul to The Syndicate! Do you want to die? Hmm? Because you will. I have no choice, you bastards!” Tears prick my eyes to my utter mortification. Tate comes to me instantly, wrapping his arms around me.
“Ivy, we’re sorry. We didn’t even think about the consequences for you.”
“No, you didn’t, because you are all selfish pricks! The mighty Kings of Thornfield who take what they want and fuck everyone else.”
Silence rains down, and I think I’ve gone too far, but when I look over at Torin and Bram, I see regret in their eyes. It doesn’t help.
“You need to call it off.”
“We tried,” Tate says desperately.
“They denied the request,” Torin adds quietly.
I stare at them in disbelief, my stomach dropping. “They denied it? How is that even possible?”
Torin shakes his head, frustration evident on his face. “I don’t know, but it was pretty plain in their message.”
“Fuck, this is bad,” I mutter, pulling away from Tate to pace the room. “This is really, really bad.”
Bram speaks up, his voice unnervingly calm. “We found it odd, but now it’s starting to look like a bigger picture. We need to figure out why they won’t cancel it. There has to be a reason.”
I stop pacing and turn to face them. “You’re right. And we need to do it fast. You morons gave me less than two days to complete it.”
Tate runs a hand through his hair, looking sheepish. “Fuck. Okay, let’s think this through. Who would actually benefit from Torin’s death?”
“Besides half the supernatural world?” I quip darkly.
Torin shoots me a glare but doesn’t argue the point.
“It has to be someone with influence within The Syndicate,” Bram muses. “Someone who could override a cancellation request.”
A chill runs down my spine as a thought occurs to me. “Or someone who wants to test me. Swann said he knew of my association with you, Tate. Maybe he knows about…” I go queasy when a horrible thought enters my head.
“What?” Torin asks. “Knows about what?”
“My laptop. I was researching earlier and left it open. What if he hacked into it and saw us?”
Torin’s face turns thunderous. “That peeping bastard! I’ll fucking kill him!”
