Page 91 of Poison Ivy
But I can’t. I have to be strong.
I make my way down the stairs, each step feeling like a mile. At the bottom, I pause, my hand on the front door. This is it. Once I walk out this door, there’s no turning back.
I hear muted voices coming from the living room, and I freeze, but I don’t think they heard me. Taking a deep breath, I quietly open the door and step out into the cold, early morning air. The street is quiet, most people still asleep at this early hour. Perfect for disappearing.
I start running, dressed only in the fucking towel, but hey, I’ve sprinted across the university campus wearing less. I see my house in sight and run faster, only to slam into someone solid as he appears in front of me, dressed all in black, his tattooed chest on show, telling me instantly who it is.
“Get out of my way, Vex,” I growl, trying to duck around him.
“Can’t do that, little shifter.”
I glare at him. How does he even know it’s me? Guess this disguise isn’t going to fool anyone.
He grabs my arms and in the blink of an eye, we are inside his office room in his house. He seals the door shut and stares at me. I squirm as those eyes search mine.
“You are in deep shit,” he says eventually.
“You know?” I don’t bother with denials or bravado. What’s the point?
Vex’s eyes bore into mine, his expression unreadable. “I know enough. The Syndicate has put out an order on you.”
My blood runs cold. “How do you know that?”
He smirks, but there’s no humour in it. “I have my sources. The question is, what are you going to do about it?”
I slump against the wall, the fight draining out of me. “I don’t know,” I admit. “I can’t kill them, Vex. I won’t.”
“Then you’ll die,” he says bluntly.
“Maybe that’s for the best,” I mutter, sliding down to sit on the floor.
Vex crouches in front of me, his face serious. “Don’t be stupid, little shifter. Death isn’t the answer.”
I laugh bitterly. “Isn’t it?Deathis literally after me, Vex. How am I supposed to outrun that?”
He’s quiet for a long moment, studying me. Then he sighs. “There might be a way. But it’s dangerous, and you’d have to leave everything behind. Your life as Ivy Hammond would be over.”
Hope flares in my chest, quickly tempered by suspicion. “Why would you help me?”
Vex shrugs. “Maybe because you don’t deserve this ultimatum.”
We stare at each other for a long moment, and I see the pain in his eyes, the fear of being under the thumb of the same creatures as I am. The harshness that this life brings to you, even if it’s something you choose to do.
I take a deep breath and do what maybe I should’ve done all along.
I trust him.
43
TATE
“How did you not hear her?”I roar at Torin as we stare at the empty bed. “Have you lost your vampire senses?”
Torin glares at me, fangs bared. “I was downstairs with you two, remember, a bit preoccupied with trying to figure this clusterfuck out.”
“She was shielded,” Bram murmurs. “That inscription you gave her, it shields her.”
I glare at him. “I know that, you fucking prick. That’s why I gave it to her!”
