Page 60 of Cedar Edge
Hedera helix: “An old english belief was that an absence of ivy on a grave meant that the soul was a restless one; but if a grave belonged to a young woman and was bequeathed with an abundance of the plant, it was a sure sign that her death was from a broken heart.”
-Fez Inkwright,Botanical Curses and Poisons: The Secret Lives of Plants-
Ace
My body buzzes with energy as we drive home, the memories of the corn maze replaying over and over again. Thea had shocked me by creating this little adventure for us. Glancing back at her I can’t help but smile watching her passed out and snuggled against Law. It’s a sense of pride to know that we fucked her so thoroughly that she has slept this long. Even Law looks utterly relaxed which is so fucking rare. His head is tilted back against the seat, eyes closed.
Logan slows down and I redirect my attention out the windshield. As soon as he makes the last turn home and we pull into our driveway I know something is wrong. It’s a sixth senseeven as the property looks serene. The hair on the back of my neck stands on end as I search the inky black night for the reason behind the shift.
“Logan.” He looks at me before pulling off the main drive and into the woods, cutting the jeep's lights. He knows me well enough to catch my tone and he’s already grabbing his gun from the center console.
“What's going on?” Thea asks. Her voice is still filled with sleep and when she peaks her head up from Law’s chest her eyes look hazy. When she sees the gun in Logan’s hands her eyes go wide and she sits up straight, any remaining sleepiness replaced by fear.
Logan opens the door as I snag my own weapon from under the seat. “Probably nothing Cricket, but how about you wait here while we check it out.” Law shifts her off his lap as he moves to exit the car.
“No! You can’t leave me here!” She grabs at Law with pleading eyes.
He cuts me a look and I already know what he wants. I shake my head with a long sigh. “You stay right next to Law the whole time.” She nods enthusiastically. I glance at Law. “Lo and I will go in first. You know the protocol.”
He nods and I can tell he’s pissed he doesn’t have his work truck. The thing has everything he would want to keep Thea safe, after all I added a few things that the lovely city of Cedar Edge police department doesn’t know about. Closing the jeep door as quietly as I can I catch up with Logan. His eyes are glued ahead of us, gun in hand. However, knowing Logan, he’s got a few knives attached to him as well. We move as a unit, slow and steady, the world around silent. Too silent. Not even a breeze in the trees. It’s as if the world has stopped and is holding its breath sensing a threat nearby.
When the house comes into view I pause. Logan looks over at me even as my stomach drops. “We didn’t leave the lights on.” He says quietly.
“No,” I growl. “And we sure as fuck didn’t leave the door open.”
“What’s the plan?”
I glance at Logan who has a smile on his face that tells meexactlywhat he wants the plan to be. Grabbing my mask from my back pocket I slip the half skeleton onto my mouth. The grin on Logan’s face gets bigger.
“Death it is.” He says with far too much enthusiasm.
I grab him and press my forehead to his. “Do not do anything stupid princess. You hear me?”
“Got it Sir. Loud and clear.” He kisses me over my mask before he’s taking off into the night. I watch him for a brief moment before I’m moving again. We each take a different side of the house, we’ll deal with the barns once I know I can get Thea inside. Meticulously we search the yard first before reaching the house. Logan heads around towards the backdoor as I approach the open front door.
Stepping up the stairs I ease into the bright house. My eyes land on a tequila bottle open on the table, two shot glasses in front of it with one filled with the clear liquor. Music plays over the house speakers, an ominous beat that sends chills down my spine. I work my way through the front of the house finding it devoid of anything aside from the tequila and music.
“Ace!” Logan’s tone has me running towards our bedrooms.
“Wha–” My words cut off when I find him standing in Thea’s private room. The space is covered with photos, not an inch of wall or floor showing. “What the fuck.” I growl, stepping further in.
Logan looks furious as he rips one of the photos down. “It’s us in the fucking maze.”
Rage and fear battle against one another in my mind as I take in each and every photo. They date back for weeks all the way up to today. “Mother fucker.”
“She can’t see this.” Logan says as he rapidly moves to take the photos down.
I shake my head. “We can’t hide this Lo, she has to know. As much as I want to spare her, she knows something was wrong and we don’t have the time to get all this shit down.” He keeps ripping the photos dropping in a flutter around him. I move quickly, intercepting his hand before he can snatch the next one down. “Princess. I need you to listen to me. We need to make sure the rest of the property is safe. We need to get Thea and Law into the house.”
“He needs to die, this fucking piece of shit comes into our house and does this?” Logan growls.
I nod, pulling my mask down now. “He’s going to Lo. We are going to carve his fucking piece of shit heart out and feed it to him. But we need to get Thea safe first.” He lets out a breath and nods. Dragging him into a hug I press my body against his for a moment, needing to feel him solid against me.
“NO!” Thea’s terrified voice breaks us apart and has us moving, sprinting towards the space the sound came from. We skid to a halt when we find her and Law standing just inside the front door. Her eyes are wild as they look at the tequila bottle. “No no no no.” She repeats the chant over and over shaking her head.
“You were supposed to wait!” I curse.
Law looks pissed. “It was either this or she threatened to scream until you two came back.” Thea lets out a choked sob as she starts to hyperventilate.
