I twist and stare up at the house behind me. Sure enough, a tiny little cam is tucked beneath the porch eaves.Goddamnit.“Sorry.” I rise to my feet and brush off my ass. “I just wanted to be away from there.”
She follows my gestured nod and glances to the clubhouse. “I get it. Do you want to come inside?”
“I should probably head back so they don’t think I’m plotting the next great escape.”
“They’re more concerned about you being an informant,” she states bluntly.
I take a moment to look at her, framed by the warming sky, and marvel again at how striking she is. “Chaos tell you that?”
“Can’t confirm or deny,” she teases. “Look, I get it’s hard,” Vanessa offers, shifting closer. “But don’t give up on yourself, okay? Things will work out for the better, even if you can’t see how yet.”
I snort a laugh. “Are you sure about that?”
She nods, plucking a flower from a browning bush. “If I’d given up every time I couldn’t see a path out, I’d be dead ten times over by now.”
Her candid statement shakes me somewhat, yet I respect the hell out of her for saying so.
“Here.” She hands me the flower—a giant daisy-looking bloom with deep purple petals. “I have an idea.”
“Using this?” I lift the flower between us.
She smiles. “I meant to help with the tension over there. I haven’t said anything to Chaos yet, but I think it’d help everyoneif you ladies could come here. Stay with me and get out of that stressful environment.”
She doesn’t know us. At all. “Why would you do that?”
“Because I wish there’d been someone to do the same for me when I needed to escape the world a while.”
Fuck this.I swallow twice, study the bloom in my hand, and fight the tears that threaten to spill at her selfless generosity.
“Only if that sounds like a good idea to you.”
I nod, unable to form words through my restricted throat.
“Good.” She claps her hands gently. “I’ll bring it up with Chaos tonight. Now, I know there was talk about buying you ladies some clothes while you’re here, but I’ve got a plan for the interim.”
Clothes?Why does that make me feel molly-coddled? Controlled?I’ve got serious issues to sort out.“That’s so unexpected but generous.”
Vanessa dismisses my comment, busy digging in her pocket for a key which she then presents to me. “Here. Let yourself inside. I’ll be back in ten or fifteen.”
I tentatively take it from her. “I can wait out here. I don’t mind.”
“Nonsense. It’s colder than hell. Get inside where it’s warm.” She turns for the gate. “Besides, there are cameras in there too, so I’ll know if you get up to anything.”
He really is thorough…“Okay?”
Her laughter fades as she darts across the road again and I’m left with a choice: do as she says and trust the process, or hide like a frightened rabbit again.
I know which option has got me nowhere so far.
So, I take her key and let myself inside the homely little cottage. True to her word, the warmth wraps its arms around me as I enter, and I follow the short hallway to the open-plan rear of the house. Her vibe is a little bit cottage-core, a little dark andgothic. The walls are painted dark, rich colors, and her furniture is the same rich timber and plush fabrics. But it doesn’t make the space seem small or cramped.
It’s moody, but in a good way, like being tucked beneath a blanket on a rainy day with a hot cup of cocoa.
It’s comforting.
I take a seat on one of the two armchairs and rest my hands in my lap. My gaze roves the room, yet I can’t spot any of the cameras she said Chaos installed in here. Was she bluffing? I get the feeling she wasn’t, which makes me see the Kings president in a whole new light: controlling and ordered. In a good way or a red flag way, I’m not sure yet.
I stay in place, slowly thawing, until the front door opens again and conversation continues into the cottage.
