Page 54 of Dark Surrender

“We can handle Dee,” Sola vows, taking the mountain of stress for having to leave her off my shoulders. Not all of it. But some. Some is good.

“If it helps, I think she has a soft spot for Mama. He might be the best man for the job.”

Everyone chuckles as if they’re not surprised.

Sola’s smile lights her entire face. “Noted.”

“She hates me, so I’ll keep my distance,” Creature adds, not at all offended by the fact that Dee does, in fact, hate him. She hates all the men, except Mama. Which is to be expected.

“Thanks for everything.” I flash each of them a genuine smile, give Sola a quick hug, grab my bag, rush to my car, and throw my bag into the backseat.

Rot slings his arm around Sola’s shoulder as they watch me back out of the driveway. I raise a hand in goodbye, and when they return the gesture, warmth settles in my bones. Then I’m off, leaving my sister in the care of people I’ve grown to trust… at least a tiny bit. They’ll do right by Dee. If they don’t, they’ll learn firsthand what happens when you fuck with the Smith sisters.

Refusing to look back, I swallow the guilt down like a hot branding iron and set my GPS to New York City.

It’s time to bring my neglected, near-dead plants home.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Iris

Walking into the apartment Harold gifted me, with a new rolling suitcase and a five-hundred-dollar outfit I just bought to keep up appearances, is surreal. But it worked. I parked my car, took an Uber to a store, bought what I needed for the ruse—since I was wildly unprepared—and Ubered to the airport, where I turned on my work phone and called my driver.

Now I’m here…

Tired, in a world I thought I left behind.

Leaving my suitcase in the entryway, I rip the itchy wig off my head and throw it on the table. In the dining room, the horror of plant neglect makes my heart ache as I get my watering can from under the sink and give them each a hearty drink. One by one, I whisper heartfelt apologies for leaving them so long. Two have already turned into dried carcasses, with fallen leaves of their former, once-vibrant life.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper as I carry them to the trash, where I give them a final goodbye before sending them on their way.

Once I’ve taken care of all my plants, I strip off my clothes, toss them onto a heap on the floor, and shower. Then I sleep. All day. Driving through the night zapped every ounce of my energy. I’m running on fumes.

It’s the next morning when I wake to find a text from Sola on my personal phone.

Dee is angry, but we’ve got this. Take all the time you need.

My sigh of relief breaks the eerie silence as I stretch. Pointing my toes, I arch up on my mattress to ease the kinks in my muscles. A yawn breaks free. I rub the sleep from my eyes as early morning light flits through the gauzy curtains in my bedroom.

This is one of my last days here in the city. A city I’ve come to love. The hustle and bustle. The anonymity, yet sense of community, only New Yorkers know—there’s nothing like it. You feel like you’re a part of something greater here. Even if you don’t know the person sitting next to you on the subway, there’s a kinship.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I know this sounds like a bunch of nonsense, but I’m… lost? No. Not lost… but something I can’t quite put my finger on.

In a few days, I’ll pack up and leave. Soon, I won’t be Ava working for Mr. Grant. Not that I worked directly with him, but in a lower role, in a different office, doing a job anyone could do. He offered it so we could be closer, and it worked perfectly, didn’t it? I put on a smile and told him what he wanted to hear. I played him for months, all the way until he died at the hands of my sister, and pieces of him nourished her favorite creatures.

Sitting on the edge of my bed, with my legs dangling off and my toes barely brushing against the floor, I wait for the guilt to set in, but nothing comes. Not even a twinge of regret.

Gray eyes flash across my mind.

Dark hair.

Muscles.

All the blood… his blood.

Dee ripping him apart.

Me stitching him back together.