AllFreeNovel
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“Celine,” I breathe as I pad over to her, “what are we going to do?”
She sighs, the breath hissing out through her teeth like a teakettle. “You were right. It was stupid to come here.”
“I’m guessing the key was an empty gesture.”
“He knows that we’re trapped. That we don’t have many options left,” Celine says. “He’s going to count on that. I think we might be able to slip past him. It’s not like he has a ton of manpower.”
I glance back over my shoulder at the little blob on the bed that’s Adam. “Celine, shouldn’t we…take a moment?”
She freezes and pivots on her heels to face me. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that I think we’re missing something. I mean, Benedict had Dad. Then, somehow, we find this footage on a flash drive and Ilarion’s with Dad and—”
“You think it was a setup?” she asks.
She doesn’t seem angry, but I can’t exactly read Celine as well as I used to be able to. “I don’t know. My gut says that it might be.”
“Your gut is also in love withhim.”
“But you’re not. What does your gut tell you?”
Celine’s brow furrows and she stares off at the window in search of answers in the sky. “Ilarion wouldn’t hurt either one of us,” she agrees slowly. “But…hurting Dad is a different story. I’ve never seen a traitor walk away without consequences, Taylor.”
“Yes, but none of those traitors have been our father.” I glance over at Adam. “And none of them were loved by Adam so much. Ilarion would never do anything to hurt him.”
She runs a hand through her hair. “Fuck. Fuck. I don’t know.”
A sound like rolling thunder catches my ears, but it sounds too artificial to belong to the sky. “Did you hear that?”
“Trucks,” Celine breathes. “Big ones.”
Our eyes snap to each other. We both know what’s happening, deep in our bones.
“Ilarion’s here.”
Celine’s gaze brightens with focus. “This could be our chance. Benedict will be too distracted with Ilarion and his men to worry about us and vice versa. We could escape, slip away while everyone’s fighting, and be long gone by the time anyone realizes we’re not even on the premises.”
I hesitate. The plan sounds good in theory. So why is it making my palms sweat and my heart race?
“Cee, I’m…I’m not sure that’s the right decision for me. Or Adam.”
Celine locks eyes with me. Then she grabs my hand and presses the key to my palm. “This is your call.”
The blood drains from my face. “That’s not much better. I can’t trust myself. Not when it comes to him.”
“What is love if not trust?” she asks. “Whatever you decide, no matter how you decide it, I’ll support you. I’ve got your back.”
I stare at my big sister. “I don’t deserve you, Cee.”
She smiles. “There’ll be enough time to bathe me in compliments later, Tay. Right now, you have a decision to make and not a lot of time to make it.”
63
ILARION
“Another shithole,” Dima grumbles, looking up at the graying building in the distance. “Big surprise.”
“Iamsurprised. Is this how he’s lived all these years?” Mila asks.
