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Seb gasps. “You love her?”
I don’t answer. Do I love her? I’ve never been in love before, so I can’t be sure, but I know I want to protect her and help her find the happiness that was stolen from her. Is that what love is?
I shrug, not committing to an answer.
“We’re not talking about me,” I insist. “This is about you.”
“Freddie wanted to…” He shakes his head like he’s already said too much. “I don’t hate her, Bram. No matter how much I try to, I can’t. But I feel like I should.”
“Then stop trying to hate her,” I suggest. “She cares about you, too.”
“She won’t admit it,” he says. “The only person she gives puppy-dog eyes to is you.”
“You’re still alive because she didn’t kill you, after years of brainwashing,” I point out. The words flow easily. “That has to mean something.”
Seb hangs his head. “Killing was all that mattered to her. That’s what she said to me.”
“She’s lying to herself as much as you are.” I look up to meet his gaze as I hit play for my next sentence. “You should tell her how you feel.”
“What about Freddie?” he asks, averting his eyes. “He’s made it clear. He—”
“Freddie’s our boss, and we follow his orders,” I continue. “But he doesn’t control your life. You’ve had your family trying to do that for years, and you broke free of them. If you want Ivy, then you should tell her. You need to prove to her that you still care, that you still want her, that you’re willing to fight for her despite everything.”
He nods solemnly, picks up the remote, and turns on the TV again. We may not have fully resolved our issues, but we’re a step closer…
CHAPTER 38
CALLEN
Isniff the air. “It smells like death in here.”
“No shit,” Ivy mutters sarcastically.
Snarky bitch.
I push cobwebs out of my face as we descend underground into what looks like a scene from a horror film. Somewhere in the distance, tiny rat’s feet scuttle. The room at the foot of the stairs is at least four times the size of the small space above. I hold my torch to illuminate a looming statue of a woman holding a balancing scale in front of me; symbols carved into the floor make a circle around her.
“It looks like a good place to sacrifice someone,” I comment.
More plaques cover the walls, marking where bodies are positioned behind the stone. I zip up my jacket tighter. The temperature has dropped by five degrees, so Freddie’s blankets may come in handy if Ivy doesn’t volunteer to keep me warm.
Freddie locates a switch on the wall. “That’s better.”
A lone bulb flickers ominously to life above us, shrouding the room in a ghostly glow and casting shadows over the walls.
“I didn’t expect this place to have power,” I say.
“It’ll do,” Ivy says. She surveys the space, then grins like a shark baring its teeth before an attack. “There’s plenty of room to skin a fish.”
Her eyes don’t have the same empty quality they did in the castle. They burn with an inner fire now. My cock tingles with excitement, despite the cold, knowing what I’ll see tomorrow. I want to see her in action. The deadly woman people fear in her element.
Ivy’s footsteps echo as she explores. Behind the statue, a corridor leads off from the circular room we’re standing in. Ivy heads in that direction. She’s not afraid to go down a dark tunnel when most would shrink away in fear.
“Hey!” Freddie calls after her. “Where are you going?”
“I’m making myself at home,” she replies. She finds another light switch on the wall that brightens the tunnel. “I need to be sure there’s nowhere for Trout to escape.”
Her red hair swishes around her waist as she walks away. I check out her round arse and wolf-whistle. She flips me off over her shoulder.
