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No one says anything, and Ivy gets a blank look on her face.
“Oh.” He says.
“Where is it?” My dad asks, curiosity and excitement in his tone.
“This is the only other place I’ve been brought to. And I’ve only been brought there because of the huge party he throws every year.”
“Where is it?” I ask again.
“Um, I think the city is called Salvatora, or Salvatara. No, wait. It’s Salvatierra. Do you know where that is? I think it’s like an hour or so away from his house.”
I pull out my phone and type in Salvatierra. “It’s about a half hour south of Tijuana.” Looking up at my dad, I sigh out in relief. “I’m going to get this bastard. Finally.”
He slaps me on the back. “We’re going to get him, Aziel. His clock is ticking.”
“When are we going?” Ivy asks, anger and an eagerness building in her eyes. A fire is lit like I’ve never seen. There’s life inside of her, it’s just been buried by the hate and darkness of Tijuana.
“We’ll go a day or two before the Day of the Dead celebration. Give us enough time to scope out the place and figure out our moves.” My dad says to her.
She nods her head and backs out of the door.
“Hey,” I holler to her, “where’re you going?”
“To play with Lilah. For the first time in I don’t know how long, I’m excited about something. Lilah deserves to see me happy like this.” And she leaves, taking her strength and my breath with her.
16
Ivy
The next few days pass in a blur. I’ve rolled into some sort of routine. I love routine. That’s what I’m used to. It’s how I’ve been living the last five and a half years. It’s different this time, though.
I’m no longer living in fear.
I’m no longer held captive by a monster.
I’m free.
That’s the one that hits me the hardest. I’m honestly, truly free. Not only that, but Lilah is free, too. She was born into captivity and never knew the outside of the walls in Tijuana.
She notices a difference, too. She’s happier. She smiles more. She laughs more. She loves the swing set, and she loves the people here. The guys love her, too. She’s melting all of their cold, empty hearts and turning them into living, breathing humans. I never figured I’d find people that I could grow close to again. It makes me feel it’s too good to be true. I feel like my clock is ticking. Like the sand in the timer is about to drop its last grain.
Like I’m going to turn the corner and there will be the grim reaper, ready to take me for good this time.
I snap out of my thoughts as Lilah calls my name for the hundredth time.
“Mommy!” She screams.
“What? Sorry.”
“Push mereallyhigh.” She screeches, her little legs getting her nowhere.
“I’m coming.” I stand up from the chair that Aziel set out here for me. Lilah forces me to spend most of my day out here, the least I can do is sit in a chair.
Aziel has been gone for the last two days. Him and the guys rode over to the Texas chapter and were going to discuss the plan for the next couple weeks. The Texas chapter will step in if things go south, but I heard Aziel mentioning to the other guys that they don’t want to get in the middle of it if they don’t have to.
Today is the perfect day. It’s cooler and crisp here in the mountains. It reminds me more of home. The sky is clear and blue. And it’s silent. Without any of the guys here, this place feels almost abandoned.
“I thought I heard screaming out here.” I glance over my shoulder and see Violet walking towards us.
