“This was the best way I could help you escape and ensure you were safe. Mom died because she wasn’t cunning enough. You are. I know that, Abby. But I wanted to ensure you had as much support as I could give, even if I knew I was helping you to leave me.” He takes my hand in his. “I want the best life for you, and I know that’s not here. Not married to Barron.”
He eyeballs Kai. “I always suspected you two would end up together, and I trust you with her. But mark my words, if you do anything to hurt her again, I will hunt you down, rip out your insides with my teeth, and feed them to you one disgusting morsel at a time.”
“You don’t get to threaten him. You’ve hurt me too.” I cross my arms. “You all have.”
“I’m holding myself accountable in the same way,” Drew replies.
“I got the memo,” Kai deadpans. “And you’ve nothing to fear from me. We both want the same thing.”
Drew nods. “I know you have lots of questions, and I know you’re hurting, Abby, but it’ll have to wait. We must go.” His face and voice brokers no argument.
“Abs.” Xavier calls to me.
I stare at him, spotting the remorse and fear on his face, but I just can’t deal right now. “I need time.”
“You’re my girl,” he adds. “That won’t ever change.”
I don’t reply, letting Kai walk me out.
Drew wheels the bike outside while Kai pulls me over to the wall, caging me in with his muscular arms. Sawyer and Jackson have vanished. “I’ll miss you,” he says, sweeping my hair off my shoulders.
“I’ll miss you too.”
He rubs at my lower lip. “You hanging in there?”
“Barely,” I honestly admit. “I keep thinking I’ve reached the end of the line. That I know everything there is to know, but there’s always more.”
“It’s a fucking mess,” he agrees, kissing the tip of my nose. “But I’m here for you.”
“Except you’re not really.”
He removes something from his back pocket, handing it to me. “Got you a new burner cell.” He loops his fingers in the back of my jeans, reeling me into his hot body. “Call me every night before you go asleep. And if anything happens, I’m your first call.” He tips my chin up. “Right?”
“Right.” I wrap my arms around him, resting my head on his chest, listening to the comforting beat of his heart. “Tell me we can do this and win,” I implore, peering up at him, because I desperately need reassurance.
“Losing isn’t an option. We have too much at stake,” he says before his lips descend. His kiss is tender and loving and wholly at odds with how he usually kisses me, because he instinctively knows this is what I need. I melt against him, and it’s a physical and emotional wrench to pull away when Drew impatiently calls my name.
“I don’t want to say goodbye.” I smile sadly at him.
“Then don’t.” He presses a hard, desperate kiss to my lips. “Message me when you’re in bed, and I’ll see you tomorrow even if it’s from across the cafeteria.”
I crush myself to him, slamming my lips against his as footsteps approach.
“Guys,” Drew says. “I’m sorry. But we need to go.”
Kai breaks our kiss, caressing my face before letting me go. “Later, firecracker.”
He swats my ass, and I spin around, blowing him a kiss as I walk backward. “Later, caveman.”
Drew’s lips twitch as he wordlessly hands me my helmet, and we climb onto my bike. Then I kick-start the engine and floor it out of there.
“A.” Drew calls to me as I’m walking down the hallway toward my bedroom.
I turn around, leaning against the wall as he walks toward me. Silently, I stare at him.
“I know it’s a lot to take in. And I know you’re pissed, but I had the best of intentions.”
“I know,” I admit, sighing, because I genuinely do. And I instinctively know there’s more Drew is doing, so my issue isn’t his motivation. “But it’s the sneaking around and the lying that gets to me. That and the fact I thought I had a true friend in Xavier.”
“You do, Abby. That guy cares about you a hell of a lot. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive him because he’s one of the good guys.” He levels me with a sober look. “And there are so few of them around.”
After he walks away, I realize he never asked for forgiveness for himself.
I’ve only just gotten into bed when my stomach rumbles, reminding me I haven’t eaten in hours and I missed dinner. I could ring down for something, but it’s late, and I don’t want to act like a pampered bitch, so I get up. Wrapping my silk robe around my body, I slip on my pink fluffy slippers and exit my bedroom.
I’m yawning as I walk down the stairs when movement up ahead captures my attention. I’m about to call out after Drew when I notice his attire. I frown as my eyes take in the sharp black suit, crisp white shirt, and snazzy red tie. I step off the stairs and creep into the shadows as he turns around, watching the hint of a frown appear on his brow as he glances up at the staircase.
He’s clean shaven, and he’s used gel to smooth his hair back from his face, and I can smell his cologne from here.
What the hell is he up to, and where is he going this time at night?
It’s almost midnight.
On a school night.
And my spidey senses are tingling.
I tiptoe after him, maintaining a reasonable distance and keeping my back flattened to the wall, in case he should turn around and spot me. But he doesn’t. Distracted and on edge, he walks through the house, over to the very far west side of the property.
I clamp a hand over my mouth to stifle my shocked gasp as he punches in a code on the secret door and enters the forbidden dungeon.
Acid churns in my stomach, and my pulse is throbbing wildly in my neck. I make a split-second decision, hoping I don’t regret it, darting forward and catching the door just before it locks.
I slip inside, waiting at the top of the dark, narrow stairs to ensure Drew has descended, and the door locks behind me, before I make a move. Strip lighting on either side of the stairs is the only illumination in the otherwise dark space, and my pulse is spiking to record highs as I put one foot in front of the other. When I reach the bottom step, I turn around the corner, facing another dark passageway with the same strip lighting on either side. Butterflies scatter in my chest and my stomach is lodged in my throat as I walk forward, scanning the dark hallway for signs of cameras, but I see none.
I’ve purposely avoided investigating what goes on in my father’s dungeon for a variety of reasons, but I know this is not the public entrance. There is another, restricted entrance off to the left-hand side of our driveway, secured by high, black wrought-iron gates and accessible by a code that alternates on a monthly basis, where invited guests go. I have that intel courtesy of Oscar, but he refused to answer any more questions about what goes on, making me promise I would never venture down here.
Thoughts of Oscar bring him to the forefront of my mind, and I make a vow to find out where he is and to visit him at my earliest convenience. I feel like a piece of shit that I didn’t ask Drew about him. All I know, from what Charlie told me, is he’s in a coma and that he’s being looked after.