Page 105 of Cruel Games

Something inside me compelled me to stop her, to try, at least. I tamped it down, but it rose again like heartburn on wing night after I’d stupidly ordered the challenge sauce and refused a drink. It was persistent as a gale-force wind battering the roof of a low-income man who couldn’t afford to replace those shingles.

I hated it.

Don’t go, Ivy,it whispered, the words like chalk on my tongue, like molasses in my throat.Stay.

I couldn’t open my mouth, or those traitorous words would spill forth and make me a liar. I didn’t like feeling this confused, this out of sorts. I didn’t like the way she turned me into some sort of begging dog, like my emotions were tied to her in some manner.

Like Icared.

I didn’t.

“Where the fuck do you think you’re going?” I said instead, my voice level and a little harsh. “Leaving us so soon?”

She flinched like I’d physically hit her with my fist.

Her mouth opened, her lips parting on a sigh that felt like her soul trying to escape her body, and then, without a sound, she was gone, her whole body contorting so she could dart out onto the fire escape as she kicked the damn window shut behind her.

I wasn’t fast enough to catch up to her. It took me valuable seconds to reopen the window and fit my big frame out into the cool night air, the soft drizzle of a light rain settling on my exposed skin. I buried down the steps, only a level behind her, but on the second to last flight of stairs before the ladder, I twisted an ankle and went down like a ton of bricks, sliding andslipping all over the damn metal grating, imprinting the fucking pattern of it across my face and arms.

I cringed at the pain but forced myself to keep going, every second counting as I heard the dull echo of her shoes hitting the ground.

My feet hit just seconds after hers as I cleared the rail in a ballsy move my knees would certainly be protesting later.

Puddles splashed as I chased her like a shadow, following the sound of her feet in the alleys and corridors of South End, a place she had no business being. I didn’t even like coming here, especially after dark. Thankfully there was still light outside, which would keep some of the Southies at bay until the darkness engulfed their territory and increased the danger for us.

Damn, she was fast.

I didn’t know if she was aware I followe dso closely, but I came to a halt when she turned a corner and ended up on Main St. The lights were blinding here, and she quickly flagged down a cab and disappeared into the night, the car much faster than I was.

I spotted a lone street bike in the distance and decided if I was going to catch up to her, it would call for some drastic measures. I’d need to practically fly to get to her in time before she was out of sight.

So I broke one of my own cardinal fucking rules and thanked the stars the bike’s owner had left the key in the damn thing. I threw a leg over the middle and settled into the seat, kickstarting it with a single kick to the peg.

And then, I was off, racing through traffic to catch the cab she’d slipped into.

Finding her in a sea of vehicles wasn’t as easy as I’d hoped, but somehow, I managed, spotting her just as the taxi turned a corner. I wove between cars and gained ground, skidding through the red light amidst horns blaring and a few curses tossed out an open window.

But I didn’t care. All that mattered was getting to her.

Her taxi kept going until it pulled to a halt in front of a bank a substantial distance from the Guild. In a matter of minutes, we’d crossed the whole city, and now I stood here with a stolen bike between my legs, staring at the woman who’d collared me after damn near killing me as she strode into the building with a purpose.

I stood in the rain, waiting for her to emerge, my thoughts running wild.

What are you up to, Ivy?

FORTY

IVY

I wason autopilot as I entered the bank my father had frequented all his life. Hell, the only reason I still held a box here when I cleaned out my accounts and fled my old life was because he’d paid for it.Just in case you ever have a secret to hide or something to protect,he’d told me when he handed me the key on my sixteenth birthday.

I didn’t understand back then. But I’d come to understand it the day my mother cleaned out every possession he’d ever touched and discarded his memory like a plague-infected corpse.

There were three things in this box that I couldn’t afford to part with. And until now, I hadn’t been back since I put them in there and walked away.

The teller at the front desk gave me a strange look when I walked up to her window, but she remembered her training at the last minute and smiled pleasantly, offering me a generic greeting as she silently judged me.

“Welcome to Dreadwater Bank. Can I help you with something, Miss?”

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