Page 97 of Riot

I don’t answer. I don’t know how to. The thought of losing him is unthinkable, but this lie is huge.

“Let’s just get to the safe house.”

He nods, stepping back like it kills him and my heart shatters.

TWENTY

RIOT

Ivy isquiet on the drive to the safe house. I don’t push her to talk, sensing she needs time to process everything.

The silence is killing me, and I’m barely hanging on. There’s a pickaxe in my chest draining the last piece of sanity from me.

Seren whimpers and fusses against Ivy’s chest, picking up on the mood in the van. I drive careful, slower than usual, hating the fact she ain’t strapped in a car seat. Hating the fact my girls ran without proper clothes because they were so scared.

I grip the wheel until my fingers ache. I’m gonna find who is doing this, and I’m gonna carve out their fucking heart.

Even if Ivy’s done with me, with us, I’ll still protect her. I’ll shield her from everything that wants to hurt her, even me.

Especially me.

I park the van in the assigned space and cut the engine. Ivy doesn’t tear her gaze from the side window, doesn’t move or acknowledge we’ve stopped.

“Vee?” I speak her name softly, as if raising my voice will shatter the tenuous calm between us.

She doesn’t move, her blonde hair curtaining her face from me. My fingers twitch to pull it back so I can see her face.

Slowly, she releases a shaky breath, and my stomach pitches.

I wait a beat to see if she’ll say anything, but she holds her silence, so I get out of the van.

My gaze scans the parking area as I move around the front of the vehicle. Nothing moves, but I palm my knife anyway before I open her door.

My heart sinks at how dejected she is as she slips out the seat onto the tarmac.

“Stay close,” I say.

Her eyes lift to mine before she quickly averts them.Fuck.I want to fix this, but I don’t know how.

Maybe it can’t be.

The betrayal lingers behind her fear. She’s only here ‘cause she has to be, and that cuts deepest.

But I keep close to the two most important things in my life, tucking Ivy against my side as we cross to the building.

The apartment is on the sixth floor, just one of many places we have in case shit against Crank and the others goes sideways.

I’m cautious as I use the number code to unlock the door.

I pause, listening, waiting, but nothing moves inside. I can barely breathe as I tell her to wait by the door. She doesn’t respond, and my fear grows.

Have I broken her?

I take my time checking every space, every room for danger, not taking a single chance. When I return to door, she’s still standing there, unmoving.

“Do you want to clean up first or eat?” I ask.

Her eyes scrunch closed. “I don’t know.”

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