Page 46 of Ravaged
Iris forced a smile. “‘Kay.” She turned and looked me straight in the eyes. “Did you hear that? She dies, and you can count on seeing me again.”
That wasn’t going to happen. But if Iris ever came back, I would be ready. “Do I need to chain you to the bed?” I asked Teagen.
“I think you got me covered,” she said.
Iris’s mouth dropped at the realization that her friend hadsomefreedom. That I trusted her enough to stay in place.
“Don’t tell me you’re obeying his orders too,” Iris whined.
“What choice do I have?” Teagen asked.
My chest tightened at those words, but I couldn’t change that now. I turned to Iris. “I need to make my own cover. Then I’ll go through the backyard and unlock the window. You’ll climb out through there.”
“Cresting Heights is like an hour away,” she hissed. “I don’t suppose rideshares come out to this fancy little woodland neighborhood.”
“I’ll drive you.”
Iris scowled, but eventually nodded and crossed her arms over her chest. I was more concerned that Iris would do something stupid than I was with Teagen running away.
“Can I trust you to watch over your friend?” I asked Teagen. Teagen nodded and gave a half-smile.
“That’s how screwed up this is,” Iris said under her breath. “You’re asking a woman who is hand-cuffed and ankle-cuffed to watch over her psycho best friend.”
I ignored the comment. “Listen for my taps on the window.” I put up a finger to motion for them to be quiet. Once they were silent, I opened then closed the door behind me, and went to the kitchen. Axe was leaning on the kitchen counter. He locked eyes with me.
“Derek is looking for you,” he said.
Shit. “What’s up?”
“There’s a delivery he needs you to take over.”
Then Axe silently let himself back into the dining room, right as Wil came into the kitchen. Axe must have heard something coming from the bedroom. But how much had he heard?
Axe hadn’t accused me outright, only implied that Derek was aware that I was missing. It was possible that Axe was even warning me.
Wil got a bottle from the wine cooler. We acknowledged each other and acted as though nothing was different. That I hadn’t been gone for ten minutes. It could have been a bathroom break.
“I got a call on a drop,” I said. I could text Derek while I was in the car and figure out what he wanted, if it was a true delivery, or if it was something else. “Be back later.”
“She still in the room?” Wil asked.
A surge of energy pulsed through me, but I realized he meant Teagen, not Iris. I nodded. “Keep an eye on her.”
“You got it,” he said. He opened the door to the dining room, twisting the screw into the cork as he entered. I went to the backyard and found my lit-up window, unlocked it, then tapped the pane. Iris lifted it up.
“Come on,” I whispered.
Iris hoisted herself up and hopped onto the ground. I put a finger to my lips, and she glared at me, offended that I would suggest that she would do anything differently. We walked to the side, through a small grove of trees to where we kept the extra cars. I opened the door to the driver’s side of one of the white cargo vans. Iris gave me a weird look.
“You’re serious?” she asked. “A kidnapper van?”
It’s not like I was going to tie her up and throw her in the back. I only did that with Teagen.
“Get in the front seat,” I said. She rolled her eyes but complied. Once she was inside, I started the engine.
“Duck down until we’re on the highway,” I said. She did as she was told, for once, without arguing. Driving put me in a vulnerable position, but it was unlikely that Iris had any more weapons. If she did, she would have tried using them while we were still in the room.
The whole situation was strange. What did Iris think she would have gotten away with, if she had, by some miracle, rescued her best friend? We would have been forced to retrieve Teagen, and to seek payment for the inconvenience caused, likely in the form of taking a life. Most likely, taking Iris’s, and eventually, Teagen’s too. Maybe even Dahlia’s, if a suitable payment wasn’t offered.
