21. Tate

21

TATE

Torin taps into his phone on the passenger seat, and I shoot him a glare. "How can you be so calm? We just left her there."

Torin shrugs. "She's a big girl. I'm sure she can handle herself."

"That's not the point," I snap. "We should go back and check on her."

"Why? So you can fuck her again?" Torin smirks. "On second thoughts, maybe that's not such a bad idea."

I grip the steering wheel, fighting the urge to punch that smug look off his face. "This isn't about sex. The game has gone too far this time."

"You're getting a conscience?"

His surprise isn't shocking. This is a whole new side to me that is foreign, and I don't like it. And weirdly, this isn't even about Poison. It's about Ivy. I know they are the same girl now. I know it in my blood, in my soul. I don't know how I know, I just do. And that makes this different. That girl… Ivy… is something special. She hides behind Poison and not just for her work, but to protect herself.

Checking the mirrors before I make a wide U-turn, I slam my foot down and head back the way we came. "It's not about getting a conscience," I growl. "It's about being smart. We left an assassin who just killed a high-profile vampire, alone and vulnerable. That's fucking stupid. Do you think she, or worse, her bosses, are going to let us forget that? Especially if she gets hurt?" There is no way I'm coming clean about Poison and Ivy to him just yet. I might know in my heart, and knowing I followed Ivy out of her house to Vex's and then to Nox, but she was nowhere in sight, and Poison was, isn't enough to spill the details, yet. Evidence is everything.

Torin sighs. "Fine," he says finally. "But we're not her fucking bodyguards. We get her somewhere safe, and then we're done."

I nod, not trusting myself to speak. The relief flooding through me at the thought of making sure Ivy is okay is unsettling. I shouldn't care this much. But I do.

As we approach the spot where we left her, my stomach drops. She's gone.

"Fuck," I mutter, stopping the car and getting out. "Where the hell did she go?"

Torin gets out as well, sniffing the air. His eyes narrow. "Bram was here. "

Ice floods my veins. "Recently?"

He nods, a grim look on his face. "Very. And there are traces of dark fae magick all over the place."

"Shit," I hiss, kicking out at the tyre. "You and I both know what he is capable of and how much he wants her. We need to find her. Now."

Torin raises an eyebrow. "And how do you propose we do that? If he wants her all to himself, he will make sure no one finds them."

"Even worse for all of us, if that is the case. Think about it, Torin. This is bad."

Torin eyes me suspiciously. "All right, arsehole. What is this really about?"

I glare at him. He knows me about as well as anyone does, and that pisses me off on most days, more so right now. "About saving our necks. I knew messing with her was bad news. The creatures she works for are viciously evil, and I'm betting my last penny they know about us already. If something happens to her, who do you think they will blame?"

"You make it sound like they care about her welfare?" Torin scoffs.

"Of course they fucking do! She is their asset. They aren't just going to let someone abduct her and hold her prisoner when she has work to do for them."

He considers that and seems to come to the conclusion that I'm probably right. But then he fires a question at me that I'm not prepared for, "Why were you at Nox earlier? It's not really your scene."

How can I tell him that I was following Ivy and Vex without making it sound like I know something he would desperately want to know. "I was following Vex. After that run-in we had earlier, I've made it my mission to take him out."

"Vex," he says, and I can tell by his flat tone that he doesn't believe me.

"Yeah, Vex. You know, the prick warlock who is a serious pain in my arse."

"Yeah, I know who he is. I just find this little side gig a bit…"

"A bit what?"

"Not worth your time."

"Look, never mind that," I snap. "We need to find Bram and Poison." Closing my eyes, I focus on my magick. If he hasn't protected himself yet, I can track Bram's signature down to near enough his exact location, or last known location at any rate. I grab hold of Torin and blink us out of sight and into the middle of the forest. When I open my eyes, we are in a clearing in the middle of the forest.

It's eerily quiet as Torin and I scan the area. There's no sign of Bram or Poison, but the air stinks of residual dark fae magick and something else. Something fresh and tart, like freshly mowed grass, but more intense.

"Fuck," I mutter, running a hand through my hair. "Bram was definitely here."

Torin nods, his eyes narrowed as he takes in the scene. "But where is he now? "

My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I pull it out distractedly, "Yeah?"

"Where the fuck are you?" Bram snarls, sounding as mad as a viper ready to strike.

"You first, arsehole. Where the fuck are you?" I retort as Torin raises an eyebrow. There is no need to put it on speaker, he can hear the entire conversation anyway with his acute vampire hearing.

"Ready to abduct that little cunt and make her pay in ways her mind cannot even comprehend," he growls.

"Who?" I ask innocently. Torin rolls his eyes.

"Poison," Bram spits out her name like… poison.

"Where are you?" I ask again.

"Back at home. Where are you two?"

"In the middle of the forest where we tracked you. You had Poison in your grip?" I ask casually.

Bram appears in front of me in the next second, and I hang up the phone. "Yes, I had her tied to the tree and my dick inside her when she fucking attacked me!"

I raise an eyebrow at Bram's outburst.

"Attacked you?" Torin asks, puzzled. "How exactly did our little assassin manage that when you had her restrained?"

Bram's eyes flash dangerously. "The bitch turned into fucking poison ivy vines. Wrapped me up and burned the shit out of me before I could break free."

I blink in surprise. That's a new one. "She can do that? "

"Apparently," Bram snarls. "And when I get my hands on her again, I'm going to make her wish she'd never been born."

"Easy there, tiger," Torin drawls. "We can't kill her. Not yet, anyway. She's still useful."

I nod in agreement, though for very different reasons than Torin is implying. "We need to find her first. Any idea where she went?" I have to make sure she is okay.

Bram shakes his head, frustration is evident in every line of his body. "No. By the time I broke free of those fucking vines, she was long gone."

"Well, she can't have got far on foot," I murmur.

Torin nods. "Okay, but what do we do if we find her?"

"Throw her in the cellar and make sure she never sees the light of day again," Bram snarls.

"Okay, you are being ridiculous," I point out and receive a hiss from him that doesn't faze me in the least. "But we need to find her. This night isn't going to end well for us if she tells her bosses what happened to her. Let's split up. We can cover more area." And I can head to Ivy's and make sure she is okay.