Damaged: A Dark Bully Romance (The Primes Book 2), page 12
“What?” Leah exclaimed. Ally had her arms crossed and was looking everywhere but at Rome.
My voice shook in anger. “I thought we were in this together. This was important information . . .” Suddenly, I realized why they were being nice to Lauren. “That’s why Lauren is here, isn’t it?”
I heard Leah and Ally gasp in realization.
Christian and Klause glanced at each other. “Your lies placed Leah and Ally in danger, and you still didn’t think we had the right to know?”
“How could you, Rome? I trusted you. Everything Lauren did to me was because of what you did . . .” She hiccupped and couldn’t finish speaking. Then she ran back toward the building.
“I never thought you’d lie to me, Christian.” Disappointment filled my voice.
I shook my head and turned to chase after Ally. Leah grabbed my hand as a show of solidarity, but Klause said, “Lee. Please.”
“You promised, Klause.”
“But . . .”
“No. I can’t be around you right now.” We left the guys, who stared at us helplessly because they knew how badly they fucked up. We caught up with Ally and hid in her father’s office.
How could we take on the patriarchs if they did this shit behind our backs? Our enemies were cunning and ruthless, so we had to be better than them. If we couldn’t trust each other, we were doomed before we started. They would crush us and make us suffer; the ones who’d come out worse were Leah and Ally.
My phone rang, and I declined Tilly’s call. Mason rang. Noah. Then Luc. My phone started dinging from text messages when I didn’t answer. I looked up at the camera and flashed Tilly a look of how betrayed I felt before I pulled up the app that controlled the school camera and disabled it. I also pulled up the tracking device they had on Leah and me and dismantled that too.
“We need to leave now.”
Leah nodded in understanding. She knew we were being tracked closely. “Where can we go?” Neither of us wanted to be around them, but we knew they wouldn’t give us a choice.
“We can go to my house,” Ally offered.
“No. That’s the first place they’ll look.”
“We have a cabin an hour away. No one knows about it,” Ally suggested.
“That’s perfect. Leave your dad a note, and then everyone turn off their phones.”
We took Ally’s dad’s car and left him the keys to mine. The three of us were silent. Once in a while, someone would ask, “What were they thinking?” or “How could they keep this from us?” This continued until we reached an old, dilapidated gas station I was sure had no camera. While I filled up the car, Ally and Leah bought snacks.
The cabin was in the middle of nowhere, next to a lake. It was small and dusty but felt cozy, especially after Ally started the log fire.
We turned our cell phones off in case Tilly could do crazy tech shit with them.
“This place is gorgeous.” Leah sat on the ground in front of the fire.
“How long are we planning on staying here?” Ally asked.
“Are we allowed to be here?” I didn’t want to cause trouble for Ally.
“No. It’s fine. We can stay here as long as we need to. I’m just thinking about food and clothes.”
Leah chuckled. “I don’t think we have that much time. I’m sure our guys will do everything possible to find us.”
Ally made a face that had us laughing.
“That means we only have until sunrise or the end of the day tomorrow at the most.”
“Yeah,” Leah agreed.
“Seriously?” It was what I loved the most about Ally. Her innocence was refreshing. It was probably selfish of me to keep her in my life, but I needed her.
“I’m sorry I keep bringing trouble to your life, Ally.”
She shook her head in protest. “Don’t. I choose to be here.” She stared at the fire and added, “I felt alone before I met you two. Invisible. Now . . .”
“Your life is in danger.” I lay heavily on the couch.
“No. I mean, yes, but I don’t care. You two are like my sisters.” Leah scooted closer to Ally, and they shared a hug. “I consider you my family too.”
“Hey. Me three.” I joined them on the floor for a three-way hug.
Ally got up, surreptitiously wiping the stray tears from her eyes, and returned with drinks and snacks. “I claim the barbecue chips.” I stretched out my hand, and Ally gave me a soda and chips.
“This calls for something sweet. I claim the chocolate.” Leah dug inside the plastic bag while Ally tore off a beef jerky. “Are we going to talk about . . . Heather?”
“What’s there to talk about? If she was involved with what happened that night, the bitch deserved what she got. However, I don’t like being lied to.”
“You don’t know what Klause is capable of,” Leah said in a small voice.
“What don’t we know?” I didn’t want to pry into Klause’s secrets, but we might need to know if it was important.
She shook her head. “I promised never to divulge Klause’s past.”
“Lee. I am the first to acknowledge that growing up as an heir isn’t easy. I’m not asking for his secrets, but if it’s pertinent to this shit, then we need to know.”
She shook her head. “It’s not.” Tears shone in her eyes, her stare begging me to understand.
I reached for her arm and squeezed it in reassurance. “We don’t need to know.” I trusted Leah, so I added, “Every single one of us is capable of unspeakable things, especially if we are left with few choices.” Ally’s wide eyes bounced between Leah and me. This brought a smile to my face. She was my anchor, a constant reminder of good. I needed her to keep me grounded and remind me of what we were fighting for because otherwise, I was afraid I’d lose myself and become like the people we were fighting. “Well, except Ally. Let’s hope she remains innocent and pure.”
“Hey.”
We laughed, filling the room with a sense of normalcy. “What do you think happened to Heather?” Ally asked.
“Klause said she’s still alive. He wouldn’t lie about that.” Leah broke her candy bar into pieces without eating it.
“I have my suspicions.” I’d known about Christian’s dark soul, but still loved him. “However, that’s not what I’m upset about.”
“You mean . . . ?” Ally wouldn’t voice out what we all knew. She was too innocent for all of this.
“Yes, Ally. I hope you won’t run away from me screaming because this won’t be the worst thing we’ll be forced to do when we take on the patriarchs. I love you and am selfish enough to keep you in my life despite the danger, but we can’t win against powerful, sadistic men by playing by the rule book.” I feared that one of these days Ally would have enough and would no longer want to be my friend. Leah had a gentle heart, but just like me, her time with Arnoult Senior hardened her. I trusted she would do what was necessary to win this war.
Leah and Ally stayed quiet. Eventually, Ally said, “I don’t like it, but I understand, and I still love you.” Ally’s mouth twisted into a sad smile.
“I love you too.” I didn’t deserve her. She was too good for me, but I was grateful to have a friend like her. I knew Leah felt the same way.
“Why did they have to keep it a secret?” Leah dusted her pants and got up. I watched her silhouette as she gazed into the fire as if trying to find the answers to those questions.
“Your boyfriends scare me,” Ally said, making Leah and me chuckle. “However, I know they would do anything to protect you two. You should have seen them that night. I’d pity anyone standing in their way.”
Guilt nagged at my belly. Everyone was probably out of their minds right now. Ally was right; the guys were only trying to protect us.
Leah turned toward us, wearing a stubborn expression. “It still doesn’t change the fact that their lies brought danger to us.”
“Yeah. I can’t believe Rome didn’t tell me when I cried on his shoulder for days.”
“Yeah. It’s the lie that angers me,” I agreed.
“How are you and Rome . . . ?” I wasn’t sure how to ask without sounding unsupportive. I backed off Rome because I saw how much it angered him when Lauren was after Ally, but now that I found out that he lied to her as well, it solidified my first gut reaction that Ally was too good for him.
Ally shrugged. “I dunno. It’s nice. When you two were taken, he was there to help me get through the guilt.” Leah and I protested. However, Ally shook her head and continued. “It wasn’t my fault, but I still felt helpless and guilty. Anyway, Rome was there to help me through it. He was also distraught. Now I know why. It was because of Heather.” She hung her head. That look made me want to wring Rome’s neck. “Did you know he was in love with her?”
Leah, who was now sitting next to Ally, shook her head.
“He told me when we were sharing our grief. I thought he was concerned about you two or what Christian and Klause were going through, but now I know it was because of what they did to Heather.”
“Will you be okay?” I asked.
Ally nodded. “It wasn’t like Eri . . . I mean, it wasn’t like we were super serious. I knew his reputation so . . .” She shrugged. “It’s whatever.” Ally put on a brave face, but I could see the hurt behind her eyes. She had a big heart, and I knew this was hurting her.
“This all ties back to Arnoult Senior. He must have sent Lauren to dig around about Heather’s whereabouts, but I don’t understand why the guys allowed it to get out of hand without confiding in us.”
“Yeah. Especially after what she did to Ally,” Leah said.
“I don’t know.” I glanced at the clock, which read it was close to midnight. “It’s late. I don’t want to sleep in the room. Can we just make a nest in front of the fire?”
We grabbed all the blankets and laid them out when they agreed. We silently watched the flickering fire, lost in our thoughts. Only the chirping of the crickets could be heard from the still night.
“Is it weird that I’m obsessing over not brushing my teeth tonight?” Ally asked.
Leah and I laughed. “Now that you mention it,” Leah complained.
I continued to laugh, but sat up abruptly. “Do you guys hear that?” Sirens and the unmistakable sound of a chopper were approaching.
Leah groaned.
“What?” Ally asked.
“They found us.” I got up and pulled the curtain to the side. Flickering lights were speeding toward us.
“That was sooner than expected,” Leah said.
“Are you kidding? With your guys, I thought they’d find us a long time ago.” Ally put on her shoes and grabbed her jacket.
“Yeah. You’re right.” Christian wouldn’t rest until they found us. With Klause and him teaming up, we never had a chance.
When the chopper landed close to us, I started gathering our trash while Leah and Ally folded the blankets.
Soon, Cristian barged into the cabin, closely followed by Klause and Rome. His shoulders relaxed when his eyes zeroed in on me.
“Thank God you girls are okay.” Rome pulled Ally into an embrace.
“That was very reckless, Lee. What if Arnoult got a hold of you?” Leah crossed her arms and glared at Klause, stopping him from touching her.
Christian stood before me, wearing an unreadable expression. It was weird that he wasn’t touching me, but I also hadn’t forgotten his deception.
Edgar walked in, and when he was satisfied that Leah was safe, he nodded toward her and said, “I’ll wait outside.” As soon as he exited, Mason and Noah walked in, but before they could speak, I raised my hand. “I have nothing to say to any of you. The same goes for Luc and Tilly.”
Noah bowed his head. “I’ll wait outside.” However, Mason looked at me stubbornly. “Mase, please. Not now,” I begged, because I didn’t have the energy to row with him.
He nodded and followed Noah. Soon, we heard the helicopter take off, followed by several cars.
“Holy shit. Were those cops and military cars?” Ally hovered by the door.
“Are Mason and Noah still outside?” I asked, feeling guilty for having them stand out in the cold.
“Yes,” Ally responded.
“Fine. Let’s go home.” Leah marched outside, ignoring Klause. He followed her out with a sigh. Ally and Rome walked together, murmuring to each other. That left Christian and me alone in the cabin. He hadn’t moved, but he continued to stare at me. “Look. I’m unhappy with being kept in the dark, but this is not the place to talk, okay?” After staring at each other, he finally nodded and walked out the door. I found Noah hovering close to the threshold.
“Noah, can you please put out the fire and make sure the cabin is secured?”
“Sure. No need to wait for me. Mason will drive everyone back. I’ll take Ally's car.” I nodded and handed him the key.
When comfortably seated, Mason raised the divider, and we drove out. No one spoke for almost thirty minutes. Then Leah said, “You promised, Klause.”
“Promises are out the window when you’re in danger. I don’t regret it, and I won’t apologize for it.” The two glared at each other.
“Okay. I get taking Heather that night. But why keep her?” I asked no one in particular.
“We needed her for information. She was working closely with Arnoult. She knew what he was up to,” Rome responded.
“Why keep it from everyone?” Ally asked.
“Because Senior threatened all of you. We kept Heather for leverage, and just like Klause said, I’m not sorry because I’ll do anything to protect you,” Christian said stubbornly.
“Again. Why not tell us?”
“Because you and Leah were traumatized after what happened. We had a situation, and we handled it.” Klause reached for the bar and poured a glass of champagne.
“We’ve been fine for months. You had plenty of opportunities to tell us, starting when Lauren came into the picture.” Leah and Klause had a lot to talk about. I didn’t know exactly what was happening with them, but Leah was taking this harder than the rest of us.
“We were in contact with Arnoult Senior, and didn’t want you two to worry.” Christian sounded contrite, which was his way of apologizing. When he finally took my hand, I didn’t pull away because a part of me understood. I expected nothing less from Christian. What surprised me was the lie. I never thought he was capable because he was always unapologetic. He had a “take it or leave it attitude,” so the realization that he kept something this big from me hurt.
I squeezed his hand to convey I wasn’t angry. His response was to pull me into his lap. His tension melted away when he buried his face in my neck. We still needed to talk, but I saw how much I worried him by running away. It was a stupid move, especially after what happened that night, but I snapped and overreacted because a person could only take so much shit.
Klause lets out a sound of irritation. Leah responded with her own loud “tsk.”
With gritted teeth, Klause said, “Oh, you’re not the only one angry. You and I are going to talk about running away.” He crossed his arms and glared at Leah. “You broke your promise too.”
Leah gasped in disbelief.
This wasn’t new; they always argued. Loudly. Followed by loud fucking. After hearing them one evening, I asked Leah to move to the other wing, far from my bedroom.
When Mason passed the guards at the gate, Rome said, “I’ll drive you home, Ally.”
Ally nodded stiffly in agreement.
Luc and Tilly were waiting in the living room, but with a tilt of my chin, I ignored them and marched to my room, followed by Christian.
Christian engulfed me with his arms when the door shut and dropped his head on my shoulder. I now realized how insensitive it was to take off without telling them where we were going.
It took Christian a while to get over that night, and my taking off probably brought on those same feelings. “I’m sorry I worried you. I wasn’t thinking when I left.”
“Please don’t do that to me again. I can’t . . .” He shuddered against me and didn’t release his grip.
“I’m so sorry, Christian.”
For several months, he’d jerk awake in a panic and wouldn’t sleep unless I was flush against him. It was selfish of me to disappear instead of asking for space, so I held him tight until the shivers in his body died down.
Neither of us slept, I waited patiently until he was ready to talk.
To pass the time, I watched dawn approach.
“I was hurt that you kept all of this from me,” I said when sunlight poured through the cracks, lighting up the bedroom.
He sighed. “You were still recovering, and then Lauren came, and there was never a good time.” Yeah, it was one thing after another.
“Even though I understand your reasoning, I’m still hurt by the lie.”
He traced my cheek with the tip of his finger. “I don’t regret what we did because I will always prioritize your safety, even if you get mad at me. I can’t lose you, Iz.”
Yeah, I saw that now. I’d never admit it to him, but I liked that about him, and sometimes I wished I could be more like him.
“I only hope this didn’t break your trust in me.” Vulnerability stared at me.
I shook my head.
He reached for me, and we shared a tender kiss filled with promises. When we finally fell asleep, I did not doubt that Christian and I would fight until our last breath for the chance to stay together.
Chapter 9
Christian
Even though it was the weekend, I was awake at an ungodly hour. Despite going to bed very late last night, deep sleep evaded me. I kept having nightmares that Izzy was taken from me. Every few hours, I woke up to hold her tightly in my arms. Usually, that would have been enough to allow me some peaceful sleep, but not last night. It was because this time, Izzy was the one that ran away from me. She wasn’t taken.
I looked over at Iz, who was sleeping soundly. Although seeing her always brought inner peace, today there was this nagging sensation in the pit of my stomach. She left me before and my world shattered. She promised never to do it again, but she left last night.
