Undone: The Complete Duology, page 24
As if reading my thoughts, she yanked back her hood with the gloved hand.
“Lexi,” I whispered.
“Indeed.”
I hadn’t seen her since we’d broken up three years ago. At the time, her confession she was ready to move on had ripped out my heart. Now, I could barely remember why it had mattered that much to me. It seemed the most natural course of events.
My feelings—or lack thereof—for Lexi were the least pertinent of issues.
“Why on God’s green Earth are you in Thorn Tree?” I choked over the terror building in my chest.
Lexi shouldn’t be here. No one should be. Gracie and I were trying to get out, dammit. How had my ex-fuckin-girlfriend ended up here? We hadn’t even spoken since the breakup. It hadn’t been particularly hostile; the relationship had just been over.
The sheer absurdity that this woman had appeared in Thorn Tree sent a deep shiver through me. They knew me. All of them—the sheriff, the mayor, the Reverend—had me pegged in a way I didn’t even understand.
What purpose did she serve them?
“Your dad sent me,” she said, and the explanation only dropped me further into the pit of confusion.
“My dad?”
Even as I asked, something resembling sanity bubbled to the surface. My father was from Thorn Tree, after all. He never really spoke of it, but he was Bobby’s father too. He was tied to this weird little cult of a town.
And he knew Lexi.
I still had so many questions, but the ache in my chest eased ever so slightly.
“Roberta told him that you’d come to find your brother. Your dad panicked, and she admitted that…”
“I wasn’t going to be able to leave.”
“Bingo.”
I scratched at my frozen scalp as my skin continued to tingle back to life in the warmth of the car interior.
“I don’t think I follow why you’re here though,” I said, then pressed my lips together to warm them.
“He sent me to tell you there’s a way out.”
I jolted in my seat and barely resisted grabbing her arm as she rolled us through town towards the hill. She didn’t dare test her little car against the ice and storm.
“There’s a way out? How? Where?”
With one hand, she released her hair from a clip and let it tumble around her shoulders in red beachy waves. “I don’t know. He says there’s a map.”
Once upon a time, Lexi had been my future. Now, she was again, but in an entirely different way.
I still had to wonder if I wasn’t passed out cold in the road, having some sort of end-of-life comatose dream.
“A map to what? I mean, none of the roads lead out of here, not unless the Reverend allows them to. Even the forests shift—how did you get in?”
“I drove.” She grinned, nodding towards the dash. “Do you like my new wheels?”
“Sorry, didn’t take a good look at the vehicle,” I said. “I thought you were going to kill us.”
She had so much explaining to do, but as much as I wanted to pelt her with questions, the only one that really mattered was how the fuck we were supposed to escape Thorn Tree.
“It’s not a road, I guess,” she said. “It’s an underground passage.”
There was a tunnel under Thorn Tree? That was much too easy.
“What’s the catch?”
She shrugged one shoulder.
“I have no idea what it means, Mac. I’m just the messenger. He said the only way out is through the tunnel, but to make it through the tunnel, you’ll have to, I guess, destroy the town.” She scowled in the glow of the headlights. “I thought he meant metaphorically, but he said he meant…literally. I guess there’s some weird shit happening around here.”
She shot me an imploring look.
“Yeah, that’s the understatement of a lifetime,” I said. “It’s going to sound like I’ve lost my fuckin’ mind but…this place is enchanted, or something. And not in a happy fairytale kind of way.”
“I’ve seen.”
A cold pang shot through me. She had been in town for a short amount of time—surely I would have seen the car sooner otherwise—but she had already been exposed to the dark underbelly of this place.
That meant something, even if I wasn’t sure what, yet. I couldn’t trust anything in Thorn Tree except Gracie. Not even people I wouldn’t suspect of stealing a break room lunch outside of this place.
Thorn Tree did wicked things to people.
I still couldn’t quite follow why she was here. My dad had sent her to save us—but how did that all come together?
“Why’s there a map though?” I asked, though more to myself than her.
I couldn’t expect her to have all the answers, even though she should since she had positioned herself in the line of fire.
Maybe she had not realized this was a warzone.
Had my father not adequately warned her? Did he not know the sharp turn life had taken since I’d arrived here?
I grit my teeth, resisting the urge to slam my fist into the pristine dash. I hated this town. Hated how confusing and twisted everything was, and how much worse it became by the second.
“He left it here.”
“What?”
“For Bobby.”
I leaned back in the seat with a slow exhale as I let that revelation sink in.
“My father intended for Bobby to escape?”
The hill loomed up before us, and I peered up at the church, my heart picking up its pace.
“Lexi, where are we going?”
“Some guy named Luke Hemming. They said I could stay at his place.”
Interesting. So they were purposely keeping her away from Honey and Hive, where I boarded as a guest.
Something sinister was afoot. Not like that came as a surprise anymore. I just couldn’t figure out what they were up to this time.
How did Lexi fit into their plan?
She pulled up to the edge of the property but did not kill the engine or lights.
She turned to me. “Your dad said when he left Thorn Tree, Bobby was just a few months old. His mother would not let him take their son. So, he hid a map with the way out—just in case.”
“Just in case what?”
“If Bobby wanted to leave for good, your dad had set the plan into motion. But it was going…it was going to take a lot.”
Lexi didn’t understand the situation enough to realize the extent of what she was saying, but I did: my brother had always been meant to lead the revolution, not Gracie.
But he had fled. Somehow, he had been permitted to leave the town. At the time, I had known that Thorn Tree kept its own, but I hadn’t realized the significance of his arrival in New York. Either Ms. Roberta was a goddamned miracle worker, or something had happened that no one had let on.
I was leaning toward the latter. Even our own father had not anticipated my brother being able to leave without fighting his way out.
Somehow, my path had circled right back to where I had started: to leave Thorn Tree, I needed to find my brother.
Thorn Tree was but a speck on the map, though. I had traversed this town countless times since my arrival. How could I have missed him, if he was still here? If he was still alive?
Sheriff Ditka didn’t seem to think the probability of that was high. The more I considered the situation, the more I had to agree, as much as the notion made me lightheaded and nauseated. Perhaps my brother had been a beacon in a cold dark universe leading me here not to help him, but to save Gracie.
Did she need me to save her? The answer to that had become more convoluted than my brain had the bandwidth to handle right now.
“So, do you have the map?” I asked Lexi, trying to stay on course.
My mind was spinning a million miles an hour, and I couldn’t get off the ride.
“Not yet. Your father left the map in Thorn Tree because he wasn’t sure he would ever see Bobby again to give it to him. If he left it here, he only had to get word to him.” She drummed her fingers on the steering wheel before looking at me. “He said the most faithful can do business outside of town, but that could change any minute. He was never surprised how much power Roberta wielded in this town, but he also said it was a tentative thing. His son’s freedom was on the line.”
“I haven’t found him.” The words slipped from me in a whisper, like a prayer that no one would answer.
Lexi placed her hand on my thigh, a comforting gesture that felt surreal in this current situation. “I spoke to Roberta.”
I wasn’t sure where she was going with this.
“She said you got wrapped up in some unsavory person here.”
I laughed despite myself. The sharks just continued to circle.
I had no idea how to even begin explaining to Lexi the depths in which she had fallen.
“Where’s this map hidden?” I asked.
“The headmaster’s house, at the end of Rosewood Lane,” she said, as if reciting directions.
She was—ones from my father.
I shook my head. “Let’s get inside before the storm buries the car.”
She reached behind her into the backseat and grabbed a small bag. “I guess Luke’s wife didn’t want visitors in the house. I’m staying in the barn.”
She pushed open the door, and cold air pummeled through, drowning out the heat. I scrambled out of the car and hurried with her over the snow and ice towards the barn looming in the distance beyond the farmhouse. Snow dumped onto my head and shoulders, and I hunched against the freezing wind as we made our way. At the barn, she cracked open the door and slipped in. I caught the door and followed.
Inside was dark. She flipped on a large camping light that sat upright next to a sleeping bag and blankets sprawled out over a layer of hay. Only one stall was occupied, a black mare that barely paid any attention to our intrusion.
“Quite the setup you got going on here,” I said, rubbing my hands together until I could feel my fingers again.
A camping chair sat to one side, and along the wall rested a stack of bags and luggage.
She sat on the sleeping bag.
“It was good enough for Jesus,” she said.
“I don’t think Jesus had a tablet.” I pointed to the one charging on a battery pack next to her.
She laughed, tugging off her gloves. “Well, like Jesus, I also have this.”
She reached into a bag set against the wall and produced a bottle of red wine.
I made a face as I dropped into the camping chair. “I bet you have something better in there.”
A grin lit up her face flushed from the cold. “It’s like you know me, Mac.”
With a flourish, she produced a bottle of rum.
“Thatta girl.” I accepted the bottle from her and uncapped it. “No heater?”
“I rather not start a fire.”
“Fair enough.” I opened my mouth to tell her about the church and its particular brand of fire resistance but thought better of it and took a hefty swing of the rum instead. The alcohol burned a path straight down my throat, and fire welled in my stomach.
“You can have the sleeping bag,” she said, as if just realizing she had claimed the warmest seat in the house.
Lexi was always thoughtful like that. I once believed that was enough. In a way, she had done us a favor by demanding ‘more’ from a relationship and ending ours. I would have never considered such an option existed.
Gracie was that more for me. She lit up my soul.
Even if we did occasionally rob a grave.
I startled from my thoughts as Lexi stood beside me, blanket in hand. She draped the blanket over my lap. I smiled up at her as I pulled the blanket up over my arms and slouched down in the chair, reveling in the warmth.
She plucked the rum bottle from my grasp, her hair swinging to the side of her head, and then chugged back a few gulps.
Lexi had never been a delicate drinker.
She grinned at me, wiping her bottom lip with her thumb, then handed me back the bottle. I darted one hand from under the blanket and took another swig.
“Why were you at the mayor’s house?” I asked.
The alcohol seemed to have loosened more questions from my brain.
Exasperation—and exhaustion—dropped over her features. She lowered to the hay at my side, resting on her knees.
“I have to check in,” she said in barely more than a whisper. I could smell the alcohol on her. I could also smell the fear. “Your father warned me that once I arrived, I would work for Thorn Tree. They wasted no time making sure I understood my place.”
Sadness trickled through me. Lexi didn’t deserve this. She was another prey.
Why had my father justified sending her into the trap? To save Bobby. To save me. He’d always been a good dad. Maybe in this case, too good of a dad.
Or perhaps he was confident that the map would free us all.
I decided to hold onto that belief, even if I still did not understand how the map could actually help.
“So, you’ve just been running around doing their bidding?” I asked.
Sounded about right for how Thorn Tree operated. I could only imagine how they had made their point clear to her. Lexi would not have the fortitude to push back and in this case, that might be for the best. She might live long enough to escape.
She nodded slowly. “Mac, that girl…”
“Gracie.”
“Yes, Gracie. They think…they believe she killed your brother.”
“Not a chance.” I rolled my head back to gaze up at the ceiling. “It’s this whole thing here.”
Lexi rested a hand on my lap over the blanket.
“I know you love her—and I know how you love, Mac.” She gave a soft smile. “We need to consider all possibilities, though. They told me to search her house, so I did. I didn’t find anything, but…I’m not convinced they are wrong.”
I leveled my gaze at her. “You’re stepping over a really serious line, Lexi.”
She pressed her lips together as if sealing in a rebuttal, but I could see it in her eyes.
“Don’t.”
“Mac, it’s just—”
I shot forward, knocking her hand off my lap. “Why the fuck are you even here?”
The question went two ways: why had Thorn Tree let her in, and why had she agreed to come?
The lines of her neck tightened. “Your father said you were in trouble.”
“But why are you here?” I pointed a finger in her face.
She leaned back, but her expression remained serene. She’d always had that sort of angelic charm about her.
“I was worried about you,” she said, brushing my hand away. She didn’t let go, but loosely entwined my fingers with hers. “I’ve had a lot of time to think.”
Dread sank to my stomach, and I stared, dumbfounded, at our linked fingers.
“I want to give us another chance. We can do better this time.” She stroked her thumb over mine. “Your dad said you would be open to it. I couldn’t…I couldn’t leave you here, Mac. Not when he told me how dangerous this town is. It’s like a cult, he said, but worse. I had to come save you before it was too late.”
Lexi meant every single word she spoke. She always did. It was another reason I had loved her, once upon a time.
I took a deep breath and prepared my words carefully as I leaned towards her. “Lexi, I’m so grateful you came. This was a dangerous mission, and I’m scared for you being here.”
“But, Mac, we can—”
I held up my other hand, not yet retreating from her grasp. “Lexi, I love Gracie. I truly love her.”
Rage flared on Lexi’s face as she jerked her hand from mine. She leapt to her feet. “That little fuckin’ murderer? You love the woman who killed your brother? Are you insane, Mac? She’s a rabid, feral, out of control monster! Ask anyone in this town—anyone! Even your dad was afraid after Roberta told him that you’d gotten wrapped up with her.”
“My dad doesn’t know Gracie,” I said. “She would have been a baby when he left.”
Lexi pointed her finger at me. “He knows enough. Roberta tells him everything. Did you fuck her, Mac? Did you fuck Gracie?”
I tensed in the chair, but despite her ire, Lexi was harmless.
I’d wondered why Lexi had agreed to come to Thorn Tree, and why they had let her. As it turned out, those two questions were opposite sides of the same coin.
Lexi was still in love with me. Of course she would valiantly come to save me. That was Lexi: family first, other’s comfort above her own. She was a good person.
But Lexi loved me and that made her the greatest tool in Thorn Tree’s arsenal to push Gracie Miller to break. Lexi would be easy to convert, and trapped in Thorn Tree, she would be relentless in her pursuit of reconciling with me. After all, she had inadvertently given up her freedom to be with me. She would become one of them with the slightest effort.
Now, Gracie Miller didn’t just have pressure; she had competition.
And while I knew in my very soul that Gracie had not killed my brother, I had seen what she’d done to Amelia Young. She would not tolerate Lexi.
For the first time, I feared what Gracie might do.
6
MAC
Lexi glared at me, her accusation hanging between us. Guilt rolled through my chest—except I hadn’t done anything wrong. Lexi and I had been broken up for ages. She’d given me no consideration when I’d attempted to win her back and as shattered relationships always went, I’d eventually accepted our fate and moved on.
The fact she stood before me, eyes blazing with indignation, spoke less to our past and more about how deeply Thorn Tree had already sunk their teeth into her. They wouldn’t be letting go of her any easier than they would me.
How strange all this effort just to corral Gracie into an apology she contended not to owe anyone.
What had happened that was worth this war?
“This isn’t how we should do this,” I said, noncommittal.
The Reverend had created fire in his hand. Was it possible he could perform other feats of magic?
Whether or not he could, he had influenced Lexi in some way. This was not how she acted outside of Thorn Tree, and I was not about to do battle with her over a reality that did not exist.
