by Lily White
It all looks perfectly real and legitimate. I’m not surprised, though. With Taylor in that group, those assholes can pull off just about anything.
“Your dad is bound to understand, Ivy. Just as soon as you tell him what happened, I’m sure he’ll fix this for you.”
Emily is trying to calm me down and assure me that everything will be all right, but I don’t believe her. I know my dad. It won’t matter if the photos are fake. Just the thought of a public connection between him and any of the Inferno members is too much for him to handle.
This is another scandal that will be thrown in his face as Governor of the state, and he’ll hold my feet to the fire for letting it happen.
This is especially bad after everything I did in high school, all of it connected in some way or another to Gabriel Dane.
My father knows it.
I know it.
And he won’t stand for it.
Fuck...
“Honey, seriously. It’ll be fine. I’ll go in his house with you. I’m sure once you explain that Gabriel is pulling another fucked-up stunt like he always does, your dad will see that you are innocent in this and had nothing to do with it. Wasn’t Scott with you the entire time you were in California? He can tell your dad that you were alone.”
She has a point. Scott most likely returned to the mansion to be an alternate driver for my mom or dad. He would know that Gabriel wasn’t with me.
I’m just not sure it will matter. The articles are out. The connection has been made. And that’s all that will matter to my father.
Dread rolls through me hard as we race down the streets, a crack of lightning shooting across the sky just before the clouds open up and release their rain.
Emily has to slow down so we don’t slide across the pavement and wreck the car, the extra time it adds to our commute driving me insane.
I stare out at the sheets of rain and want to cry. For this situation mostly, but also for the memories the rain always causes.
Even while I was away at college and a hundred miles separated Gabriel and me, the storms always brought him closer, the lightning striking down always planting him right next to me.
He hurts my heart, even when he’s nowhere near me. He twists my soul when he draws close. It’s the reason I fight so hard against him. I’m not only trying to remove him from my life, I’m attempting to erase his name from the places he’d carved it into my bones.
I get why he hides. And I understand why he’s such as conniving jerk. But why I seem to be the only target he wants to destroy is a question I can’t answer.
People piss him off all the time. The Inferno is known for their bullshit. But when it comes to Gabriel and me, the war is on an entirely new level, and I don’t think I’ve done anything to deserve it.
Not to this extreme, at least.
Emily comes to a screeching stop at the gate to my father’s mansion. The security guard gives us a quick glance before hitting the button to let us in. The gates slide open slowly, and Emily almost clips one with the car in her bid to get to the house faster.
She’s always been like this. In my corner. Our problems and victories are shared because we’ve always stuck up for one another.
Ava used to be in that mix as well, but since her relationship with Mason, she hasn’t been as close as she used to be.
Pulling up to the front porch, Emily throws the car in park, and we both jump out to run through the rain and up the steps, our clothes and hair fully soaked by the time the butler opens the door.
“Miss Callahan and Miss Donahue,” he says with censure in his tone. “Can I get you a towel before you leave puddles all over the floors?”
“That would be great, Harrison. Thank you.”
He nods his head as we stand drip-drying over the foyer rug, both of us shivering from the cold.
Emily’s hair is plastered to her back, and my dress is stuck to my legs, but I can’t worry that we both look like a mess when my entire life is the biggest mess at the moment.
Harrison returns with two large towels. Wrapping myself in one of them, I ask, “Is my dad upstairs?”
“He is,” Harrison nods. “You’ll find him in his office. Although, just in fair warning, he’s in a mood. It seems he has a bit of drama to deal with at the moment.”
Cocking his brow, he makes it clear that drama has my name written all over it.
Exhaling on a heavy sigh, I fight the urge to cower like a child being scolded by the staff. I’m twenty-seven years old, damn it. The days of nannies and other handlers are long past.
“I didn’t do anything,” I say.
“That’s what you said when you were younger, as I recall.”
I want to slap the smirk off the bastard’s face.
Harrison is a good guy. And he’s been with my family for as long as I can remember. But I get the sneaking suspicion that he enjoys the drama just a little too much.
I guess I’ve always kept things interesting for him.
Emily finishes drying her hair, and we hand the soaked towels back to Harrison before hauling ass upstairs to face my dad.
Bracing myself as I approach the double doors to his office, I cringe to hear the clipped tone of his voice. Judging by the conversation, he has other problems besides me, but I’m sure I haven’t made things easier for him.
Emily and I look at each other, her expression grim as I lift my hand to knock on the door and flinch when my father barks for me to walk in.
“Take a deep breath,” she whispers. “We can do this.”
Sadly, I don’t believe her, but the effort to believe it will all turn out okay is admirable on her part.
My hand lands on the handle to the door, and I shove it down to let the wood swing open. The second my dad’s eyes land on my face, the tension in the room explodes out so that I’m crushed beneath it.
This is not going to go well.
I already know it.
“Let me call you back, Stewart. I just had another problematic situation walk into my office.”
He slams the phone down onto the cradle and crosses his arms over his broad chest as Emily and I practically crawl into the room like children begging for mercy.
“I didn’t do anything wrong this time, Dad. I promise. I wasn’t anywhere near Gabriel Dane, and he set the entire thing up to cause problems.”
“Is that so?” he asks, his voice far too calm to be comforting.
“Well, he did a damn good job of it considering I’ve been on the phone for the entire day explaining to my colleagues that my daughter is no longer welcome in my house since she can’t keep her fucking legs closed.”
My jaw drops at his words.
Emily steps closer to me and wraps an arm around my back. She might need to keep it there because I’m not sure my legs will hold me upright given how bad they’re shaking.
Rounding his desk, Dad leans against the front. His suit jacket is missing and the top buttons of his white dress shirt are undone. As usual, his hair is styled back, the peppering of grey obvious in the dark brown color.
I inherited my blond hair from my mother. My blue eyes as well. She must have cloned me rather than half my DNA coming from this man. I look nothing like him.
“If you’ve had nothing to do with Gabriel, then explain to me why I saw you talking to him at Emily’s engagement party.”
Swallowing the knot of fear in my throat, I try and fail to steady my voice.
“He approached me. I was just trying to be polite. How would it look if I caused a scene in front of everybody by running from him?”
Truthfully, I’d wanted to run. There was just the pesky problem of the price I owe Tanner. Not that I’ll tell my dad that. He’d lose his shit. Probably kill me right here and now and bury me in the garden out back.
Dad smiles at that, but the look isn’t friendly. It’s the attorney look he gets. The one that tells me he’s cornered me easily.
“Is that so?”
Fuck. He has hi
s attorney voice, too.
I’m screwed.
“Then why were you out on a date with him a week later? Was that just you being polite, or is there something else you’d like to explain to me?”
Not good. I have no explanation for that beyond the truth that I was trying to get out of another fuck-up, namely owing Tanner anything.
Plus, it was fun screwing with Gabriel. I can’t help myself with him, though. He has the annoying ability of being able to pull me into the game with the crook of his deceitful finger.
The war we have is a drug, and I’ve always been an addict. It’s caused an insane number of problems, but I just can’t stop.
All of my problems, every single one, has Gabriel’s name plastered all over them.
It’s one of the reasons my dad is so mad right now. He knows what I’ve done in the past because he’s the one who had to fix it. And I have no explanation for why I went out with Gabriel that night when he’s the person my dad has expressly forbidden me from talking to ever again.
“You have no explanation,” he says while I stand there staring at him with my jaw slack.
“Which is what I thought. And why I’ve decided that you’re now cut off from everything I’ve given you. I take part of the blame for this, Ivy, because I’ve coddled you your entire life. Fixed all your problems, and never forced you to fix them yourself so you’ll stop doing the stupid things you do to cause them. Regardless of whether the engagement is real or not, you are responsible for opening a door for Gabriel to do something like this again. You know better with him. He’s always been a monster. So, now that you’ve allowed this to happen, you can do what it takes to fix it. On your own. And without my finances to help you.”
I’m about to die right here in front of him.
About to wither beneath the murderous glare in his eyes.
Not because I’m cut off. I’ve always wanted to take care of myself. This might give me the opportunity to prove that I can. But it’s painful because I’ve hurt him again.
I love my parents. Despite how screwed up they are in their own lives, I never wanted to disappoint them. And this last issue has driven a spike into a relationship I’ve been fighting to rebuild.
“Scott can clear this up. He was with me the entire time in California-“
“Scott is the person who told me about your date,” he yells, cutting me off. “And that was right before he quit his job because he’s tired of chasing after you.”
What?
My jaw drops at that.
Scott and I were always on good terms.
“I suggest you and Emily walk out of here right now and decide how you plan to smooth all of this over. I have nothing more to say to you.”
With any other person I would plant my feet in place and keep arguing. But it’s no use with Dad. Once he’s made a decision, there’s no talking him out of it.
I have to fix this.
On my own and without his help.
Emily and I turn to leave, but my dad calls out to stop us.
“Emily, actually, I have something to say to you as well.”
The knot of fear crawls back into my throat as we both spin back to look at him. His eyes lock on her, disapproval obvious in his face.
“You are an engaged woman. While I don’t necessarily agree with the decision your parents have made for you, I still feel you should honor that engagement, at least when it comes to public appearance. And if you think nobody noticed you sneaking out of my house with your hair a mess and your clothes out of place, you’re wrong. We also noticed the twins coming out after you. And no woman should be caught having anything to do with Ezra and Damon Cross. They are loose cannons. My advice is for you to stop having anything to do with them. You have no idea what any of those men are up to.”
I want to argue on her behalf. Mason Strom isn’t much better than any of the Inferno boys, yet she’s being married off to him like some kind of object that can be bartered. But I keep my mouth shut because it would only make this worse for her.
Emily must feel the same because she answers him as demurely as possible.
“Yes, Mr. Callahan.”
He nods his head once.
“You both are excused.” His eyes slide to lock on me. “Fix this problem, Ivy. This is the last chance I’m giving you.”
Nodding my head, I turn back to the door and rush out, my arm clasped with Emily’s. Neither of us say a word as we run downstairs and out of the house, both of us beaten down.
After climbing back into the car and driving away from the house, we settle against our seats as we pull into traffic.
“What are you going to do?” she finally asks me, her voice soft.
“I have no idea.”
My thoughts are racing at this point with no clear direction of what I should do next or where I should be heading.
All I know is that I have to beat Gabriel at his own game. And knowing him and the power he holds, this battle will not be easy.
Ivy
Emily takes me back to her house since I no longer have one, the car rolling to a stop near the children’s wing of the mansion, both of us too exhausted to push open our doors and immediately get out.
Beside us, her younger brother’s car is parked crooked, the front end mangled so bad that a headlight hangs out. Swinging softly in the breeze of an approaching storm, it dangles on thin wires, drawing my attention.
“It didn’t take Dylan much time to wreck his new car, I see. I bet your parents are pissed.”
Light rain continues to fall on the windshield, and when Emily turns to me, it drips over her skin as a moving shadow.
“They spent almost ninety thousand dollars on that car, and he wrecked it within five weeks. He’s the baby of the family, so as usual, my parents haven’t done anything about it. They would have slaughtered me, but Dylan didn’t get so much as a slap on the wrist. If we run into him in the common areas, just ignore him. He’s been a complete ass lately. He keeps pushing Ezra and Damon’s buttons every time they come over like he would stand a chance against either of them.”
My brows tug together at that. “Why don’t you just go to their place to stay away from Dylan?”
Her expression falls. “It’s complicated. Things haven’t been all fun and games lately, and they always fight with each other. To avoid it, I invite them over here, but only one at a time.”
I can’t decide if she’s brave or stupid. The twins were always a little aggressive in high school, but things got a lot worse in our senior year. They both scare the hell out of me. Emily seems equipped to handle them, though.
At least, she was until recently.
Every time I bring them up, her mood sours.
“Guess we should go in,” she says, her eyes glancing my direction. “And get you some dry clothes. Are you allowed to go to your house and get your stuff?”
Damn it…
As soon as she mentions it, I remember that I left all my bags in the trunk of Gabriel’s car. Normally, I’d just say screw it and buy new stuff. Unfortunately, that’s impossible with all my credit cards cut off.
Knowing I can’t last like this, I wonder how easy it will be to find a job. There are a lot of things I can do with my degree. I just need to figure out what field I want to go into.
“I have no idea. My dad might think that’s me taking advantage of what he’s given me. Most of my stuff is already packed, though. The only problem is that Gabriel has it.”
She blinks in my direction, her shoulders shaking on a laugh. I glare at her for thinking any of this is funny.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t laugh at you. It’s just that this keeps getting worse and worse, and it’s like watching a damn soap opera. He really fucked you up good this time.”
Shooting her another warning glare, I shake my head.
“I’m so glad I can entertain you.”
“Oh, honey. The two of you have been entertaining all of us for years. I can’t believe it’s sti
ll going on. Why did you get involved with him again? I warned you at the party.”
She still doesn’t know about the favor Tanner did for me, the reason I had to ask for it in the first place, or the price he’s making me pay for having fixed my mistake all those years ago. Regardless of how much I want to tell her the truth, I keep my mouth shut.
“I was just being stupid, I guess. Silly me for thinking Gabriel can change.”
She straightens her posture and runs her hands through her frizzy, tangled hair. The rain has left both of us looking like a hot mess.
“He changed. But not in a good way. If you ask me, he’s worse.”
Maybe.
Maybe not.
He was pretty damn bad when he was younger, too.
“Let’s go inside and get out of these wet clothes.”
Nodding at that, she shoves her door open while I open mine, both of us trudging along toward the house with a heavy weight on our shoulders.
Obviously, mine is this situation with Gabriel, but I suspect hers has everything to do with whatever is going on with the twins. Once we’re in warm clothes and better moods, I’ll be sure to interrogate her more about what’s happening.
As soon as we step inside the house, we wave our hands in front of our faces to dispel the thick cloud of pot smoke that fills the halls.
Emily growls and marches directly to the rec room, her eyes arrowing directly at her brother where he sits with five other kids from his high school. All six of them are still in uniform, each one with bloodshot eyes and bad attitudes.
I laugh, only because it reminds me of the parties we used to throw at his age.
“What the fuck, Dylan? Can’t you all go somewhere else for this bullshit?”
Practically having to yell to be heard over the heavy thump of rap music, Emily stalks forward to turn off the stereo, knocking one of their beers over in the process.
“Foul!” one of the guys calls out, their combined laughter only pissing Emily off more.
Her brother was an unexpected child, one of the late in life mistakes that happen. Emily was ten when he was born, which isn’t too much of a stretch, but her parents had never intended to have more than one child.
Dylan lounges back on the couch, his head on an armrest and his eyes closed.