Chapter 9

“Jax?” Abby whispered.

“Hey, in here.” I peeked out of the small pool house, then stepped aside so she could enter. Glancing around to make sure no one had followed her, and satisfied no one had, I closed the door.

“What’s with the secret meeting?” she asked around a yawn.

“For starters, I wanted to ask how you’re doing.” I stood in front of the door, arms crossed. Despite needing a favor from her, I was concerned with the toll all of this was taking on her. Things hadn’t exactly been easy since we’d arrived home.

Her eyebrows shot up. “You did not force me to sneak out of the house in the middle of the night just to ask how I’m doing.” She mimicked my stance and crossed her arms.

“No, of course not. Just figured that was a good place to start this conversation.”

She sighed. “I’m okay, I guess. Lots of emotions fighting for my attention. I’m thrilled Isach’s home, but I’m also terrified of what could happen to him when Ivy finds out. I’m angry that we even have to deal with her when I thought she was somewhat of a friend.”

And that was exactly why I’d asked her how she was doing. Her aura danced from one color to another. She was scared and confused, and she had every right to feel that way.

I frowned. “This whole situation is so messed up.”

“Tell me about it.” She shifted on her feet. “I was a little surprised by how everyone treated Isach. They seemed so pissed at him for what he did. Maybe I was being stupid to think they’d be happy to see him.”

“They are happy. It was just a shock to them.”

She shrugged. “Are you going to tell me what this is all about?”

“I need your help.”

“My help?” Tone incredulous, she pointed at her chest. “How can I possibly help you?”

How did I explain without giving away too much information that I wasn’t ready to share? I paced the small space in front of the door.

“Could you please stop that? You’re making me dizzy,” she snapped.

I stopped and stared at her. A certain level of honesty—and a big dose of charm—was the best way to approach this. I’d simply leave out any mention of my feelings for Piper.

“I’ll be the first to admit I didn’t want to go to New Orleans with you, but I did it because Chloe asked me to.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Yeah, I know. We’ve already been through this, remember?”

Sighing, I raked my fingers through my hair. “I don’t regret going. As far as trips go, it was rather... exciting.” I flashed a grin. “I feel like you and I formed a rather strong friendship, don’t you?” I raised a brow, waiting for her to answer.

“Yes,” she said sincerely.

“Which is exactly why I’m coming to you with this instead of anyone else. I stood by you in New Orleans. Even when I thought you were nuts and being totally unreasonable, I supported you, and now I’m asking you to do the same for me.”

“Support you how?”

“I’ve managed to convince Piper that spying on Ivy is a bad idea, and tomorrow morning, we’re going to tell everyone she changed her mind. I need you to be on our side when we do.”

There—my plan was out in the open. I only hoped Abby felt a certain sense of loyalty to me, or even a sense of duty to repay me. Was that a crappy argument to use? Yup. But desperate times and all that. Now that I’d convinced Piper not to go through with this plan, I couldn’t let anyone else change her mind again.

She took a small step back. “If I take your side, I’ll be going against Isach. He suddenly seems to think Piper will be fine, but he won’t say why. I can’t shake the feeling he knows more about Piper than he’s sharing, but I have no idea what.”

I cursed under my breath. Yeah, I’d had that same sinking suspicion, too, and I hated it. What did Isach know that he wasn’t sharing? And how did I get him to start talking?

“Wait.” She tilted her head, studying me. “How did you convince her not to go through with this? She was pretty adamant.”

Shit. Abby was on to me. Of course she’d noticed a change in my behavior—we’d spent the past week together almost non-stop, and I hadn’t exactly been thrilled about involving Piper in this whole mess. Granted, Abby thought that was because I didn’t like Piper, so reason would dictate I wouldn’t have any issues with letting her throw herself into the fire.

“She’s smart and cunning. I reasoned with her,” I said. “So, can I count on you or not?”

I had no idea what I’d do if she said no. Piper and I would just have to face everyone else on our own tomorrow morning. I took a little comfort in knowing that none of my family would force her to go through with the plan, but I wasn’t as convinced that Piper wouldn’t change her mind again. Certain members of my family could be quite persuasive.

Abby exhaled heavily. “I already said I didn’t like this idea, and that hasn’t changed. But I think Piper should be able to make her own decisions, so if she says she no longer wants to do this, I’ll support her. And I know Chloe will, too.”

“Thank you.” My shoulders slumped with relief.

Abby was right about Chloe, and I didn’t know why I hadn’t come to the same realization. Too many people in Chloe’s life had tried to force her into doing things she didn’t want to do. She’d never do that to anyone else.

“Of course.” Abby smiled. “Is there anything else going on?”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know. You’ve seemed… different since Piper and Isach showed up at our hotel. One minute you want to kill her, and the next you’re defending her. I don’t get it.”

And there was the confirmation I hadn’t really needed—Abby knew something was up, and if she’d been able to figure it so easily then others would, too. How much longer could I hide the truth? Maybe I needed to have a hard conversation with Piper and ask where she stood on the whole soulmate thing. Until then, though, I’d continue to deflect as best I could.

“Oh, I still want to kill her, but I realize she’s of more use alive. So, guess that means I can’t let anyone else kill her.”

Abby shook her head. “I’ll support her in whatever she wants to do, but I do not support you killing her, so promise me you won’t?”

“Promise. Hey, do you still have those books about the Pendragon Coven and the palace?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Can I borrow them?”

She laughed. “You mean the books you called silly and baseless and nothing more than a bad version of a fairy tale.”

“Yeah, well—” I stiffened and cocked my head to the side, eyes narrowed.

In the distance, a twig snapped and leaves shuffled, and not in a natural way. The faint scent of human blood wafted toward me, and the smell was one I didn’t recognize. Someone was here. I snarled, fangs bared the slightest.

Abby’s pounding heart drowned out the sound of whoever was lurking around outside. Fear clung to her flesh, and her aura pumped with terror.

“What?” she asked.

“Someone’s here.”

And my first priority was getting Abby to safety. Then I’d hunt down whoever was here and kill them. I grabbed Abby’s hand and dragged her out of the pool house, my head on a swivel as I surveyed our surroundings.

Smartly, Abby followed closely behind and kept her mouth shut. My senses were twice as sharp, and I listened for anything out of the ordinary. The back porch loomed several feet away. If I used my speed, I could have Abby on the porch in a second flat. A blurry shadow caught my attention, followed by soft breathing.

If I escorted Abby to the porch, I’d lose the lurker, which meant he or she could—and probably would—return. Or I could leave Abby for the split second it would take for me to grab the person now trying to hide around the corner of the house. Hopefully, only one person was here. Besides, Abby was smart. She’d either run straight for the house or stay hidden.

I dropped her hand and vanished in a flash. Stopping at the corner of the house, I eased around to see who was there, but the spot was now empty. What the hell?

“Jax?” Abby half whispered, half shouted. “Jax!”

Turning to hiss at her to shut up, I was momentarily blinded by something that was an awful lot like a blackout curtain draped in front of my face, only there was nothing actually in front of me. My hearing kicked into overdrive, and I reached out toward the sound of featherlight footsteps. My hand connected with an arm, and a female voice yelped.

I whipped around, and a foot slammed into my thigh. I grunted. And then everything went silent, and my vision returned. Obviously, I was dealing with a witch, and that meant only one thing—Ivy was on to us. Fuck. I needed to get Abby inside and warn everyone.

Speeding back toward Abby, I reached her at the exact moment she opened her mouth to scream. I covered her mouth with my hand and held my finger to my lips. She nodded with understanding. When I was certain she wouldn’t make noise, I slowly removed my hand from her mouth. Abby sucked in a lungful of air.

I once again took hold of her hand and led her toward the steps. We’d barely made it a full step when a young woman appeared in front of us. I immediately recognized her. Heaven Leigh—one of my tormentors and one of Ivy’s most trusted witches. If I wasn’t so concerned with Abby’s safety, I’d kill Heaven Leigh right now, and I wouldn’t be merciful about it, either.

My fangs protruded even farther from my gums. I stopped abruptly and jerked Abby behind me. “What’re you doing here?” I asked with a lethal tone.

“I mean no harm.” Her voice was as soft and shy as I remembered.

Then again, I had nightmares about how misleading her voice was, how she could lull you into a false sense of security. For a while, Chloe had been convinced Heaven Leigh was our ticket out of captivity. I’d disagreed, and I’d been right.

“I need your help,” Heaven Leigh said.

Abby clutched my arm and peeked around me to get a look at who I was talking to.

I snorted. “And why would I want to help you, Heaven Leigh?”

Seconds of silence ticked by, and my muscles grew tenser as my unease tripled. Why wasn’t she answering me? Was she stalling? Was this all some sort of distraction so the rest of her coven could attack everyone inside the house? I didn’t hear anyone inside that shouldn’t be there. Still, we needed to warn them, before Ivy could blindside us. Again. Too bad for Heaven Leigh, I was a hell of a lot smarter—and deadlier—than she was.

“Abby,” I said, my tone a mask of calm so as not to terrify her any more than she already was. “Get inside. Now.”

She only hesitated for the span of a single heartbeat before she slipped around me and ran toward the back porch. When I heard the glass doors slide closed and I knew she was safely inside, I lunged at Heaven Leigh and grabbed her arm.

“Try anything and I will snap your neck before you can finish whatever spell you’re casting.” I jerked her around, so she was beside me. “Keep your hands where I can see them.”

Heaven Leigh kept her hands in front of her, and she didn’t struggle against my hold. “I’m not here to cause trouble. I told you, I need your help.”

I huffed. “Then you must be lost, because I can assure you, there’s no one here who can or will help you.” I dragged her toward the back porch and up the steps, and she willingly walked along with me. The fact that she wasn’t trying to break free only made me twice as wary. What was her end game here?

“If you’d just let me explain.”

Using my free hand, I grabbed a plastic deck chair. “Sit,” I ordered.

When she did, I positioned myself against the porch railing and crossed my arms. And then I watched her to make sure she didn’t try anything sneaky. Inside, I heard multiple voices. Abby had managed to wake everyone. Good.

“Look, Jax, I know you don’t trust me—”

“That’s an understatement.”

She sighed with frustration. “I’m sorry about my part in what happened to you and Chloe.”

I snarled. “It’s a little late for apologies, Heaven Leigh. You chose your side.”

“That’s what I’m trying to tell you.” She shifted in the chair to face me, and I straightened, muscles coiled tightly. “I’m here to help you with your Ivy problem.”

“We don’t have an Ivy problem,” I said coolly.

“And that’s exactly why you need me.” She slouched back. “You have a very large Ivy problem. You just don’t know it yet.”

The hairs on the back of my neck stood on edge. Thanks to Isach, I did know we had an Ivy problem, but now I had a sinking feeling the problem was a hell of a lot bigger than we realized.