Page 62

Ivy

The key was right there, shining like it was coated in gold. But I didn't want to touch it at first, the idea was foreign. I had grown used to the ornate jewelry that clung to my skin; it was safety in a sick comforting way.

There was help in that lock and chain, an escape that I couldn't explain. The chain kept me here, but it also kept me protected from the one man I despised with every inch of my body.

Dragging my finger over the edge, it felt cold and hot to the touch. I wanted to pick up, I really did . . .

But what will I do once this weight is gone?

Do I take off and risk getting lost?

Do I run and risk getting caught?

Dante said he'd understand if I ran, he told me which way to go. But I couldn't bring myself to physically lift the key to free myself.

Stroking the shiny metal, my chest tightened with worry. If I unlocked the chain, and escaped from these walls, where would I go?

Remo would find me, he'd kill me, then he'd kill my family anyway. And if he didn't find me first, Bane would.

My fate still ended with me getting buried six feet under.

But not with Dante, he kept me whole.

Taking a deep breath, I curled my fingertips over the end, letting the small object sizzle in my palm. This was what I wanted, it was what I had begged him for.

And now that it was sitting so delicately in my hand, I had no idea what to do with it. Twisting it in the light from the window, it cast glowing beams against the plain walls, dancing anticipated freedom in quick bursts of bright flashes.

Trust.

Trust.

I needed to trust Dante was telling me the truth, that he didn't want me to die, that he was going to do anything to keep me alive.

He left the key hoping he could trust I wouldn't flee, that I would still be here when he got back.

And that's what I decided I would do.

I'd stay because I was safer in here than out there.

I'd stay because I wanted to.

This was my choice.

Bending my ankle into my thigh, I turned the lock until its cavern was sitting on top. The opening was thin, its mouth begging for me to give it a meal. The meal that would forever end its hunger, a key to make it whole.

Pushing the end into the opening, I twisted until I heard the soft metallic clank. The curved rim popped, and a sharp pain ignited in my chest. My ribs were tight, eyes darting around waiting for someone to jump from some hidden corner to punish me for actually doing it.

But no one came.

Letting the chain slip off my ankle, there was still an imaginary imprint of it on my skin. I could still feel it there, holding me in place. I didn't leap off the bed in joy or flop to the floor and cry in happiness.

No, none of those emotions came.

I was still sitting in fear and uncertainty. I wasn't free in the true sense of the word, I was still bound to the hand of Remo, bound to the gun of Bane.

Death had stared me in the face, taunting me in a game of peek-a-boo, and I couldn't ignore it. Until I knew that none of these men were standing outside the door, waiting for me to surface just to finish me off, I couldn't be happy.

Rubbing the dents on my ankle, I listened for any sounds downstairs. Reality was a hard thing to find in my situation.