Vain (The Seven Deadly, #1)(68)

“I’m here for a chat,” she said, weirding me out.

“This couldn’t wait?” I asked, gesturing toward the room.

“No,” she said, exiting the door and settling herself casually across my bed.

I thanked God I had the sense to lay out my pajamas before I’d showered. I gathered them and went back into the bathroom to dress.

When I came back out, Abri was still there, proving it wasn’t a bad dream. I awkwardly rested against the guest wardrobe and towel dried my hair.

“I talked to Pembrook, my father’s lawyer, and he let me know your family could have any day this month on Ribbon Caye.” I thought this would help the clumsy silence that lay between us but it didn’t. “Dinner was nice,” I added, so desperate at that point I was reaching.

“When do you leave back to America?” she asked, stunning me.

“Excuse me?” I asked, confused.

“When do you return? To America? When is your sentence over?”

I was taken off guard. “Um, January thirtieth, a month after Christmas. I leave February first.”

“Another six weeks then,” she said, studying her feet briefly before making eye contact again.

“Yes,” I said, drawing out the word.

Without another word, she left the room, shutting the door behind her.

“What was that?” I asked no one.

I stood there, waiting, for something but Abri never returned.

I settled into my covers and laid my head down before getting up and locking the door.



I woke to Ian yelling in Afrikaans.

“Fine! Miskien sal ek kom nie terug ooit weer hier!” Fine! Maybe I won’t be coming back here ever again!

“Sê nie dat,” Henrik pleaded. Don’t say that.

“Ek is jammer, pa, maar sy is buite onredelik!” I’m sorry, dad, but she’s beyond unreasonable!

Loud footsteps resounded through the living.

“Simon?” Ian said. There was no response. His cell phone. “Can you come pick up Sophie and I in half an hour? Yes. Thanks, bro.”

The footsteps inched nearer my door. I threw off my covers and ran to open it.

On the other side, Ian was in mid-knock and out of breath from frustration.

“You okay?” I asked.

“Can you be ready to leave in half an hour?”

“Of course,” I said.

He came into the room and sat at the edge of the bed, in the exact same spot his mother did earlier that morning. I decided that information would only anger him more and I would keep it to myself. I knew Abri had pissed him off, I just didn’t know why.

I opened the wardrobe up and removed my bag, settling it on the bed. I set aside what I wanted to wear on the plane ride that evening and put the rest inside. I was packed in less than five minutes. Ian laid across the bed next to my case not saying a word and buried his head in my pillow.

I brushed my teeth, dressed and put on my makeup before plaiting my hair in a messy fishtail, laying it across my shoulder. I came out, put the traveling stragglers back in the case and zipped it shut.

“This pillow smells like you,” Ian said absentmindedly.

He flipped over, tucking a hand behind his head, straining his shirt against the muscles in his bicep.

“You all right?” I asked him again.

“I will be,” he said when I crawled next to him, my head laying on his shoulder. He brought his arm around and held me close. “I called Charles back this morning,” he continued.

“Oh yeah?” I asked. “What did he need?”

“They’ve confirmed the presence of Resistance soldiers at the swimming hole and this time it seems a bit more dangerous.”

My heart thundered in my chest. “What do you mean?”

“They found several bullets left by accident near their footprints.”

“What do we do?”

“Get home.”

My hand followed a messy trail of bedspread and met his fingers. They inched their way up my palm until they met my forearm and held there, his thumb rubbing the skin there back and forth, back and forth.

“I’m torn between wanting to keep you here with Simon and taking you with me so I can protect you.”

I shook my head at him.

“If you think for one second that I’m going to abandon you or Masego now, when they need as much help as possible, you are out of your mind,” I told him.

He eased to a sitting position, his grip still on my forearm and leaned into my face. He kissed me softly. “I must be the most selfish person on this planet because I’m not going to fight you on that. I want you near me. Always.” He kissed me once more, this time much harder before pulling away.

Knock. Knock.

I climbed off the bed and answered it. It was Simon.

“Ready when you are, princess,” he teased, tugging once on my braid. He nodded at his brother before leaving.

Ian stood and grabbed my bag for me. I supposed lunch with his parents was out of the question.

When we reached the front door, we noticed both Ian’s parents were standing at the bottom of the walkway, talking to Simon. They seemed to be in deep discussion but eased up when we neared.

“It was such a pleasure meeting you,” Henrik told me, hugging me and kissing my cheek. “I hope it’s not our last.”