Wicked (A Wicked Saga, #1)(20)

Oh. I'd missed that. I so needed to get a grip. "What makes you think that?"

He shifted his weight as he folded his arms across his broad chest. "Probably has to do with the fact that jackass called you a crazy bitch."

"Whatever." I waved my hand dismissively. "It's nothing."

"Is it?" One dark eyebrow rose. "Sounds like it might be more than nothing, especially since he was just in that room over there." Ren nodded at the double, paneled wood doors to the right, where the meeting would take place, and where Trent had just disappeared into. "He was talking."

I tensed as I felt my stomach start to drop. "Talking about what?"

"About what you said you saw Wednesday night and what happened. He was telling a whole room full of people." Ren's green eyes met mine. "Your sect leader was in there."

Barely able to keep the wince off my face, I struggled to keep my expression blank. I didn't think it worked because a shadow of a sympathetic look crossed his handsome face. I looked away, my hand tightening around the strap of my backpack.

"I do not think it is wise for you to speak so openly about what you saw," Ren advised quietly.

My spine straightened even further. Hindsight was a bitch. Of course, I probably should've kept my mouth shut when I spewed everything in Trent's face, but I didn't need him rubbing it in mine. "Thanks, but I didn't ask for your opinion."

A moment passed and then Ren sighed. He stepped so that he was directly in front of me again, and he looked like he wanted to say something more, but he never got the chance.

The door to the meeting room opened up and David strode out, letting it slam shut behind him. Ren turned at that moment, unfolding his arms and widening his stance in a way that had a weird, protective vibe to it. I couldn't really tell what mood David was in because he looked like he always did.

Which was pissy as hell.

I braced myself nonetheless. If Trent had been in there running his mouth after David told me to keep quiet, I knew this was not going to be pretty, especially as the dark skin around his eyes wrinkled as they narrowed.

David stopped in front of me, his deep brown eyes moving between us. "I'm actually glad both of you are here." Completely confused by that statement, I lifted my chin as the sect leader's gaze met mine. "You don't need to go to the meeting."

My jaw unlocked. "What?"

"I told you to keep your mouth shut." His gaze hardened. "You did not do that. Kind of like you had one job, Ivy. You failed at that."

The entire nape of my neck burned. To have David say something like that to me at any point sucked monkey balls, but with an audience, and that audience being Ren, it made me want to pitch myself off the balcony outside the window. Knowing my luck, I'd end up in a piss-filled puddle. But what David was saying wasn't fair. "I only said something because Trent already—"

"I didn't ask for an excuse," he fired back. "It doesn't matter what Trent said. You know he's full of shit half the time, and you should've left it at that."

That was such bullshit, but before I could voice that startling accuracy, Ren chimed in. "Seems like the issue is with Trent and not Ivy."

Surprised, I cut a look at him. Considering the fact I had not been relatively nice to him at any point since I'd met him, the last thing I should've earned was his defense.

"And I didn't ask for your opinion, did I?" David's gaze flipped back to him.

Ren gave him a half grin that was part smug and part daring. "All I'm saying is, from someone on the outside, if he brought the shit up first, how is that Ivy's fault?"

He just earned cool points. "Totally agree with that statement."

"Here's the thing. I have about forty-five members of the Order in a room where the f*cking air conditioning isn't working, running their mouths like a bunch of old women now. Half of them think Ivy's got a screw loose, and the other half think we have a f*cking ancient running around. Trent wouldn't have said shit before the meeting if Ivy hadn't bruised his balls. Literally."

My eyes widened.

His eyes narrowed even further, until just a thin slit of brown was visible. "Yeah, I know that, too. He wanted to file a goddamn complaint against you, and you're damn lucky I f*cking hate paperwork and already had to file one on your ass once this week."

"You had to file one because I got shot since maybe we do have an ancient on the streets," I said, then twisted toward Ren as my arms fell to my sides. Our gazes locked, and this was the perfect time for him to speak up, to say what he'd told me the night before.

Silence.

And I waited—waited for Ren to say what he said to me last night when I spied the same fae that shot me and he stopped me from following it. I waited while I heard a burst of laughter from the room the rest of the Order members were holed up in and told myself that laughter had nothing to do with me. I waited.

Ren said nothing.

Another half a minute passed as I stared at his profile. I sucked in a sharp breath as realization kicked in. A muscle had begun to thrum along his jaw as the seconds ticked by. He wasn't going to say a damn word, nothing that really backed me up. The burn that now traveled across my cheeks deepened. I didn't understand. Anger rose, but so did something I honestly felt stupid for even feeling. I was hurt, and that was dumb. I didn't know him and had no reason to trust him.