Wicked Love •Book Two•

Chapter 13

Landon

Three days dragged on and with each day, Sin became more and more unhinged. Ivy was falling apart too, she looked haunted. Like she wasn't sleeping or able to think of anything but her dickhead of a father. Arrow seemed to be the only one keeping it together. And I'm fairly certain that was only for the benefit of Sin and Ivy.

My footsteps echo down the long hallway to Ivy's room. I pass a few guards on my way, one gives me a curt nod and the other glares. My instant promotion wasn't taken well by most of the soldiers here. They'd been waiting for years to work up to being right hand to Sin and Arrow and here I'd walked right into it.

Today, it'd been announced that I would take Ivy and her sister, shopping. A ploy to see if her father with attempt to make an appearance especially without Arrow and Sin around. Also a good way to get her, Meg and Amber out of the house, I'm pretty sure they were going as stir crazy as I was.

I only have to knock on Ivy's door once before she pulls it open.

"Come in" She waves me in without a glance up at me. Her dark hair is pulled back today, settling against her back in a long braid. She's wearing a white cardigan that buttons in the front and she's struggling to button them. Her fingers are trembling.

I swallow. "Can I help?"

Ivy's shoulders sag a bit and her arms fall to her sides. She nods. "Yes, please."

I pace to her and gently reach for the sweater, careful not to touch her. "It's not your fault." I breathe down to her. Her eyes lift to mine but I continue to work on her buttons.

"It's at least... partly my fault, Landon. How can it not be?"

"Do you think that you getting shot because of me, was my fault?" I ask. Her brows tug together as she contemplates this.

"No, not at all. It was a matter of circumstance. If just happened."

I finish the last button and step back, putting a safe distance between us. Ivy tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. She looks stunning, even when she's sad. "It's the same thing, Ivy. It just happened. You may have played a part in an innocent way but you didn't take Sin's parents. You didn't ask for this life at all actually, you weren't even aware of it until a few months ago. Nobody, not even Sin and his twisted mind, can blame you for this because it's simply not your fault."

My words hang in the air for a few moments before she nods. "He's so... broken." She whispers and I feel the need to wrap her in my arms and crush her against my chest but I don't. I can't. She's set boundaries with me and I need to respect them.

"He's not broken. He's frustrated."

"I'm glad he has you." Ivy smiles sadly. A tinge of confusion sets in my stomach. Sin had Arrow, he didn't need me at all. I was shocked he kept me around at all after I almost let Ivy die.

I shake the feeling away and hold out my arm. "Let's go find your sister and get you guys some new shoes."

Ivy laughs and tucks her arm through mine. "You know we think about more than just new shoes, right?"

I nod. "I am well aware. I wish I could get you to think about shoes more often. Take your mind off of gangs, kidnapping and guns."