Seduction and destruction

39-Manipulating vs Shuting off-Ivarsen

I clenched my jaw as I  stared down at my phone, willing it to light up with a message from Indie.

Frustration simmered within me, my irritation growing with each passing second that she remained silent.
Beside me, Gunnar leaned against the fountain, watching me with his stupid, amused expression.
"Calm down." Gunnar said, trying to placate him.
"She'll show up soon."
I shot Gunnar a frustrated glare, shoving my phone into my pocket.

"How do you know?" I snapped. "She hasn't responded to any of my texts. She's probably just blowing me off."He  rolled his eyes .
"You need to calm down. You're going to burn a hole in the ground with all that pacing."

I took another lap around the fountain, my footsteps echoing in the quiet evening air. My mind is filled with thoughts of Indie, the fight we  had, and her inexplicable silence.

It's as if she became her old self.The girl who is closed up in herself and doesn't talk with anyone.

And I think I'm going to claw my brothers eyes out if he keeps staring at me more.
"Seriously,Ivar." He said, trying to get my attention.
"You need to calm down.. You're acting like a caged animal."

Begore, I could say something about him. My  head snapped up as I heard footsteps approaching. I turned to see Grayson walking towards us, her expression unreadable.
My new-found heart beat faster as I  took in her appearance, but I pushed down the mixture of relief and irritation I  was feeling.

My eyes roamed over Indie's figure as she approached, taking in her messy hair, her slight frown, and her flushed cheeks. Despite my irritation, I  couldn't help but think how beautiful she looked, even when she was mad at me.
My pulse quickened as she drew closer, my stomach doing a strange little flip.

Strange,strange thing.

She approaches us, stopping a few feet away and looking icily at us.
"I want to know what your plan is." She says, her voice cool and flat. "How do you intend to use me as bait?"

That came so awfully wrong, and I don't even know why.

Her gaze is the same  cold one as before. I clear my throat and take a step forward, trying to meet her eyes.
"Indie, we didn't mean to keep this from you." I  says.
"I was just trying to protect you.We didn't want you to feel unsafe."
Her lip curls in disbelief.

Fuck.

Her expression was not softening at my words even though i tried to sound gentle as much as I could.
"Unsafe?" She scoffs.
"You were worried I'd feel unsafe? How do you think I feel now, knowing that you've been keeping this from me, planning to use me like some sort of bait?"

I flinche at her stinging words, but I  force myself to remain calm.
"I never meant for it to be like this."I try to explain.
"I just wanted to make sure you were safe. I  wasn't going to put you in harm's way, I swear."
She lets out a bitter laugh that makes my stomach curls.

"Safe? Who's idea of safe includes using me as bait for a dangerous criminal?" She challenges.
"And how can you say you weren't going to put me in harm's way? The very fact that your plan involves me makes me a target."
I  take another step forward, my eyes pleading with her to understand.
"We thought about replacing you with a girl and even if we could have found one .We had security measures in place." I argue.
"We would have had you under constant surveillance. No one would have let anything happen to you."

She rolls her eyes, not buying my  words for a second.

Fuck.

"Security measures?" She scoffs. "You think that's enough to keep me safe? Nothing you can say will convince me that this plan is anything but reckless and dangerous."