He left me on the sidewalk crumbling to pieces and with so many questions that I didn’t know where to start. But I had the sick feeling that he was right.
Did I really run when things got hard? Was I that much of a coward?
As much as I wanted to run now, his words made it clear that I couldn’t. At least, not yet. First, I needed to see Exie and Sloane and figure out what the hell he was talking about.
Chapter Four
There were no cabs near the Slowdown so I had to walk to a nearby restaurant and call one. While I waited, I ordered an iced tea and nibbled on soft pretzel sticks.
I wasn’t hungry at all. In fact, after Ryder’s confrontation, I was nervous I would just puke the pretzels back up. Still, after waitressing for over a year, I knew what it was like on the other side. I thought I should not waste my server’s time.
As soon as the cab arrived, I threw some cash down on the table and ran back outside. I was too close to Ryder still. I needed as much space as I could get to clear my head and figure out what to do next.
I gave the cab driver directions to Exie’s house first, but everything looked abandoned. There were no lights on and the grass hadn’t been cut in a while. It pushed onto the sidewalk and driveway along the edges, looking sloppy and neglectful.
Echo would have never allowed the yard to look like this if she were still living here. I didn’t know what to think about that.
I realized belatedly that I should have tried to get a rental car at the airport. While I had enough money for cabs, I didn’t want to spend my entire day driving around the city in them. Unfortunately, not even my fake passport had my age as old enough to legally rent a car, and without my Siren’s curse, I had no hope of convincing a clerk to give me one anyway.
So with few options, I instructed the driver how to get to Sloane’s house next. If she wasn’t home I didn’t know what I was going to do or where I would go after.
My options right now wavered between going back to the island or calling for Hermes.
I had a strong feeling Tortola was not where I wanted to be, but then again, I really, really,reallydidn’t want to call Hermes.
I didn’t know whether to feel relieved or anxious when Sloane’s house showed signs of life. The lawn had been taken care of, blinds were open and so was the garage door, revealing Sloane’s mom’s car.
I paid the driver, grabbed my purse and slammed the door shut behind me. My feet dragged as I walked up to the front door.
Sloane and I hadn’t left things on the best of terms, but I still loved her. If she was in trouble, I wanted to help.
I had always wanted to help her. She just hadn’t let me.
The cab drove away and I felt very alone and suddenly very afraid. I wouldn’t put it past Sloane’s mom, Thalia, to knock me unconscious, tie me up and hold me until Nix showed up.
I was banking on the fact that some love had been lost between Thalia and Nix after Anaxandra and Evaleen were killed last year.
Initially she had blamed me. I hoped she’d realized by now that I wasn’t her daughter’s murderer. I had tried to save Eva from Nix’s plans.
Shaking out my unease, I met Thalia in the garage. She had stepped back outside to get groceries from her trunk. Her long dark hair was pinned in a bun on the top of her head and worked with her glasses to give her the whole sexy librarian vibe.
Nix had turned Thalia into a career girl for him a long time ago. Her house, car and clothes reflected her success. From a distance she looked pristine… shiny. She looked like a trophy wife made from every man’s fantasies.
After spending so much time on the island and away from the Greek circle, her beauty was startling. I had forgotten that they, er, thatwewere so flawlessly pretty.
“What are you doing here?” she snapped as soon as her cold gaze landed on me. “He’ll kill you if he finds you. You shouldn’t have come back.”
“I’m looking for Sloane,” I answered honestly. I chose to ignore everything else. It wasn’t anything I didn’t already know.
Thalia snorted her disgust. I had never heard her make a sound like that. In fact, the longer I stood there, I realized that although she looked impeccable from a distance, up close there were signs that led me to believe she might not be doing so well.
Dark smudges circled her blood shot eyes and her lips were dried out, almost cracked. Her clothes and hair were still nicely styled, but she looked alarmingly frail. She was too skinny, sickly skinny.
“Nowyou want to know where she is?” she hissed at me. “Well, I don’t know what to tell you, Ivy. I don’t know where she is. I haven’t known where she is since you took off and left the rest of us to pay for your sins.”
“What are you saying?” Desperation laced my tone, so raw and obvious that her expression softened just a bit.
She waved a hand in front of her face, “He took her. He took my Sloane and Exie and your mother months ago. I haven’t heard a word from them.”
