“Fight for him, Ivy,” Nate continued. “That’s all I ask. Fight for him, because god knows, he’s fighting for you.”
My heart kicked in my chest and my body heated with emotion. My lips were dry, so I licked them nervously, trying to contain my scattered, frantic thoughts.
Nate continued to surprise me by yanking me into a tight hug. His arms went around me and I breathed in his aftershave and cologne. “I’m trusting you with my son, Ivy.Fight for him.”
“I will,” I croaked. “Of course, I will. I’ll never stop.” Tears leaked out of the corners of my eyes, so I shut them tightly and willed them away.
Nate pulled away and I ducked my head so he wouldn’t see my embarrassing emotion. Mostly, I didn’t want him to interpret them as anything but what they were- fierce conviction.
Our small circle closed tighter together and Ryder stepped up to hug his dad. They embraced for a long time, holding each other and offering muffled promises that I couldn’t hear.
“We should go,” Ryder finally said. “We’re trying not to stay in one place for too long.
Matt pulled a bag out of the backseat. “I packed some things for you,” he explained. “Unfortunately I couldn’t get your guitar to fit in there.”
“Eh,” Ryder sighed. “I’ll be back for it. Just don’t try to sell her.”
Matt grinned at him. “No promises.”
Ryder did not smile back. He knew Matt was joking, but I could just tell there were some things that Ryder would never find funny. Like selling his most prized possession, for instance.
“I’ll call when I can,” Ryder promised.
“You will,” Nate ordered. “And you’ll come home when you can too.”
“I will.” Ryder’s strong hand landed on my shoulder and he gave me a quick squeeze. “Let’s go, Red. We have to get back to fleeing.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Thank you, Nate. Thank you, Matt.”
“Thank you, Ivy,” Nate said in return. I could hear the choked emotion in his cracking voice. “Thank you for giving this to my son.”
I shook my head and struggled to swallow through the thick emotion. I hadn’t given anything to Ryder. I had taken everything from him instead. But I didn’t have time to explain that to Nate. Ryder took my hand and pulled me to my seat. The door opened and I climbed inside, feeling both better and worse at the same time.
I felt terrible for taking Ryder away from a family that loved him so much, a family that was willing to do anything for him. But I also felt filled with a new kind of purpose.
I wasn’t just running for my own safety now. I was running for Ryder’s too. And together we would figure out how to get out of this forever.
This meant more now that Ryder was involved. This meant everything.
I would not let Nate down. I would do whatever it took to keep Ryder safe and alive.
And I knew… I just knew he was planning to do the same for me.
Chapter Eleven
It was sometime in the middle of the night when we reached Kansas City. The lights of the city were bright against the Missouri farmland we’d sped through over the last couple of hours.
Civilization between Omaha and KC was almost nonexistent. We zoomed by rolling plains and endless stars, so many stars that I was reminded of the sky over my private beach on the island. Ryder and I talked more freely during this drive which was forward progress, but it also helped him stay awake.
I told him about my life on the island, about how simple it had been and about how lonely I was. He told me about his senior year and everything I missed. Phoenix had tried dating someone after Exie left, but it hadn’t gone anywhere. Chase came back over Christmas break; he was dating someone and it turned out to be something kind of serious. Kenna and Hayden were still together and everyone was surprised about that.
It wasn’t until we pulled into the long-term parking of the Kansas City International Airport that I realized Ryder had talked about everyone else, but not a whole bunch abouthissenior year. I felt caught up with everyone but him.
I had my purse packed with a few essentials and Ryder had his backpack, so travel would be light. But we would need to buy more things eventually.
We didn’t have much of a plan, except to get out. We had decided to fly back to the island I’d been staying on for the last year and then figure it out from there. I still needed to find out what happened to my mom and Exie and Sloane, but our major priority was getting away from Nix.
Once we were safe on the island again, we would figure the rest out.
