“You still look like shit,” Amber rushes out, staring at my face that’s starting to show signs of withdrawal.
It catches me off guard, so much so, that the anger and hostility rises to the surface. “Still a bitch I see.”
“What are you doing here, Poppy?”
She watches me as I move to the center of the room, fidgeting with magazines on the table before turning toward her. “Must be weird to see your mom off drugs,”
She glares at me. “What do you want?”
“Isn’t it obvious? I was sent here to kidnap you and your son.”
Her eyes widen with readable fear. Good thing I’m being nice today.
“Don’t worry. Unlike you, I’m still loyal to a friendship that died years ago. I’m here as a warning, Amber.”
“Warning?”
“You’re safer with him than without him. You could fly back to Italy and they’d still find you. They know you make him vulnerable, and that you’re the key to bringing him down. They won’t stop until he’s dead, I hope you know that? They’ll use you as leverage. If I can find you this easily, so can they. That’s why you need to stick by him, Amber. He’s your only shot at survival.” I inch closer to her, my determination to keep her safe waning. I know when I return to Arturo, he’s going to kill me. Maybe even for real this time. “This may be the last time we see each other. You were the last of my initiation.”
“Initiation?”
I nod, unable to meet her eyes. “It’s what happens when you sell your soul to the devil, Amber. I’ve done things I’m not proud of…” My eyes migrate to the front window, and a beautiful red cardinal splashing around in the birdbath. It makes me wonder if that’s Pippa watching over me, showing me I’m doing the right thing. “Things that make me want to die. There’s no coming back from where I’ve been. I’m in deep, Amber. Deeper than I should be. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. I had plans for my life—plans that died the day Pippa did.”
The pity in her eyes overwhelms me. “Don’t ever get hooked, Amber. It kills your soul.”
She gasps, covering her mouth in shock. “Oh, Poppy.”
“Don’t pity me, Amber, I brought this on myself. This is my battle to lose.”
My body hovers near her front door. “You two need each other if you’re going to get through this. So, go back to him. Let him protect you. It’s the only way you’re going to survive now that the Misfits know you exist.”
“Poppy, wait!” she shouts after me. “Let us protect you, too!”
For a second, I look back at her, my head shaking in defeat. “It’s too late for me, Amber. Just let me go. You did it once. You can do it again.”
Then I’m gone, returning to the only home I’ve known. A prison made just for me.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Voorhees
(Seven Months later)
Drac enters the room looking disheveled and distraught. It cost us a lot of money to fix the parts of the building that got damaged by the fire Poppy started, and the man hasn’t forgiven her for it.
“You look fucking exhausted, Brother.”
He slinks down into the chair next to me and sighs. “I am. I didn’t realize how hard having a newborn would be. Rich and Mindy are in for a very rude awakening once their bundles of joy are born.” Then he lets out a long sigh. “Is it bad that I regret going one percent now that I have a family?”
I shake my head. “What made you go that route, anyway?”
He shrugs. “Depression, vengeance, stupidity. Take your pick. There all a part of why I’m so goddamn stupid.”
Krampus picks that exact moment to saunter over. “Who’s stupid?”
“Me,” Drac answers, the weight of his actions taking a toll. “I’m regretting changing the club into what it is. Too many people have died, Krampus. People that should still be here.”
Krampus nods, slamming his butt into the seat across from us. “But these are the decisions that we made, Drac. We can’t go back on them now. Not after what happened with Moseley.”
