Page 74 of The Vixen

“What should I do then? Shoot our friend an email?”

“I don’t know, just…” Liberty’s head shakes as she searches for something. “Just figure something else out.”

I let several seconds pass while I pretend to think about it—as if it isn’t already done, theseenstamp beneath my message loud and clear.

I steer us so we’re on the path heading back toward the Nurturer’s compound. Luna is smart to put her there, given Liberty’s maternal nature. Not just smart, but intuitive. Calculating.

My heartrate quickens. This wouldn’t be the first time I thought I had the upper hand—and lost.

“Okay,” I say at last. “I’ll figure something out.”

Liberty glances at me before facing forward. Her top teeth chew her lip. “Thank you…”

The walk back is quieter, the anger between us noticeably diminished. She hates me. I dislike her. But we have a common goal now, even if I forced it on her.

As the compound comes into sight, Liberty fidgets.

I’ve been lost in a count, my teeth tapping, but I pause to take her in.

She clears her throat. “The guy you mentioned…Aurelius.He came by this morning to invite me to dinner. He said Aubry and I would be the guests of honor.” The way she says guests of honor reminds me of a child meekly whispering a third Bloody Mary. “I was going to go just so I could tell them all to fuck themselves in one place, but…”

But that would be stupid. And honestly, on brand.

“What do you think I should do?” she asks.

I don’t hesitate. “You should eat the food and be quiet.”

Liberty’s face twists with uncertainty that I’ve only recently begun to understand. In her mind: complacency equals weakness. Even false complacency.

“Do you want me to try to get an invitation?” I ask when she starts chewing on her lip again.

We stop as we reach the door to the compound. Aiden hovers ten feet behind us.

Liberty takes a deep breath, looks at Aiden, looks at the door, roams the courtyard before finally looking at me.

“If I ask you a question, will you be honest with me?”

I nod. “Of course.”

“Do you have any kind of influence here? I mean are you…” She takes another deep breath. “Are you able to protect me … at all?”

Yes.

The word almost jumps off my tongue, though after last night, I know that isn’t true.

“I wouldn’t have put you here if I couldn’t protect you.” My voice is full of confidence. Of care that sounds so genuine I have to believe it myself. “We’re in this together, Lib…”

When her eyes darken, I know I’ve made a mistake. It isn’t quite anger that returns, but deep-seated contempt. The kind that makes you bitter. The kind that keeps you up at night, speeches forming in your mind you know you’ll never get to give. Only now, she has her chance.

“Let me be perfectly clear,” she says in a low, vicious tone, out of ear shot from Aiden. “Your attempt to get me on board with your reckless, selfish,abominableplan has worked. I want that little girl out of here just like you knew I would. And I’m willing to work with you to make it happen.”

She juts a finger toward my chest.

“But we both know you couldn’t give a shit about her. Or me. Or anyone else in the world but yourself. So just…” She shakes her head in disgust. “Save your breath. You’re gonna protect me because if you don’t, you-know-who will hunt you for the rest of your life. You’re gonna get that girl out because you know we won’t help you if you don’t.

“You’re selfish. You’re cold-blooded. And I see you… I’ve always seen you.”

When Aiden steps forward, Liberty’s spine straightens and she barges into the building so another Keeper can escort her to Thorne. Thorne, who she’s known a day but still somehow has won her obedience. Thorne, who physically kidnapped her.