Page 277 of Wicked Brutal

Then the chat starts exploding — Callum, Gideon, Clifford, Thomas, Theodore, everyone. Calls being made. Schedules changing. Things getting pulled forward that weren’t supposed to happen yet. The entire fucking machine turning over at once.

Cat holds up a hand. “Shh.” Footsteps outside. Voices. Fuck. She looks at us. “Out. Now.”

Danny glances toward the locked door. “There are people out there.”

Penny points toward the side exit near the equipment room. “That way.”

“How do you know?”

“Because I actually belong in here.”

“Fair.” Kaid grabs Danny by the shoulder and steers him toward the other door. X follows. Iz moves last. He looks at Bella. She looks right back.

“Don’t,” I warn. Neither says a word. Miracles happen.

I catch Ally’s hand before I follow them. “Tonight?”

She nods. “Tonight.”

My thumb brushes the sleeve covering her arm. I can feel the faint swelling beneath the fabric. Roman’s hand. I have to close my eyes for half a second. Then I let her go.

Five days before Victor gets Ally out of the country. Five days before Switzerland can become anywhere. Five days before distance can become disappearance. Arthur has five days to make the law work. Our dads have five days to make sure Tobias can come with her. We have five days to stop a plane. And if we can’t — I already know exactly which promise I’m breaking first.

By eleven, I know three things. Arthur hasn’t stopped working. My dad hasn’t stopped pacing. And I have checked the time forty-seven fucking times.

The guest house is quiet around me. Too quiet. I came out here after dinner because sitting in my bedroom staring across the yard at Ally’s house was making me insane. Not that this is much better. From the couch I can see the lights through the trees. Roman’s house. Ally’s bedroom. The place she’s supposed to sleep tonight like we didn’t find out this morning that Victor plans to put her on a plane in five fucking days.

My phone buzzes. I grab it before it finishes vibrating.

Ally: Outside.

I’m moving before I finish reading. I cross the guest house and unlock the side door. She’s standing under the little overhang in black leggings and one of my old Edgewood lacrosse sweatshirts. My chest fucking hurts.

“Hey.”

“Hi.” I look past her. Nothing. No lights moving next door, no doors opening. “How’d you get out?”

“Mom.”

Of course. Jane keeps surprising the shit out of me. “She knows you’re here?”

“She told Dad I went to bed early. She’s keeping an eye on Tobias.” Her expression changes. “She said she’d text if anything changes.”

I hold the door wider. “Come here.”

She barely makes it across the threshold before I grab her. Carefully. Always fucking carefully now. One arm around her waist, the other around her shoulders, avoiding the bruises I know are still hidden under my sweatshirt. Ally wraps herself around me, her face disappearing against my chest. And we just stand there.

The door’s still open. Cold air slips inside. I don’t care. She’s here. That’s the only thought my brain seems capable of producing.

She’s here. She’s fucking here.

“Ryan.”

I close my eyes. “Give me a minute.”

Her arms tighten around me. So I take one. Maybe two. Then I kick the door shut behind her without letting go.

“I missed you,” she whispers.