“I hope you’re right.” Abby smiled sadly, then left my room.
I blew out a breath and flopped down on my bed. I much preferred peppy Abby over sad Abby any day. My phone buzzed against my butt. I shifted and pulled my phone from my back pocket to see I had a message from Isach. I bolted upright, heart in my throat.
Isach: IS SHE OK?
I grinned. I knew he still cared. I sent back a quick reply.
Me: SHE’S SAD AND CONFUSED BUT OK.
Isach: I DON’T WANT THIS.
Me: I KNOW. YOU NEED TO TALK TO HER.
Isach: CAN’T. IT’S NOT SAFE. NEED TO PRETEND I DON’T KNOW ANY OF YOU FOR A WHILE.
“What?” I gasped. My hands shook as I sent a reply.
Me: HOW LONG IS A WHILE?
He was supposed to be in our wedding in a few months. Would the Felicity issue be fixed by then? I wasn’t sure Abby would be able to deal with this for too long. And what would happen if Ivy found out Isach was pretending to be loyal to the Zoya? Would she believe it was all an act, or would she enact his blood oath and kill him?
Isach: IDK.
I groaned. Jax needed to deal with Felicity sooner rather than later. If he didn’t, everything was going to fall apart, and I couldn’t let that happen.
Isach: DELETE THESE MESSAGES. DON’T TALK TO ME TOMORROW. TELL EVERYONE THE SAME. GOTTA GO.
I read his message several times, and while I understood what he said, I couldn’t fully comprehend it. He said he was stronger than Felicity, so why didn’t he just overpower her and get rid of her? Did she know too much already? Maybe she was blackmailing him.
I deleted our messages, then called Trent.
“Hey, baby,” he answered on the first ring, his voice velvety smooth.
My heart melted. I loved when he called me baby. I wished he’d do it more often. “I miss you,” I whispered, suddenly concerned Abby might overhear me. I didn’t want to make her feel any worse should she hear me talking to Trent when she was alone now.
He chuckled softly, the sound wrapping around me. “Is that why you called? To tell me you missed me?”
“No.” I couldn’t stop smiling. “But when I heard your voice, it just hit me that I missed you.”
“I miss you, too,” he said.
“So, I just heard from Isach,” I said.
I explained how Isach texted me, what he said, and how none of us were allowed to talk to him tomorrow. My stomach knotted when I realized I was going to have to tell Abby that, too. Though, she’d be happy to know he was concerned enough to check on her, and that he didn’t want to break up with her.
“He’s distancing himself to protect us, I think,” I said. “Definitely to protect Abby, and probably himself, too, but I can’t shake the feeling that there’s still so much he hasn’t told us.”
“He didn’t say if Rector knew anything?” Trent asked.
“No. He was very cryptic about the whole thing. Maybe he’s afraid they’ll go through his phone or something.” I shrugged and laid down on my back, staring up at the ceiling. “The whole thing is bizarre, right?’
“Very.” Trent paused. “About this morning at school… I’m sorry. I was still rattled about what happened with Jax, and my mind was elsewhere.”
“It’s okay.” I chewed nervously on my bottom lip. “He’s right, though, especially now. We can’t let her keep running around. It’s not safe.”
“I know.” Trent sighed. “Jax, Colt, and Whitney are hunting her right now.”
A tremor of fear slid down my spine, and I closed my eyes. The fact they were hunting a Zoya terrified me.
“Why didn’t you go with them?” I asked. “Not that I want you to,” I added quickly. Relief wrapped around me knowing he was home safe.
“We agreed someone needed to be close in case you needed us for anything, and I insisted I be that person.”
I smiled faintly. “Thank you. Are the three of them going to be able to do this?”
“Sean and Wyatt are out there with them, too. They’ll be fine.”
“Okay,” I said.
“How are you doing with all of this?” he asked.
I got off my bed and wandered toward my window. “Okay, I guess. It’s scary, and I hate that Abby’s caught in the middle.” I rested my head against the cool glass. “She told Isach that she was willing to change for him, and then he broke her heart.”
“For what it’s worth, I think you’re right about Isach. I think everything he’s doing right now is very calculated, and when it’s safe, he’s going to do everything he can to get Abby back.”
“That’s what I keep telling Abby, that he doesn’t really want this and there’s a bigger reason for why he broke up with her.” I moved away from the window and wandered restlessly around my room. “I haven’t told her yet that he texted me, but I will.”
“She’s lucky to have you,” he said.
“I’ll just be glad when all this is over.”
“Me too.” He sighed. “Did you talk to your aunt about this weekend?”
“No.” I once again found myself at my window, staring out at the endless expanse of trees. “I will tomorrow morning. Promise. What do you have planned anyway?”
He chuckled. “That’s a surprise.”
“Of course it is,” I said, unable to contain my smile. “Good thing your surprises aren’t lame.”
“Oh, you’re going to love this one. Trust me,” he said.
I closed my eyes, able to easily picture him lying in bed, one hand tucked behind his head, eyes shimmering with delight. I physically ached to be there with him right now, to curl up beside him, my head on his chest as he stroked my arm and back.
“Chloe?” he asked, his voice deep but soft. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah, I just really miss you. I mean, I miss you whenever we’re not together, but it’s worse than usual tonight. Not sure why,”
