“Chloe, relax.” Isach smiled, and peace washed over me. “I need to get over to Trent’s so we can deal with this. If you want, come over, too, and I’ll tell you everything.”
I nodded. “Do you have your car?”
“Yeah, why?”
“Meet us at the large tree near the end of the driveway. We’ll be out there in ten minutes,” I said.
With a nod, Isach disappeared out the window. I knew he couldn’t make that jump like Trent did, so I assumed he used some sort of magic to get himself safely to the ground.
I spun around to face Abby and grinned. “Told you he still loved you.”
Abby laughed. “Why did you tell him to meet us? Mom and Dad are not going to let us out of the house now. It’s past curfew, and I’m pretty sure they’re both in bed already.”
“I know.” I headed for the door. “Get dressed. We’re sneaking out.”
WHEN WE ARRIVED AT Trent’s, I rushed inside to find Felicity tied to a kitchen chair that had been placed in the middle of the living room—all the other furniture had been pushed out of the way. Trent, Jax, Whitney, Wyatt, Colt, Karina, and Sean stood around her.
Relief made my shoulders sag; everyone was all right. I hadn’t been able to shake the awful fear that maybe some of them had gotten injured.
“Chloe? What’re you doing here?” Trent asked, shock flashing behind his eyes.
“I snuck out and got a ride with him.” I hooked my thumb over my shoulder to indicate Isach, who walked in with Abby. “It’s a long story,” I added when Trent gave me a confused look.
Trent wrapped me in a hug. “I really wish you hadn’t come,” he whispered. “Though, I’m really glad to see you again.”
“I need answers,” I said, hugging him back briefly. “I won’t get in the way. Promise.” I released him and took his hand, lacing our fingers.
Isach grabbed another chair from the kitchen and set it in front of Felicity. Then, he sat. “Okay, Felicity. It’s time to talk.”
The way he spoke, the calming yet deadly lilt to his voice made me shudder. He’d spoken to me like that when he’d taken me and fed me to Hannah. I closed my eyes, but that did nothing to block out his voice. Trent was right—I wished I hadn’t come, either.
“I answer to your father. Not you,” Felicity said with a childlike giggle. “Why don’t we bring him here and let him question me.” Her gaze wandered around the room, resting on me for an uncomfortably long amount of time. “I’m sure he’d really enjoy meeting your friends.”
Whitney grabbed a handful of Felicity’s hair and yanked her head back. Felicity howled in pain, and I turned toward Trent, hiding my face against his chest.
“Talk, or we’ll just kill you and be done with it,” Whitney said.
“You know I’m stronger than you,” Isach said. Everything about his demeanor was calm, as if torturing people for information was no big deal. For him, maybe it wasn’t. “And you know I can make you talk, but that won’t be very pleasant, so why don’t you just cooperate?”
Felicity smiled, the gesture taunting and evil, almost like she was having fun.
“Why did my father send you to follow me?” Isach asked.
I held my breath—this was the moment of truth. If Rector suspected something, we needed to know. But would he tell someone as unstable as Felicity? I doubted that.
“He knows you’re involved with someone. Her.” Felicity jutted her chin in Abby’s direction, and all at once, everyone turned to look at her.
Abby stood frozen, eyes wide.
“Daddy dearest wanted to know who she was and why you were spending so much time with her,” Felicity said. “He was very upset that you didn’t bring her home to meet your coven.”
“I don’t know where he—or you—got your information, but she doesn’t mean a thing to me. She’s just something to pass the time.” Isach shrugged.
I reached out and took Abby’s hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze, praying she knew Isach didn’t mean what he’d just said.
He must have told her everything when he’d been in her room earlier, so surely, she knew this was an act, a way to take the focus off her. Although, I didn’t understand why he needed to do that. If the plan was to get rid of Felicity permanently, then what did it matter what she knew? She wouldn’t be alive long enough to report back to Rector.
“In fact, I told her a few days ago that she was starting to bore me.” Isach waved his hand dismissively. “Now, tell me the real reason you’re following me.”
Felicty’s gaze landed on Colt. “Hello, Colton. Have you missed me?” She pouted. “I know Dante was quite upset when you stole his toy.” Her eyes darted to Karina, then shifted back to Colt.
“Does Dante know I’m here?” Colt asked, hands clenched into fists at his sides.
“No.” Felicity sighed. “He became rather upset with me when I told him I was planning to rejoin my coven. We haven’t spoken recently.”
“You know Rector is never going to let you come back to the coven,” Isach said. “He’s just using you, Felicity. You betrayed him once. He’ll never trust you again.”
Felicity’s head snapped forward, and her eyes sparked with glee. “Does Daddy know you’re slumming it with these filthy Halstead vampires?”
“No, and he’s never going to find out,” Jax said.
Before I could blink, Jax snapped Felicity’s neck. Her head slumped forward. I stifled a scream.
“There. Problem solved. You’re welcome,” Jax said before he stormed out of the house.
Everything around me was silent for only a moment before everyone started talking all at once. Still holding Abby’s hand, I tugged her backward, away from the chaos.
I couldn’t tear my gaze from Felicity. I’d never seen a dead body before. Slowly, my stomach started to churn. Bile rose in the back of my throat, and sweat broke out
