15
Zane
I rush in the front door, my heart slamming against my chest. When Finn called and told me how Harper freaked out and said her father was there, I couldn’t get home fast enough. Kace and Riley are following, but I beat them by a long shot.
“Babe,” I yell.
“I’m alright,” she says, standing from the couch.
I rush to her and wrap my arms around her. My hands sink into her hair, as I bury my face into her shoulder. “I never should’ve let you go,” I whisper.
“I don’t know if he was still there, but he definitely was,” she whispers.
I lift my head and look at Finn and Ivy. Finn knows to leave, but Ivy crosses her arms. “Ivy,” I warn.
“I’m not leaving. It’s bad enough I’m a hostage, I’m not being locked in a room like one,” she protests.
I grab Harper’s hand and lead her to the bedroom. She sits down on the bed as I close the door. “What the fuck happened?”
“I worked out a lot of shit today, Z. The answer I needed was in that lock box. I went into my room, in the vent where I had it hidden, but it was replaced with a note,” she says, wrapping her arms around herself.
My eyes close as I try to control the fire building inside me. “What did it say?”
“Getting warmer.”
I snap my eyes open and turn around punching the door. “Fuck!”
She comes up behind me and wraps her arms around my waist. “Relax. We just need to figure it out without the box,” she whispers, kissing my back.
I turn around, wrapping my arms around her. “Tell me everything.”
Before she can even start, Kace is banging on the door. “Z?”
I open it and he rushes in. “We’re fine,” Harper tells him.
“Let’s go talk. Harper has some stuff to tell us,” I say, grabbing her hand.
We sit down at the table and I glance over at Ivy. She’s sitting on the couch, watching what’s going on, but not moving. She’s determined not to leave, so I concede. I hit Kace with my elbow, motioning with my eyes.
“What?” he whispers.
I shake my head. He’s such a fucking idiot sometimes. “She’s already involved, don’t make her sit there alone. Tell her to come over,” I quietly say.
He looks around to make sure it’s alright with Riley and Harper. They nod, so he clears his throat. “Hey, Ivy, get over here.”
Harper looks at me with wide eyes and I laugh. It’s like he forgets how to be a normal human around her.
“What?” she snaps back.
He sighs and grabs his neck. “Come join us, please.”
This time she gets up and pulls out the chair next to Harper. “Thanks,” she whispers.
“Okay, Harper, tell us,” I say.
She talks about everything she did today. All the memories that she blocked out, things she pieced together, and showed us everything she wrote down. It’s incredible that after all this time the way the pieces all fit together. She truly is our only possibility of winning the war.
“In that lock box was a deed to some property. I don’t know exactly where, but I do know it was on a lake. That must be where he is because he took the box and left that note. He knew I’d figure it out eventually, I guess,” she explains.