Sweet Little Lies

Chapter Eighty-Six

It was another four hours until the storm subsided enough for them to leave. Every minute that passed made Harry more uncomfortable. The anxiety was starting to come back as there was nothing to distract himself from the possibilities of Ivy being tortured that second.

For the first time since he could remember, Harry was nervous for a fight. Everything hinged on this one. They were either going to come out on top or lose. And losing Ivy was something Harry could not live with. Nothing was worth anything without her. She was his future.

This battle had taken a long time to come to fruition, yet it also feels too soon. His allies were barely allies. The Dvorsky's were still reeling from Saskie's arrest, some, he was sure, still blaming him for it happening. Harry wasn't even sure where he stood with Ren. She might have teamed up with them to find this map and get her brother, but he had no real clue where her loyalties lie.

Then, there was Shadow and the rests of the spiders. They were so skittish that he wouldn't be surprised if they ran at the fist gunfire. Harry couldn't exactly blame them after the years of mistreatment. He wouldn't trust him or his intentions either.

But that didn't bode well for them down in the tunnels. They needed trust. They needed to feel like they were fighting for something together. He couldn't have people fleeing the moment it turned for the worst or turning on one another or using others as bait. Things would get dicey down there, and even if they win and take out the Petrov's, they could come out to the surface as enemies depending on what happened.

Harry was determined to keep that from happening, though. This was his plan of years, finally coming together. All five families and the spiders working together as opposed to against. He thought of Ivy and those moments before she woke up. When he got to take her in in silence and peace. How badly he wanted for them to not live in fear of what might happen, of some great war between families. He wanted them to be safe, he wanted his family to grow.

None of that would happen if he failed. There were many ways he could do that and only one path to success.

He didn't know how long he stood at the window staring out at the storm. He watched as it tore apart the streets, trashcans tumbling down the sidewalks, tree limbs cracking and falling to the ground. Torrential downpour made everything grey, the streets flooding now that the sewers were backed up.

The thought of Ivy down there, trapped in water that kept rising-

No, he stopped himself. They wouldn't let her drown. She was far too valuable an asset to them.

This was the way he was able to calm himself. He had to take himself out of the equation and think like them. What would he do in this situation? If he had an heiress - one of the most influential and powerful women in Queenstown - held captive. He would use her to lure down the rest of his enemies. Use her as live bait.

The Petrov's knew what they were doing. They had been planning this for decades. They wouldn't make any rash decisions now. Not when they were so close.

Finally, he watched as the storm began to subside. All the telltale signs of it waning were there. He had no clue what time it was or how long it had been, but when the moment came, he whipped around and walked back down the stairs.

Opening the door to Griffin's room, he saw Cecilia laying on the bed, curled up on his side. She was sleeping, but Griffin was wide awake. His hands paused in her hair. A silent exchange passed and gently Griff nudged Cecilia awake.

"CeCe, darling." He said quietly, brushing back her hair from her face. "It's time to go."

Cecilia hadn't taken the news well. Not when Griffin told her he was going to join them underground to find Ivy and not now. Harry couldn't fault her for it either. Griffin was still healing from his injuries, weak on his feet and sore everywhere. Harry watched as his lieutenant stood carefully, holding back his grimace at every movement. If he was a good man, Harry would have ordered him to stay.