Chapter 216: Chapter 217

Chapter 93

Opening the door, I find Abbie and Tandi. Tandi peers past me to look at Kyson asleep before reaching in, grabbing my wrist and tugging me out the door, and rushing toward the stairs. Abbie giggles, racing to keep up with her as if she was performing some kind of jailbreak. Dustin, who was standing quard with Trey, stumbled after us.

“Ah, you said you needed to speak to her, not kidnap her!” Trey hisses at her.

“Either come with us and shut up or stay behind. No party pooper’s allowed,” Trey looks at me, and I shrug.

“Where are we going?” I ask as I nearly stumble down the steps.

“To raid the liquor and find the deserts,” Tandi tells me. Abbie giggles and shakes her head.

“I heard her giving Damian hell in the halls and went to see what the commotion was and was kidnapped too,” she shrugs.

“Tyson? And Hunter?” I ask the girls, though I was glad to see a smile on Abbie’s face after yesterday.

“Hogging the bed. Gannon is with him,” Abbie tells me. “And Damian is playing Daddy daycare,” Tandi says as we reach the bottom of the stairs. Tandi scouts the hall before jumping in fright when Liam comes around the corner.

Liam glances around before ducking behind the corner of the staircase with us. He peers down, then peeks around the corner toward the kitchen. “Who are we hiding from?” he whispers, and Tandi giggles.

“Idiot, we are raiding the kitchen!” she snaps, pushing past him.

“I could do with a midnight snacky poo,”

“This is a girl’s breakout only,” she tells him.

“Then why does ferret face get to come? And him?” Trey huffs at Liam, calling him names, and Tandi looks over her shoulder at Dustin and Trey dressed in the typical black uniforms, looking every part of my guard.

“Dustin, don’t count. He is one of us.” He huffs as if to say he is not a part of this escape. “And he is the fun police that decided to tag along,” she growls.

“Well then, count me in as the corruption! I know where the hard liquor is kept. Besides, I am her guard,”

he says, pointing to Abbie.

“Since when?” Abbie demands.

“Since you did a jailbreak on my best friend in your rainbow pajamas and bunny slippers. You look like you’re up to mischief.” Liam tells her, sending her a wink. Tandi sighs loudly.

“So much for keeping this a small gathering.” Tandi says, stomping off toward the kitchen. We flick the light on to find no one down here, and I can’t help but laugh as Liam makes himself at home, raiding the pantry and coming out with a huge armful of sweets and chips that he dumps into Trey’s arms. Trey shakes his head but says nothing, accepting his role in our escape that I am sure would get me in trouble later with Kyson. Tandi follows Liam to the cellar, returning with liquor and wine bottles.

“Do you girls drink?” she asks, and Abbie and I shake our heads.

“Oh, Clarice made Mudcake!” Liam states, spotting it on the top level of the fridge.

“Dustin, grab some glasses while I steal this,” he says.

“Clarice will murder you,” Trey tells him while Liam kidnaps the cake.

“Shush you! You saw nothing, and don’t you snitch,” he tells Trey.

“So why are we doing this again?” I ask, and everyone stops looking at Tandi.

“Ah, because we can! You’re the Queen. You can do what you want!” she shrugs, and I giggle. She had a point, kinda. I doubted any of the guards would step in unless I was putting myself in danger.

We sneak down to the ballroom where the orphanage was initially set up, but it is now clear since only a handful of children remained and were on the servant’s floor with Clarice and the other servants so they could be watched over. Yet a few bunk beds and toys remained. We set up our picnic after ripping the sheets off. Trey starts a fire in the enormous fireplaces, and we flick the lights off since turning them on lit the place like a Christmas tree.

“So, what did Damian do that you made you ditch him?’ Abbie asks, accepting a glass of wine from her.

Liam sips his bottle of whiskey, not bothering with a glass,

“Nothing really just irritated me.”

“Fascinating. Tell me more about your domestic squabbles,” Liam says, and she rolls her eyes at him.

“I wanted to go to the archives and find my daughter. He wants me to wait.”

“Why?” I ask, thinking it was a little odd of him. He knows Tandi wants her daughter back, as any mother would after learning they were alive all this time.

“He wants to be sure. He said he is worried Larkin is lying and she is dead. He wants to check it out himself first,” she sighs.

“Yeah, I would say he is just looking out for you,” Trey tells her, coming over with a blanket. He drapes it over my shoulder, eyeing the wine glass in my hand that Tandi gave me. I sip it, finding the taste somewhat bitter.

“What about you and Gannon after last night?” Tandi asks Abbie. The room fell quiet at her question, and I definitely didn’t want to think of the state we found her in. Abbie leans into me, resting her head on my shoulder.

T’ll be fine. Though I learned a lot about Sia, who was Gannon’s real mate,” Abbie tells us, and I had questions of my own about this woman. Liam clears his throat awkwardly, and I glance at him.

“Liam was with Sia when Gannon was,” Abbie says.

“Damn! And you think I am trouble? First, the Gamma’s mate and then the Beta’s mate. I’m starting to see a pattern with you,” Tandi laughs.

“So what about Sia?” I ask Abbie.

“She was my aunty,” she tells us, and my brows furrow and Tandi stares at her before downing her glass.

“Till get more wine than, shall i,” she says, about to get up and retrieve the bottle off the small Lego table leaning against the wall.

“I’ll do it,” Liam says, plucking the glass from her fingers and wandering off. Abbie sighs.

“So your aunty then?” Tandi asks.

“Dead. Gannon and Liam killed her,” Abbie answers.

“And you are still with him?” she asks.

I don’t remember her. It was before I was born. All I know is what my mother told me about her.”

“And what was that?” Tandi asks curiously.

“That they had a fight. li was why my mother and father left the pack. So I have no memory of her. I only remember my grandmother when mum would sneak me to see her when I was little.”

I had hardly any memories that I could recall of Abbie. In fact, I could scarcely remember a time without Abbie.

“I don’t remember you ever leaving?” I tell her, confused. “What?” Abbie asks, looking at me, just as confused as I felt.