MARRY YOUR KILLER
Chapter Seventy-Six: The Ambush
---
The morning was quiet when Jay decided to go shopping.
She needed air. She needed space. She needed to be somewhere that wasn't the house. The walls were closing in. The memories were everywhere. Lyra's corner. The broken steps. The garden that was finally growing back. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't think. She needed to walk.
Keifer was in the study with Mica, tracking the last of Yuri's mother's men. Percy was in the garden with Aries, planting new flowers. Alex was in the corner, waiting. He was always waiting.
Care was in the kitchen, making tea. Her hands were steady. Her face was calm. She had been quiet since the warehouse. Since Lyra jumped through the window. Since she disappeared again.
Jay walked into the kitchen. "Come with me."
Care looked up. "Where?"
"Shopping. I need to get out. You need to get out. We both need to get out."
Care looked at the window. At the garden. At the house that was healing. "Okay."
---
The mall was crowded.
Jay walked through the aisles, her hands in her pockets, her face calm. Care was beside her, her medical bag left at home, her hands empty. They didn't talk. They didn't need to. They just walked.
Care stopped at a window. A dress. White. Simple. The kind of dress Lyra would never wear. The kind of dress Lyra would never want to wear.
"She would hate this," Care said.
Jay stood beside her. "She would."
Care smiled. It was small. Sad. Real. "She would say it's too bright. Too soft. Too—"
"Too much," Jay said. "She would say it's too much."
Care laughed. It was a surprised sound. "She would."
They walked on. The mall was bright. The people were loud. The world was moving. Jay bought nothing. Care bought nothing. They just walked. They just existed. They just were.
---
They saw her at the food court.
A figure in black. Short hair. Pale face. Empty eyes. She was sitting alone, a cup of coffee in her hands, her face turned toward the window. She didn't see them. She didn't know they were there.
Jay stopped. Her heart stopped. Her hands went cold.
"Lyra," Jay whispered.
Care's hand was on her arm. Her face was pale. "It's her."
They walked toward her. Their steps were slow. Their hands were shaking. They didn't want to scare her. They didn't want her to run. They just wanted to see her. They just wanted to be near her.
Lyra looked up. Her eyes went wide. Her hands went still. She stood up. Her chair scraped against the floor. She stepped back. Her face was blank. Her hands were shaking.
"Lyra," Jay said. "Please. Don't run."
Lyra stopped. Her hands were at her sides. Her face was blank. Her eyes were not. "Jay. Care."
Care walked to her. Her steps were slow. Her face was wet. "You're alive. You're here. You're—"
"I'm fine." Lyra's voice was low. "I'm fine. I'm okay. I'm—"
"You're not fine." Care's voice was breaking. "You're never fine. You're always protecting everyone else. You're always—"
Lyra's face softened. Just for a moment. "Care."
Care pulled her close. Her arms were around her. Her face was in her hair. "I missed you. I missed you so much."
Lyra stood still. Her arms were at her sides. Her hands were empty. Her body was rigid. She didn't move. She didn't speak. She didn't hold Care back.
Care held her tighter. "Please. Please come home. Please—"
Lyra's hands moved. They came up. They touched Care's back. Her fingers were cold. Her touch was light. She held Care for a moment. Just a moment. Just enough.
Then she pulled away.
She stepped back. Her hands fell. Her face was blank. Her eyes were wet. "I can't."
Jay stepped forward. Her face was calm. Her voice was steady. "Why? Why can't you come home? Why can't you—"
Lyra shook her head. "It's not safe. They're still out there. They're still watching. They're still—"
"There's no one left." Jay's voice was firm. "Yuri's mother is dead. Michel is dead. Sato is dead. Ram is dead. Kiko is dead. Keizer is dead. There's no one left. There's just us. There's just home."
Lyra's face was breaking. Her walls were falling. "You don't know that. You don't know—"
Care took her hand. Her fingers were warm. "We know. We know because we've been looking. We've been searching. We've been waiting. For you. For months. Alex has been waiting in your corner. Every night. He hasn't moved. He hasn't eaten. He hasn't slept. He's been waiting for you."
Lyra's face was wet. Her hands were shaking. "Alex."
Care squeezed her hand. "He loves you. He's always loved you. He'll always love you. And he's waiting. He's always waiting."
Lyra pulled her hand away. She stepped back. Her face was blank. Her eyes were not. "I have to go."
Care's face was wet. "No. No, you don't. You can stay. You can come home. You can—"
Lyra shook her head. "Not yet. I can't. Not yet."
She turned. She walked away. Her steps were fast. Her hands were empty. Her face was hidden.
---
The men came from the shadows.
They were fast. They were silent. They came from behind the stalls, from the corridors, from the doors. Their faces were covered. Their hands were empty. Their eyes were cold.
Jay saw them. Her hand went to her knife. Care saw them. Her hand went to her bag. It was empty. She had left everything at home.
"Lyra!" Jay screamed.
Lyra turned. She saw the men. She saw Jay and Care. She ran. She ran toward them. Her knife was in her hand. Her face was blank. Her eyes were cold.
The first man fell. The second man fell. The third man fell. She moved like water. She moved like smoke. She moved like the woman who had been protecting them for months.
But there were too many.
Jay was fighting. Her knife was red. Her face was calm. Care was beside her, her hands empty, her face hard. They were outnumbered. They were outmatched. They were not going to run.
Lyra was in the center. Her knife was moving. Her body was moving. She was a machine. A weapon. Something her mother had made and her father had abandoned. Men fell around her. She didn't stop.
She didn't see the man behind her.
---
Care saw him.
He was tall. His face was covered. His hand was raised. He was holding a pipe. He was aiming at Lyra's head.
Care moved. She was there before she could think. Her body was between the man and Lyra. Her arms were open. Her face was calm.
The pipe hit her head.
She fell. Her body was light. Her face was pale. The blood was red on her hair, spreading fast, blooming like a flower.
"Care!" Jay screamed.
She caught her. She was on the ground, Care in her arms, the blood warm on her hands.
Care's eyes were open. Her face was pale. Her lips were moving. "Jay."
Jay was crying. "I'm here. I'm here. You're going to be okay."
Care smiled. It was small. Tired. Real. "I know."
---
Lyra turned. She saw Care on the ground. The blood on her hair. The man standing over her. His pipe was raised. His eyes were on Jay.
She moved. She was faster than him. Her knife was in his throat before he could swing. He fell. His eyes were open. His hands were empty.
She dropped beside Care. Her hands were on her head. Her face was calm. Her voice was steady.
"Care. Care, look at me."
Care's eyes opened. Just a slit. Just enough. "Lyra."
Lyra's hands were shaking. "You're going to be okay. You're going to be okay."
Care touched her face. Her fingers were cold. "You came back."
Lyra's face was wet. "I always come back."
---
The men were gone. The ones who were left had run. The food court was empty. The lights were flickering. The blood was on the floor.
Jay knelt beside Care. Her hands were on her head. The blood was slowing. The wound was closing. She was going to be okay.
Care looked at Lyra. Her face was pale. Her eyes were tired. "Come home. Please. Come home."
Lyra's face was wet. "I can't."
Care's hand was on hers. "You can. You can come home. Alex is waiting. Percy is waiting. Aries is waiting. Ella is waiting. We're all waiting. Please. Please come home."
Lyra looked at her. At her sister. At her friend. At the woman who had taken a hit for her. The woman who had saved her. The woman who loved her.
"I love you," Lyra said.
Care's face was wet. "I love you too."
Lyra stood up. Her hands were empty. Her face was blank. Her eyes were wet. She looked at Jay. At Care. At the women who had come for her. The women who had saved her. The women who were waiting for her.
"Take care of her," Lyra said.
Jay's face was wet. "Lyra—"
Lyra stepped back. She turned. She walked toward the exit. Her steps were fast. Her hands were empty. Her face was hidden.
"Lyra!" Care screamed. "Please! Please don't go! Please—"
Lyra didn't stop. She didn't turn. She walked out the door. She disappeared into the light.
---
Care tried to stand. Her legs gave way. Jay caught her. Her arms were around her. Her face was in her hair.
"She's gone," Care said. "She's gone again."
Jay held her. "She'll come back. When she's ready. She'll come back."
Care held her. Her hands were shaking. Her face was wet. "I miss her."
Jay held her tighter. "I know. I know."
---
The ambulance came at noon.
Care was on a stretcher. Her head was bandaged. Her face was pale. Her eyes were closed. Cole was beside her, his hand in hers, his face white. He had come as soon as Jay called. He hadn't left her side.
Jay stood at the door of the hospital room. Keifer was beside her. His hand was in hers.
"She saved us," Jay said. "She saved Care. She saved me. She saved all of us."
Keifer pulled her close. "She always saves us."
Jay looked at the window. At the light. At the place where Lyra had disappeared. "She said she loved us. She said she loved us and she left."
Keifer kissed her hair. "She'll come back. When she's ready. She'll come back."
---
Alex was in the corner when Care came home.
His hands were in his pockets. His face was blank. His eyes were on the window where she used to watch. Care walked in, her head bandaged, her steps slow. Cole was beside her.
"She was there," Care said. "She was right there. She saved me. She saved Jay. And then she left."
Alex didn't turn. "She always leaves."
Care walked to him. She stood beside him. "She loves you. She said she loves you."
Alex's face was wet. "I know."
Care took his hand. "She'll come back. When she's ready. She'll come back."
Alex looked at the window. At the street. At the light. "I'll wait. I'll always wait."
---
The night came.
Jay stood at the window of her room. The garden was dark. The flowers were blooming. The steps were new. The house was healing. Keifer came in behind her. His arms went around her waist. His face was in her hair.
"You're thinking," he said.
She leaned against him. "I'm always thinking."
He turned her to face him. His hands were on her face. His eyes were steady. "She'll come back."
She looked at him. "How do you know?"
He smiled. It was small. Tired. Real. "Because she loves us. Because she loves him. Because she's Lyra. And she always comes back."
She kissed him. Soft. Slow. A kiss that promised everything. He kissed her back.
---
END OF CHAPTER SEVENTY-SIX