Squad 6: Royal Blood

Chapter 9- Chloe

Chloe

A chair scraped the floor as the room went dead silent. Like whiplash, memories flooded Chloe, and she could do nothing to stop them. She was in her apartment, laughing on the couch. She was dancing in a club. She was on the bathroom floor, crying. She was running across the street in a woolen coat.

Irene had been there for it all.

Chloe's breathing quickened in an instant, her body shifting into fight or flight. But she remained frozen in her spot, trained on the ghost across the room. It had to be a ghost.

The girl looked different but there was no mistake. She knew those features, the heart-shaped face, and soft blue eyes. Her hair was a light shade of brown now, not blonde like it used to be, but she was there. Her best friend was alive.

"I," she said, repeating the word like her brain knew no other. "Oh my God."

Her knees were weak and she didn't know how she was still standing. Her head was spinning like she was drunk, like she was high.

Someone's hand gripped Chloe's forearm. "You should sit," Diana said.

No one objected. Cassandra looked between Irene and Chloe, something resembling recognition flashing in her eyes. Andrew was already halfway out of his chair, ready to help catch Chloe if she crumbled under the weight of her own emotion. Majesty watched with a passive face.

"I thought you were dead," she whispered, as Irene rounded the table slowly as if giving Chloe space to get used to her presence. As she opened her arms slowly, Chloe flung herself into them, gripping Irene's hoodie.

Chloe was safe in her embrace and she had been safe for a long time.

"I thought you were dead too, I didn't know if Ivan's men found you," Irene whispered in Polish, though the sound of the language was not threatening now that she was the one speaking the words.

They stood like that until Chloe's breathing calmed down and she didn't feel like her body would give up on her. Her eyes didn't leave Irene as she took a seat at the table, one hand still in Chloe's.

"What are you doing here?" Chloe asked, though her eyes immediately went to Cassandra. How did she find Irene? Had she known all along? Instant resentment boiled in Chloe's stomach even though her doubts were unreasonable.

"I met Bill in New York before..." she trailed off, the atmosphere becoming even heavier. "Cassandra called me to tell me what had happened, and how they had been fighting to free these kids from somewhere. I mentioned Okularnik and Cassandra said she could use my help. I came hoping to find you."

A new rush of memories stopped Chloe in her tracks. At Martina's party in New York, she had looked across the street from the hotel and wondered if Irene had been there, but now it seemed like a real possibility.

"Wait," she eyed Irene. "Why did Cassandra call you Naomi?"

Irene offered a shrug. "I didn't want anyone going after me when I left."

By now, everyone was seated, Majesty leaning onto the windowsill, like she knew she was not an active member of the conversation about to take place. Or she felt superior to get down to their level. For the first time, Chloe wasn't actively bothered by anyone's presence, her focus solely on her best friend.

Irene continued. "When you escaped, Ivan had me moved to another club in Paris. I had worked to gain a privileged position, protect myself and as many girls and guys as I could."

Irene pulled down the side of her shirt, revealing a tattoo of a snake on her shoulder. "I had to get this, but it's what allowed me to escape in the end."