Page 27 of Ruined

Jesup began to help her up from the floor as Tristan roughly swung me around to face him. I glared up at him, my eyes gleaming with rage. “What the fuck happened?” he demanded to know.

“Why don’t you ask the fucking whore who told me to go back to my fucking master?” I snarled up at him, still absolutely furious. She had no fucking idea what Joey and I had together, and it pissed me the fuck off that she thought she had the fucking right to assume shit about me and the man who had honestly saved my goddamn life.

“What goddamn master?” he asked me, clenching his jaw as anger sparked in his dark eyes—anger on my behalf.

“She doesn’t belong here!” Emma screeched. Tristan tightened his hands on me, keeping me rooted in my place as I made a move to face her again. I was seething. “She’s Joey’s bitch?—”

“Shut your fucking mouth!” Tristan roared at her, making her flinch and cower back against Jesup, who shot her a dark look for talking shit about me. “I didn’t ask you a goddamn question! Speak only when you’re spoken to!” He looked at Jesup. “Get her the fuck out of my sight. I’ll fucking deal with her later.”

“Tristan—” Emma began again, but he growled, his eyes flashing dangerously as he turned his gaze on her again, effectively shutting her up.

Jesup steered her down the back hall. Tristan brushed my hair out of my face. “Are you alright?” he asked me gently, his mood doing a complete one-eighty on me.

I nodded, blowing out a soft breath as I flexed my fisted hands, forcing them to relax. “I’m fine,” I grumbled. “She just caught me by surprise.”

Tristan pressed his lips to my forehead, and I closed my eyes, drawing in the comfort that he was offering me. “Have you eaten anything for dinner yet?” When I shook my head no, he shot me a disapproving look. I scowled. “You’re not just looking after yourself anymore, Adelaide.”

I rolled my eyes, heaving a tired sigh. “I’ll eat when I’m ready to, Tristan,” I told him, placing my hands on my hips.

“She’s a hell of a lot feistier than I remember,” Troy commented as he strode over. “Not the same, sweet Adelaide we all remember, huh?” he asked, looking down at me.

I bristled, putting my guard up against Troy. “You should know the answer to that considering it wasyourVP that I shot in the shoulder,” I snapped at him.

Kyle scowled down at me, but I only smirked in return. Tristan sighed as he ran a hand down his face. “Thanks for that, by the way,” Kyle snapped at me. My smirk only widened. “It took me three months of physical therapy to be able to properly use my shoulder again.”

“Why did you shoot Kyle in the shoulder in the first place?” Tristan asked me, his eyebrows pulled low, a disturbed look passing over his face before it became practically impassive again.

I shrugged before I crossed my arms over my chest. “I was at a drop, and Troy was there with Kyle and a couple of their men waiting to sabotage the entire exchange and lose the Sons of Hell one of our best clients,” I informed him. “It was a million-dollar deal. I wasn’t letting anyone fucking sabotage it.”

Tristan clenched his jaw and shook his head. “I keep forgetting that Joey had you in the middle of all of that shit.” I glared up at him, a silent warning for him to tread carefully. He clenched his jaw, dropping the subject before he turned to Troy. “She’s no longer with the Sons of Hell,” Tristan informed them. Pain sliced at my chest because not being part of that club wasn’t my choice.

Troy shrugged. “Guessed as much by the fact that she’s here with you,” Troy commented. “I heard Joey is currently MIA.”

I swallowed past the sudden lump in my throat, hating the swarm of emotions that warred inside of me at the thought of Joey being dead.

God, I fucking missed him. Hell, I fuckingneededhim.

Without a word, I turned on my heel and stormed off toward the bar. I could feel Tristan’s gaze on my back, but I ignored him, not even bothering to turn to face him. “Fucking hell, I wish I could have a drink right now,” I muttered as I made my way behind the bar top. I looked up at Jhenna as I reached up to rub my temples where they were beginning to throb. “Hey, darlin’, get me a cold water,” I told her.

She arched an eyebrow at me. “Just a water?” she asked, almost as if she couldn’t believe that I would want water on the night we were having a club party.

I narrowed my eyes at her. She instantly cowered back from me a little. “Did I fucking stutter?” I snapped at her. Her face paled the tiniest bit. “I said to get me a fucking water.”

With a nod, she spun around to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water, handing it to me. I strode away from the bar and headed for my room. However, before I could reach it, my phone began to vibrate in my back pocket. With a disgruntled sigh, I pulled it out.

Unknown:

Time is ticking, gorgeous.

“Fuck!” I yelled, dropping to the floor as the ground beneath my feet shook, and the glass from the windows exploded, raining down all around me like rain.

Whoever had exploded this place did it with perfect timing. They had to have been watching because they’d made sure I was away from everyone else first.

“Addy!” Tristan roared, his voice filled with panic.

I coughed, the air quickly filling with smoke. It didn’t take long for me to realize that the building was on fire from whatever had exploded outside. I quickly pulled my shirt up to cover my nose and mouth, desperately trying to see through the smoke.

Heat wrapped around me like a suffocating cloak, and I cursed. I couldn’t see past any of the flames and the smoke. I coughed again, my eyes burning from the smoke and the heat.

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