Page 45 of King of Ruin

“Don’t die before I can kill you, brat.” I barely make out her words before a cup of water is shoved to my mouth.

I do my best to drink it, fighting through the strong contractions in my throat. I down the entire glass before they finally subside, and my eyes return to her. She’s closer now, sitting with her legs crossed, perching on the edge of my coffee table.

“Let’s try this again without you choking to death, shall we? How about we begin with simple yes or no questions?”

I swallow again, wincing when the little saliva pushes down. “Yes.”

“Good girl,” she coos, brushing my hair behind my ear. My lashes flutter, my growing fear squeezing my insides. “Do you know where your guard is?”

I shake my head.

Maddy smirks, wiping either side of her blade against her jeans. “Use your words, little mouse. Have you talked to Z today?”

“No.”

“Yesterday?”

“Yes.”

She straightens. “Does he have a plan?”

I start to shrug but find my voice. “He does but he won’t tell me.”

“Why?”

“I think…” I trail off, the instant familiar burn of tears radiating across my eyes. “He may worry I’ll let it slip or something.”

Maddy’s head tilts, her eyes narrowing as she examines my face. “Why would you let something slip? And to whom?”

This time I lift a shoulder.

“Have you considered that maybe hedoesn’thave a plan and doesn’t want you freaking out? You seem the type to go manic.”

I soak in her words, ignoring the warm tears falling over the rim. Him not having a planwouldmake me worry considering there’s a ticking time bomb over my head with the woman who’s sitting across from me, still gripping a knife.

“Maybe. Or maybe he doesn’t think he can trust me. I still haven’t been able to do the one thing he asked and find our mom. ”

Snapping my mouth shut, I bite back a groan. But Maddy laughs, high and wild. “I see what you mean about letting things slip. And your mother? I’m confused. She’s at Embros Hearts.”

My heart stutters. “I don’t understand.”

She sighs, her brows curving inward as she explains it as if I’m supposed to already know. “Onyx had me come get her after we showed Z what Hearts was. Your mom agreed immediately, packed a few items and went with me the same night. I guess I didn’t get a chance to tell Z because–”

Maddy stops mid sentence, leaning back, and biting her lip briefly before her eyes flash to the front window. “Where’s a good place to hide?”

“What?” I straighten, panic gripping my throat as I follow her gaze to the flash of headlights pulling up in front of our house.

Shooting to my feet, I use my shirt to clean my face. I don’t get enough time to process anything she just said, nor the fact that Phineas and Zek are both walking up the unkept broken sidewalk to the door, before a blur of red hair vanishes down the hall.

“Who were you talking to?”

I swirl around on my heels to see Lawrence closing the back door. He’s not in the jeans he left in but a three piece suit with a heavy-looking gun over his shoulder. Honestly, I could find out aliens are real and it still wouldn’t both surprise and confuse me like today has.

I shake my head. “No one.”

His dark brows furrow as he brushes by me and glances down the hall.Shit.

“I-I-why are they here?” I motion to the door, my voice much higher than it needs to be.

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