Page 115 of Ruin

Now my body tenses up. Is he selling me to someone else? Just to get Declan to come here to rescue me? A cold icy chill moves through my body. The sour sickening taste in my mouth makes me know that something bad is about to happen. I really don’t think Declan can save me in time.

If I thought his breath was going to make me sick, this new fear is one hundred percent going to make me sick. I won’t go down without a fight, though, that I can promise. I will die before I let anyone else fucking touch me. I’m never letting anyone touch me, even if I’m dying. I want Declan’s touch to be the last thing I remember if I die.

“Hello.” My whole body freezes.

No. Anyone but him. Anyone in the world but him.

“Thank you for letting me know how I can get Declan here.” The guy who kidnapped me pushes me back so that my back slams intohischest.

“Your payment.”Do not cry. Do not cry.I repeat it to myself and hope that someone answers my prayers.

No matter how many times I tell myself not to cry, tears come to my eyes as I feel his hand on my stomach.

“I’ve missed you.” He kisses my neck, I close my eyes, and feel the tears land on my cheek.

“I won’t punish you for letting that little boy touch you, but now you’re truly mine. By the time he comes, we’ll be too far away for him to find us.” He turns me around, and grabs my cheeks hard and pulls my face to look at him. His eyes are dark, a lot darker than I’ve ever seen them before in Robert's eyes. “Are you ready for forever with me?”

THIRTY-TWO

DECLAN

I pace the living area.Cain is on the phone, not sure with who as I can’t hear him. Doc has been with Lincoln and cleaned up Lileah. And me? I’ve not been able to stand still for a second.

My heart is racing to the point I can hear it beating in my ears. If Riley hurts Trixie, I’ll make sure his death is fucking slow. My brothers have been sitting as far away from me as they can. Every time they try to speak to me, I want to stab them and they know it. I almost did when Mason kept telling me to sit down. That was just pissing me off.

Cain walks out with his laptop and places it on the table, and I walk over as he turns it around.

“Mom, Dad?” I give them a wave, my brothers joining me.

“Boys, Cain has filled us in on what is happening,” Dad starts, and I look over at Cain.

“Cain’s been telling you everything since you left,” I say. He might have told us he hasn’t, but we all know he has. From the first message I got to the car chase. Cain won’t hide anything from dad.

“Yes, he has. Where is Lileah?” Mom asks.

“Sleeping,” Hayden replies. I look at my watch to work out how long Trixie has been gone. Too long for my liking.

“So, one of my sons has a girlfriend, and no one told me.” Mom looks between us all, and they all turn to me, but I stay quiet. I’m not in the mood for this conversation. I need to find Trixie and the first place I am going to go is to Riley’s house. I want to make sure he knows I’m about to make his life hell. “I’m sure I’ll love her.” Mom adds, trying to fill the silence in the room.

“We have to fucking find her first,” I snap not at my mom, but at the situation.

“Mom, trust me, she’s a little different. Be prepared.” I hear Miles joke behind me, and I shake my head.

Why the fuck is everyone joking around? My girl is fucking missing, and we are sitting here having a god damn family meeting.

“What’s the plan?” Dad asks, and Cain turns to me, and is the first to say something.

“I know what you’re thinking, you have my vote.”

“You know it’s fucking creepy you know what we’re thinking, without having to say anything.” I will never get used to him doing that, how he reads people.

“I don’t want to kill him, that’s no fun-”

“Can I kill him?” Mason asks.

“He had his chance to walk away, and he didn’t, so now I’m going to make him suffer. We know the people his son killed in The Pit. I’ll talk to those families and tell them who killed their family member. Throughout the years, I tell families who it was that killed their family member down in The Pit. One by one, Riley will lose his family, because I want him to suffer, slowly.” I look at Cain who’s smiling at me, and then I turn back to my parents.

“You want to drag it out, I like the style.” The tone in Mason's voice makes me laugh a little.

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