Page 15 of Ruined

“The ones we can trust, though none of them know where you’re going. Only you,” he says, the clear indication that it better only be me or else.

“Yes, only me.” I half lie to him. I’m not sure if Walker had told him Ryker and I were on this, or if it was just me. But I wasn’t going to risk outing Ryker to him, not with Blake sitting next to me listening to every word I was saying.

Blake taps my shoulder, pulling my attention to her. Pointing to her shoulder, she signs something, pointing to her shoulder again.

“I’m not sure what you’re saying,” I mumble.

“What is she doing?” Dimitri asks. “Hold on, let me get Gabriel.”

I frown at Blake and watch as her eyes dim down. I wonder if Dimitri never learned signed language, and the idea of it makes me furious. That his daughter is mute and the only form of communication she has is signing. Is this part of the reason she’s so reserved?

“Hello, Jacey boy,” Gabriel’s voice filters through the phone.

“Hi, Gabriel.” Blake perks up at the mention of his name. Her hands moved a million miles, and even if I knew some sign language, I was not even sure I could understand her. Not with how fast she was moving.

“What’s my girl saying?” he asks.

“Uh… well right now I’m not so sure. But she was pointing at her shoulder and I’m not sure—”

“That fucking douchebag,” Gabriel interrupts me. “I’m switching to Facetime; I need to see her hands.”

The phone against my ear starts to buzz. Pulling it back, I wait for Gabriel’s face to fill the screen. Blake yanks the phone from my hand, setting it against the dashboard, propped against the windshield. I click the light on, hoping it would help Gabriel see her; I don’t miss the smile they give each other.

“Okay, sweet cheeks, let it all out,” he says as if they have all the time.

I’m in amazement as Blake starts signing, not taking a break once. The entire time Gabriel nods his head, following along with her. Time seems to slow as I find it impossible to avoid watching her speak. She is a true vision of beauty, the silent laugh she gives, and she is lingering in the depths of my mind. I know I am going to be unable to stop my growing obsession of her.

“Hey, lover boy!” someone snaps.

Shaking my head, I glance over. Blake’s hood hides most of her face but I see the way her eyes watch me. Our attention on each other, the exhilarating presence of her sitting next to me. She’s the only person who has my admiration. The blinders are on. I find my emotions and thoughts of her consuming every inch of my brain. How can someone I just met be so consuming? The growing need to know every little detail about her? Every thought wrapped around inside her brain.

“Okay, well now that I have your attention, I hate to break this to you, but our friend here has a tracker in her shoulder. Mila had it put in behind Dimitri’s back when she was asleep, and once again, I suppose no one told you about that either.” Gabriel sighs.

I’m stuck on the fact there’s a tracker inside Blake and from the pissed-off look she’s shooting Gabriel, she didn’t know either. And I want to know why they’re keeping secrets from me, the one who’s supposed to be protecting their daughter. How am I supposed to do my job if they’re withholding information from me?

“Gabriel,” I growl out. “I need you to tell me everything.”

I don’t look at Blake, afraid she’ll see the weakness that’s seeping through. It’s one thing to have a tracker on someone, and it’s another thing for them to have been through whatever she’s been through and not know about it.

“Well, you know she’s mute, she has a tracker in her shoulder, uh…she likes desserts before actual food. She won’t sleep unless—”

Gabriel is cut off by the ringing of bullets around us. The windshield shatters, and glass scatters around us.

“What is happening?” Gabriel yells into the phone.

Shoving Blake down onto the floorboard, I yank the gear shift down into drive, “Stay down, Sunshine.”

Three cars surround the truck, making it almost impossible for me to maneuver around them. Four men stand outside, guns aimed at the truck, I can’t see who they are, due to the masks and tactical gear.

“Jac—” Gabriel calls out once more before I’m flooring the gas pedal. The truck collides with one of their vehicles. There’s shouting and more bullets hitthe truck. Twisting the steering wheel, I race through the parking lot, heading for the main road.

“Stay down there, and cover your head,” I bark. Blake does as I say, hugging herself into the floorboard. The tires screech as I twist the steering wheel, and gunshots whistle around us. One of the side mirrors explodes.

“Fuck,” I snarl.

Something collides into the back of the truck. I glance behind us; the three cars race around us. I turn the corner, horns blaring around us, and I can hear Gabriel yelling something into the phone followed by other voices. More shots ring out. Blake slams against the door as I yank the wheel once more, sending one of the cars into a car parked on the side of the road.

One down, two to go.

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