Page 7 of Bound By Ruin

My older brother grunts and leans back on his cot, resting his back against the cold metal bars making up a headboard. After a moment, he says, “I don’t want her out there looking for him.”

“If she wants to go, she’ll go. Better that she do it with us than alone.” I close my eyes and try to picture what it will be like to travel the city with Celia, but all I see are bright red flames licking toward the ceiling of her boutique. I snap my eyes open and take another swig of water. “You can’t lock her up again, Rage. She won’t forgive you.”

He scowls, suddenly looking older. The lines around his mouth crease into deep grooves, and there’s a twin row of wrinkles in his forehead. He doesn’t like hearing the truth, much less adhering to it. “I know.”

I lie down and turn onto my side to look at him. “So what are you going to do?” He’s grinding his teeth like he used to do when our father would tear a belt across his back. Funny how you remember the most terrible details in times of crises.

Swallowing hard, he sets his water bottle down on the floor and throws his arms behind his head. I bet he wishes he could escape to the gym right now to lift weights. If we were home, I have no doubt that he would spend hours bleeding out his frustrations on his body, lifting twice the amount of weight than he should just to exhaust himself.

Kind of like how I’d kill for a bottle right now.

“I’m going to sleep,” he says finally, turning his frown onto me. “And so should you. We need as much rest as we can get if we’re going hunting tomorrow.”

I glance over at Celia, expecting her to be alone with Ruin but finding Thanatos hovering nearby. He drapes a blanket over her shoulders and retreats to another folding chair sitting near a partition wall, apparently settling in for a night of staring. I guess silent contemplation runs in the family, after all.

“What about Sara?” I don’t really care to help strangers, but Celia will tear herself apart if it brings her one step closer to finding the college girl. “Did they ID the body yet?”

“Not yet.”

“Have the cops called?”

“No, but when they do, I don’t want Celia answering.” Rage closes his eyes like he’s going to sleep sitting up. “We need to keep her as calm as possible, and answering questions from the police about the fire will make that difficult.”

“You underestimate her, man.”

He takes a deep breath. “I don’t want to lose her.”

Yeah, neither do I.

* * *

If there’s one thing I know for certain today, it’s that Celia’s twin brother Mikhail is an asshole.

The man is a splitting image of her, except for the fine-lined stubble on his jaw and his lack of tits, but everything else is eerily similar. Same skin tone, same hair color, and same piercing hazel eyes. Hell, they’re even the same height, coming to about five foot eight or nine. That, and he can be just as stubborn as she can.

“What do you mean, I can’t see her? She’s mysister! Who the hell is she to you?”

Thanatos is running bouncer at the door to The Box, refusing him entry. I’m sure it’s not just on Celia’s behalf, but all of ours. We all slept like shit and could use another few hours of rest before greeting the world.

Mikhail Monrovia either didn’t get that memo, or he doesn’t care.

“I’m her protection detail,” Thanatos replies, squaring up to the smaller man. “And you won’t see her unless she approves it.”

“You work for me!” Mikhail’s grin is sharp. “Stand down, Riot.”

There’s that name again—the one Than programmed into Celia’s phone contacts beside his real name.

I quirk an eyebrow. “Since when did he decide to be cool like us and get a new name?”

Rage chuckles. “Remember what he was wearing when he worked for Katya?”

Rolling my eyes, I chuff. “There’s no fucking way he picked that name because of that stupid gear he wears.” Then again, he’s never been the most creative. “There’snoway.”

Footsteps shuffle behind us, and Celia slides in beside my brother and me. “What’s going on?” Loose strands of hair stick to her cheek, and I brush them back with a smile.

“Morning, sleepyhead. You were out like the dead.”

She throws a halfhearted glare my way. “Not funny, Rebel.”

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