Page 54 of Blood and Ruin: The Complete Series

“Yeah, and how do you figure that?” Axel, the dick, taunts at me.

“Because I might know where to look for him.”

The guys halt their bickering to all turn and glare at me.

“You couldn’t have led with that?” Axel grits out.

“As if I could get a word in edgewise.”

He narrows his eyes on me. “How—”

“The how or why doesn’t matter. What matters is I can get in, but I’ll need you to come up with a distraction for his men and King’s.”

Jax perks up, answering my call for some destruction. “Done and done. So, you’ll help?”

I look around at the hopeful expressions on each of their faces, my mind made up the minute they told me about her.

No one should be held against their will.

I nod. “I’ll help.”

The guys all share a relieved expression.

“I have somewhere to be, but we’ll meet up tomorrow and figure out the details.” I head to the door and open it, hoping they take the hint.

They share a look before heading out. I stare at the ground waiting for the last to leave.

A shadow casts over me, pausing.

“Thank you.” Luka’s soft voice sends flutters to the part of my chest I thought to be hollow. I nod, not able to speak, the lump in my throat too full to swallow.

He leans in, giving me a soft kiss to my forehead. It burns through whatever little defences I have left.

How could I be so stupid to let any type of feelings get involved? I needed to shut them down as quickly as possible. It’s better I found out about their girl now anyway. It was better for us all.

After all, I was leaving soon with Alana, never to look back on this place.

If that was true, then why did I feel sick to my stomach at the thought of never seeing any of them again?

CHAPTER 13

After the guys leave, I throw back the rest of my cold coffee and take a quick shower. Once I’m out, I scour the fridge and cupboards for anything to eat.

Finding a half-broken granola bar Axel managed to miss in his search, I wolf it down and head out.

I move in the direction of Kaladar’s penthouse which ironically is on the other side of the hotel. If the guys knew how close he was, they’d blow a fit and end up dead in their search for the girl.

I pass the guards on the main floor, making my way to the west side of the hotel and Kaladar’s base.

The guards see me pass, their leery glances following me as I go. As usual, none of them question my whereabouts or where I’m heading.

Nearly all of King’s lackeys know of my caged status. They assume my position here is set in stone and let me go unnoticed. They may not know what King’ssessionsentail but they are aware of King’s ill treatment and assume my wings have been clipped, that I’ve been permanently gilded to the hotel.

But no matter how broken my wings were, my mind would never belong to King. No matter what he might think.

Coming up to the entrance to Lord Silas’s floor, a pure-blooded vampire with no morals and a shitty attitude, I spot a couple of his fledglings talking to a maid.

Lord Silas owns the sub-penthouse below Kaladar’s. It has outdoor space with direct access to the floor above and a way in for me.

---