Page 58 of Ruin Me
Gritting my teeth, I know I have to face him, to confront whatever twisted agenda he has. But not now. Now, I need to regroup, to prepare. I can’t let my guard down—not when the stakes are higher than ever.
30
VOGUE
I sit still,watching until the last of the gunfire dies down, and the silence settles back over the area like a shroud. I don’t expect any police to show up, we’re too far off the beaten track.
I exhale slowly. Relief floods me when I think it’s over, but it’s quick to drain away when I think about that text from Aaron. No way in hell am I meeting him alone. But how the fuck do I tell the guys without them going ballistic? They’ll insist on coming with me, and he said to come alone.
Part of me wonders what the hell the guys did to the professor and his cohorts, not to mention all the Vipers, but I can’t see anyone at all when I look through the binoculars again.
A noise on the stairs makes my heart jolt, and I lower the binoculars, moving my hand around to the gun I shoved into the back of my jeans, under my top. Turning slowly, hoping it’s the guys and not a Viper out to get me, I blink when I see a very suaveman reach the top of the stairs, dressed in a black suit, ready to kill—literally, I’m sure. His face doesn’t take me by surprise. It’s like looking in a mirror.
“Aaron McGowan,” I grit out, my hand going slack on the gun still shoved into the back of my pants.
“Vogue,” he murmurs. “Fuck, you look like my mother. More so in person.”
“Fuck off. You don’t get to say shit like that to me.”
He holds his hands up, his brown eyes shrewd as he takes a couple of steps closer. “You’re right. I haven’t earned that, yet.”
“You never will.” My bitterness is laid bare for him to see, hear, sense, and whatever else. He needs to know I hate him.
And I do hate him. Right now, seeing his face, his expensive suit and calm attitude, I hate him.
“You’re coming with me,” he states coolly.
“Not a chance.”
In a few strides, he is close enough to reach out and grab my upper arm in a tight grip. “We’re going to my office. We need to talk. Alone.”
“No!” I yell loudly, which is either really dumb or really smart. I can’t tell which right now. He reaches into my front jeans pocket to drag out the phone, obviously wedged in there, cutting off communication with the guys when he pockets it, then reaches around me to pull out the gun.
Fuck.
“Yes.” His statement is cold now. He is done fucking about as he hauls me towards the stairs.
“The guys are coming back.”
“Not yet, they aren’t. Why do you think I took this opportunity? I knew you wouldn’t meet me.”
“Why did you send the text, then?” I ask, struggling to keep upright as he drags me down the steps. I can’t struggle too much, or we’re both going to go ass over tit, and that will get us nowhere, especially if I break my neck while doing so.
“Needed you to open it so I could grab your location.”
“And you got here in two seconds flat?”
“Let’s just say, I’m never far away.”
“Fuck off!” ‘I screech at him again. “If you are never far away, you know how I’ve suffered.”
He doesn’t answer; he just hauls me along like a trailer. He is stronger, like, seriously strong. Planting my feet just makes him work harder, but it doesn’t make him pause as he drags me outside and shoves me into the back of a black SUV with a really, really scaring-looking dude.
“Vogue, meet Adam. You two are going to get cosy for a while.”
He slams the door shut, and I glare at Adam, who glares back with dead eyes. Aaron climbs into the passenger seat, and the driver, some guy in a beanie, shoots off like a bat out of hell.
I look over my shoulder as I’m abducted for a second time in less than two weeks, and this time by the man whose blood runs through my veins.Weirdly, I don’t feel all that scared, but the guys are going to lose their shit. I mean, if my father wanted me dead, he would’ve killed me by now, and besides, why would he? I’ve done nothing to warrant it.
