Page 61 of Ruin Me
Thayer hangs up, and I open the back door of the van and climb in, leaping over the front seats and onto the driver’s side. Grabbing the keys from behind the visor where Quen left them, I fire up the engine, I see the three guys hurtling towards me, Vipers on their tails.
They dive into the van, and I slam my foot on the accelerator as Quen swings wide to get the doors at the back shut.
“Motherfuckers!” he yells.
“Don’t stop, just go,” Callum pants, sliding into shotgun as we face a sea of Vipers that literally has to be their entire crew. There’s fucking loads of them.
I give Cal a dark smile. “Oh, this is gonna be fun.”
“Not fair,” Thayer pants, sticking his head between the seats as I drive forward, hitting a few dudes before the rest part like the Red Sea.
“Just call me fucking Moses!” I shout, raising my fist in the air.
“Vogue,” Quen says urgently from the back. “You sure it’s Aaron?”
“Has to be. He is the only one she wouldn’t haveshot. And probably only because she would’ve been too surprised to.”
“We are dead.” He leans his head back against the side of the van, catching his breath.
“No fucking shit. The question is, where did he take her?”
“He won’t hurt her, he’s her father,” Callum points out, but I’m not sure if it’s for his sake or ours.
“Did you ring her?” Quen asks.
“Obviously. Rang out. Try again.”
He dials on speaker, the ringing taunting us until it cuts to voicemail again.
“Shit!” I slam my hand against the steering wheel, weaving through traffic that is building up now we are hitting the city on the other side of Crestmont, each passing second a reminder we’re miles behind where Vogue needs us to be.
“Calm the fuck down,” Callum orders, his voice so cold it could freeze the blood in my veins. “Losing your shit isn’t going to help Vogue.”
He’s right. It’s the last thing I want to admit, but he’s right. I suck in a deep breath and focus on the task at hand – getting to Vogue and ripping anyone apart who stands in our way, even if that is her own father.
The cityscape blurs by as I push the van harder, cornering like we’re in a high-speed chase. Because we are. We’re chasing time; every passing moment without Vogue is a countdown to a potential disaster.
Quen is quiet in the back, his mind working on overdrive. “He wouldn’t take her anywhere secret. Hehas no reason to move in the dark. He will want to impress her and make her see the power he wields, which she can have if she accepts him and his legacy. They’ll be at his office in the city.”
“Swot to the rescue,” Callum mutters with a quick grin at his twin. “But I agree. Head there.”
With a decisive nod, I turn the van onto the ring road that skates the city, heading around and coming back through the one-way system into the heart of mayhem, which in rush hour is a ball ache we could do without. But this is where she is. She has to be.
32
THAYER
The cityalways felt like a concrete jungle, but now it seems like an impenetrable fortress. From the back of the van, I can feel my pulse in my throat as I try to keep the rising panic at bay. Vogue’s in trouble, and it’s because of us—because of me. We should’ve never left her alone, even for a second. That’s the first rule we learn: never underestimate the enemy, especially when he shares your blood.
Quen’s theory seems solid; Aaron would want to flaunt his power, not skulk around in the shadows. It’s all about appearances with him, and what better way to show his strength than to have Vogue by his side? But that doesn’t squash the bad feeling clawing at me.
I’m not used to this unabating fear for someone else. For so long, it’s been just me. But Vogue crashed into my world like a hurricane, tearing down walls I didn’t even know I’d built so high.
That kiss meant everything, and I can’t lose her now. None of us can.
We weave through traffic; Harry’s driving borderline insane—but insanity is what you need when time is slipping through your fingers like sand. He’s moving into spaces that aren’t even there, just to get one car ahead. Two cars. It’s taking for-fucking-ever.
I dial again, not even looking at Quen. I can feel his presence behind me like a wrathful god. He is going to kick some serious ass when we find her. We all are, but Quen is, well, violently unhinged, is the only way to put it. Aaron has pulled off a dick move, and Quen isn’t going to let him being her father or the fact that he is the head of The Crowned Syndicate stop him from exacting vengeance.
