Page 55 of Ruthless Desires: Vol. Two
Before I continue, I take a sip of my drink, hoping the alcohol will get rid of some of my annoyance. It doesn’t. “I was expecting tests of loyalty from you. It’s the only thing that makes sense. But what I wasn’t expecting was for you to go about it in a way that could’ve gotten your fiancée hurt. Or worse.”
“Oh?”
“Samuel. You now know what we did, how much we prioritized Aubrey’s safety, that we can’t be bought, etc. But while you were testing us, you were also distracting us from possiblereal threats.Nothing happened, and even if something had, we probably would’ve been able to handle it. But life doesn’t have many guarantees.
“Iunderstand how important it is to know who you can trust. Test us all you want, Holloway. I don’t care. But the next time you do it, it’d better be in a way that doesn’t endanger Aubrey—or Wren.”
Ludo is silent as he stares at me. Whatever he’s feeling, he’s hiding it well. For a minute, I’m afraid I’ve gone too far. But then, slowly, he asks, “What are you really saying, Hayes?”
“I’m saying that there’s little I wouldn’t do to keep the woman I love safe. So the next time you send one of your men after us like that, we won’t be bringing him back alive.”
Ludo’s mouth curves upward. “Noted.”
The tension—at least for me—is unbearable. I stand. “I’m going to check on Wren and Aubrey.”
With a sigh, Ludo follows me. “I suppose I should come with you.”
Inside, the girls are sitting on the couch. Aubrey looks just as pissed, and when Wren glances up and sees Ludo, it takes her a second too long to school the hatred on her face.
My pulse picks up as I wait for Ludo to notice, but his attention is elsewhere.
“Shopping,” Ludo says, surveying the bags that Samuel must’ve brought in from his backseat. They’re all in the entryway, placed rather haphazardly. “An interesting past time when you’re in paradise. Pools, hot tubs, the ocean…”
Wren stiffens as Ludo’s gaze finally rests on her. “There’s plenty to do.”
“Yes, plenty. It’d be a shame if you left it all unexplored because of a little—”
“Oh, shutup,Ludo,” Aubrey snaps. “No one cares about your opinion.” Standing, she smiles softly at Wren. “Thank you for coming after me. I appreciate it.”
“Will you be okay?” Wren asks, grabbing Aubrey’s hand.
“Oh, I’ll be fine, no worries. I’d like to take you to the shop we didn’t get to go to this week, if you want? It’s this Black-owned bookstore that I’d love to support, and they have an amazing fantasy section.”
“I’d like that.”
Once we’ve said our goodbyes, we hurry to the penthouse. We have audio to sort through, and I want to spend some time relaxing before going to bed early. Wren silently chews her bottom lip the whole way back.
In the elevator, I cup her chin. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m worried for Aubrey. She doesn’t want to marry him, Ell.”
“Who would?” I mutter. “He’s a piece of shit.”
Still, the whole situation isn’t sitting right. Aubrey told Wren she’s only marrying Ludo so her parents will be under his protection. It seems like Aubrey is getting the short end of the stick here.
“The worst thing is that I don’t know if I can trust her,” Wren says with a sigh. “I like her a lot. But I’m so worried this is another test from Ludo, that she’s secretly on his side but pretending not to be. But…”
“But what?” I prod when she doesn’t continue.
“I think she has something up her sleeve. Not with Ludo, butagainsthim. There have been a couple things she’s said that make me think she already has a way out of this planned. Maybe that’s just wishful thinking on my part, though.”
“Or you could be onto something. I know some people are phenomenal liars, but in my opinion, I don’t think Aubrey is faking how much she likes you.”
Wren’s expression brightens. “You think so?”
“I do,” I say as I pull out my phone. This conversation has reminded me that there’s someone who could help us figure out whose side Aubrey is on.
Sparrow hasn’t answered my text—which is fair, honestly. If I was the keeper of everyone’s deepest, darkest secrets, I wouldn’t reveal my sources either. So I try a different question.
