Page 64 of Ruthless Desires: Vol. Two
“What happened?”
“I…”Fuck, Ludo was right. I’m nothing more than a coward.“I can’t, I’m sorry.” I slip out of his hold, heading into mine and Rhett’s room. As I start to close the door behind me, Elliot puts a hand out and stops it.
“Why am I getting the feeling that something really bad happened?”
I try to push the door shut, but it doesn’t budge. “I really don’t want to talk about it, and you need to get some sleep. Aren’t you taking the morning shift with Aubrey?”
“Wren, you look like you’re about to start crying. Do you really expect me to leave you alone?”
Goddammit.
“If you want someone to comfort, Rhett probably needs it more than I do. Go find him. I need to wash the chlorine out of my hair.”
“Love, just tell me what happened.”
“I can’t.” I push at the door again, but Elliot shoves it wide open and steps into the bedroom.
“Why not?”
I try to explain, but I choke on the words. Slowly, I back away from him and try again. My voice shakes. “Because I’m afraid you’ll hate me afterward.”
Elliot shakes his head. “I could never hate you.” Realization crosses his features, and then he’s stepping toward me, slipping an arm around my waist and pulling me against him. “What did Rhett say? What did he do?”
For a moment, I squeeze my eyes shut and stay silent. But at this rate, Elliot isn’t going to leave me alone, so I might as well get this over with. I look up at him, at the way his brows are furrowed in worry and his eyes are burning with concern. There’s nothing I can do but try to soak it in, to try to remember everything about this moment. If he reacts like Rhett does, it might be the last time he looks at me with any kind of care.
Before speaking, I take a deep breath, trying to steady my voice. “Rhett didn’t do anything. I… I did. When Jordan kidnapped me, Ludo stopped by his house one day, I think for some kind of business meeting. When Ludo saw I was there, he broke off the deal and left.”
The moment I mention Ludo, Elliot tenses, his arm around me tightening. When I finish, he looks up at the ceiling, taking a deep breath. Then he looks down at me, confusion and anger replacing the concern in his eyes.
“He left you.”
I nod.
Elliot releases me, rubbing at his face. “I know I shouldn’t expect anything from that miserable piece of shit. But he… Jesus fuck. He justleftyou there. Goddammit, I knew he was lying.”
“I—”
“Wait. Wait, did you just tell this to Rhett?”
“Yes. He—”
“Fuck.” Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he taps the screen a few times before holding it to his ear.
Why isn’t he angry? He should be furious with me.
“Rhett isn’t answering. Shit. There’s no way he’s thinking straight. If he tries to get back at Ludo…”
“What? No, he won’t.”
“We need to find him before he does something he’ll regret.” Elliot is already rushing out of the bedroom and into his.
“Elliot! He’s not going to do anything.” I follow, lingering in the doorway while he pulls on a shirt. Oliver is still sound asleep in the bed.
Turning to me, Elliot says, “This is what he does, love. Every single time. You saw it with you and Adam.”
“I know. I—”
“Just trust me, Rhett is—”
