Page 77 of Ruthless Desires: Vol. Two
This isn’t how I imagined telling her. I’ve had some sort of plan forming in the back of my mind—because I plan everything—but I didn’t think it’d happen this fast. With her and Oliver, it makes sense that they said it so quickly. Both of them wear their hearts on their sleeves. But I didn’t realize I was ready to say it to her until I heard the words leave her mouth.
Reluctantly, I pull away. I never want to stop, but I need to finish cleaning her cut. When she looks at me, there’s a glimmer of happiness in her eyes that fills my heart with hope. She’s still not fully back, but it’s a step closer.
“Elliot…” She sounds out of breath. Maybe a touch disoriented, too. That doesn’t stop her from tugging me down for another kiss. I let her, too caught up in the moment to stop.
I can’t believe I said it this fast. But I can’t imagine holding it back any longer.
This time, Wren pulls away to gulp in air. A slow smile creeps across her face. “I can’t believe I said it without realizing.”
“It’s on brand for you.” With a chuckle, I give her one last kiss. “Now let’s get this cut bandaged up.”
As I finish cleaning her cut, she winces. If I could, I’d take the pain and bear it myself. That knife never should’ve touched her.
“I thought he’d stop,” she murmurs as I stick the bandage to her skin. “I thought if he knew he’d hurt me, he wouldn’t throw it.”
“I know, love. I know.”
She shifts restlessly, her eyes filled to the brim with worry. “Ludo has to know they’re related. That must’ve been what he meant when he asked Jordan if he knew who Andrew was.”
“Seems like it.”
“Why would he know that?”
“I’m not sure.”
I have one possible answer, I’m just afraid to admit it. But regardless, many other aspects of Ludo’s plan are coming together, and the picture is far from pretty.
Ludo getting friendly with Philly’s judges. Him testing our loyalty yesterday. And him keeping Rhett’s younger brother as a backup plan.
Wren stares up at me anxiously. “This isn’t good, is it?”
In this family, we don’t lie to each other. Even though the truth is going to stress Wren out, I refuse to keep her in the dark. So I stroke her hair, hoping she’ll find some semblance of comfort in the gesture, while I say, “No. No, not at all.”
Chapter sixteen
Rhett
Once everyone is back in the living room, we don’t waste any time. We don’t know how long Ludo will be gone for, and by the time he arrives, Andrew needs to be back in his room like nothing happened.
“Let’s talk about this agreement you have with Ludo,” Elliot says. “What all does it entail?”
“I want legal custody of Benny,” Andrew says. “He’s only twelve.”
I drop my head into my hands.Fucking hell.
“But you don’t have grounds for CPS to step in.”
Elliot doesn’t phrase it as a question. He knows. When I was close to turning eighteen, all I could think about was finding a way to get Sammy away from my dad so I could raise her myself. The problem was, we could never get enough evidence of anything to get the authorities to step in. By the time we were close, it was too late.
“The courts don’t care about emotional abuse,” Andrew says.
“We know.” Oliver sounds haunted as he says it. We all are.
“We’re getting off topic,” Elliot says. “What does this have to do with Ludo?”
“He’s gonna help me. He said he could make Benny disappear without a trace until we can legally detach him from my parents. Ludo is going to keep him hidden and hire a tutor so Benny can keep up with his schoolwork.”
Raising my head, I glare at Andrew. “So you had him kidnapped? Seriously? Do you know how traumatized he’s going to be?”
