Page 84 of Ruthless Desires: Vol. Two
“No, Rhett, listen to me. When we were younger, we threw ourselves into getting revenge for Sammy. It consumed us. The guilt, the pain, the frustration, the anger—it ate away at all of us. Don’t you remember?”
“I’d never forget.” All of those things still linger inside of me, festering, simmering.
Elliot reaches out and places a hand on my arm. “We’re going to find a way to get Benny out of there. Andrew too. Or, I don’t know, take out Ludo faster. Whatever you want. But in the meantime, don’t let this consume you. Not again, Rhett.”
I shove around the food on my plate. “I have to protect them.”
“We will,” Elliot assures me. “All of us, not just you. You’re of no use to your brothers if you’re exhausted all the time.”
Everything in me wants to fight against what he’s saying, but I don’t. “Just promise me.”
Scooching closer, Elliot takes my face in both of his hands and leans in close. “Rhett, I promise you, we’re not going to let your brothers die. All four of us are in this together. We’ve got them.”
My throat aches, but I swallow down the pain. I try to speak, but no words come out.
“Trust us with this?” Elliot asks, still holding my face.
I rest my forehead against his. “Always, Ell. Always.”
Chapter seventeen
Oliver
I’m not ready for the night to be over yet, so I stay outside. Wren must feel the same way, because she doesn’t go in, either.
After drying off, she leans against the wall that acts as a railing to keep people from falling over the edge. It’s dark out, but the resort lights illuminate the ocean some, so she takes in the view.
Coming up behind her, I place my hands on Wren’s hips and rest my chin on her shoulder. The past twenty-four hours have been a train wreck. Hanging out in the hot tub acted as a reset of sorts for us, but I still want to check in with her.
“How’re you doing, princess?” I whisper as I pepper her neck with tender, loving kisses.
She relaxes into me. “Better than I was earlier.”
After finding out Rhett has two younger brothers, Wren’s omission of the truth seems so small and far off. I still wish she hadn’t kept anything from us, and I know she wishes she hadn’t as well, but thankfully we all moved on quickly.
“Did I scare you earlier? In the restaurant?”
“Maybe a little.”
Taking a step back, I turn her around so she’s facing me. “What were you afraid I would say?”
She squirms, trying to make space between the two of us, so I give her some. She doesn’t make eye contact as she says, “I was worried you wouldn’t forgive me. Or that you’d hold it over my head. Or… or that you were done with me.”
A tangible, physical pain pangs in my chest, and it takes me a second to catch my breath. “Wren. No, princess, never. I willneverbe done with you.”
“I know, I’m just not… used to forgiveness, I guess. Fuck, I’m sorry, that’s stupid. There’s no reason for me to expect you guys to be assholes.”
“Hey, it’s okay, I get it.”
Finally, she looks up at me with cautious hope. “You do?”
“Rhett and Elliot have been an integral part of my life for fourteen years, princess. Just because I have a good parent doesn’t mean I can’t recognize the effects of a shitty one’s actions in someone else. I have a lot of experience with Ell and Rhett.”
“Right,” she says quietly.
“Why don’t you explain it to me,” I say gently. Slowly, I ease back into her space, wanting to be close to her. She seems to want it too, because when I wrap my arms around her, she does the same to me.
After a steadying breath, Wren asks, “When you were a kid and you did something wrong, did your mom always forgive you? Like,reallyforgive you?”
