Page 94 of Ruin Me Knot
Skylar’s brows draw tight. "Sometimes the equipment or layout would be different, and I’d swear we were in a new place. But honestly, I never saw anything from outside. For all I know, Ethan Wallace could have just had things rearrangedon a whim. I couldn’t question either of them. I’m sorry, Leah. My Alpha made sure I only knew what she wanted me to know."
She tugs the neckline of her shirt down, exposing smooth, unmarked skin. "She never bonded me. Perhaps that was a mercy. She kept me in line with her bark. And if that didn’t work…" Skylar trails off, her voice brittle. "She had other ways."
I say nothing but I remember how Hardwick’s fist would land and Skylar would crumple. Some punishments didn’t leave a mark for the world to see, but I saw. And I can’t forget.
She meets my gaze, "The only thing I know for sure is that you matter to her more than you realize. She couldn’t understand how you survived when everyone else died. That’s made you a target. She’ll do anything to get you back to figure out what kept you alive, and how she can twist it to her advantage."
And now that we know my blood might burn out the Mortalis Strain, she’ll want me even more, if she finds out. It’s clear there’s nothing else Skylar can tell us. She’s fraying at the edges, as wrung out and desperate as we all are.
Skylar reaches for a cookie, turning it over in her hand. "These are from Belmont’s, aren’t they? Mira, didn’t you tell me the owner’s mate is an Omega, and this is her signature scent? There’s something about it that’s so familiar."
Mira gives a tiny smile. "Yeah. Pack Belmont’s Omega’s scent is cookie dough."
The sweet aroma drifts toward me, all warm brown sugar and melted butter. The Omega living in me lifts her head and frowns, something tugging in my mind, but before I can follow the thought, purposeful footsteps approach. I twist in my seat, heart leaping in the hope that it’s Ronan and Jax, but Dr. Maverick strides toward us, mouth drawn tight. Gabriel, Zane, and Soren are on their feet, setting their bodies between us and any potential threat.
"Dr. Maverick, what’s wrong?” Soren’s voice is pitched to cut through the tension.
My stomach sinks as Dr. Maverick’s gaze lands on me. "We found something on your scan, Leah. There’s no easy way to say this, so I’m going to come right out with it. There’s a tracker embedded at the base of your neck, right against your spinal column. It’s… tangled. Wrapped in your spinal nerves."
Fear lances straight up my back. "What?"
“You need immediate surgery to remove it.” Dr. Maverick adjusts his spectacles. “There’s already inflammation around the device. If it shifts just a millimeter, it could sever the nerves controlling your arms and legs."
He draws a breath, each word heavier than the last. "And… it’s still sending regular location pings. Whoever put it there knows where you are and that you’re alive. We have to remove it now. I’m sorry, Leah. It can’t wait."
Chapter Forty-Four
Ronan
Sweat, copper, sharp ammonia and sour bile hang in the stagnant air. It’s the kind of rot that seeps into your skin and takes up residence in your bones. I wade through black water rippling over pitted concrete, our muffled footsteps amplifying every drip. The only light comes from the swinging flashlight beams, casting jittering shadows against moldy cinderblock.
Jax’s silhouette edges ahead of me, shoulders hunched and jaw clenched as he scans for anything we might have missed. We’ve cleared the three remaining locations, burned an entire day combing through the wreckage of Hardwick’s empire, and still the fear inside me gnaws deeper.
All we’ve found are ghosts of agony and the chemical tang of old bleach that will never mask the horrors this place has known. I’m wired, thrumming with the sick certainty that we’re too late. Every second we waste is another heartbeat where Leah isn’t safe.
Cole’s voice cuts through the silence. "This place is a grave."
His flashlight skims over a tangle of chains, the links streaked with rust. I catch the glint of a filthy bucket kicked into a corner, crusted and reeking. The echoes of suffering are so thick I can barely breathe.
Adrian crouches by an overturned gurney, a rust color stains the torn webbing. Old blood leached from tortured victims. Needles and shattered blister packs scatter the floor alongside cartons of emptied vials. I don’t let myself imagine who lay there last, or what was taken from them. All I can see are Leah’s wrists, the ligature scars healed but never forgotten. The rage living inside me is a live wire. I want to tear this place apart with my bare hands, but I force the anger back down. I can’t afford to lose focus, not while Hardwick is still out there, fuckingsomewhere.
Phoenix is all business, marking each detail with a grim expression. Asher spots a battered terminal, half-buried under broken glass and medical waste. His flashlight reveals the smashed screen, trailing wires, a brick-red smear along its side.
"If there’s anything left on this, I’ve got the best tech guys in the city. If it can be recovered, they’ll do it," he says, signaling a member of his team over for removal.
Jax’s jaw is iron. "Hardwick knows how to burn a trail. This is a needle in a haystack, Ronan. She covered her tracks.”
I want to break something because Jax is right. Instead, I press my back against the wall and let the cold soak through my jacket, forcing breath in and out of my lungs. We’ve found no trace. No fresh scent. Just the remains of someone else’s horror, and the feral, twisting worry that this story is nowhere near finished. While Hardwick is out there, Leah has a target on her back and every hour, every second, the danger sharpens.
My rage is a bitter, useless thing. I swallow it down and keep moving because there’s nothing else to do.
"We’ll go back. Search through every room. Every tunnel again." Jax’s eyes are on me as officers shift in the shadows. We’re all exhausted, but I can’t stop. "We’re missing something."
My phone vibrates, and I nearly drop it before stabbing to answer when I see its Gabe. I put it on speaker so Jax can hear. "Ronan. Dr. Maverick found a tracker in Leah’s neck. Right against her spine. She needs surgery. She’s…she’s going in now, brother."
The darkness surrounding us leeches into my brain, It’s hard to hear him, hard to think.
Gabriel presses on despite my silence, his voice shaky. "It showed up on the MRI he ran this morning and it’s…it’s active. Ronan. It’s been broadcasting her location the whole time. It’s how they found her at Harrow Street. It has to be."
