Page 85 of Rebel's Fairytale

“What’s up? How’s sis?”

Rock swallowed hard. “Stronger than most of us,” he answered, putting his hands to his hips and staring down at the boards under his feet. “I have to kill him. I have to, Brute. And I get it if you don’t want to be a part of that, but—“

“Fuck you,” Brute said and glared at Rock. “Fuck you and fuck that bullshit.”

Rock fought back the smile that wanted to grow on his face. They didn’t share blood, but they were brothers all the same. “I’m just saying—“

“I know what the fuck you’re saying, and my response stands. That’s my sister up in that bed with those fucking ice packs, and I’ll avenge her if I want to. If you don’t like it, you can fuck right the hell off.” Brute took a few steps away and turned to glare at Rock again. “I’m just saying… Fuck that shit.”

Rock held back the smile, knowing it would just piss Brute off, and asked, “Okay. Then, what are we going to do?”

Ruby

Ruby didn’t know how long had passed, but her arms were starting to ache from being in such an unnatural position. She attempted to move them a little to alleviate the pain, and as she twisted her wrist a little, she noticed the rope wasn’t as tight as it was when he first forced her into the chair.

Hope bloomed in her chest. If she could get free, she had a better chance of making it out of the situation alive. She needed a plan, though.

The man had been quiet for a while now, pacing in front of her and muttering to himself. She was only half paying attention to him, while she tried to look around the room casually. Ruby needed a weapon, in case she got free. She knew there was no way she’d make it to the front door or the garage door before he caught up to her. No, Ruby couldn’t just run. She needed a way to protect herself.

She knew she had a metal letter opener in the shape of a dagger by her chair in the living room, since she had a tendency of curling up in her reading chair when she went through her mail. However, that was too far away. The bat she kept in the corner behind the front door was practically useless to her from that distance.

Glancing to her right, her gaze landed on the wood block on the counter that was full of knives. She quickly looked away from it, not wanting Psycho to realize what she was staring at. If he knew she saw the knives, he’d surely hide them. She couldn’t have that.

While they weren’t right next to her, they were within a couple of yards of the chair she was sitting in. If she were to wiggle her hands enough to pull them out of the rope, she could wait for the right time, when he wasn’t paying attention, and get to the block. Ruby would have to time it just right, but it was possible. Whether it was doable was still up in the air.

She tried to remain calm, but she knew her chest was heaving with the adrenaline and hope coursing through her veins.Please don’t notice. Please don’t notice. Nothing to see here. Keep up your pacing.

The noise of kids shouting rang through the air, and Psycho jumped. Ruby knew who it was. The woman who lived in the townhouse down the block had five kids. When she was trying to get some cleaning done, she sent all of her kids out to play, and they tended to play catch in the street. She wasn’t about to tell him that, though.

Cursing under his breath, he turned to face the living room and slowly headed for the door, careful to stay out of the view of the front windows. When he was almost to the door, Ruby wiggled her wrists for all she was worth. Eventually, the rope gave way and fell to the floor. She had just stood and took her first step toward the knives, when Psycho looked over his shoulder at her.

Now or never, Ruby told herself as she bolted for the counter and the block of knives. She had managed to get there before Psycho grabbed a handful of her hair and yanked. Her hand was already firmly around the handle of the chef’s knife, when he yanked her back, so the knife slid out of the slot and came with her.

“Bitch! I was trying to help you!”

“Fuck you! And fuck your help!You’rethe monster,“ Ruby shouted, adjusting her grip on the knife as she turned and shoved it into his gut. Not wanting to risk it, she yanked it out and shoved it in again, as Psycho’s mouth fell open, his eyes widened, and he looked down at where she stabbed him.

Yanking out the knife, she ran for the front door, only to stumble to a stop when the door flew open, and Rebel stepped through.

Panting, she came to a stop and said, “Well, it’s about fucking time you got here.” Then she dropped the knife to the floor.

Chapter twenty-seven

Rebel

Aftertossingthefootballwith the neighbor kids for a few minutes, Rebel jogged his way up to Ruby’s front door and used the key she gave him the day before to unlock it. He did not expect to see Ruby on her feet when he stepped inside. He didn’t expect to see her holding a knife and covered in blood. Hereallydidn’t expect Charles from the hardware store to be coming at her with another knife. Yet, that’s exactly what Rebel walked in on.

Without a moment’s thought, he shoved her out of the way before his wolf took over, and he lunged at Charles. Charles screamed like a little bitch, but he still swung out with his knife-hand before Rebel’s paws hit his chest. Luckily, his knife missed Rebel. As they fell to the floor, Rebel locked his jaws around the man’s throat and shook for all he was worth. He heard the crunch, but he didn’t stop.He couldn’t stop.He had to end the threat. Ruby was in danger, and Rebel had to protect her.

The next thing he remembered was Ruby on her knees in front of him while he was still in his wolf form and her hands combing gently through his fur.

“Good job, Rebel. It’s done. You did good. Come back to me, now.” Her eyes were filled with tears, but there was a soft smile on her face. “Come back to me, mate.”

Rebel took a deep breath and allowed himself to shift. As soon as he was in his man form again, he pulled her into his arms and held her tight. Looking around the room, he saw all the blood and the rope on the floor behind a chair that was facing away from the table.

“What happened here?”

She let out a quiet sob. “He was here when I got home.”

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