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“You became our shared obsession,” he says softly. “At first, it was distant—just surveillance. Watching. Tracking. Learning every detail we could gather. But that wasn’t enough. We needed more.” His voice tightens. “We worked towards inserting ourselves into your life, carefully, subtly. Closer and closer without you even knowing. Until it felt normal to have us nearby, watching from within arm’s reach.”

I swallow hard, feeling like the walls are closing in, like the room itself is pressing against my lungs.

“You lived with Max,” I say, piecing it together slowly, like assembling shards of broken glass. “How—?”

“Max was barely ever home,” he answers quietly. “So sneaking out wasn’t hard at first. And by the time I moved out, I was already an adult. He hated it—thought I was risking everything by stepping into the open.”

I nod slowly, processing each revelation like a series of blows I can’t dodge. “If you had joined the organization, it would have been a big deal. You'd have been a legacy. That matters.”

Ruin's voice dips lower, threaded with quiet intensity. “That's exactly why I’m not part of the organization. Besides, it would be a little hard to avoid Max if I ended up working in the same place he did.”

Rule finally breaks his silence, shifting slightly from his place against the wall. His voice is calm, controlled, but with a dark undercurrent that makes my heart skip. “Taking you wasn't the original plan. We were going to do things slowly. Carefully. Earn your trust, make you see we weren't your enemies. But then you set yourself on a mission to take out Javier.”

I raise my chin, ignoring the tightening ache in my chest. “Javier needed to be stopped. You, of all people, should understand that.”

Rule exhales slowly, and his mask gleams in the dim light. "I understood better than anyone, Seanna. Even when you targeted Javier directly, we weren’t intending to rush things. But you were too fucking good at what you do. You kept working your way closer, relentlessly dismantling his operation piece by piece, until one night I overheard him talking about you with his men. At first, he wasn’t overly concerned—just another agent thinking she could rattle his cage. But when you pulled Diego into your web, and then set your sights on Cruz, Javier decided you were too dangerous to let live."

My pulse quickens, fury and fear tangling sharply beneath my ribs. “So what, you thought kidnapping me was the best solution?”

“It was the only solution,” Ruin answers quietly, his voice hardening with conviction. “We weren’t going to let Javier have you. Not after everything—not after how deeply you’d embedded yourself in both our lives, even from a distance. We knew exactly what Javier would do if he caught you first.”

My stomach twists, nausea rising bitterly at the realization. I’d known it was dangerous. I'd known I was painting a target on myself, but hearing it confirmed so plainly...

“Letting Hydessa know you've been taken has only put you at risk.” Rule continues, his voice low, careful. “Someone could track your location simply by your family trying to find you. Javier has eyes everywhere.”

Frustration simmers beneath my skin. “So what? I'm supposed to stay locked up here indefinitely?”

“No.” Ruin stands abruptly, moving toward me, his presence filling the room with quiet intensity. I tense instinctively as he reaches for the cuffs, but all he does is unlock them, the restraints falling away, leaving my wrists free. He steps back, giving me space. “You’re not a captive here, Seanna. Not anymore. But Javier won't stop until you're dead, and we’re begging you—don’t leave. Don't put yourself at risk when we’re already working to take him out.”

My wrists feel strange without the cuffs, lighter but then my heart is still heavy with the weight of the moment. I look between the two men, caught between resentment, confusion, and something dangerously close to trust. Their words circle in my head, relentless, digging into every crack I thought I’d sealed shut. They’re not just trying to keep me locked away. They’re trying to keep me alive.

I lick my lips slowly, voice softer now. “Do I get to see your faces, then?”

Rule laughs, a low sound edged with dark amusement, while Ruin hums—a quiet, thoughtful sound.

“Yes,” Ruin answers eventually. “But not right now.”

I narrow my eyes slightly, suspicion rising again, but before I can speak, he steps closer. Close enough that I can feel the warmth of his body standing so close to the bed, even through the layers of black.

His gloved hand rises slowly, and I flinch—just barely—before freezing as he brushes a strand of hair away from my face. His touch is gentle. Unexpected. The leather cool against my skin. It’s not possessive. Not harsh. Just… tender. Reverent, even.

My breath hitches.

My brain screams at me not to soften. Not to feel. But I find myself tilting into his touch, aching for something I don’t dare name. It’s so stupid. So dangerous. But in this moment, I want more than I should. Crave more than I’m willing to admit.

“I know you want to see our faces,” he murmurs, thumb ghosting near my cheekbone, “but I want you to see what’s beneath all this first. Prove you can be a good girl. That you understand… what matters is what we feel together. What we make you feel.”

His voice is low, intimate. It crawls under my skin, coils around my spine.

I should shove him away. But I don’t.

Because part of me—the part I’ve been trying to kill for days—wants to believe him. Wants to see what’s underneath.

His hand lingers for a moment longer, thumb tracing just beneath my jaw before falling away. But the imprint of his touch remains, ghostlike and impossibly vivid.

He studies me quietly, then adds, softer this time, almost hesitant—

“I became obsessed with you before I ever saw your face. The girl in the stories. The storm Max described. The fire no one could put out. That’s who I fell for first. And maybe… maybe we’re hoping, just a little, that soon you might start to feel the same before seeing ours.”