Page 16 of Beautiful Ruins

His words made no sense at all. And what did our made-up song have to do with anything? When I thought he had ditched me, getting off on some last-minute prank, I’d been furious with him, and I couldn’t wait to rip into him when I found him after the formal.

But this? This didn’t make it any easier. If anything, I was even more confused than I had been back then.

My chest tightened, squeezing until I thought I might pass out. The room blurred around the edges of my vision.My hands clenched around the paper until it crinkled in protest.

I’d been losing my mind, fuming at my best friend while he had been tying a rope around his neck. He could have stood up if he’d wanted to. When Rowan and I had found him, his feet were still dangling on the ground.

But why did the letter feel like it was trying to tell me something else?

I swiped uselessly at the tears rolling down my cheeks. Rowan knew something. He always did. He had that look about him when he’d pulled me away from the scene that night, like he was shielding me from more than just Logan’s body. Like he was keeping the rest of the truth buried, just out of reach.

The knowledge simmered in my gut, the only thing I thought I could trust. Mum had told me once that to be a brilliant journalist, you had to trust your instincts, and mine were on overdrive at that moment.

Maybe I was chasing answers that didn’t exist. But I’d spent the past six years treating my life like a goddamn cold case. I thought that if I spent enough time picking it apart, it would start to make sense. But maybe it wasn’t my life I was supposed to tear apart. Maybe it was Logan’s.

And that started with finding out exactly what Rowan Knight knew.

I shoved the letter into my back pocket and stormed out of the house. I’d heard Rowan’s bike start up that morning, so I knew he wasn’t home. There was one place I knew he’d be—the Ridge Riders’ clubhouse.

I didn’t have a plan. Just a question he’d damn well better answer. Whatever he’d been keeping to himself, it had cost me years of sleep. One way or another, Rowan was going to tell me what he’d been hiding.

I’d bled too long not to get answers.

Chapter Five

ROWAN

The clubhouse door swung open, the bang reverberating around the room. Sadie strode in like she was on a mission, her dark hair twisted on top of her head in that messy way that made her look both pissed and fucking gorgeous.

I almost choked on my saliva. What in the hell was she playing at?

Wolf whistles and catcalls erupted, her presence like a lit match in a powder keg. She ignored the leers, scanning the room with laser focus. I resisted the urge to punch every other arsehole in there just for looking at her.

Instead, I sank down in my chair in the hopes she wouldn’t see me. I wasn’t exactly proud of the way I handled myself the previous night.

And I had a headache to match.

The reek of sweat, beer and stale smoke clung to the room, stinking up the place. Pool cues clacked in the corner, and someone had AC/DC blaring from a jukebox that hadn’t worked properly in years.

Sadie bypassed every single set of eyes and stepped up beside Scout. “Where’s Rowan?” She stared him down.

Scout pointed at me like the little shit he was.

Was he seriously afraid of what she might do to him? He was six foot four, for crying out loud—Sadie barely reached his shoulders.

Her eyes found mine in an instant, and I groaned. Well . . . fuck. This was going to be interesting. She stalked towards me, her boots striking the tiled floor like gunshots, her hands fisted at her sides.

Christ, I didn’t have the energy for her right then. But what was I supposed to do? Couldn’t exactly hide now, could I?

I clenched my jaw, bracing myself for the onslaught I knew was coming.

She stopped in front of me. Her eyes burned into mine, but I couldn’t tell if it was last night she was pissed about—or every damn thing that came before it. Wasn’t too keen on finding out either.

“We need to talk,” she said, eyes narrowing.

Not here we fucking didn’t. Not with half the club watching.

Bear cleared his throat and stood, rubbing his hands together. “I’ll be in the meeting room.”