Page 159 of His Ruthless Match

The hot water scalded my skin, but I didn’t care. I let the water cascade over me, rinsing away the blood and grime, but it did nothing for the ache inside me. I scrubbed at my skin until it was raw, my mind replaying every moment of the past twenty-four hours like a movie I couldn’t pause. Eva’s face kept flashing before me—her wide eyes, her trembling voice.

I cursed under my breath, slamming my hand against the shower wall. This wasn’t helping. None of it was.

After throwing on clean clothes and choking down a sandwich I barely tasted, I grabbed my phone and dialed the only person who might help me make sense of the chaos in my head. Cain.

The phone rang twice before he picked up, his familiar, gruff voice coming through the line. “Jareth fucking Lanza. To what do I owe the honor?”

I let out a breath, running a hand through my damp hair. “I’ve done something stupid, Cain. Really fucking stupid.”

He chuckled. “Oh, this should be good. Lay it on me.”

“I’ve fallen in love,” I admitted, the words bitter and raw on my tongue. “With a human.”

Cain laughed so hard I thought he might choke. “You?In love?With ahuman? Holy shit, I never thought I’d see the day. Who is she? Some sweet little baker? A hot librarian?”

“It’s worse,” I muttered, pinching the bridge of my nose. “She’s my fated mate.”

He cackled. “Oh, this just keeps getting better. Fated mate?Andhuman? Jareth, you never fail to impress me with the fucking insanity you find yourself in.”

I gritted my teeth, waiting for him to get it all out of his system. “There’s more.”

“Of course there is,” he said, his tone dripping with amusement. “Go on.”

“She’s The Shadow’s sister.”

Cain went silent for a moment before bursting into laughter again, his voice wheezing through the receiver. “You’ve got to be kidding me. Classic Jareth. Sticking your dick where it doesn’t belong.”

“Cain,” I growled, my patience wearing thin. “I need your help.”

“All right, all right,” he said, still chuckling. “What’s the situation?”

I explained everything. How Eva was an attorney representing a client who had been magically manipulated. How she’d become a target because of it, and how I’d been tasked with protecting her. I told him about the ambush, the attack at the black market, and the revelation that someone was pulling strings behind the scenes. I also came clean about me killing every informant I could get my hands on, eventually yielding a strong lead. By the time I was done, my voice was tight with frustration and barely restrained anger.

“There’s someone at the center of this,” I said, pacing the room. “Someone orchestrating all of it. I need your help to infiltrate the rebel factions connected to the Crimson Dominion. If we can dig deep enough, we might be able to figure out who’s behind it. I have my suspicions and have been given information pointing to someone specifically, but I need proof.”

Cain let out a low whistle. “You really know how to get yourself into some shit, don’t you?”

“Cain—”

“I’m in. I don’t have anything better to do right now, and this sounds fun. But I’ve got to say, you’ve got some serious anger issues to work out based on your little killing spree.”

I huffed a breath. “Those fuckers deserved it.”

“Sure they did,” Cain said, his tone light. “But I’ve never seen you this unhinged before. Don’t go burning yourself out before we even start, all right?”

“Just meet me in the Crimson Dominion. We’ll start there.”

The Crimson Dominionwas just as chaotic as I’d left it. The streets teemed with activity. Smoke curled from vendor stalls, and the smell of blood and sweat hung in the air. I spotted Cain near one of the entrances, leaning casually against a crumbling wall. His dark hair was slicked back, his lean frame draped in a long coat that made him look like a devil stepping out of the shadows. His sharp green eyes scanned the crowd.

“Well, look who decided to show up,” Cain drawled, pushing off the wall. “You look like you’ve seen better days.”

“Good to see you, too. Let’s skip the formalities and get to work.”

Cain smirked, falling into step beside me. “You’re no fun anymore. I’m not sure I enjoyin loveJareth. You’re far too despondent.”

We moved through the streets, scanning for anything out of place. It didn’t take long to find a group of masked rebel assholes skulking near one of the market’s entrances. They looked shifty as they whispered among themselves.

“Those are our guys,” I muttered.