Page 139 of Pretty Ruthless Monsters: Complete Series

“Shh, I’ve got you,” I whisper, brushing her tears away with my thumbs. “Let it all out. You’re safe with me.”

She drags in a shuddering breath, a soft smile curving her lips as she reaches up to touch my face.

“I know,” she says softly, her eyes shining with a mix of emotions. “I trust you. With everything.”

I hold her gaze, my thumb brushing her cheek as I try to convey everything I can’t say with words. “I won’t let you fall, mia cara. I’ll catch you every time.”

She leans into my touch, her hand coming up to cover mine, pressing my palm tighter against her cheek. “I know you will. We’ll catch each other.”

I hold her close for a few more moments, savoring the connection between us. Finally, with a reluctant sigh, I pull out slowly, then roll off her and sit up on the edge of the bed.

“We should probably get cleaned up,” I say, running a hand through my hair.

Quinn nods, her eyes still soft with afterglow. “Yeah, you’re right.”

I head to the bathroom, grabbing a washcloth and wetting it with warm water. When I return, I gently clean Quinn before taking care of myself. Once we’re both sorted, I pull on a fresh pair of pants and a t-shirt.

“I’m gonna head downstairs for a bit,” I tell her. “You good here?”

She smiles, nestling into the pillows. “Mm-hm. Think I might nap for a while.”

I lean down to kiss her forehead before making my way out of the room and down the stairs. In the living room, I find Killian and Atlas lounging on the couch, beers in hand.

I’m not even sure what time it is, but it’s past morning. Even if it wasn’t, a beer sounds fucking amazing right now.

“Hey,” Atlas says, raising his bottle in greeting.

I nod, grabbing a beer for myself before slumping into an armchair. The weight of everything that’s happened settles on my shoulders, and I can’t help but voice my doubts.

“I fucked up, didn’t I?” I say, staring at the bottle in my hands. “Agreeing to work for The Saint, getting us all mixed up in this shit…”

Killian sets his beer down, his expression serious. “Don’t do that, Nico.”

I look up, surprised by the intensity in his voice. Killian’s not usually one for many words, but he leans forward, his gaze steady.

“You can’t second-guess what happened in the past,” he says. “All you can do is keep your eyes on what’s ahead.”

Atlas nods in agreement, but stays quiet, letting Killian speak.

“After my mom died,” Killian continues, his voice low, “I didn’t trust anyone. Probably would’ve ended up dead myself if I hadn’t met you two. Surviving this life alone… it’s a hell of a lot harder.”

He takes a swig of his beer before meeting my eyes again. “As long as we’ve got each other, we’ll be okay. That’s what matters now.”

I nod, taking in Killian’s words. Atlas leans forward, his eyes serious.

“He’s right,” Atlas says. “I saw firsthand what happens when you can’t trust the people around you.”

He takes a long pull from his beer before continuing. “When my old man was killed by one of his own crew… that moment, I knew. If that same bastard came for me, not a single one of them would have my back.”

Atlas’s gaze moves between Killian and me. “But last night? I knew I could trust you two. No question.”

His words hit me hard, reminding me of everything we’ve been through together.

“Nico,” Atlas says, catching my eye. “You did the best you could to control the fallout. That’s all any of us can do.”

I nod, accepting their words. A familiar phrase rises to my lips, one we’ve shared countless times since we were just kids scraping by on the streets.

“Born strangers,” I start.

“Brothers by choice,” Killian and Atlas finish in unison.

It’s been our mantra since those early days when all we had was each other. No matter what comes our way, I know we’ll face it together.

As I’m absorbing the weight of their words, I hear soft footsteps on the stairs. Quinn appears in the doorway, her eyes shining with emotion. It’s clear she overheard our conversation.

She pads into the room, barefoot and wearing one of my oversized t-shirts. Her hair’s still mussed from earlier, but there’s a softness to her expression that tugs at my heart.

“Hey,” she says, her voice quiet.

Atlas and Killian both nod in greeting, but I can see the shift in their posture. We’re all aware of what happened last night, of the danger we faced together.

Quinn moves farther into the room, her gaze flicking between Atlas and Killian. “I… I wanted to thank you both. For having my back last night. For everything.”

Killian’s expression softens, a rare occurrence for him. “You’re one of us now, siren. It wasn’t even a question.”

Atlas nods in agreement. “Yeah, what he said. You’re ours now, whether you like it or not.”

She moves to Killian first, wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug. He stiffens for a moment before relaxing, patting her back awkwardly.

When she pulls away, she turns to Atlas. He stands, opening his arms with a grin. Quinn hugs him too, and I can see the genuine affection in Atlas’s eyes as he embraces her.

“Thank you,” she says, stepping back to look at both of them. “I… I’ve never had people like this before. People I could trust. Not outside Enigma, anyway.”

She settles onto the arm of my chair, her presence a comforting warmth against my side. The room falls into a comfortable silence, each of us lost in our own thoughts.

Suddenly, Quinn’s phone buzzes. She reaches for it, frowning at the screen before answering.

“Yeah?” Her brow furrows as she listens. After a moment, she presses the speaker button.

“…don’t know what to do with them, Quinn,” a male voice crackles through. “They say they’re not here to cause trouble, but?—”

“Slow down, Emmett,” she interrupts. “Who are you talking about?”

“Carnage members,” he replies. “We caught about half a dozen of them sneaking into our territory. They’re saying they don’t want any trouble, but we’re not sure whether to trust them.”

Quinn’s eyes meet mine, a silent question in her gaze. I nod, understanding passing between us.

“Bring them here,” she says into the phone. “To my place.”

“You sure?” he sounds understandably hesitant.

“Yeah, I’m sure,” she confirms. “We’ll deal with it.”

She ends the call and looks around at all of us. “Well, looks like we’ve got company coming.”

Atlas leans forward, elbows on his knees. “You think they’re telling the truth?”

I shrug. “Guess we’ll find out soon enough.”

The wait isn’t long. Within twenty minutes, there’s a knock at the door. Quinn answers it, and I hear muffled voices before she leads a group into the living room.

Six people file in, their hands raised slightly to show they’re unarmed. Behind them, I spot two of Quinn’s gang members, eyes sharp and wary.

One of the Carnage members, a woman with close-cropped hair, steps forward. Her gaze locks on to me, then flicks to Killian and Atlas.

“We’re here because of you three,” she says, her voice steady. “We don’t agree with what happened, with you being cut out.”

I stand slowly, studying each face. Some I recruited myself, others are still familiar, but less so. They all wear the same expression—part determination, part uncertainty.

I feel my chest tighten with emotion as I look at these familiar faces. These people chose me, trusted me, even when everything went to shit. It’s a powerful feeling, one I hadn’t expected.

“Thank you,” I say, my voice rough with sincerity. “It means a lot that you’re here.”

The woman who spoke nods. “We couldn’t just stand by and watch everything fall apart.”

“What happened after we left?” Quinn asks, her voice gentle but firm.

Another member, a guy with a scar across his cheek, steps forward. “It was chaos at first. No one knew what to do. Then Zoey and Stefan started taking charge.”

My brow furrows. “Stefan? He’s never shown interest in leading before.”

The first woman shakes her head. “He’s not. It’s all Zoey. She’s basically pulling his strings, telling him what to say and do.”

Atlas’s jaw clenches, his eyes flashing with anger. “Zoey’s behind all this?”

The scarred man nods. “Yeah, she’s been egging Stefan on, whispering in his ear. It’s like she’s using him as a puppet to take control.”

I can see the rage building in Atlas. His fists are clenched at his sides, knuckles white with tension.

“This is all because she’s jealous?” Atlas spits out. “She tore everything apart because she couldn’t handle me moving on?”

The room falls silent, the weight of his words hanging in the air. I place a hand on Atlas’s shoulder, feeling the tension thrumming through him.

I watch as Quinn steps forward, compassion in her eyes as she scans the group of Carnage members.

“I know you’re taking a big risk coming here. But I want you to know that you have a place with us if you want it.”

The woman with the close-cropped hair furrows her brow. “You mean… join your gang?”

Quinn nods. “Exactly. We can offer you safe harbor, protection from whatever’s going down with Carnage right now.”

I can see the hesitation on some of their faces, the uncertainty. One of the younger members, a guy barely out of his teens, speaks up.

“But won’t we just be trading one dangerous situation for another? I mean, no offense, but we’ve heard about the threats against you.”

Quinn doesn’t flinch at the question. Instead, she meets the kid’s gaze head-on.

“You’re right,” she admits. “I can’t promise that everything will be smooth sailing. We’ve got our own challenges to face. But what I can promise is that we’ll have your backs. You won’t be alone in this.”

Her words seem to resonate with the group. I see nods of agreement, shoulders relaxing slightly.

“We may not have all the answers right now,” Quinn continues. “But we’re committed to protecting our own. And that includes anyone who chooses to stand with us.”

I step forward, placing my hand on Quinn’s shoulder. She turns to me, a silent conversation passing between us. I give her a slight nod, encouraging her to continue.

“The choice is yours,” she says, turning back to the group. “But know that if you decide to join us, we’ll do everything in our power to keep you safe.”

I squeeze her hand, a moment passing between us. The strength and leadership she’s showing… it’s incredible. In this moment, I’m not just proud of her—I’m in awe.