Page 204 of Ruthless Desires: Vol. One

“Hey! So are you,” I say, inching closer to Wren. “What was your dream, love? What happened?”

She shudders, wrapping her arms tightly around Rhett’s waist. “You all died. You all died trying to protect me, and then Jordan took me into the cellar, and he forced me underwater for so long that I couldn’t hold on for any longer. And then I breathed in the water, and it was horrible and it hurt and I couldn’t do anything, but I just couldn’t take it anymore.”

“Fuck,” Oliver mutters. He rubs Wren’s back, his fingers hitting Rhett’s arm where he’s holding her, but neither shy away from the touch. “We’re not going to let that happen, princess. You’re safe.”

She whimpers, obviously trying to hold back tears.

“I won’t leave again,” Rhett reassures her. “I’ll stay in bed.”

That seems to calm her down. She nestles her head against his chest, taking in a shaky breath. “Thank you.”

Watching Wren try to get herself together brings a question to the front of my mind. “Love. Did you have nightmares last night?”

She nods.

With a sigh, I move closer, my arms coming around her and Rhett. When I see Oliver hesitating to join, I pull him in so all three of us are surrounding her.

“I’m so sorry, Wren,” I mutter.

“I’m okay now,” she whispers.

But it’s pretty damn evident she’s not. She’s traumatized—rightly so. The memories of the past day or so are going to haunt her for the rest of her life.

We never should’ve left her alone.

I kiss Wren on the forehead. Her eyes are scrunched shut, and she’s clutching Rhett tightly. When I glance between him and Oliver, I find my thoughts reflected in their expressions. We can’t let something like this happen ever again.

“Lie back down, sweetheart,” Rhett says. “You need to sleep.”

We all move to give her some space, settling back into bed quietly. I end up spooning Oliver, and Rhett does the same to Wren. Silently, she finds Oliver’s hands and interlocks their fingers. He murmurs something in her ear that I don’t catch, but whatever it is, it helps her to fully relax.

She’s out in a matter of minutes, and eventually I hear Rhett’s breathing even out as well. Slowly, Oliver shifts so he’s on his back, still holding Wren’s hands. I can barely make out his face in the dark.

“Ell,” he murmurs.

“Yes?”

After letting out a long breath, he says, “I know it’s hard to understand why I did what I did. But I just didn’t want her to be there for a second longer than she needed to be.”

“Ol, trust me, I get it,” I say in a hushed tone. “It got us to her sooner. And we… we almost went to the wrong house. If we had, who knows how long it would’ve taken us to find her.”

“Shit,” he whispers.

“I guess what I’m saying is thank you. But please don’t do it again.”

“I won’t,” he says quietly. “Because we’re never letting Wren out of our sight. This can’t happen again, Ell.”

“Agreed.”

We sit in silence for a moment before he says, “I don’t regret it. But Iamsorry. I didn’t want to make you relive what happened all those years ago. But I couldn’t let her suffer, either.”

“I know.”

And really, that’s all I can ask of him. Oliver has always been the first to throw himself in danger’s way for me and Rhett. Of course he’d do the same for Wren—he loves her, too. It may scare the shit out of me, but it makes me proud of him, too.

“I love you, Ell,” he whispers.

“I love you too,” I whisper back, kissing his shoulder.