Page 38 of Ruthless Desires, Vol. One (Ruthless Desires Series Extended Editions #1)
Oliver
We all have to shower again, and after that, Rhett makes us a quick breakfast. Once we’re ready to leave, we head into the basement and then into the garage. Again, it’s really more like an underground bunker. Finn is involved in some wild, dangerous shit. This cabin is only one of his safe houses.
Wren looks around at everything, especially at how well-built the place is, but she doesn’t say anything. Instead, she quietly follows and then climbs into the back of Elliot’s SUV with me. We stashed it yesterday so the unregistered cars will stay here.
Once we’re on the road, it seems to click for Wren that we’re heading back to real life. And that today is, in fact, just another Wednesday.
Who could blame her?
She smacks her forehead. “Oh my god! I was supposed to work today. Oh, fuck.”
Rhett turns to look at us from the passenger seat. “They won’t fire you, will they?”
I hand him my phone, nodding to the article I pulled up. Ever since I saw Thomas barking into his phone, I’ve been suspicious that he called the authorities. This morning, I found evidence that he did.
Peering over Rhett’s shoulder, Wren’s mouth drops. “Local woman kidnapped under mysterious circumstances. They think I was kidnapped?!”
“Why wouldn’t they?”
“I mean, I literally ran away with you.”
“They probably thought you were scared and didn’t know what else to do.” I blow out a breath. “My god, I’m glad I had you turn off your phone. You haven’t turned it on, right?”
She shakes her head. “Haven’t even touched it.”
“Good. We’ll help you with a cover story.” I pull her into the seat next to me, tucking her under my arm and buckling her in. “But for now…” I meet Elliot’s gaze in the rearview mirror.
“We know you have a lot of questions for us, Wren,” he says. “And we have some for you. We can try to hash some of this out on the drive home if you’d like.”
“Questions for me?” She glances between the three of us. “Like what?”
“Like what the hell you were doing with Adam last night, for starters,” Rhett grits out. His expression turns dark.
I cringe. His frustration isn’t coming from a place of jealousy. It’s just that he was worried about her—and that he absolutely hates Adam’s guts. But his reaction is still harsh.
Wren doesn’t seem hurt, though. She leans forward and squeezes his arm. “I didn’t know he’d be there. My mom invited me to dinner with just her. But it was actually an intervention, I guess.”
Ah. That explains why she looked so pissed at the Grille.
“For what?” Elliot asks. His eyes are on the road, but his grip on the steering wheel tightens.
“For…” Wren sighs. “It’s a lot.”
“We have time, princess.”
“They—my mom, my stepdad, and Adam and his parents—didn’t think I was making a good decision by breaking up with him. They kept saying that my future with him is what I wanted, and I was making a big mistake by leaving him.
“But the thing is, I… I didn’t want that future with him. Not ever. I made myself believe that I did. But before I met Adam, I never wanted to be a housewife. I never wanted to be a stay at home mom. He is what I needed an intervention from. It just took me a couple years to realize it.”
“What did he want when he came after you?” Rhett’s voice isn’t as hard, but it’s still tense.
With a sigh, Wren leans into me. “He was still trying to convince me. My mom told me he was planning on proposing before I broke up with him.”
“Elliot, you’d be proud,” I say. “When I got to her, she was beating Adam over the head with a book.”
He laughs, and the idea even puts a small smile on Rhett’s lips.
I almost ask about Wren’s stepdad, but then I remember how terrified she looked yesterday when she saw him.
Another time.
Instead, I give her a proud grin. “Now, for you. What questions do you have?”
Her expression turns pensive. With a hint of worry, she says, “Is it always as nerve-wracking as last night?”
“God no. We knew there was an extra risk with this job, but we took it because Edgar Williams is—was—a grade A scumbag.” And it furthers our plan. “And we have Elliot. He’s a fantastic planner. Can think his way out of anything. We always make sure we’re safe, princess.”
Wren nods slowly, absorbing everything I just told her. “So it’s true? You guys kill people for—for money?”
Dread fills my stomach. This is what we were afraid of. That she’d find out, get freaked out, and then want nothing to do with us. We’re professional killers, after all. It’s scary to know someone can take a life over and over again.
“We do, princess. Does that bother you?”
For an agonizing moment, she’s silent. Then, after her eyes have trailed from me to Elliot to Rhett, and then back again, she says, “What if the person doesn’t deserve it? To die?”
“Simple. We don’t take the job.”
It’s something we decided on years ago. Losing Sammy caused us so much unnecessary pain. What’s the point in avenging her if we become as bad as the man who killed her? So we’re picky about what jobs we take, and in the process, we take out some of the world’s worst pieces of shit.
Wren seems to relax at my answer. “Do you travel a lot?”
“A few times a month.”
“Have you ever gotten close to getting caught?”
I hesitate. By the police? No. But by other people? Once, years ago. But Elliot and Rhett don’t like talking about it. Probably for the same reason I can’t bear the thought of losing them.
“We’re always thorough, love,” Elliot says.
She nods. And then she settles into me further, one of her hands resting against my chest. “I think that’s all the questions I have. For now.”
Within twenty minutes, her breathing deepens. It’s a long drive home, and my guess is she slept terribly last night, so I keep my arm wrapped around her to hold her steady. It’s the least I can do after yesterday.
I can’t believe I lost it on her. Couldn’t even fucking drive. It felt like my heart was going to explode in my chest. Like I was going to die if I never saw Ell and Rhett again. And there was Wren, right after going through a bunch of traumatic shit, and she kept it together. She stayed calm when I couldn’t.
Am I proud of her? Immensely. But I can’t lie, I hate myself for falling apart at such a terrible time. Not only did she need me to stay in control, but I was a mess. A complete fucking mess.
Elliot and Rhett never would’ve started panicking like that.
Ever since we all realized we were attracted to Wren, I’ve had my doubts that it would work. For me, anyway. Rhett and Ell have their problems, but they’re manageable. But me? Sometimes I feel like I’m more of a burden than anything else.
I’m strong, sure. But not in the way Elliot and Rhett are. I’m smaller. Softer. Not nearly as dominant. Probably closer to a sheep than a wolf. And I’m not always… stable.
Elliot catches my gaze in the mirror. Knowing him, he’s already figured out exactly what’s going on in my head, so I look away. I don’t want to talk about it.
I know I’ll have to eventually—he’ll force it out of me. And if he doesn’t, Rhett will. But for now, they let it go.
At some point during the drive, it starts snowing, but I barely notice. I settle against my seat, still holding Wren, and let the comforting sounds of Elliot and Rhett having a quiet, low conversation wash over me.
Eventually, I fall asleep, the chant of they’re safe, they’re safe, they’re safe, the last thing I remember.