Page 57 of Ruthless Desires, Vol. One (Ruthless Desires Series Extended Editions #1)
Elliot
Because I love her.
When the words spilled through my phone, I wasn’t even surprised. Oliver fell for me and Rhett first, so it makes sense that he’d be the first to realize how deep his feelings are for Wren.
It doesn’t help the hurt, though. Or the panic.
What if his plan doesn’t work?
What if we lose them both?
“Ell.”
I look up from my phone. Rhett is dressed and ready to go, boots already on and everything.
“We need to get moving,” he says.
“Right.”
Again, I stare down at my phone, tracking the blinking blue dot that’s currently my only connection to Oliver. I texted him after our call, but he didn’t answer, which means things are probably going according to plan. For now.
“Everything’s in the SUV.”
The blue dot blurs. Then the whole screen.
“Fuck. Ell…”
I try to blink my tears back, but they end up falling. Gently, Rhett takes my phone from my hand and sets it on the counter. Then he steps in front of me, resting his forehead against mine.
He doesn’t say anything. But with Rhett, I don’t expect him to—don’t need him to. He places me firmly against his body, holding me tightly, and squeezes his eyes shut.
Get it together, Ell. You have to stay strong. For them.
“Just tell me we’ll get them home safe.”
“We will.” Rhett says it with such confidence that it’s hard not to believe him. “Now let’s get moving. I want them home tonight.”
He guides me through the house with his hand in mine. I can’t stop staring at the blinking blue dot on my phone, like knowing exactly where Oliver is will somehow make this all better.
It doesn’t.
“What if we can’t—”
“Don’t think like that, Ell,” Rhett says as he opens the passenger side door to my SUV. Then he pushes me inside. “I need you on top of your game today. So do O and Wren.”
“Right,” I mumble, pulling at my seatbelt.
We drive in silence. Judging how many miles we are from Oliver, they’re about forty-five minutes ahead of us. The roads aren’t good enough to try going over the speed limit even with four-wheel drive. If the way Rhett is tapping the steering wheel with his fingers is any indication, it’s frustrating him as much as it is me.
“They’re not heading in the direction of the vineyard house,” I say. “It’s one of the others—probably the old one that’s in the forest.”
“It’ll be okay,” Rhett replies. “Just tell me where to go.”
I direct him carefully, making sure to give him the quickest route. Then I sink into my seat as an odd mix of panic and self-doubt settles over me. Not only did we almost waste hours going to the wrong place, but I memorized the layout of the wrong damn building.
“Rhett, what if—”
“Stop.”
“No! What are we going to do if we’re too late? If Jordan decides that killing Wren in front of Oliver is enough? What if they’re both dead?”
“Then we’ll make Jordan’s life just as miserable as we’re going to make Ludo’s,” he grits out. “But I need you to not catastrophize right now. Tell me what our plan is.”
I take a deep breath. He’s right—I need to stay focused. “Once Oliver’s marker stops moving, we’ll be able to identify which house he’s at. We’ll park the SUV nearby but out of sight. Somehow we’ll have to sneak onto the property and assess what their outdoor security is. Considering Jordan thinks we have no idea where he is, it’ll probably be pretty lax.”
“Okay. So we neutralize any guards outside. Then what?”
“We get into the house. By then, there’s a high chance that we’ll have lost our element of surprise, so we’ll need to be careful. Take cover whenever possible, watch each other’s backs, and eliminate any threats.”
“And then?”
“And then we find Oliver and Wren.” Closing my eyes, I will them to be okay. “We find them and we bring them home.”
“You don’t sound very confident.” His voice is just barely laced with worry, and I know why. I’m always confident.
“I picked the wrong house,” I murmur.
“What?”
“I was going to have us go to the wrong house. What if we’d done that? How much time would we have lost?”
“Ell.” His voice is gentle as he places a comforting hand on my leg. “You did the best you could with the limited information you had.”
I nod, forcing myself to breathe. Oliver’s plan may be all kinds of reckless and dangerous, but I understand his reasoning. It’s getting us to Wren way faster than any plan I could’ve come up with. I’m terrified for him, and I’m hurt that he went behind our backs, but I’m grateful, too.
When Oliver’s dot stops moving an eighth of a mile off the road, I double-check that it’s one of the addresses that Finn sent us. Now that we have a set location that we’re heading to, Rhett starts driving faster. It’s not a lot—ending up in a ditch is the last thing we need right now—but it’s still something. By the time we’re pulling off the road and grabbing our weapons, the sun has disappeared beneath the horizon.
The darkness and the trees give us some cover as we sneak through the woods. When we come up on the house, I’m honestly surprised by the lack of guards outside. All I can see are two men walking the perimeter of the property where the snowy lawn meets the trees.
“That’s it?” I mutter. It feels too easy.
For another couple minutes, we watch, making sure they’re the only two outside. There could be guards hiding in the woods, but considering how smug Jordan sounded earlier, I’m pretty sure he thinks he’s safe.
Not for much longer.
I kneel in the snow with my rifle, adding the silencer. Then I set my elbow on my knee for stability. “I’ll take them out. Let me know if you see any movement in the trees or anywhere else.”
“Got it.”
I drop the men with one shot each, and then I use the night vision scope to check the woods for any potential threats.
Nothing.
“Jesus,” I whisper. “I knew there was a reason Edgar picked Tyler as his heir instead of Jordan, but I didn’t think he was this stupid.”
Rhett makes a low noise of agreement before turning to me. “Ready?”
“Absolutely. Let’s get this bitch.”