Page 26 of Ruthless Desires: Vol. Two

As we head down to the restaurant, I do my best to shake off my anger. With every passing day, it becomes more and more apparent just how much of a number Wren’s ex and her parents did on her. Encouraging her to be herself is such a basic thing a loved one would do, so it took me a moment to realizethat’swhat she was thanking me for.

It’s a relief that I’m so used to it now. I used to thank Oliver and Elliot for that type of stuff all the time. It’s taken fourteen damn years, but my mind is starting to default to their affection being the standard instead of my asshole of a father.

Truly, I don’t think I would’ve survived to twenty-eight if it hadn’t been for those two. They taught me what love actually looked like. Now, we’re always trying to make sure we’re caring for and supporting each other.

It’s why I decided to have Wren sleep with me tonight. I doubt I’ll sleep, so who better to wake Wren from her nightmares than the one who’ll be affected by it the least? Now all I have to do is make sure I’m in a good enough mental state to comfort her.

Almost out of habit, I start doing one of my breathing exercises. It’s not like doing it now will help me later, but maybe it’ll calm me down for the time being.

Once we’re at the restaurant, the host leads us to a table on the deck, right by the railing. From here, there’s a decent view of the beach and the water. Off to one side, you can see the luxury condos, shrouded with meticulously-kept gardens.

“There are a lot of palm trees down here,” Wren says once we’re seated, tugging me from my thoughts. She’s staring past the railing toward the beach. “Like, a lot. And they’re taller than I thought they’d be.”

“Never seen one in real life before?”

She laughs. “Oh, definitely not. My mom and I barely scraped by for years—my biological dad was never in the picture. We lived with my grandma, and my mom took care of the house and me while my grandma worked. Once my mom married Thomas, our money situation changed drastically. He had a good job—areallygood job. But I usually avoided going on trips with them whenever I could, and neither of them protested much. I spent a lot of nights alone.”

“I bet you were one of those teenagers who threw absolute ragers when they were gone.”

She gives me a baffled look. “What? No, I spent most of my free time reading. Wait, do I give that impression?”

With a snort, I reach over the table and squeeze her wrist. “No, sweetheart. It was a joke.”

For a second, she stares at me with her head tilted, but then she laughs. “I don’t know how I didn’t pick up on that.” Her smile fades, and her gaze drops. “Thomas would say it’s because I spent too much time reading and not enough time making friends.”

Leaning across the table, I tilt her chin up with a bent knuckle. “Ell would say there’s no such thing as reading too much.”

“And you?” she whispers.

“I’d say what you do with your free time is no one’s business but your own, and if you ever don’t understand a joke, I’ll happily explain it to you.”

At that, she relaxes. Hell, she even smiles, but this one is void of embarrassment. It’s a relief, seeing some of the spark in her eyes that’s been missing ever since Jordan kidnapped her.

After we order, I continue taking the place in. I got a decent look at the inside portion of the restaurant earlier, but I want to double check things like entry points, exits, potential blind spots, all that.

“So what exactly are you looking for?” Wren asks.

Right.I want to include her in all this. We were only able to fit in one more self-defense lesson since getting her back, and while this is different, situational awareness is important.

“There’s a lot to consider. First, you have to watch the people around you and look for anything that might be slightly off. But in a spot like this, you also have to keep an eye on things outside of the deck. See how the resort is curved?” I nod to the part of the building we can see. We’re on one end, and since it’s curved in on itself, the other end is perfectly visible from the edge of the patio.

“Mmhmm.”

“From one of the balconies, a good shot could take you out right where you’re sitting,” I say. “From there, things could get messy. Would the shooter be able to get out of the resort in time before the authorities show up? How many security cameras and resort staff would they have to dodge? But it’s plausible.”

Wren’s eyes widen. “Then how are you supposed to keep Aubrey safe? It’s not like you can keep her fromallopen areas.”

“In a situation like this? Either I’d have us inside the restaurant, or we’d sit farther inside the deck. The roof would hide us from most of the balconies. That table right there would be decent. It’s close enough to the doors leading inside that it provides a quick escape, and if we can’t get her that far, we can shove her behind the bar until we fight off her potential attacker.”

“Wow,” Wren murmurs. “I never would’ve thought of any of that.”

I shrug. “Odds are, no one would try an up-close attack here. Too many people around. In a restaurant, you’re more likely to have to deal with poisons. But as long as—”

“Poisons?” she squeaks out, her eyes widening. “How could you possibly know if her food is poisoned? I mean, I know there are ways to test your drinks for drugs, but what about other stuff?”

“Most poisons take more than one dose to kill,” I say, sipping on my water. “Most. As for checking, the better option is to not announce where she’ll be. That type of attack takes premeditation. Any potential threats can’t think ahead if they don’t know where—or what—she’ll be eating.”

“Oh,” she says, relaxing. “You guys have really thought all this through.”