Page 274 of Ruthless Desires: Vol. Two

“No,” Rhett says quickly, his voice firm. “No, sweetheart, you couldn’t’ve known. This wasn’t your fault. Not in the slightest.”

“But you were captured because I was seen. BecauseI—”

“You were seen because I pushed you into something you weren’t ready for yet,” I say. “It’s not your fault, princess. It’s mine.”

“What?” Elliot says.“Yours?I’m the one who should’ve suspected that it was all a trap. That—”

“Enough.” Rhett shakes his head, his arms tightening around Wren so he’s crushing her into his chest. “The blame doesn’t lie with any of you. I’ve put us through so much pain over the past decade. This is just my latest fuck-up. I should’ve found a way to be content with just killing Holloway so we could’ve moved on years ago. This hasn’t been fair to anyone, and sweetheart…” Rhett’s lips brush against her forehead. “This was no one’s fault but mine.”

“You’re all fucking idiots,” Finn mutters.

I jump, whirling around to find him standing in the doorway.

“Haven’t been here for the whole conversation,” he says, holding up his hands. “Just long enough to hear all your bullshit.Noneof you are to blame.”

Elliot goes to protest, but he doesn’t get a chance.

“This lies solely on Ludo’s shoulders,” Finn continues. “Deep down, Iknowyou all know that.He’sthe one who’s inflicted all this suffering on you, so stop trying to take the blame for something that’s not your fault.” He’s speaking to all of us, but he’s only looking at Rhett.

We all know he never truly stopped blaming himself for Sammy’s death.

“Now please don’t make me haul each of you upstairs,” Finn says. “You three need to sleep. Fuck, Wren does, too. Just look at her. I’ll keep Benny and Andrew occupied, and I’ll make sure Meredith doesn’t hurt Ludotoomuch. So get moving.”

I sigh. Even though I’ve barely done anything for the past two weeks, I was never able to sleep well. How could I have? I was terrified.

Wren’s hand slides into Rhett’s. “I can show you guys upstairs.”

Quietly, I follow everyone out of the living room. As I pass Finn, he places a hand on my shoulder.

“Wren has your meds. She grabbed them the night we left. She’s probably too overwhelmed to remember.”

“Thanks.”

Upstairs, there are three spare rooms. Sparrow and Aubrey are staying in one, Wren has been sleeping in the other, and the third is empty. We all shower, and I brush my teeth, needing to get the taste of food out of my mouth. When I get out of the bathroom, everyone is sitting on Wren’s bed.

I join them, leaning up against Elliot. There’s no way we can all fit on one of these beds, but none of us want to leave each other.

Rhett clears his throat. “The three of you could—”

“No,” I say, not even letting him finish. “You’re not sleeping alone.”

“I doubt I’ll get much rest. There’s no reason—”

“No,” we all say at once.

“So we split up?” Wren asks sadly.

“It’s our best option if we want to get good sleep,” Elliot says. “Ol, will you… I…”

“I need you, too,” I whisper. I need to wake up next to him without him being dragged away from me. The sooner I can replace that memory, the better.

Before we go, Rhett draws me into his arms. He cradles my head as he kisses me, and I lean into him. I need to be with Elliot, but I’ll miss his body against mine.

“I’m sorry for earlier,” I murmur. “I shouldn’t’ve pushed you away.”

He brushes his nose against mine. “All I care about is that you’re okay.”

When I pull away, he’s watching me intently. All three of them are. Earlier, I was so desperate to get out of the memories of what Ludo did. I knew it scared them, but I couldn’t stop. “I’ll… I’ll be okay.”