Page 61 of Ruthless Desires: Vol. Two

When Wren starts heading toward the pool, I move outside, closing the door slowly so she doesn’t hear it. The stairs into the water are on the far side, and I watch her pause at the top. Her hand is gripping the railing tightly.

She said upstairs that she’s not a coward. Is this because of what Ludo said to her? Did he say something else today that set her off?

I stay in the shadows where she can’t see me. However much I want to stop her, I won’t. Only Wren can be the judge of what’s pushing herself too far. This is her decision—even if I think it’s a stupid one.

“You can do it,” I hear her say. She’s staring into the illuminated pool, still standing at the top of the steps. “You’renota coward, dammit.”

Hesitantly, she steps into the water. She squeezes her eyes shut and takes a deep breath before moving down another step. Both of her hands are on the railing, grasping at the pole like she’ll drown instantly if she lets go.

I keep my eyes trained sharply on Wren. I’ve seen what happens to Oliver when his anxiety overtakes him. If Wren starts panicking in the pool, it’s likely she’ll lose control and drown. I need to be able to pull her out of the water as quickly as possible.

Odds are, she’ll feel a lot safer if she knows she’s not alone. But she obviously wants to do this by herself. I don’t want to make myself known unless I absolutely have to.

For a second, it looks like Wren is going to back out of the pool. But then she takes a steadying breath and moves down the stairs until she’s touching the bottom. It’s just the shallow end, so Wren’s head is far above the water, but she’s still clutching onto the end of the railing.

She stands frozen before taking a step into the pool. Her hands fall from the railing. Another step. Then another.

She stops, looking around. “See, it’s not so bad. Not scary at all. Not… not… fuck.” Her voice breaks, and she rubs at her face with her shaking hands. The next couple breaths she takes are choppy and uneven, but then she’s able to get it together. “Just don’t think about that. Think about… think about… them.” Her voice softens on the last word.

It takes a minute, but she manages to avoid whatever breakdown was about to happen. She walks stiffly to the edge of the pool, where she grabs onto the side and slowly lowers herself down. But when she gets to the point where her shoulders are immersed, she stops.

Wren is facing away from me, so I can’t see her expression, but the tension in her body is enough of an indicator.

“This was a bad idea,” she squeaks out. Then she’s moving toward the stairs, retreating from her fears, and I can’t even blame her.

We should’ve offered to do this with her. We should’ve been more supportive.

As I watch her ascend the steps, I can’t help but think that I’m still ridiculously proud of her. How many times did Jordan shove her head under water and hold her there? And how many of those times did Wren think she’d never take another breath?

Fuck. We should’ve tortured him for longer.

Wren is over by her stuff now, her towel in her hands. But she’s just standing there, dripping wet, staring down at it.

“Goddammit,” she hisses out. “Wren Marie Taylor, you know how to swim. For fuck’s sake.”

With a newfound fervor, Wren throws her towel back onto the lounge chair and marches over to the deep end of the pool. She doesn’t even pause—just jumps in.

Panic sears through my veins, and I’m already kicking off my shoes when she surfaces with a gasp. She pushes her hair out of her face and lets out a victorious laugh. Then she dives under the water again, swimming toward the bottom before coming up for air.

With a breath of relief, I slide my shoes back on.She’s fine. She’s doing it. Fuck, she’s okay.

Just as Wren is gaining her bearings, a shadowed figure steps up to the far edge of the pool. It’s dark, but I’d recognize that red leather jacket anywhere.

“Not a coward, I see,” Ludo says, slipping his hands into his pants pockets. As he looks down at Wren, the pool lights illuminate his face. The way he’s looking at her has all my panic flooding back, but I stay hidden.

“Ludo,” Wren says, meeting his gaze.

To her credit, her voice is only a tiny bit surprised. She stays in the middle of the deep end, treading water. The other options are moving closer to him, which I highly doubt she wants to do, or moving farther away. And with a man like Ludo, backing away from him is a terrible idea. The man can practically smell fear.

“You know,” Ludo says, crouching down and clasping his hands in front of him, “you’re a smart little thing. You kept your mouth shut about my visit, didn’t you?”

What?

Wren stays silent.

Ludo laughs. “I was expecting your men to say something. Demand answers. Anything.” He shrugs. “But to my surprise, they never asked. And when I hired them for this job, my suspicions were confirmed. You never told them I could’ve saved you.”

“Based on my limited knowledge of your character, the thought of helping me probably never even crossed your mind,” Wren says dryly.