Page 19 of Ruthless Desires, Vol. Two (Ruthless Desires Series Extended Editions #2)

Elliot

“What do you mean, we have a problem?”

I stand and circle the table so I can see what’s on Rhett’s screen.

“What the… how did you gain access to these feeds?”

“Finn helped me. I couldn’t sleep last night.”

“Oh.”

The word is steeped in disappointment, and I clear my throat in an attempt to sound normal.

“Right, okay. So what’s the problem? Everything looks fine.”

Rhett points to one of the resort’s security camera feeds, which is currently recording two men who’re standing next to the private elevators that leads to the penthouses.

“They’re not guests,”

Rhett says.

“I’ve looked through a decent amount of the footage, and I don’t recognize them. As far as I know, no one is staying in the other penthouse, and I haven’t seen them check in.”

“Then how did they get a key card to the elevator?”

Oliver asks.

Rhett’s jaw ticks.

“They stopped in the lobby to speak with Andrew before heading straight for the elevator. I didn’t see him pass anything off, but it’s too late to go back and check again. We need to assume the worst.”

“They could just be Ludo’s men on their way to pick me up,”

Aubrey says nervously. “Right?”

“He would’ve given us a heads up.”

Rhett gestures for her to come closer before pointing at the screen.

“You recognize them?”

“No, but he has a lot of employees. They can’t get in here, right?”

“I wouldn’t count on that,”

Oliver says. He’s already in motion, standing and pulling Wren from her seat.

“You two, come with me. We need to get you out of the line of fire.”

“Line of…”

Wren doesn’t finish the sentence.

“No, but you guys—”

“This is our job, princess. We’ll be just fine.”

He doesn’t stop moving, grabbing Aubrey’s wrist and pulling them into Rhett’s bedroom.

Rhett grabs his laptop and follows.

“They just got into the elevator,”

he calls.

“We have thirty seconds, max.”

After pulling my gun out, I crouch behind one of the couches. I’m out of view of the door, so if they come in with guns blazing, they at least won’t be able to aim directly at me.

“We can’t kill them,”

I say.

“Ludo will want to question them.”

I glance to where Rhett is hiding just inside the doorway to his room. He’s attaching his suppressor to the end of his gun.

Fuck. Mine is still in my room.

“Rhett, I don’t have—”

“I’ve got it,”

he says calmly.

“Just stay down until I move. Oliver, the girls?”

“Locked in the bathroom,”

he replies as he skirts around Rhett and dashes into my room.

“I’ll knock over a nightstand.”

When the two men walk into the penthouse, they’ll pass Oliver’s hiding spot pretty quickly while facing the general direction of me and Rhett. It should work well for what we’ve set up for—as long as we time everything perfectly.

Oliver is barely able to slip into the bedroom before we hear the beep of the key card reader. The door unlocks, and it swings open.

“Where are they?”

one of them whispers as two sets of footsteps sound against the hard flooring.

“Andrew said he just saw them come up here.”

“Showering? Taking a group nap? I don’t see them out on the deck.”

“We just need to find her and get out of here.”

The door shuts quietly, and their footsteps come closer. My pulse picks up as I keep my eyes on Rhett. Gun in hand, jaw set, and barely moving, he waits.

Seconds tick by. The footsteps get even closer.

And then we hear it—a loud thud from the room behind them.

The perfect distraction.

Rhett doesn’t hesitate. He leaves the safety of the doorway and shoots twice. I’m up and moving before he fires the second shot.

Both men are on the ground. One has dropped his gun, but the other is simultaneously clutching his bleeding thigh while trying to aim at Rhett.

“Drop the weapon,”

I snap, aiming my own gun at him. Shooting it isn’t the best idea since it’ll be much louder, but I step forward with confidence. “Now.”

“Shit,”

the man hisses before setting his gun down.

“Slide it over,”

Rhett demands as he steps closer.

“You, too.”

He nods to the other guy, who’s been inching toward the gun he dropped.

After they both slide them over, Rhett kicks them farther away. “Oliver?”

“Got it.”

Oliver steps out of the bedroom and starts searching the men. He pulls out a smaller gun and a knife and adds them to the pile.

Once we have them tied up, Rhett grabs his laptop and starts going through the security footage, no doubt making sure these two men are working alone. Oliver grabs two belts, tightening them above their gunshot wounds. Rhett hit them both in the thighs, and the last thing we want is for them to bleed out on us.

As Oliver works, I pull out my phone and call Ludo. It rings and rings, and I’m afraid it’s about to go to voicemail when he finally picks up.

“Holloway.”

I don’t bother hiding my irritation.

“Was this another one of your goddamn tests?”

“What are you talking about?”

Well, that’s a relief.

“You’d better get up to the penthouse quickly. I’ve got two men here you’re going to want to question. You’re gonna need a way to get them out of here discreetly.”

Ludo swears before hanging up.

“Anything?”

I ask Rhett.

“So far, so good,”

he replies.

“I don’t see anyone else who looks suspicious.”

“They have access to the security camera footage,”

one of the men groans to the other.

“That’s how they knew we were coming.”

My heart stutters at that realization. If Rhett hadn’t hacked in and been keeping an eye on things, the past couple of minutes could’ve gone way worse.

“Rhett,”

I whisper.

“Don’t let your mind go there.”

He drops a kiss to my forehead.

“Go check on the girls. Oliver and I have this handled.”

In the bedroom, I knock on the bathroom door.

“Hey, it’s Elliot. It’s safe now.”

Slowly, Aubrey unlocks and opens the door. Wren is clutching one of the candles the resort provided, and she’s in position to throw it at my head. When she sees I’m alone, she sets it down, and the glass jar clangs against the counter.

“Oh thank god.”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Wren throws herself into my arms. I’m taken by surprise and stumble back with a grunt.

“You’re okay?”

She pulls away and looks me over frantically.

“What? Love, of course I—”

Oh. Right.

I forget that Wren hasn’t seen us in action much. She has no idea how smoothly we handled the situation out there. In fact, all she has seen is us failing to protect her when Jordan took her.

Reassuringly, I circle my arms around her waist and press my lips to her temple.

“We’re all fine. Could’ve taken them down in our sleep. Now come on, there’s no sense in you two hiding in here anymore.”

“Is there blood?”

Aubrey asks weakly as she follows Wren into the bedroom.

“I don’t do well with blood.”

“There is. If you’d prefer, you guys can stay in here. Just a heads up, Ludo is on his way.”

They stay in the bedroom—understandably. Wren looks curious, but I don’t think she wants to leave Aubrey alone.

We’ve left the two guys on the floor where they fell. No sense tracking blood anywhere else. I crouch down in front of them, ignoring the way they’re squirming in pain.

Our job is to keep Aubrey safe, and we’ve effectively done that. Any information Ludo needs, he can pull from these men without us. But if we have an opportunity to learn more about Ludo and his enemies, we can’t pass it up.

“The way I see it,”

I say, “you have two options. One, cooperate and tell us what you want with Ludo and Aubrey. Or two, keep your mouths shut until Ludo tortures you to within an inch of your life. He’s not known for his kindness.”

“We’re aware,”

one of them snaps.

“At least tell us who you’re working for. Maybe that’ll placate him.”

“We’ll take our chances.”

With a chuckle, I stand. “Sure.”

When Oliver searched them, he found their wallets, too. I go through them, snapping pictures of their IDs. No doubt, they’re fake, but they could lead us somewhere helpful.

“I hear Ludo lets his victims sit in pain for hours. Days, even.”

I drop their wallets back to the floor with their weapons.

“And you two tried to come after his fiancée. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s crueler with you.”

“I said we’ll take our chances,”

the same man growls.

“Suit yourself.”

It’s not long before my phone vibrates, so I pull it out of my pocket.

Ludo: We’re here. Let us up.

Right. Grabbing one of our key cards, I say, “I’m gonna get Ludo.”

I take the elevator down to where Ludo is waiting on the ground floor. One of his men is with him, dressed in a hotel uniform and pushing a laundry cart.

“You got that together quickly,” I say.

“Best to always be prepared,”

Ludo replies, tapping his temple and smirking.

There’s barely room for all three of us in the elevator, but the ride up doesn’t take long. Once I’ve gotten us all inside the penthouse, Ludo sighs at the two men on the floor.

“Recognize them?”

Rhett asks.

“No.”

Ludo frowns, circling them with his hands in his pockets. Then he grins.

“But I’ll be getting to know them very well soon enough.”

Slowly, he crouches down to look one of the men in the eye.

“You look like you’re planning on keeping your mouth shut.”

He doesn’t give him a response.

Ludo shrugs, and his grin widens.

“No worries. The longer you refuse to talk, the more fun I get to have.”

I turn away to hide my grimace. These two men, most likely, were going to hurt Aubrey in some way. For that, they deserve to be put through hell. But the type of hell Ludo brings… it’s a level of agony that only the lowest scum of the earth should have to suffer through.

Ludo stands.

“Where’s Aubrey? And Wren?”

“Bedroom,”

I answer.

“Didn’t want to be around the blood.”

“Right. I forgot about that.”

Beneath his cool exterior, I imagine Ludo is seething. He’s a master at keeping his emotions under wraps, but I’ve been watching the man for long enough to at least somewhat understand him. Coming after his fiancée like this was a major act of disrespect—one he won’t take lightly.

Ludo looks over the three of us.

“You’ve earned my trust, so I don’t suspect any of you.”

Gesturing to the men on the ground, he adds, “Obviously.”

Oliver narrows his eyes. “But?”

“Very few people knew where we’d be this week.”

Ludo’s voice is reserved, as if he’s lost in thought.

“If someone knew where to find us, that means I’ve got a rat. And rats… they get the worst punishment of all.”

My mind immediately goes to Andrew. Somehow, he’s caught up in all of this. If he’s connected to the rat—or he’s stupid enough to be the rat—then he’s in deep trouble.

It can’t be him. That just doesn’t make sense.

I don’t look at Rhett. Can’t. I’m not sure how long he’ll be able to keep his composure for, so the best thing I can do is keep Ludo distracted.

“Do you need us to keep an eye on Aubrey while you deal with them?”

I nod to the laundry cart.

“That would be helpful.”

Ludo sighs.

“And then we’ll need to get packed up and leave. I can’t deal with these two properly until I’m home, and I’m not moving forward with any business until I know who among us is a traitor.”

“Of course. Just text me when you’re ready for us to bring Aubrey to the condo.”

Ludo uses some kind of sedative on the guys before we load them into the cart. Thankfully there are plenty of sheets already in it to cover them up with.

Once they’re gone, we rush to clean up the blood. We need to finish our conversation with Aubrey before she leaves.

“We’ll have to get the proper chemicals to get it completely off,”

I say as I scrub my hands clean.

“But it’ll do for now. I’m not sure how long we have until Ludo texts us.”

Since the coppery smell still lingers in the air, we decide to finish talking outside. Rhett can’t stop pacing.

“You said you could give us information,”

Rhett says to Aubrey.

“Up until you leave, correct? Which you’re doing the night of the wedding?”

“Correct,”

Aubrey replies.

“But I need to know—are you planning on stripping Ludo of his power? Because if you do that…”

Fuck.

“Then your parents won’t have anyone looking out for them.”

“I can’t take part in this if I know it’ll hurt them,” she says.

“What if we protect them?”

Oliver suggests.

“I mean, we can’t right now. Not until we’re finished with Ludo. But after that, we’ll have the availability, and we could keep them safe until their case is over. We don’t wield the power Ludo does, but most people know not to fuck with us. And the ones who don’t know usually find out pretty quickly.”

“You think that’d work?”

Aubrey asks, glancing between all of us.

“We’ll make it work,”

Rhett says, his tone firm.

“We need as much information on Ludo as we can get, and we need it quickly. If this is what we have to do, then so be it.”

Wren perks up.

“Once Ludo is dead, will you come back?”

“No,”

Aubrey says with an apologetic smile.

“This marriage is only one of the many reasons I want to escape this life. I’m tired of it all, Wren. Like I said, being a Stallard comes with a lot of expectations. If I’m anything less than perfect, it could hurt my family’s business. I want my parents to succeed—I truly do. But I want to live my life my way.”

“And being Isabella gives you that opportunity.”

With a nod, Aubrey takes Wren’s hand.

“Like I said, I’ll write you. But I don’t want to stay in Philadelphia, and I don’t want to be a Stallard anymore.”

“So that’s it?”

Rhett finally stops pacing.

“You give us information, and we keep your parents safe for the duration of their case once Ludo’s dead?”

“Almost,”

Aubrey says.

“I need one more thing.”

“Go on,”

I say. There’s little we wouldn’t do to get Andrew and Benny away from Ludo faster.

“I can’t sneak out of Ludo’s mansion without help. Getting past his security is beyond my capabilities.”

Aubrey turns to Wren.

“That’s why I think it makes sense to have you as a bridesmaid. You’ll have a reason to be there early and a reason to stay late, if needed. And, you know, I like you a lot.”

A single glance toward Rhett, Oliver, and Wren tells me none of them have any objections. This could be the breakthrough we’ve been looking for—the final piece that gives us access to everything we need to ruin Ludo.

“It’s a deal,”

I say as my gaze returns to Aubrey. I find that the hope shining in her eyes transfers to me, too. And when I look to Oliver, he’s grinning with relief.

“This is it,”

he says.

“This is finally it.”

“I can’t believe it,”

Rhett mutters.

“What?”

Wren glances between all of us.

Taking her into my arms, I kiss her. Then I pick her up and spin her around. My shoulders feel lighter than they have in years, so much so that I half wonder if I’m about to float away.

“What is it?”

Wren asks again as I set her down.

“What can’t you believe?”

“We’ve finally reached it, love,”

I say, leaning down and kissing her again.

“We’ve finally reached the beginning of the end.”

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