Page 24 of Ruthless Desires, Vol. Two (Ruthless Desires Series Extended Editions #2)

Rhett

Finn’s gaze swivels between me and Wren. When it comes to rest on me, it turns into a full-on glare.

“Desensitizing your girlfriend to violence. Please tell me you feel at least a little guilty.”

“Of course I do,”

I grit out. I figured he’d react like this when I explained why Wren was with me, but I was hoping he’d let it slide.

“It was my idea,”

Wren says with a hint of annoyance.

Chuckling dryly, Finn tells her, “You’ve got guts, you know that? No wonder they like you.”

I bristle. We’re far past like and into much deeper territory.

When Finn notices my reaction, he smirks. Fucking bastard. No doubt, he said that on purpose to see what I’d do. Everything this man does is intentional.

“Let’s get this over with,”

I say, my tone clipped.

“We’re not here to chat.”

Finn leads us through the old farmhouse. It sits pretty far back from the road, and the property is maintained just enough that it doesn’t look abandoned. Not that many people see it, other than a couple neighbors. My father’s house was mostly on the way, and it still took us forty-five minutes to get here.

I’m surprised Wren didn’t fall asleep during the drive. Part of me is worried that all the stress is giving her insomnia, which doesn’t help with the guilt I’m already drowning in. Between this, her loss of appetite, and her increasing nightmares, I’m ready to march over to Ludo’s mansion and set it on fire tonight.

You can’t, I have to remind myself. Not with Aubrey and the boys in there somewhere.

“It took me forever to find him,”

Finn is saying as he leads us down into an unfinished basement.

“He hasn’t been in contact with anyone, at least not in person.”

“But you think he knows?”

“I think I can’t pass up the opportunity. He’s the only one I’ve found in months.”

Wren is looking between us questioningly, but she already knows she’s not getting answers from me. If Finn isn’t going to tell her what he’s looking for, then I can’t, either. It’s not my place.

In the basement, Finn yanks on a chain that turns on a single lightbulb. It does little to illuminate the space, but it casts some light over a figure who’s hunched over and tied to a chair. He doesn’t look as beat up as I thought he would, which makes me wonder how Finn has been trying to break him.

The scene reminds me of something, but it takes me a second to place it. The cold, damp basement, this guy tied to a chair, the lone lightbulb—it’s similar to the cellar Jordan almost killed Wren in.

“Sweetheart.”

I turn my back on the man and Finn to look at her.

“Are you okay?”

Wren’s shoulders are higher than normal, and she’s standing with her feet close together. It’s like she’s trying to make herself as small as possible, but her voice is strong as she says, “I’m fine.”

I want to tell her that she can wait upstairs if she’d prefer, but she knows that. She’s down here for a reason, and while I may hate it, it’s possible that it’ll be good for her.

Dammit. What kind of life am I living that her watching me torture a man could possibly be good for her?

“Austin,”

Finn says, “meet Rhett.”

“Who the fuck is he?”

Austin asks as he struggles against the ropes binding him to the chair.

“The one who’s going to force every drop of information out of you.”

Finn shrugs.

“Or kill you if you refuse to give in. Whichever he wants, I guess.”

“You know I won’t talk.”

With a nonchalant sigh, Finn replies, “Death it is, then.”

“Fucking traitor,”

Austin grits out.

Traitor. That’s the last thing Finn is. If anything, the organization Austin works for—the one Finn clawed his way out of—betrayed him.

I throw Finn a questioning glance. When he nods, I grab a baseball bat that’s leaning against a table. Austin swallows audibly but keeps his mouth shut.

“Just be careful of his head,”

Finn tells me.

“We still need him lucid enough to talk.”

“I know that,”

I say, my voice coming out more annoyed than I mean for it to.

Finn raises his hands.

“Just making sure.”

He’s right to do so, but I won’t tell him that. My expertise is in killing, not extracting information.

I avoid his head entirely, going for his shins instead. The blow isn’t hard enough to break anything, but Austin still grits his teeth and squeezes his eyes shut.

“Where’s the new headquarters?”

Finn asks.

Austin doesn’t respond, so I swing the bat at him again. He yells as I hit the same spot harder this time, but I can’t find it in me to care.

“Spit it out,”

Finn says.

“Do whatever you want to me,”

Austin snaps.

“I’m not telling you shit.”

His shin is sore enough, so all I have to do is tap the bat against the same spot. I keep doing it, setting a rhythmic pace that has him flinching every time.

With a shake of his head, Finn crouches down. The look he gives Austin is one of pity and sadness, which is unexpected.

“They’ve really got you that wrapped around their finger?”

“I’m loyal. You used to be,”

Austin replies.

“Remember? Or have you already forgotten what it’s like to be loyal to a cause? To have your life mean something?”

“Maybe I found a better cause.”

Finn’s tone is detached, almost uninterested. But I know better than to believe it, even for a split second.

“Bullshit.”

Austin shakes his head, and his eyes flare with hatred.

“You gave up. The two of you were gonna run, weren’t you? Like fucking cowards. Everything was so hush hush, but people talk.”

He’s pissing me off, so I add more force to my taps. Austin grunts, and his voice wavers as he continues.

“I have my theories, and so does everyone else. She got to you. Poisoned you. And it worked. You let her in, and she ruined you. They should’ve executed you, too. They should’ve—”

“Stop.”

At that, Finn stands. His detached demeanor is gone, but his rage is still well-contained. After glaring at Austin for another second, he turns to me.

“I need some air. Do whatever you want, just keep him conscious.”

I watch him go without another word. He brushes past Wren, whose eyes are glued to me.

“You still okay?”

I ask her after Finn slams the door at the top of the stairs.

She nods, and something in her expression draws me to her. I don’t realize I’m right in front of her until she has to tilt her face up to look at me.

“I don’t want to scare you,”

I say quietly.

“You won’t.”

Even though I’ve already explained myself to her, I can’t stop myself from doing it again. Seeing Wren’s eyes wide with the same fear my mother felt toward my father would break me.

Dipping my head down, I rest my forehead against hers.

“No matter what, I need you to remember that you’re safe with me. I’ll hurt people. I’ll draw out their pain before killing them. Hell, I’ve even done it on your behalf, and it won’t be the last time I do. But you—you will never be at risk of me doing something like this to you. Please… just please. I need you to know that.”

“I do.”

Her voice is strong as she angles her face to the side and kisses me.

“I know, Rhett. This is different. You told me he deserves it, right?”

“Right.”

Somehow, she smiles. And somehow, it partially eases the ache in my chest.

“I trust you.”

I let myself stay in her embrace for a few more seconds before breaking away. This is already taking longer than I meant it to.

Wren hovers a decent distance behind me as I advance toward Austin. For the few brief seconds I was focused on her, my anger faded to a bearable point. But now it slams into me again. All the pain. The secrets, the abuse, the lies. They all dig into me like barbed wire.

Ludo can’t pay tonight. Richard may never pay. But today, at least for a few hours, I can pretend. Austin can have a different face in my mind. Maybe then, once I’ve let some of this fury and hurt bleed out of me, I’ll be able to find momentary peace.

Austin doesn’t try to inch away. He just braces himself and squeezes his eyes shut. The bat connects with his ribcage, and a sickening crack fills the air as he doubles over.

“Fuck,”

he wheezes.

I don’t give him even a second to recover. Throwing the bat to the floor, I kick him in the stomach. It’s with enough force that it knocks him over, and his head hits the floor with a thud.

Dammit.

I yank the chair back up. Austin’s face is twisted with pain, but his eyes are still open, which is all I care about.

“I’m not giving in,”

he says in between shallow breaths.

“That doesn’t change the fact that you’re not making it out of here alive.”

“Fuck you,”

he seethes.

“I suppose I could take it easier on you if you give Finn what he wants, though. The location of the new headquarters?”

He’s silent.

“The name of one of your superiors?”

Nothing.

“How about your last assignment?”

He rolls his eyes.

“Fine.”

I pick up the bat again.

“Have it your way.”

I do as Finn requested and keep Austin conscious. After a while, I move from blows to one of the knives Finn has laid out on the nearby table. Of course, I have to be careful he doesn’t bleed out, but I know where I can and can’t cut.

The whole time, Wren stays silent behind me. Every couple minutes or so, I glance toward her to make sure she’s not frozen in fear. She’s not moving much, but she doesn’t look scared.

“He’s killed people,”

Austin throws out at some point.

“Good people. Innocents.”

It takes me a second to realize he’s talking about Finn. “And?”

“He did it with little to no remorse. You really want to be friends with a person like that? Him and I are a lot alike, you know.”

He nods to Wren.

“You told her I deserve this. If that’s true, then so does Finn. We worked the same assignments. We killed the same types of people and ruined the lives of others who hadn’t done anything wrong.”

I laugh. If this guy thinks he can put even a crack in the foundation of loyalty I have to Finn, he’s delusional.

When Austin realizes his manipulation tactic didn’t work, the light in his eyes vanishes. Maybe I’d take pity on him if he was actually like Finn, but I know he’s not.

Placing the tip of my knife under Austin’s chin, I force his head up so he’s looking at me. More blood runs onto the blade from where I broke skin.

“You have no idea who Finn’s become. He doesn’t answer to them anymore, and he hasn’t for years. You want to prove you’re like him? Then give it up. Tell us something—anything.”

“It doesn’t change what he’s done.”

“Give it up, Austin,”

Finn says from the top of the stairs. The door shuts, and his footsteps sound heavily as he makes his way down.

“You’re not going to win him over.”

“You should be ashamed of yourself,”

Austin bites out when Finn comes into view. His eyes flash as he adds, “All three of you.”

In the corner of my eye, Wren winces.

That’s it.

One second, the knife is in my hand. The next, the blade is fully embedded in his thigh. Austin screams in agony.

Leaving the knife in, I lean forward until my face is only an inch away from his.

“Say whatever you want to me and Finn. But no one talks to her that way. No one.”

Tears are streaming down Austin’s face as he gasps for air. Slowly, I twist the knife. His face contorts as he cries out.

“Did you get anything?”

Finn asks as he moves closer, his tone almost apathetic.

“Nothing.”

Finn sighs.

“I had high hopes for you, Austin. I really thought you’d be one of the first to leave after I did.”

“Looks like you’re wrong on multiple fronts, then.”

With a disappointed grimace, Finn turns to me.

“He’s not gonna talk. Do whatever you want to him.”

Something worse than hatred drips from Austin’s voice as he says, “Blame me for doing the right thing, I don’t care. At least I didn’t lead her to her death. She deserved better than you.”

Finn’s expression is blank, his voice hollow. “I know.”

With his hands shoved deep into his pockets, he retreats until he’s next to Wren.

“Your move, Rhett.”

My memory is fuzzy from there on out. In my mind, Austin isn’t Austin anymore. Half the time, he’s Ludo. The other half, he’s my father. His screams bring me a sick kind of satisfaction, and every time I make him bleed, some of my resentment and hate bleeds out, too.

I wish it was them—Ludo and Richard. One day, hopefully soon, it will be.

I don’t stop until I notice that blood isn’t dripping onto the ground anymore. It’s only then, looking down at the cold, lifeless heap on the floor, that I realize my hands have finally stopped shaking.