Page 49 of Ruthless Desires, Vol. Two (Ruthless Desires Series Extended Editions #2)

Elliot

That night, I’m about to sneak over to Oliver’s room again when my door opens. I freeze with my hands on the windowsill. Thankfully, I’m in an innocent enough position that it just looks like I’m staring out the window, but damn. That was close—too close.

Light floods the room, and I slowly turn and lean against the sill. Axel is already inside, dressed in dark clothing that makes his skin look even paler than normal.

“It’s time,”

he says, tossing my boots onto the floor.

The dread I’ve been pushing aside bubbles to the surface, cold and dark. As I put on the shoes and lace them up, I try to swallow it down again.

Whoever he has you kill, you can handle it. You have to—for them.

Axel tosses me a jacket once I’ve straightened.

“Let’s go.”

“Who’s my target?”

I ask, mostly for Oliver’s sake. If he’s still awake, this way, he’ll know why I’m being taken away.

When Axel doesn’t respond, I sigh and follow him silently down the hallway. The men guarding mine and Oliver’s doors eye me cautiously as I pass.

So much for getting to see him tonight.

Axel leads me downstairs and into the front foyer. There, Holloway is waiting for us with a smug glint in his eye.

“It brings me much pleasure to see you reduced to this, Hayes,”

he says as I step off the stairs.

I don’t respond, biting my tongue to keep my retorts at bay. Earlier today, I saw Rhett in the backyard with a young boy who I’m assuming is Benny. It was just the reminder I needed to keep me in my place.

Seeing Rhett with his younger brother also helped me to piece together some of Holloway’s thought process. It seems like I’m the only one doing any jobs for Ludo. He knows I’m the brains behind our operations, and he also knows that I’m the more stable one.

Giving Rhett any type of freedom could backfire if he can’t control his impulses to get us all out of here. Sometimes Oliver acts first and thinks later, too. And since he’s not on his meds, his anxiety could cause him to freeze up in the moment.

So this is Ludo’s plan—give us tiny glimpses of each other but keep us apart so we can’t work together. Have Rhett spend time with his brothers so Benny stays occupied and doesn’t cause problems. And force me to do whatever Holloway wants me to so nothing happens to the boys or Oliver.

“Just the one job, Holden,”

Ludo tells Axel.

“Bring Elliot straight back, and don’t let him out of your sight.”

“You got it, boss.”

“And Elliot,”

Ludo calls as we head out the front door.

“Remember what happens if you try anything behind his back.”

My nails dig into my palms.

“I won’t forget.”

A black SUV is parked out front. I climb into the passenger seat. Of course I won’t attempt to escape now, but I’m sure to take in my surroundings. I only have a view of the backyard from my room, and seeing the front gives me a fuller picture of how many men Ludo has stationed outside now.

Too many.

“You know,”

I say as Axel pulls out onto the street, “one of the reasons we excel at our job is because we’re given time to research and prep beforehand.”

“Folder is on the backseat,”

is all he says.

Once I’ve grabbed it, I flip through the pages. There’s a photo of a middle-aged woman who looks vaguely familiar, along with her name, address, and other details.

“Why does Ludo want her dead?” I ask.

Of course, I don’t get an answer.

“Do I at least get a weapon?” I grouse.

“If the answer is yes, will you kill me?”

“If I could get away with it.”

I shoot Axel a knowing glare.

“But we both know if I return without you in perfect condition, an innocent twelve-year-old pays the consequences.”

A muscle in Axel’s jaw twitches, and his gaze hardens as he stares out the windshield. Odd. Does Axel not agree with Ludo’s plans?

“She’s staying at a motel about twenty minutes away,”

Axel says, his voice icy.

“Sounds like an easy enough kill. Why does Ludo need me?”

“She’s not alone.”

Ah.

“Bodyguards?”

“Two. One is in the room, and the other will be in a vehicle in the parking lot keeping watch.”

“And the motel is the best place? We can’t wait until they leave?”

“Ludo wants her dead before sunrise.”

Of course.

“Again with the prep, Axel. I need to know more about her bodyguards—more about the motel. More about her. There’s barely anything in here.”

I gesture to the folder.

“I’ll make sure management gets your complaints,”

Axel replies dryly.

Fucking hell. We always try to minimize collateral damage, but this time around, I don’t have a choice. Using a gun would be the most efficient, but even with a suppressor, it’ll wake the neighbors. I’m sure I’ll be able to get out in time, but it’s not ideal.

Who am I kidding? Ideal? None of this is ideal. It’s stupid for me to even wish for it.

“There will also be a man in bed with her,”

Axel tells me.

“You can hurt him if necessary, but keep him alive. Ludo doesn’t care about the bodyguards.”

Great. This just keeps getting worse and worse.

By the time we’re pulling into the motel parking lot, I’ve come up with a couple different ideas, but they all depend on the room layout and the positioning of the bodyguard who’s inside the room—things I won’t know until it’s already too late.

You can do it. You just have to be quick.

Axel tosses me a ski mask, which I shove into the pocket of my jacket. For my plan, I won’t be able to use it at first. I’ll have to keep my head down and hope that it’s dark enough that no one will get a good look at my face.

When Axel places a handgun on the center console, I sigh.

“No suppressor?”

He shakes his head.

“Does Ludo want me to get caught?”

I bite out.

“He’s confident in your abilities.”

After the slightest pause, Axel’s gaze cuts to mine.

“And your motivations.”

Visions of strangling Axel fill my mind, but I know I can’t act on them. Instead, I take the gun in my hand and check the chamber.

“I’ll need a key.”

“Don’t have one.”

“Not one to the room. Literally any key.”

Axel narrows his eyes at me before reaching into his pocket and pulling out his keychain. He fiddles with it for a moment before placing a single key into my waiting hand.

“Room seventeen. Don’t fuck up, Hayes.”

“I won’t.”

Before reaching for the door, my eyes sweep over the parking lot. There’s a sedan parked nearby that’s facing the motel, and I can just barely make out someone inside. No doubt, he’s watching our vehicle, and it’s possible he’s already notified the second bodyguard of us. Considering it’s two in the morning, it’s worth keeping an eye on any vehicles that pull in close to their room.

However, I can take advantage of the fact that it’s so late. Before getting out of the car, I tuck the gun out of sight and slip the key into my pocket. Axel is watching me suspiciously as I slide out of the vehicle and pretend to lose my balance.

Keeping my head low, I stumble along the sidewalk until I get to room seventeen. I make a show of falling into the door before fishing the key from my pocket and trying to shove it into the doorknob. Obviously, it doesn’t fit, but that’s not the point.

Behind me, I hear a car door shut quietly, and then the sound of footsteps gradually getting closer.

“Come onnnnnn,”

I groan after a few seconds.

“Go in already.”

A heavy hand grips my shoulder.

“Wrong room, bud. Move along.”

“No,”

I mumble, making a show of turning the key upside down and trying to insert it into the lock.

The guy sighs.

“What room number are you?”

“This one.”

I try again and kick the door when it doesn’t budge.

“Listen man, you’ve got the wrong room.”

He eases his way in between me and the door and crosses his arms.

“Move the fuck on.”

“Shit, I’ve got the wrong key.”

I fumble with my jacket, hoping I’m making enough of a commotion.

Just as I’m beginning to worry that my plan might not work, I hear the door unlocking, and then it opens an inch or two. An annoyed, large man is on the other side.

“Hey, why the hell are you in my room?”

I demand as I reach into my jacket and grab my gun.

“I’ve got my key right here.”

They exchange an annoyed glance, probably preparing to remove me by force. I take the split second of distraction to pull out my gun and shoot both of them in quick succession.

They hit the ground, and I grab the ski mask from my pocket and pull it over my head. Shouts sound from one of the rooms as I kick open the door and flip the light switch on.

When I step into the room, my heart sinks. I was hoping for a loveless marriage type situation, but apparently, my luck has run out. The third man—the husband—has his wife backed up to the wall on the far side of their bed. He’s shielding her with his body, weaponless and wide-eyed.

“Who sent you?”

he demands.

“Move out of the way,”

I snap. With the amount of noise I’ve made, I need to get the hell out of here.

He presses his wife farther into the wall.

“You’re not touching her.”

“You can step aside and remain unharmed, or we can do this the hard way.”

Moving closer, I cock the gun.

“I have no problems with hurting you, too.”

“No!”

The cry doesn’t come from him—it comes from his wife. She shoves him out from in front of her, her face stricken.

“Don’t hurt—”

The shot echoes in the room, so loud my ears ring. As I watch her body drop to the ground, my stomach twists. That’s the type of thing Wren would’ve done. Mere weeks ago, she did do that, when Andrew threw that knife at me.

“No,”

the man yells. He grabs his wife as she crumples to the floor, but it’s already too late. She’s gone.

Wren. I stumble backward, blinking rapidly to clear my vision.

It’s not her. She’s safe.

The sound of distant sirens cut through the air. It snaps me back into reality, to the sobbing man cradling his dead wife in his arms. Without another glance, I bolt out the door, careful not to touch it and leave fingerprints behind.

Axel still has the car running. He takes off before I’ve even shut the passenger side door.

“You couldn’t’ve gone any faster?”

he growls.

“Seriously?”

I spit out.

“I wasn’t even in there for two minutes.”

I don’t hear his retort. My mind is stuck, replaying those few seconds over and over again. The way he refused to let me near her. How she jumped in front of him. The terror on her soft features—but also the love.

When Rhett, Ol, and I decided to start taking jobs, we set a couple rules for ourselves. The first is that we wouldn’t kill anyone who didn’t deserve it. What was the point in avenging Sammy if we were going to end up as heartless as Holloway in the end?

For the most part, we’ve maintained that promise to each other. We’ve always been picky about which hit jobs we accept. But now, I don’t have a choice. Of course I don’t know who that woman was, but I have a feeling she didn’t deserve to die like that.

I’m not sure how long it takes for me to pull myself out of my downspiral. When I resurface, I realize we’re not heading back to Ludo’s mansion. I have a general idea of where the motel was, and I recognize a few buildings as we drive past. We’re heading in the opposite direction of Ludo’s home.

My mouth opens, a question on my tongue, but then I think better of it. Axel hasn’t given me any information tonight other than what I’ve needed to know. I’ll probably learn more by keeping my mouth shut and my eyes wide open.

Once we’re outside the city limits, Axel pulls into an abandoned gas station. There’s a white van on the far end of the parking lot with the words “Philadelphia Commercial Hood & Fire Systems”

painted on the side.

That’s odd.

“For fuck’s sake,”

Axel grumbles as he pulls up closer to the van.

“Does no one know how to be discreet anymore?”

Commercial hoods and fire systems. Like for restaurants? What does Axel want with them?

“Stay here,”

he tells me lowly. He puts the SUV in park before getting out and closing the door quietly.

I narrow my eyes. Before we left, Ludo gave Axel two orders. One, do the job and come straight back. Two, don’t let me out of his sight. Axel hasn’t followed either of those instructions.

As Axel yanks open the backseat door, two men get out of the van. They look nervous as hell, glancing around the dark parking lot while they wait.

“This is half,”

Axel says, tossing them the duffel bag that was in the backseat.

“You’ll get the other half when the job’s done.”

One of the men grabs the bag while the other asks, “Time and place haven’t changed?”

“Correct. But for the love of god, bring an unmarked vehicle. Don’t be idiots.”

Axel holds up his hand when the men start muttering excuses.

“I don’t want to hear it. Just do what I say.”

They nod silently, not taking their eyes off him.

They’re scared of him.

Without another word, Axel marches back to the SUV, climbs in, and drives off. My mind is brimming with questions, but I keep my mouth clamped shut.

Neither of us utter a single word for the remainder of the drive. The silence gives me time to sort through my thoughts. Whatever just happened, I don’t think Ludo knows about it, which can only mean one thing.

I don’t think Axel is who we think he is.