Page 56 of Ruthless Desires, Vol. Two (Ruthless Desires Series Extended Editions #2)
Wren
“I’m coming with you.”
Finn sighs when he realizes I’m not going to let him past me without a fight. I’m leaning against the front door, arms crossed, with my shoes already on.
“You can’t,”
he tells me.
“Yes, I can,”
I say confidently.
“No,”
Finn snaps.
“I’m not letting you get hurt again. You got kidnapped under my watch once, Wren, and I’ll be damned if I let it happen again.”
“But—”
“No.”
“What if this is the last time I’ll ever get to see him? What if we can’t get them out in time, and Ludo kills them all? What if things go wrong again? Please, Finn. Please don’t take this away from me.”
Pain flickers across his expression, and I wonder if he’s thinking of her—the woman he didn’t get a last moment with. He must be, because he sighs again, but this time he nods.
“Fine. But you do exactly what I tell you to, you understand me? If I think you’re in danger, I’m getting you the hell out of there.”
“Got it.”
I open the door and step outside.
It’s dark, and this far from the city, we have a decent view of the stars. Never in my life have I seen so many of them in the sky at once. It’s breathtaking.
In Finn’s car, Nine Inch Nails plays from the radio as he speeds down the road. It feels weird to leave the farmhouse for the first time in almost two weeks, but my heart is light with hope. I finally get to see Elliot.
Maybe I should be more worried, but I’m not. I trust Elliot’s judgment. He’s doubting himself because he thinks it’s his fault that they were captured. I understand where he’s coming from, but it’s not like he lost his ability to think logically or something. He’s always been so careful when it comes to our safety—that will never change.
It takes forever to reach the motel. The parking lot is basically empty except for a dark SUV parked near the room we’re supposed to be meeting in. Once Finn has parked, we sit in silence for a minute. He scans the parking lot, probably waiting for someone to jump out of the shadows and take me, but nothing happens.
“Stay here,”
he says without glancing at me.
“I don’t want you getting out of the car without cover.”
I nod. I’m already stressing him out enough. The least I can do is listen to what he says.
Finn gets out and rounds the vehicle. His gaze constantly moves over the motel and the lot, but still, there’s nothing. So far, it seems like this really isn’t a trap.
When Finn opens my door, I slip out quickly. My heart is beating faster than it ever has, and I have to consciously remind myself not to bolt for the motel room. We still don’t know what exactly is waiting for us inside.
Finn places a protective hand on my back, looking around the property one more time before we move toward the building. At some point, he pulled out his car keys, and he places them in my palm.
“Stay out of sight,”
he whispers as we approach the room. The curtain is drawn, so we can’t see inside.
“And get the hell out of here at the first sign of danger.”
With my heart in my throat, I step out of view. Finn slowly turns the knob and opens the door, gun in hand. In the next second, he’s aiming his weapon and peering into the room.
I desperately want to lean in so I can see, but I watch Finn’s face instead. It’s hardened with concentration, but as he takes in the room, it softens to one of worry.
“You look awful, Elliot.”
When Finn lowers his weapon and steps back to make room for me, I can’t wait any longer. I bolt inside. Elliot is just getting up from where he was sitting on the nearest bed, and Axel is on the other, perfectly relaxed.
I barely get a good look at Elliot before I jump into his arms. His eyes are bloodshot, and his posture is drooped, like he has the weight of the world on his shoulders.
“Wren.”
He’s shaking his head even as he holds me tightly.
“What’re you doing here?”
“I had to see you. Please don’t tell me to leave.”
“No,”
he mutters, and he smiles even as his eyes turn glossy.
“No, I’m glad you’re here.”
“How long do we have?”
Finn asks.
Axel glances at his watch.
“An hour tops, but the less time we take, the better.”
Finn nods, stepping up to Elliot. He checked the bathroom while we were hugging, and now he pulls Elliot into an embrace.
“It’s good to see you alive.”
Squeezing Finn, Elliot manages a quiet, “Thanks.”
The moment they pull away from each other, Elliot turns to me. I gasp at the dark red stain on his shirt. How didn’t I notice it before?
“You’re hurt?”
I ask, reaching out to him.
“What?”
He follows my gaze and glances down at himself.
“Oh—no. That’s from a job. Fuck.”
I step back as Elliot pulls off his shirt. Grabbing my hand, he pulls me toward the bathroom, where he starts rinsing the blood out with cold water.
“Tell me what you found on the drive, love,”
Elliot says.
“Wait.”
Finn casts a suspicious glance toward Axel.
“You’re sure we can trust him?”
Sighing, Elliot squeezes out the shirt and then places it under the running water again.
“If this was a trap, don’t you think something would’ve happened by now?”
“I suppose,”
Finn replies as he moves toward the front door. He’s holstered his weapon, but his hand is still resting on it.
After wringing out his shirt again, Elliot moves to put it back on. But he seems to realize that it’s wet, as if he wasn’t the one who just had it under the water. With another sigh, he drapes it across one of the beds before lowering himself onto it. He pulls me directly into his lap and buries his face in my hair, inhaling deeply.
“Tell me,”
he says quietly.
“There were records of payments to two men Ludo is in business with,”
I explain.
“Raymond King and Fredrick Burbank. But the numbers don’t add up. King and Burbank supply the product, and Ludo distributes, and there’s supposed to be a three-way split of the money.”
Axel leans forward, his elbows resting on his knees and his hands clasped together. He watches me intently, like he thinks I know something he doesn’t.
“Go on,”
Elliot says. His hand is warm on my back as he strokes it up and down my spine.
“Ludo isn’t splitting the money evenly,”
I say, watching as Axel’s eyebrows shoot up.
“He’s under-reporting the amount he’s making from his buyers and keeping more than he agreed to.”
“And it isn’t just with King and Burbank,”
Finn adds.
“I re-checked some of his other records and found a few more discrepancies.”
“I knew it,”
Axel mutters under his breath.
Elliot looks up.
“You weren’t aware of what Holloway was doing?”
“No. I never knew the exact numbers in relation to his dealings with King and Burbank, but that alone made me suspicious. Usually, I help Ludo with his books, but he’s always refused to let me anywhere near certain deals. This is one of them. He doesn’t even want me at their monthly meetings.”
“Makes sense,”
Elliot says.
“Ludo is a secretive man. Doesn’t want information getting into the wrong hands and all that.”
Axel rattles off a list of names, his eyes trained on Finn.
“Are those the other deals that aren’t adding up?”
“They are,”
Finn says. He’s watching Axel carefully, and I can practically see the gears turning in his brain. My guess is that he’s trying to figure out whether Axel is telling the truth about not being involved with these deals.
As far as I’m concerned, this is definitely not a trap. We’ve been sitting here for long enough, and Axel hasn’t made a move to take out Finn, nor has another team shown up.
Elliot was right—just as I knew he would be.
“When’s Ludo’s next meeting with King and Burbank?”
Finn asks.
Axel glances at his phone.
“In a few days. Three, exactly.”
“Is there any way you could convince him to move the meeting up?”
Elliot asks.
“No,”
Axel replies, a frown sliding over his features.
“I’ve never done that before, and he’s too on edge because of the Grille. It would probably make him suspicious.”
The Grille. That’s right—Elliot told me they burned it down, and I saw it in the news today.
“You think waiting three days will be a problem?”
Finn asks Elliot.
“What’s going on?”
Elliot’s gaze falls to the floor, and his arm tightens around my waist.
“Oliver… he…”
My stomach tightens with dread at the pain in his voice.
“What happened?”
When Elliot looks at me, my heart stops. His eyes are brimming with tears, and his features hold more guilt and worry than I’ve ever seen on him.
“It was my fault,”
he whispers.
“W-what was your fault?”
“We weren’t supposed to see each other.”
As Elliot scrunches his eyes shut, tears fall onto his cheeks.
“Our rooms are right next to each other, and I was able to sneak over. But I got caught, and… Ludo punished him instead of me.”
Elliot drops his head as he stifles a sob.
Silence fills the room, and Axel shifts uncomfortably. He’s watching Elliot with a guilty expression on his face.
“Ell,”
I whisper. “Is he…”
But I can’t go on. I’m too worried that if I ask, I’ll be speaking it into existence—speaking Oliver out of existence.
“Is he alive?”
Finn asks for me. He’s gone pale, and his whole body is stiff.
He’s bracing himself, I realize.
“Yes,”
Elliot says.
“Yes, I’m sorry, I should’ve led with that. He’s alive, and he’s okay, but I can’t watch him go through that again. He was in so much pain.”
At the same time my body sags with relief, my chest aches for Oliver. This is what I was afraid of. We have to get them out of there.
“Elliot,”
I murmur as I wrap him up in my arms.
His head hits my chest, and this time, he doesn’t hold back his sob. My own tears well up in my eyes as I imagine what Oliver and Elliot had to go through.
When will all the suffering end?
“I’m sorry,”
Axel says quietly.
“I can do my best to keep Ludo busy for the next couple days. Thankfully, he has a mess to deal with since we burned down the Grille. He’ll have less free time than usual.”
“Thank you,”
I reply when Elliot tries to speak but can’t.
He’s able to calm himself down within a minute or two. I wish I could tell him to let go and cry for as long as he needs, but we have to keep this meeting as short as possible. All I can do is hold him and let him cling to me.
“We can use this meeting to our advantage,”
Finn says. He seems to be a little bit more willing to admit that this doesn’t seem to be a trap.
“Axel, how much authority do you have over Holloway’s men?”
“Plenty,”
Axel replies.
“They take almost all their orders from me.”
“And how much do his men respect you?”
“Enough. They’ll obey me, and I think that’s what matters here.”
Finn nods.
“So when Ludo is at the meeting, you can tell his men to do whatever—even say it’s a direct order from Holloway himself—and they’ll do it.”
“Correct.”
“What’re you thinking?”
Elliot asks.
“The day of the meeting, we send King and Burbank proof that Holloway has been under-reporting their income. They’ll want their fair share, and odds are, they won’t let Ludo out of their sight until they have it. He’s a slimy bastard, and he’s already fooled them once.
“While Ludo is gone, Axel can order his men to get the guys together—Andrew and Benny, too. Just say there’s been a change of plans and that Ludo decided to move them.”
Slowly, Axel nods.
“That’s simple enough. They know better than to question me, and if they do, I can tell them that this is need-to-know. It’s nothing I haven’t done before.”
“And what about Holloway?”
Elliot asks.
“Are we leaving King and Burbank to deal with him, or are we finding some way to capture him?”
Finn frowns.
“Do you think Rhett will be okay if he’s not the one who gets to kill Holloway?”
Elliot and I exchange a glance, and my chest squeezes. Rhett’s apology from weeks ago echoes through my mind. He deserves to be the one to finally end Ludo’s life, but he wouldn’t sacrifice us for that chance.
I would ruin everything we’ve worked for, he told me. For you, for Ell, for O. And I’m sorry I couldn’t admit it to you.
“We’re his priority,”
Elliot says.
“All he cares about right now is us getting out safely.”
“We might still be able to do both,”
Axel cuts in. He pauses for a moment, frowning, before his eyes light up.
“We can use Holloway’s systems against him.”
“Go on,”
Elliot says.
“Most of Ludo’s liquid cash is stored in offshore accounts, far out of reach of the government. But we’ve all witnessed how paranoid he is. He has multiple stashes all around the city in a variety of storage units. As far as I’m aware, I’m the only one who knows about them, other than Ludo himself. He only told me so I could help keep an eye on them, and it took him a while to be able to put that much trust in me.
“If King and Burbank demand Ludo gives them their payments immediately, which is what I’d do, Ludo won’t go for money in his accounts. He’ll go for what’s untraceable and easily accessible.”
“The money he has stashed,”
Elliot says.
Axel nods. “Exactly.”
“How many storage units are there?” I ask.
“Six.”
“But we can’t keep an eye on that many at once,”
I say.
“There aren’t enough of us.”
Axel shakes his head.
“We’ll only have to watch one. Before the meeting, the two of you can empty them out. I won’t be able to find an excuse to get away for long enough to do it myself.”
“Why not?”
Finn asks suspiciously.
“Ludo keeps me busy,”
Axel replies.
“And I’ll need to keep him busy so he doesn’t have a chance to hurt Oliver more.”
“Right,”
Finn mutters.
“I know you don’t have any reason to trust me, but I want this as much as you do,”
Axel says.
“I have no desire to live the rest of my life under Ludo Holloway’s thumb.”
Finn doesn’t respond. His hand is still resting on his gun, and he doesn’t look any more relaxed than he did when we first entered the room.
At least he’s willing to go along with this.
“What do we do with King and Burbank?”
Elliot asks.
Axel shrugs.
“Kill them and leave their bodies behind.”
“But this doesn’t get you what you want,”
Elliot says.
“If Ludo is gone, sure, people will look for him, but they’ll also still look for you.”
“Not if we send out Ludo’s books to the rest of the people he’s cheating,”
Axel says.
“Doing that would ruin him completely.”
“You don’t think you’ll catch any blow back?”
Elliot’s tone is doubtful, his brows furrowed.
“Not if I’m the one who sends out the documents,”
Axel replies.
“I can start with the ones that need to go to King and Burbank.”
“Absolutely not,”
Finn says.
“I’ll do it.”
Axel rolls his eyes.
“Just send me copies. I’m perfectly capable.”
“No. I’ll send them from your email myself.”
“What? No! That’s stupid.”
“You can either give me the login information, or I’ll hack into your account myself.”
Finn shrugs and crosses his arms.
“The choice is yours.”
Axel looks to me and Elliot for help, but we both shrug.
“You’re not doing it,”
Finn says.
“It’s too important. Sure, you want out, whatever. I want to make sure my friends stay alive, and there’s no way I’m trusting a stranger with such an integral part of this plan.”
“Fine,”
Axel grits out.
“So we empty out the storage containers,”
I say, not wanting to get too off topic.
“And then what?”
“We wait at one of them until they show up. There’s one in particular that’s part of a smaller facility—less likely for other people to be around. I’d say that one is our best shot.”
“And we kill King and Burbank, take Ludo hostage, and then send out the rest of his books to his other allies,”
Finn says—as if it’s that simple.
“Effectively ruining his reputation,”
Axel adds.
“And I’ll look like the good guy for letting everyone know.”
Everyone is silent as we mull over the plan. My arms tighten around Elliot as I realize we’re almost done. Axel said we have an hour, and it hasn’t been nearly that long, but he said the sooner we finish, the better.
No. I’m not ready to say goodbye yet.
“What do you think?”
Finn asks Elliot.
“I think it could work.”
“We’ll need the addresses of the storage facilities, along with the unit numbers,”
Finn says.
“Plus your email login information and a general timeline.”
There’s a notepad on the small desk in the corner, and Axel starts scribbling away on it.
“Love,”
Elliot whispers. He’s watching me with a pained expression.
A dozen pleas fill my mind, but I bite my tongue before I voice them. He can’t stay here, nor can he come back with us. There’s no other way to get everyone else out.
But how am I supposed to say goodbye?
Axel hands Finn the piece of paper before turning to us. His hardened features soften at the tears in my eyes. Just as I’m expecting him to tell Elliot they have to go, he sighs.
“You have twenty minutes.”
Twenty minutes. Considering I didn’t think we had any time left, that feels like an eternity.
With a wary glance, Finn steps outside with Axel. I’m glad he’s still being careful. Without him, I don’t think Elliot would be able to fully let his guard down.
When the door closes behind them, I frame Elliot’s face with my hands. He closes his eyes, but not before I see the tears he’s trying to hold back.
“I’ve missed you,”
he croaks out softly, “so much, love.”
“I know,”
I whisper. My lips brush against his, a feather-light touch, and he grabs my head and deepens the kiss.
“Wren,”
Elliot groans. His tongue slips into my mouth, dancing with mine. His movements are far past desperate. They’re slow, almost mournful, like every touch is part of a drawn-out goodbye.
I suppose, in a way, that’s exactly what this is.
My heart breaks for Elliot as he lifts me up and re-positions me so I’m straddling him. I can’t even imagine what he’s gone through—being separated from everyone, being forced to do Ludo’s bidding, watching as Holloway tortures Oliver—but I know it’s been awful. If I can offer him any amount of solace, even if it’s small and brief, I need to.
“I love you,”
I whisper.
He pulls away and stares at me, his gaze unwavering. Piercing.
“Wren, I love you with everything in me, and I’m going to fight my hardest to get us all back to you. I—I’m sorry this is what we’ve come to. I’m sorry we couldn’t—”
Before he can go on, I capture the rest of his apology in a long kiss. I don’t want him thinking about that right now.
Taking Elliot’s wrists, I guide his hands underneath my shirt. He moans, his fingers splaying across my body and grabbing my waist. The simple touch floods me with desire, sending a shiver up my spine.
Elliot is watching me with hooded eyes. His lips are slightly parted, and at least for the moment, it seems like I’ve successfully diverted his attention.
“May I?”
he whispers, his fingers curling around the hem of my shirt.
With a silent nod, I raise my arms so he can pull it off easier. Goosebumps form over my skin as the cool air hits me. I reach behind me, unclasping my bra and pulling it off, before I toss it onto the floor where Elliot dropped my shirt and jacket.
“So beautiful,”
he murmurs.
My breath hitches when he cups my breasts in his hands and squeezes. With a moan, I press my lips to his and caress his face. Having his hands on me again feels so good.
Without warning, Elliot grabs me and stands. He holds me to him as he walks over to the desk and sets me on it.
“Tell me this is okay.”
His voice is rough—strained.
“Love, please. I need… I need you.”
“Yes.”
I kiss him gently, tilting my head as one of my arms slips around the back of his neck.
Elliot’s hands are trembling as he undoes my pants. It makes my heart skip a beat. I think I can probably count on one hand the amount of times I’ve seen Elliot’s hands shake—if I ever have.
“Up,”
he says softly.
I brace my hands on the desk and lift my hips so he can slide my pants down my legs. My panties come with them, and I kick off my shoes so he can pull everything off.
Stepping back, Elliot takes me in. His gaze is warm against my skin, and I spread my legs and lean back on the desk to give him a better view. He swallows, his Adam’s apple bobbing, and a sudden need to place my lips against his hot skin fills me.
“Come here,” I say.
He moves closer, his fingers skimming my thighs. Stretching upward, I brush my lips across his neck. Having him close brings me a type of comfort I’ve craved for weeks, and I want to wrap my arms around him and never let go.
Elliot’s thumb massages my clit gently while his free hand cups the back of my head. I stare into his eyes, still bloodshot and filled to the brim with regret.
I wish I could take away all his pain. Sure, I’ve been lonely and terrified for the guys, but it’s nothing compared to what they’re going through.
“Love.”
Elliot dips his head down until his lips meet mine. He circles my clit while he kisses me with a fervor so intense I lose my breath.
When he slips a finger into me, we both groan. I find my hands reaching for him almost automatically. It only takes me a couple seconds to undo his pants and push them and his briefs down his thighs.
His dick is already hard, and I stroke it slowly as he fingers me. He kisses me again, moaning against my mouth as he slides a second finger into me. My tongue enters his mouth and tangles with his, and I feel myself clamping around his fingers as he thrusts them into me.
“Ell,” I gasp.
“I’ve thought about doing this to you every night,”
he murmurs.
“So many things.”
I moan.
“What else?”
“Kissing you.”
He groans when I stroke him faster.
“Finally putting that hook in your bedroom to good use. Two of us fucking you together. I thought… I thought about everything. God—god, Wren, stop.”
My hand stills, and I realize he’s panting.
“I don’t want to come yet.”
He pulls my hand away from his cock, and I note the sadness returning to his voice.
“Not… not yet.”
“We’ll do all those things,”
I say, hoping to give him a few more minutes of comfort before we have to face reality again.
“All of them,”
he echoes quietly, his fingers still moving inside me.
“And more,”
I tell him.
“Once we’re together again.”
He nods and rests his forehead against mine. I kiss him, letting the sadness fade again so I can focus on him. We fall deeper into each other, both of us doing our best to forget the harsh reality that lies outside this motel room.
“Wren,”
he murmurs, curling his fingers and hitting my g-spot perfectly.
“I need you inside of me,”
I breathe out, guiding him into me.
Elliot groans. As he pushes in deeper, I grab onto his arms, relishing in the feeling of having him close again. I’ve missed this—missed everything about him.
The past week and a half, I haven’t had many sexual desires, but when my body needed release, I couldn’t get myself there. Every time I tried to make myself come, I’d inevitably think of the guys, and then I’d start crying.
Now, with Elliot thrusting into me, the sensations are all my mind can process. He keeps his thumb on my clit as his lips move against mine. His free arm is holding up one of my legs, spreading me wider for him. It makes him hit the perfect spot inside me, and I feel the beginnings of an orgasm building.
“Ell,”
I moan as he picks up his pace. My gaze drops to where his cock is sliding in and out of me. This doesn’t feel real, yet it’s all I can feel.
“Wren, fuck,”
Elliot chokes out. His whole body shudders as he slows his thrusts. He buries his face in the crook of my neck, his tear-stained cheeks pressing against my skin as he comes.
My eyes are squeezed shut as I place a tender kiss to Elliot’s head. As he stops moving, the pleasure fades from my body. It’s replaced with the same ache in my chest that’s been present since the moment I realized the guys weren’t coming home, except now it’s ten times more painful.
How am I supposed to let him go?
“I didn’t… didn’t want to come that fast,”
he says breathlessly.
“It’s okay.”
I move to get down, not wanting him to have to hold any of my weight when he sounds so tired.
“Uh uh.”
He grabs my ass, and he lifts me fully into his arms.
“We’re not done until you come.”
“Elliot, it’s okay, we don’t—”
“No.”
The way he says it quells my protests. Elliot needs this—possibly more than I do.
Holding me gently, Elliot walks over to the bed and sets me on the edge. He kneels in front of me, spreading my thighs and staring at me longingly.
“God, I’ve missed this.”
As I prop myself up on my elbows, Elliot lowers his head and gently swipes his tongue over my clit. I inhale sharply.
“Love,”
he groans as he slips two fingers into me. He curls them expertly as he sucks on my clit.
I keep my moans quiet, unsure of how much Axel and Finn can hear outside. My stomach tightens, and my eyes begin to close, but I blink them open again, wanting to savor every second we have. I keep my gaze locked on Elliot as his arms wrap around my thighs.
This can’t be our last time.
It can’t be.
I won’t let it be.
“Ell,”
I whisper, trying to ignore the pressure building behind my eyes.
His eyes meet mine for a brief second before he closes them again. As he sucks on my clit, he flicks it with his tongue, ripping a breathless moan from me.
Within seconds, I’m falling, clapping a hand over my mouth to stifle my cry. As I come, tears fill my eyes, and I sob out Elliot’s name. Pleasure courses through me, making my thoughts foggy, but pain chases it all. My tears spill onto my cheeks as he pulls his head away, and he frowns.
“Wren.”
Elliot crawls onto the bed and lies down next to me. Sliding an arm under me, he pulls me close and tucks my head into his chest.
“I don’t want you to go back.”
My voice breaks as I say it because I know it’s no use. The others are dead if he doesn’t.
“It’s only for a couple days,”
he says soothingly.
“And then we’ll never leave your side again.”
“Please,”
I sob.
“Elliot, please, I need you all to come back to me alive.”
“I promise,”
he whispers, and I wish I could pretend he didn’t hesitate.
I’m not sure how long we stay there before we hear a knock on the door. Immediately, I tense, realizing the door is unlocked and I’m completely naked.
“Just give us a minute,”
Elliot calls. He crawls over me and grabs my bra and shirt from the ground before helping me pull them on.
“What if something goes wrong?” I ask.
“I… I don’t know, love.”
Elliot grabs the rest of our clothes and sorts through them.
“But the plan is for everything to go right.”
Neither of us voice what we’re both thinking—that was the plan the day after the wedding, too.
“It’s not that I don’t trust you,”
I say as I continue getting dressed.
“I do, Ell. But…”
“Life is unpredictable,”
he finishes for me, “and working with Axel feels wrong.”
Nodding, I hug myself.
“Obviously, tonight wasn’t a trap to capture me, but what if it was a bigger one? What if… oh, I don’t know! I’m just so scared, Ell.”
“I know,”
Elliot says softly. He draws me into his embrace, kissing me tenderly, before his arms fall from my waist.
No, everything in me screams. Don’t let him go. You may never see him again.
But I don’t move as he opens the door to let Finn and Axel back in. I don’t beg for him to come with us. I can’t. If Elliot runs with me and Finn, it means a guaranteed death sentence for Rhett and Oliver, along with Rhett’s brothers. Even if leaving Elliot means there’s a possibility that he won’t make it out alive, I refuse to abandon the others. I can’t live without them, either.
“We worked out the rest of the details,”
Finn says, car keys in his hand.
Elliot zips my jacket up and pulls me in for one last kiss.
“Three days, love.”
“Three days.”
Swallowing down the lump in my throat, I step back, immediately missing his warmth.
“I love you.”
His knuckles brush my cheek.
“I love you, too.”
Finn pulls me away, his gaze locked on Elliot.
“Stay safe.”
“You too. I’ll see you soon.”
As Finn and I exit the room and walk across the parking lot, I stifle my sobs. It feels like my heart is being ripped in two.
I open the passenger side door to Finn’s car and look back to find Elliot still standing in the open doorway. He’s barely more than a silhouette, framed by the light coming from the motel room behind him.
“Get in, Wren,”
Finn tells me.
But my feet are stuck on the pavement. I’m frozen, unsure of how I’m supposed to turn away.
Time seems to slow for a few seconds as we watch each other. I thought I knew pain—thought I knew grief—but the ache blooming in my chest threatens to overtake me completely.
Finn starts the car.
I can’t do this.
“Ell,”
I whisper as the first tear falls. Fear grips my heart, and I’m halfway across the parking lot before I realize I’m running.
Elliot steps onto the sidewalk. As I get closer, his features come into view, a tortured look on his face. I fling myself into his arms, unable to keep myself from him.
Just one more minute. Just one more.
I sob into Elliot’s damp shirt, and my knees give out. My body can’t take it anymore—the worry, the pain, the loneliness.
“Love.”
Elliot’s voice breaks as he locks his arms around me.
“You can’t die, Ell,”
I cry.
“You can’t.”
“Wren, I—”
“Please,”
I choke out, fully aware that I’m being too loud. Too emotional in a situation that doesn’t allow for any.
“Please tell me I’ll see you again. Please tell me we’ll all be okay, and we can go home soon and eat ice cream and watch movies and fall asleep together. That we—that we can go on that trip you mentioned, and I can meet Oliver’s family, and we can open a bookstore together, and—”
More sobs wrack my body, cutting my pleas short. I’m vaguely aware of being lowered to the ground, of Elliot joining me on the cold sidewalk. He pulls me into his body protectively, and I pray to whatever is out there—fate, gods, maybe nothing—that it won’t be the last time.
“I’ll do everything I can,”
Elliot tells me, and when I look up at him, his eyes are glistening.
“So will I,”
I whisper shakily.
“He won’t win, Wren.”
Elliot’s hand smooths my hair back from my face.
“We’ve come so far—too far to lose each other. I promise you, we’ll make it out alive, and we’ll come back to you. You’ll get us out.”
I’m aware that they’re somewhat empty words—that Elliot can’t really promise all that—but I soak it up anyway. If I’m going to make it through the next few days, I need some kind of hope to cling to.
“But right now,”
Elliot says, “I have to go, love. If we stay out much longer, Ludo will get suspicious.”
That will only make things much, much worse, so when Finn offers me a hand to help me up, I take it. My gaze falls to Axel for a split second, and I swear his eyes are a hint glossier than they were earlier. His jaw is clenched, his hands shoved into his jacket pockets, as he turns away from me.
This time, Finn stays on my side of the car until I’m buckled in and the door is closed. With tears streaming down my face, I look out the window and watch Axel and Elliot head to the black SUV.
Elliot looks back just before he climbs in. I wave, and he waves back, and after that I have to turn away.
Aside from my sniffles and muffled sobs, the drive home is silent. It feels so much faster than the drive to the motel did.
A dark gray sedan is parked in the driveway, and Finn parks next to it, seemingly undisturbed by the extra vehicle.
“There’s someone here,”
I say, my voice scratchy.
“They’re supposed to be.”
Finn doesn’t seem to be in the mood to elaborate, so I silently follow him inside. The lights are already on, and I peer into the house as I slip my jacket off my shoulders.
Sparrow is standing in the mudroom, her locs twisted into a bun on top of her head and her thumbs hooked into the pockets of her dark jeans. And there, right next to her, is the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met. Her smile is as bright as ever despite the tears in her warm brown eyes.
My jacket drops to the floor as confusion, relief, and worry swirl through my mind.
“Aubrey!”