Page 50 of Wild Hearts (Ruby Ridge #1)

carter

. . .

B ANG. BANG. BANG.

What the fuck? It’s barely ten in the morning for this shit.

The sound tears through the house like a shotgun blast. Catalina jolts upright in bed, her eyes wide, as she gasps. The sheet slips from her bare shoulder, pooling at her waist.

Then, again.

BANG. BANG. BANG.

“CARTER!” The voice is sharp, volatile, unmistakable. “Open the fucking door!!”

Every cell in my body goes still. The voice is one I used to trust. One I used to fucking respect.

Catalina’s voice is a whisper, straining “Is that?—”

I’m already out of bed. I drag on my jeans as I yank my flannel off the floor, tossing it around her. She’s trembling now, her knees pulled to her chest.

“Stay here,” I say firmly. “No matter what happens, you don’t come out of this room. Do you understand me?”

Her lips part like she wants to argue, to fight me on it, but she nods. I press my forehead to hers, kissing her once. Like it might be the last time. I turn on my heel and leave, shutting the door behind me with a soft click that echoes in the silence.

My footsteps are steady, each one heavier than the last, like my body already knows the kind of weight waiting for me on the other side of the front door.

BANG. BANG. BANG.

That fucker better stop hitting my door like that.

“Carter!” he yells.

I unlock the door and swing it wide open with unnecessary force.

There he is, Vartan Ajemian, drenched in his tailored Armani suit. His jaw is clenched, his dark eyes lit with rage, and for a second, it’s like staring at a loaded gun.

“I haven’t heard from you in fucking months after our phone call. Where is my fucking daughter.” he snarls.

My jaw tightens.

I step into the doorway, letting the storm wet my shoulders, blocking his view of the house behind me like a goddamn wall.

“She’s in here somewhere,” he snaps. “Where the fuck is she?”

I don’t answer, because silence will always say more than a lie.

He scoffs, looking past me like he’s about to barrel inside. “I haven’t heard from you in months. No progress reports on her, what’s next? You’re going to tell me that you’re fucking that disappointment?” he belts out.

That’s when I snap. I step forward—close enough that he can feel my breath and feel the heat radiating off my chest.

My voice drops an octave. “You say one more thing like that, and I swear to God, I’ll bury you so fucking deep in this mud, even your money won’t find you.”

I don’t care if he knows; I’m done hiding this. She means more to me now than our frayed friendship.

Vartan doesn’t flinch. He stands there, his face twisted in something cruel, something I don’t even recognize anymore. This isn’t the man I used to call a brother.

“Where the fuck is she,” he spits out.

I plant my feet, choosing not to say shit. I breathe through the red crawling up the back of my neck.

Then I hear soft footsteps behind me. I glance over my shoulder, and there she is. She’s wrapped in my old red flannel, her face pale, and her arms hug her body as if she’s trying to hold all the broken pieces in.

And just like that, he sees her too.

Fuck.

“Well, well. Look at you,” he scoffs, glancing down at his gold Rolex before making eye contact with her. “Still good at spreading your legs for the wrong fucking man, huh?”

My blood runs cold.

“Fucking my best friend?” He laughs—a bitter, hollow sound. “That’s a new kind of pathetic, even for you.”

Baby, why didn’t you listen to me and stay up there?

I step forward, crowding him, chest to chest. My jaw tightens so hard it aches. “Don’t you fucking talk to her like that,” I growl. “Don’t even fucking look at her.”

He looks right past me and sets his eyes on her.

Vartan speaks again, his voice is too calm. “At least you look like you have your shit together.” His gaze rakes over her like it’s nothing. “Aside from being a whore.”

He lifts his hand like he’s snapping at a dog. “Get your shit. We’re leaving. ”

Catalina’s voice comes so softly, I almost miss it. “Wh–Why?”

He scoffs, looking at her like she’s stupid.

“Because I need to close a deal,” he says flatly. “A new tech company acquisition. Multi-million dollar deal. But the contract’s tied to family. Selling me the company means I need to become a part of the family. Their son needs a wife—and you, sweetheart, are going to be his wife.”

He says it like he’s ordering a fucking latte. I stare at him, my mouth opens, but there’s no air left in my lungs.

His lip curls into a smirk. “Try not to fuck this one up, would you? You’ve already proven you’re good at opening your legs for just about anybody.”

I’m fucking stunned. She briefly opened up to me about her struggles with her father, but this is fucking crazy.

The way he’s talking to her, it knocks the breath right out of me. I can’t wrap my head around it. This is the same man I used to shoot the shit with over the phone, the one who’d make offhanded jokes and send me dumb articles to make me laugh.

And now he’s standing here, looking at his daughter like she’s nothing.

Like she’s disposable.

I steal a glance at Catalina, she’s rocking on her heels. She’s ghost-pale, her body vibrates like she’s unraveling from the inside out. Her fingers clutch at her gold pendant.

It’s written all over her face. The look of anxiety, panic and I know it like the back of my fucking hand.

I move quickly, crouching down until I’m eye level with her, needing to see her face, to make sure she’s okay.

“Breathe, baby,” I murmur, rubbing slow circles on her back. “You’re okay. I’ve got you. You’re here with me. Not him. Pay attention to my voice. ”

She doesn’t answer, nor does she blink. Her eyes are somewhere else, far away, locked behind glass. Her hands are trembling like she’s trying to hold the world together with nothing but thread.

Fight, baby. Please. Don’t let him take that from you. Just say no. Say something, anything.

I turn back to Vartan, rage thrumming through every inch of me like a live wire.

“You’re selling her.” I spit the words out. “You’re fucking selling her off like she’s inventory.”

He ignores me completely and shrugs like none of this matters.

“Cute. Defending her now.” His tone is sharp, bitter. “You fuck her and suddenly she’s your wife? That’s it?”

He scoffs, shaking his head like he’s disgusted.

“I sent her here because I trusted you, Carter. And this is what you do? You go behind my back, take advantage, and pretend you’re some savior?”

His voice drops lower, teeth clenched.

“How dare you. I was there for you throughout everything. And you do this to me?”

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” I say, clenching my fists. “I trusted you. I didn’t know you treated her like she was disposable.”

My chest tightens, fury burning hot under my skin.

“Get the fuck out of my house. While I’m still giving you the choice.”

He lunges forward, shoving me hard. I slam a hand into his chest, pushing him right the fuck back. He stumbles, but he doesn’t fall.

He looks past me, his eyes landing on her again.

She hasn’t moved. Her arms still wrap around herself like she’s trying to disappear into her skin. But it doesn’t matter; he stalks past me before I can stop him.

“Don’t you fucking touch her!”

She cries out as his hand clamps around her wrist, yanking her toward the porch steps. Her feet trip over themselves, and her body stumbles after him.

“Catalina!” I cry out.

I take off after them, my bare feet slam against the slick gravel as rain pours down my bare back, but my body’s moving seconds too slow. She’s not fighting him; her body goes limp. Like she’s trying to be a good daughter, like maybe if she doesn’t resist, it’ll hurt less.

No. No. No. Not like this.

I reach them just as he throws the passenger door open. He shoves her inside like she’s nothing. Before I can rip the door back open, before I can fucking reach her—he turns and hits me. His fist slams into my ribs, just below my chest, knocking the air straight out of my lungs.

Pain explodes through my side. I stumble back, clutching my ribs as the breath punches out of me, each inhale slicing through bone like glass.

The door slams shut, and the lock clicks.

“Catalina!” I wheezed.

I force myself to straighten, barely making it to the side of the car before the engine revs. I slam my palm against the car window, the glass rattling beneath the force.

“Our friendship is over, you piece of shit!” I roar, my voice cracking with everything I didn’t get to say.

My fists bang again against the glass. “She means more to me than you ever fucking will!”

The engine growls louder, but I don’t fucking move.

“I’ll find her, Vartan,” I spit, pounding once more. “I won’t fucking sleep until I do. I’ll bring her home and that’s a fucking promise.”

He looks at me through the windshield. No warmth, nor is there any flicker of regret. Just a smug, soulless bastard I don’t recognize anymore.

It shouldn’t hurt this much, but it fucking does. I trusted him. He’s not the man I once knew. And I was a fucking fool ever to believe he was.

Vartan rolls the window down just enough to make eye contact. His face is unreadable, but his voice is tight.

“You were my best friend,” he says, each word laced with disbelief. “I trusted you. I trusted you with my daughter.”

He shakes his head. “And this is what you do?” His voice cracks. “You sleep with her, and you make me look like a fucking fool.”

His eyes narrowed, his dark brown eyes piercing into mine.

“She’ll be married before you even figure out where we’ve gone,” he spits, rolling his shoulders.

When I think he’s done talking, his voice slices through the rain.

“And Carter? I don’t keep traitors in my life. Especially not ones playing house with my biggest disappointment.”

Son of a bitch.

The tires screech against the gravel, as rocks spit out in every direction as the car speeds off into the storm. I stand there, trying to breathe through the ache in my chest. The rain comes down hard, drenching my bare skin.

My ribs ache with every breath, but I don’t fucking care.

All I can see, that’s been burned into my fucking skull, is her face in the window, pressed against the glass.

Silent. Shattered. Gone.

“I’m coming for you, baby,” I whisper into the rain-soaked air. “No matter what it takes.”