Page 59 of Wild Hearts (Ruby Ridge #1)

carter

. . .

S he’s crumpled on the marble like someone dropped her there and never bothered to pick her back up.

Pale, still and terrifyingly quiet, her body’s sprawled across the tile in that goddamn wedding dress.

Layers of white tulle billow around her, all delicate pearls and ruined softness, swallowing her whole.

Her lips are parted slightly. Her eyes are cracked open just enough to look not here, but not entirely gone either.

My fucking world tilts.

My knees hit the ground with a sickening crack, but I don’t feel it. Wouldn’t care if I shattered every bone in my body, not when she looks like this. Not when her skin is cold, when her warmth is already leaving me.

“Catalina,” I breathe–then louder, harsher, panicked. “Catalina.”

I’m on her in seconds, hands shaking as I gather her into my arms, cradling her like I can hold her soul in place. But she doesn’t respond.

Her skin is clammy against mine, her body limp as her head falls to my chest. Her lashes flutter once, barely, and then go still again. Something inside me, fucking dies.

“No. No, no, baby–” my voice cracks. “I’m here, I’m right fucking here.”

The words feel useless to reach wherever she’s gone. I press her closer, my fingers weaving into her hair, holding her like I can anchor her to this earth with just my desperation.

“Maverick!” I yell, my voice tearing its way out of my throat. “Call 911. NOW!”

There’s a curse behind me, the sharp click of his phone unlocking, and the rush of frantic fingers on glass.

“Hold on for me, baby. Please—come on.” My forehead falls to hers, as I press my mouth close like maybe she’ll hear it. “Don’t leave me, Catalina. Not like this.”

I can’t tell where my voice ends and the breaking starts.

“Please, baby. Stay with me.”

My palms flatten against her chest, desperate for movement. For a rise. For proof that she’s still here, still mine, still breathing. My cheek presses against hers, and when the sob escapes, it rips through me, loud enough to echo off the marble walls.

“If you go,” I whisper, my thumb brushing along her sweet face. “I’m fucking going with you.”

Maverick drops to his knees beside me, his hands trembling as he gathers Catalina’s hand in his. I’ve never seen him this quiet—this broken.

“Come on, Catalina,” he whispers, brushing her hair off her face with a gentleness I didn’t know he had. “You don’t get to leave us, not like this. Not when you finally started smiling again.”

His voice cracks. “You hear me? You’re family now. I don’t care what that bastard did—you fight, Catalina. Please… fight.”

Footsteps echo across the marble with a calmness that makes my stomach twist.

His voice stings my ears. “What the fuck is this mess?”

The man I used to call my best friend walks in like he’s inspecting a minor inconvenience, not his daughter’s lifeless body.

No sign of panic, not a hint of concern. Just pure irritation. And that makes my blood fucking boil.

“Jesus Christ,” he mutters, eyes sweeping over her with a flatness that knocks the breath out of my lungs. “Of course she’d pull some shit like this.”

I don’t register his words. My body doesn’t feel like mine with the rage coursing through every limb faster than I can control it.

Maverick quickly stands up.

His hands hit Vartan’s chest with enough strength to shove him straight off his feet. His polished shoes skid against the marble as his back slams into the wall with a dull, satisfying crack.

“Get the fuck out of here,” Maverick growls, his voice low and dangerous.

Vartan straightens slowly, brushing invisible dust from the front of his suit jacket like a six-eight NFL quarterback hadn’t manhandled him.

“You think I haven’t seen this before?” Vartan’s voice is calm, cruel, like he’s bored by the entire scene playing out in front of him.

“This isn’t her first attempt. She always has been, and always will be, weak-minded.

Always reaching for the easy way out. Let her do me a favor and actually stick to it this time. ”

I swear to fucking God .

My vision narrows until all I see is red.

I shove past Maverick without thinking, my fist already swinging before anyone can stop me.

It lands square in Vartan’s jaw, snapping his head to the side with a crack that echoes off the walls.

He stumbles back and hits the floor hard.

I step toward him with my fists still clenched.

My body shakes, not from adrenaline, but from everything I’ve been holding in since the second she left my arms.

“You open your fucking mouth again, I swear I’ll break your fucking jaw,” I growl, standing over him.

He lifts his chin with blood on his lip, looking up at me like I’m nothing. “She’s been unstable for years,” he says, voice still steady. “She drinks too much. Cries over fucking nothing and spirals every time someone tells her no.”

You don’t know the first fucking thing about her.

My fists tighten as I shove him back, hard enough to rattle the wall behind him. I’ve got both hands fisted in his custom-tailored suit, face to face with the man I once looked up to.

A man I thought I knew.

He scoffs, unfazed, tilting his head. “She was given everything,” he says, his voice full of disdain. “And she pissed it all away. She’ll never be worthy of my attention. She was never enough for me. My last name shouldn’t even be attached to someone as worthless as her.”

I slam him harder, and the thud of his back hitting the wall echoes through the room.

My grip tightens around the collar of his jacket, shaking from how hard I’m holding myself back.

“Because of you, she’s never felt like she was enough,” I say, the rage barely restrained.

“You’re the reason she doubts herself. You filled her head with lies and convinced her she wasn’t worthy of love, peace, or anything good.

You broke her down and called it parenting.

You’re not a father—you’re just the man who taught her how to hate herself. She doesn’t fucking need you!”

“And what does she need, Carter?” he asks, his voice low and mocking.

“Some pathetic cattle rancher with dirt under his nails and nothing in his bank account?” He lets out a slow, deliberate scoff, “You’re just as worthless as she is,” he says, like he’s enjoying every second.

“The only reason I kept you around was pity.”

The growl tears out of me before I can stop it. I release him, throwing him to the floor so hard he hits the marble with a sharp grunt, as his arms scramble for leverage.

Maverick steps in before I get the chance to swing again. His fists swing with zero hesitation. His punch lands square against Vartan’s face, the sound sickening—bone crunching on impact. Blood sprays as his nose gives way, Vartan folds back with a strangled yell, as his hands fly to his face.

“Don’t you fucking talk about my brother like that,” Maverick snarls, towering over him. “Say one more word, and I swear I’ll leave you with more than a broken nose. Do yourself a favor, you arrogant piece of shit—get the fuck out of here before you end up in a hospital bed next to her.”

Vartan stays on the floor, with one hand clutched over his shattered nose, as blood drips between his fingers. And then, unbelievably, he laughs; it comes from fucking insanity.

The sound curls in my gut like acid. I step forward, fully ready to drag his sorry ass out of this building, and toss him into the street where he belongs.

Before I can take another step, medics rush into the room, their voices urgent, feet thudding against the marble as they move straight for Catalina.

Stay with me baby.