Page 13 of Ruin

Lira shook her head, tendrils of pale hair slipping free to brush her cheeks. “Vargot didn’t know what was so special about it. He’d planned to try to coax that information out of him when they met.”

“Did you overhear anythin’ else about Gaius?”

“Vargot said he was an ‘uppity fuck’, and he was leery of his augment guards. Vargot didn’t trust augments.”

“That’s good, little bird. Very good.”

Pleasure swelled in her chest, but morphed to panic at his next words.

“I’ll be back soon. You’ll be safe here. I’ll activate the security measures soon as I leave.”

Her fingers twisted in the thin sheet, knuckles paling. “No, please!”

What if something happened to him out there? What if he never came back?

Ruin paused in securing one of the many blades holstered at his thigh, gaze swinging to her. He looked at her as if he could see straight through to the terror gripping her insides.

“Easy now, little bird. I got the whole place rigged. You’ll be safe here, I promise.”

Scooting to the edge of the bed, she peered up at him imploringly. “Please, Ruin. Don't leave me alone. I can't- I don't… ” she trailed off, throat too tight to force the words out.

His harsh features softened. Kneeling in front of her, he gently uncurled her clenched fingers, grunting at the half moons in her palms left behind from her nails.

“I can't guarantee your safety out there.”

“I know. That’s okay. I’ll be careful, I promise. I just- I don’t want to be alone.”

His jaw worked, and for a long moment, the only sound was their mingled breaths. Then, finally, he gave a low growl of acquiescence. “Fine. But you do exactly as I say, when I say it.”

Relief left her dizzy as she nodded furiously. “Exactly as you say.”

His eyes narrowed to slits. “I mean it. One misstep an’ I'll haul your pretty little ass right back here. Understood?”

Trying to keep her composure, she looked down quickly, hoping to hide the smile playing on her lips, only to feel her dimples betray her effort.

Peeking back up at him, she murmured, “You think my ass is pretty?”

He blinked rapidly and a purple flush spread up the edges of his pointed ears, making the numerous piercings stand out even more.

Clearing his throat, he stood abruptly and bent over his arm, tapping on the sub-dermal implant. “Shoes. S’time to go.”

Still smiling, she hurried to put on the shoes he’d found for her.

Lira pressedherself against the cold metal, straining to see around the corner without exposing herself. They were in an unused passageway between walls, so there shouldn’t be anyone else in there, but she didn’t want to assume the way was clear.

He was trusting her not to fuck this up for him, and she refused to let him down.

Squinting to see in the dark, she waited for him to signal it was safe to move, then slipped around the corner, hugging the wall as Ruin followed close behind her, graceful and silent as a wraith, despite his imposing bulk.

Reaching the end of the corridor, she stopped and moved aside so he could peer out through a tiny gap in the hatch. After a few tense seconds, he straightened and shrugged off his heavy cloak, hanging it on a rusted peg.

“Should be clear enough to move quicker now,” he rumbled in that soft, gravelly rasp she liked so much. “You ready?”

“Ready.”

With a ghost of a smile curving those harsh lips, he scooped her up in one smooth motion and tucked her securely against his chest. She looped her arms around his thick neck and locked her legs around his waist, happily molding herself to him.

The moment he opened the hatch, the noise of the spaceport just beyond the wall enveloped them, the sudden racket making her flinch. Raucous laughter, the clanging of metal againstmetal, and shouted conversations all twisted together into a chaotic din that set her nerves jangling.

---