Page 91 of Ramsay

Passing through the masses, I slip in and out of the crowd approaching Hate leaning against the wall, surveying the crush with hard eyes. I’ve never had a problem with him, but I know he’d hurt me for the right reason or price.

I catch his eye and his brows rise before he resumes his, I-don’t-give-a-fuck expression.

“Cherry, my man’s been looking for you,” he rumbles.

Nodding in agreement, I lean against the wall next to him and turn my gaze to the crowd. It’s been a long time since anyone called me Cherry, and with the nickname comes bittersweet memories because once upon a time, I was an innocent girl with a problem, and then I became a nightmare.

My gaze passes over Diem, pounding on some foolish punk who wavers on his feet already, while Ramsay and Oliver stand near the wall closest to the ring, with their heads bent together.

Jagger’s still arguing with the tweaker, and Bone is nowhere to be found.

“I have information,” I say through dry lips.

What I’m about to drop on Hate could fuck up my world, but it’s my only option, because I refuse to kowtow to the Sinners again. Jagger’s my problem, and I’m about to solve it, because regardless of my fate, Jagger’s will be far crueler.

“What’s that?” he asks in a bored tone.

Hate is actually quite beautiful in a brutal way. He’s got ocean blue eyes, pale blond hair hanging to his chin, and a cleft any woman would moan over if his glare didn’t make you cry first.

“It’s about Peanut,” I say, cringing when his entire body stiffens beside me.

Peanut was special to Hate and even though she gave him the runaround, too caught up in the candy to pay him any mind, he still watched over her.

“What the fuck you saying, Cherry?” he growls.

Peanut disappeared after doing a trick, and no one, not even Hate, could track her down. I think it broke the last of whatever humanity might have existed in his soul.

Licking my lips, I run my slippery hands down my jeans and raise my eyes, clashing with Ramsay’s cold gaze across the room.

His brows rise, while I stare blankly and say, “I saw, I saw Jagger, he...”

Turning away from Ramsay, whose eyes have narrowed, I finish, “He strangled her when she wouldn’t, um perform.”

I’m greeted by dead silence and absently I note the sweat trickling down my back while I await Hate’s response. Across the way, Jagger tips his head back and laughs.

From the corner of my eye, I spy Ramsay moving through the crowd, Oliver following behind him. When I meet his gaze, I find grim acceptance.

Hate stands achingly still beside me and when I can take the awkward, terrifying silence no more, I inch away from him, only to gasp when he grabs my wrist and pain shoots up my arm.

Raising my head, I flinch away from the heat of his stare. This is it. He may never let me leave.

“You’re sure?” he barks.

Jumping, I nod slowly and stumble when he lets me loose.

“Go now,” he demands, turning away from me and heading straight for Jagger.

Sagging, I watch him go before turning to leave. Ramsay’s been waylaid by a buxom brunette who rubs against him with a pretty smile. Curling my lip, I flip him off before escaping into the lot where I fumble with the keys to my car.

Once I’m inside, I waste no time starting the engine and as I peel out with a breath of fucking relief, a hysterical laugh follows.

Fuck you, Jagger, and fuck you, Ramsay.

∞∞∞

The remainder of winter break passes quietly. I while away the time catching up on homework or laying around enjoying the peace, such as it is, exhausted from the drama surrounding me from all sides.

My parents barely emerge during this time, and I only see them when I venture downstairs for food. More and more I worry for my shrinking family because I’ve never felt more alone than I do now.

---