Page 101 of Made For Ruin

I catalog every detail, searching for weakness. The tremor in his gun hand. The way he keeps glancing toward the french doors. The blood seeping through his sleeve where Reign’s bullet caught him.

Lainey’s eyes never leave mine. Her bound hands move slightly against her thigh, drawing my attention.

Three fingers spread. Then two.

She’s counting down.

“Last chance.” Castellano starts edging toward the french doors, dragging her with him. “Drop it or-”

Lainey moves before he can finish.

Her elbow drives back into his ribs as she drops her full weight, creating the space I need. My finger squeezes the trigger.

The shot cracks through the room.

Castellano’s head snaps back, a red mist blooming behind him. His grip on Lainey goes slack as he crumples.

I’m across the room before his body hits the floor.

Lainey stumbles forward into my arms, shaking but alive. So blessedly alive. My rifle clatters to the ground as I pull her close, one hand cupping her face while the other searches for injuries.

“I knew you’d come,” she sobs. “I knew you would find me.”

Her voice breaks as she presses into my touch. A bruise darkens her cheek, and fury rises fresh in my chest. My thumb brushes gently over the bruise. The urge to kill Castellano again, slower this time, burns through me.

“Castellano did this to you?”

“Yes.” Her jaw tightens, but I feel the tremor running through her. “When I wouldn’t sign the papers. He said no one was coming for me. That no one even knew where to look.”

“I knew where to look.” I tilt her face up, needing her to see the truth in my eyes. “I knew you were here, sweetheart.”

I pull the knife from my vest, carefully sliding it between her skin and the zip ties. Her wrists are raw, angry red marks showing where the plastic cut in. My hands shake with rage at the sight, but I keep my touch gentle.

“Hold still, sweetheart. Almost got it.”

The ties snap free.

Lainey immediately wraps her arms around my neck, pressing her face into my chest. I feel her tears soaking through my shirt, feel the tremors running through her small frame. My arms lock around her.

Reign’s voice carries from the hallway.

“Derrick’s back here, and he’s pretty banged up. Life flight is on their way.”

Lainey’s hands fist in my vest.

“I tried to fight them.”

She pulls back just enough to meet my eyes, fierce despite her tears. One hand comes up to touch my face, like she needs to make sure I’m real.

“When I realized what was happening. But I couldn’t make my body work right.”

“You did perfect.”

I press my lips to her forehead, breathing in the familiar scent of her shampoo beneath the smoke from the diner.

“You stayed alive and you gave me time to find you,” I tell her. “You even gave me the opening I needed with Castellano. My brave, brilliant girl.”

Her fingers trace the tactical vest, lingering over the bullet-proof plating.

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