Page 31 of Made For Ruin

“I’ve got Lainey,” I say firmly. “Can you keep tabs on Enzo? See what he’s up to, who he’s talking to?”

“Consider it done,” Reign agrees without hesitation. “I’ll put out some feelers and see what I can dig up on her brother’s debts, too.”

“Thanks,” I say, clasping his shoulder. “I owe you one.”

Reign smirks. “Add it to the tab, brother.” He turns to leave but then pauses, his dark eyes assessing me. “It’s good to see you looking alive again, Ruins. Been a while since I’ve seen that fire in your eyes.”

I grunt, not sure how to respond. Reign’s always been too damn perceptive for his own good.

“Don’t fuck it up,” he adds with a smirk, before striding off towards his truck.

I watch him drive away, thinking about how right he is.

For over a year, I’ve been going through the motions, letting guilt and rage eat me alive. But having Lainey here, in my space, in my bed – it feels like waking up from a long darkness.

I shut the door and make my way back to the bedroom, Lainey’s belongings in hand. She’s sitting up now, the sheet pooled around her waist, looking rumpled and sexy as hell.

“Everything okay?” she asks, tucking her hair behind her ears.

“Everything’s fine, baby.” I set her purse and phone on the nightstand before crawling back into bed. “Just Reign dropping off your stuff.”

I toss her purse and phone on the bed next to her. “It was Reign. He brought your stuff from the club last night.”

Lainey’s eyes widen as she reaches for her phone. “Oh my gosh, thank you. I didn’t even realize I’d left it behind.” She powers on the screen and scrolls through her notifications.

A soft smile curves her lips. “Oh good, Carl just texted me.”

My whole body goes rigid at the casual mention of another man’s name. “Who the fuck is Carl?” I demand, not even trying to keep the edge out of my voice.

Lainey glances up at me, her blue eyes sparkling with amusement. “Calm down, caveman,” she teases. “Carl is the diner’s mechanic. He’s like 60 years old and happily married.”

I feel my shoulders relax slightly, but I still want to know why this Carl guy is texting my girl first thing in the damn morning.

“What does he want?” I ask, trying to keep my tone casual as I sit down on the edge of the bed.

Lainey sighs. “It’s the oven at the diner. It’s been on the fritz for weeks now, only working half the time. Carl texted to say he finally tracked down the replacement part we need.”

She bites her lower lip, worry clouding her expression. “But it’s not cheap. The part alone is five grand.”

I see the defeat settling over her and I hate it. I hate that she’s carrying this burden alone.

“Five grand,” I repeat slowly. “The same five grand you just gave to Enzo?”

Lainey nods miserably, twisting her hands in her lap. “Every penny I had saved up. I was hoping to use it for the diner repairs, but now I don’t know what to do.”

I reach over and take her small hands in mine. “Tell you what, let’s eat some breakfast first and worry about the oven afterward, okay? Come on. I’ll make us some breakfast.”

“Oh, you don’t have to do that,” Lainey protests as I pull her to her feet and lead her out of the bedroom. “I can just grab something quick on my way back to the diner.”

I shoot her an incredulous look over my shoulder.

“You think I’m going to send you off to work without a proper meal after the night we had? Not a chance.”

She flushes prettily but doesn’t argue further as she follows me into the kitchen, the sheet still wrapped around her delectable body.

I grab a clean pair of boxers and a t-shirt from the laundry room. I hand the shirt to Lainey.

“Here, put this on.”

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