Page 90 of Made For Ruin

"No," I whisper, staggering towards him. "No, no, no."

I drop to my knees beside him, my hands hovering uselessly over his motionless form. Tears blur my vision as I reach out to feel for a pulse, to prove to myself that this isn't real. That he isn't...

My fingers tremble as I press them to Derrick's neck, desperate to feel the steady thrum of his pulse. A choked sob escapes my throat when I find it, weak and thready but undeniably there.

"Derrick," I plead, cupping his face in my hands. "Wake up. Please wake up."

His eyelids flutter and then slowly open, his unfocused gaze drifting over my face. "Lainey?" he croaks, his voice hoarse from the smoke.

"I'm here," I assure him, blinking back tears of relief. "You're going to be okay. I'm going to get you out of here."

But as I start to slide my arm beneath his shoulders, Derrick's eyes suddenly widen in alarm. He stares at something over my shoulder, raw fear contorting his soot-streaked features.

"Lainey, behind you-"

I start to turn, my heart leaping into my throat. But before I can see what has Derrick so terrified, a large hand clamps down over my mouth and nose. The acrid scent of smoke is instantly replaced by a cloying chemical smell, sweet and cloying like rotting fruit.

Then the world tilts sideways and darkness floods in.

TWENTY-TWO

MARCUS

“Well, shit.”Reign takes the beer I offer him, condensation already beading on the bottle. “I guess that’s one way to break the news.”

I drop into the chair beside him.

“You know me. Subtlety’s never been my strong suit. You should have seen his face. The kid was fucking devastated.”

“Can’t say I blame him. Finding out your ex is screwing your old man? That’s gotta sting.”

“Thanks for that colorful description.”

It’s the day after Lorena Castellano’s wedding, and I’m sitting out on the back deck with Reign, trying to make sense of the mess I’ve made.

To say that last night was a clusterfuck would be the understatement of the century.

I always knew Axel would be pissed when he found out about Lainey and me. Hell, I'd be furious too if I was in his shoes. But I underestimated how much it would tear me up inside to see my own son look at me with such betrayal.

Now, the guilt is eating away at me, even though I know Lainey and I did nothing wrong. She's not some conquest or flavor of the month. What we have is real. I'm crazy about her ina way I haven't felt in decades, maybe ever. She's mine, body and soul.

But that doesn't change the fact that I went behind my son's back and started dating his ex-girlfriend. There's no getting around how fucked up that is. I feel like the world's shittiest father. A traitor to my own blood.

Worst of all, Lainey had to stand there and witness Axel's reaction firsthand. I saw the way her face crumpled, how she tried to shrink into herself as if she could disappear completely. She looked so damn young and vulnerable in that moment that it broke my heart.

“Well, for what it’s worth, no one at the reception noticed anything was off,” Reign says, his tone matter-of-fact. “The three of you hid it well. You didn’t start throwing punches in the middle of the dance floor.”

“Give me some credit,” I mutter, though the thought had crossed my mind when I saw the fury in Axel’s eyes. “I’m not completely uncivilized. I know better than to ruin the bride’s big day.”

“So what are you going to do?”

“Fuck if I know.”

“You’re not going to at least try talking to Axel?”

“And say what? ‘Sorry that I’m banging your ex-girlfriend, son. Hope we can all do Thanksgiving together?’”

Reign chuckles. “Maybe leave out the ‘banging’ part.”

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