Page 59 of Bound By Ruin

She nibbles on a piece of asparagus. “Why?”

“Let me find out. Please eat your dinner.” I unravel my own silverware and force myself to eat, hoping that she will follow suit. It’s easy for Rebel; he’s halfway through his plate and stealing the leftover piece of bread from Charlotte’s, but my stomach clenches at the thought of Ruin finding Sara.

Where the fuck has she been hiding all this time?

Celia chews slowly, her eyes constantly roaming the lawn. I caught a flicker of movement in my peripheral as Ruin carried Sara to the side doors, but he’s long gone by now, meaning that we’re safe from Celia finding out that Sara is here.

If she does, there will be no stopping her from rushing to the girl’s side, and acting emotionally will only make us vulnerable. We need to think clearly to process this information and decide our next steps. Let Dr. Sakovia take care of Sara; she’ll be…finemight be a bit of a stretch, but she’ll be in good hands.

I catch some of the conversation between Ruin and one of the doctors, including a brief summary of Sara’s physical state and where Ruin found her… and then, silence.

Thanatos says something, but the reception crackles, making it impossible to understand. The range of our comms must be reaching its limit from one end of the venue to the other. Rebel notices, too, cutting a slice off of his steak more slowly than before as the two of us listen intently for any change.

Then, all of a sudden, Ruin starts to speak.

Our brother isn’t talkative. He’d rather smoke a joint on the rooftop than engage in meaningful conversation, so his silence isn’t altogether alarming. It’s moments like this when hedoesspeak—not to us, but to someone else—that sounds the alarm.

Something isn’t right.

“You got old,” he deadpans, his voice crackling in my ear. “I wish you hadn’t.”

What a strange thing to say.

The oddities continue as Ruinkeepstalking, like he can’t shut the fuck up. “You also gained weight. Thirty pounds. You’re not balding, but you’ve gone gray. That limp in your right leg—is that new? No, you’re overcompensating. Must be a few years old.”

Our brother has never been good at conversation, but this isbizarre.I stand quickly and look for him, but he’s not anywhere within eyesight. “Ruin,” I rumble, “where are you?”

“It’s cold out here,” he replies, laughing. He actuallylaughs.“I left my jacket inside. You look pretty warm. You must have been out here a while.”

Outside. He’s outside.

Rebel joins me in looking for Ruin, except he’s jogging the perimeter, scanning the lawn, then the closest side of the building. Celia taps her earpiece, then lets out a frustrated sigh. “Turn it back on!” she snaps, jumping up and latching onto my arm. “Rage!”

“I can’t.” I swallow my frustration. “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry?” Celia stomps her foot. “Fuck yoursorry.You’re a man who gets results, so get me results. Turn it back on.”

Fuck, I love this woman.

Sweeping her hair behind her ear, I gently remove her earpiece. Speaking into mine, I call for Thanatos. “Hey, turn Celia’s comms back on.” Acting on faith, I replace her unit with mine so that she can hear everyone’s conversation, leaving me in the dark.

Her eyes widen as she listens to Ruin’s awkward chatter. “Who is he talking to?”

“If I had to guess, he’s talking to our dad. Or to us. Likely both.”

Rebel makes a run for the trees, so I grab Celia’s hand and make to follow. “Let’s go.” She takes her first few steps, and the click of her heels gives me pause. “Can you run in those?”

She kicks them off, daring to go barefoot. Upon seeing the skepticism on my face, she rolls her eyes and shoves past me. “C’mon! He’s—he’s cutting out.”

They’re moving further out of range.

We run across the lawn behind Rebel, my brother reaching the forest before us. He says something that I can’t hear without my comms, then turns right. “He wants us to split up,” Celia says from behind me. “We can go left.” Just as we reach the trees, she stops and holds her hand to her ear. Her face scrunches as she listens closely. “Wait. I think I hear a car starting. They’re on the road? A dirt road. It’s bumpy. Ruin says that his truck is ugly.” She smiles for a split second before she turns left and sprints. “They road is this way!”

I know that she’s going toward the main street we took to the gala, but it’s paved. If they’re on a dirt road, it’s not at the front of the building. It’s somewhere in the back or to the side, hidden in the woods.

We have to be right next to the road. I glance up the mountain, looking for red taillights and finding none.

“He’s cutting out!” Celia slows down until she comes to a stop and places both of her hands on a tree. Picking up her feet, she grimaces as she brushes them off. “They’re getting too far away.”

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