Page 10 of Ruined

Before I can answer Evelyn's voice cuts through the tension. "To the police station." Her tone is sharp enough to draw blood.

Matteo bursts out laughing, his shoulders shaking as he turns to look at us. "That's a good one, princess. I like her, Noah."

I don't smile. Instead I tighten my grip as Evelyn tries to wrench herself free again. Her breathing is ragged, her body trembling with rage or fear—probably both.

"My place," I say to Matteo, my eyes never leaving Evelyn's face. I want her to understand there's no escape. Not from me.

Matteo nods and pulls away from the service road, tires crunching on gravel before hitting smooth pavement. The Parkway lights blur outside the window as we pick up speed.

Evelyn goes still in my arms but I know better than to mistake it for surrender. She's calculating, watching, waiting for an opening. I've seen that look before—in cornered animals, in men about to make their final, desperate move.

"You won't get away with this," she says, her voice suddenly calm. Too calm.

I lean closer, my lips almost brushing her ear. "I already have."

I feel Evelyn's body go rigid against mine as we drive through the darkness. The street lights flash across her face, illuminating those fierce eyes that refuse to give up.

"Why are you doing this?" she finally asks, her voice steadier than I expected. "You're clearly..." she pauses, looking me over with reluctant assessment, "...good looking enough to seduce a girl instead of kidnapping one."

I can't help the laugh that escapes me—short, harsh and completely lacking humor. Her words catch me offguard, which doesn't happen often.

"You must have hit your head harder than I thought when those guys knocked you out," I say, studying her face for signs of concussion. "That fall making you compliment me now?"

She flushes, anger replacing whatever momentary weakness made her acknowledge my appearance. "I'm simply pointing out that this seems unnecessary for someone like you."

"Someone like me?" I repeat, raising an eyebrow. "You don't know shit about me."

"I know enough."

I tighten my grip on her waist, feeling her tense in response. "Let me remind you of something, Evelyn. Those three bastards weren't taking you on a fucking date. You were about to be grabbed, drugged and delivered to Ivan like a package."

Her breathing hitches at Ivan's name.

"You think they cared how you felt about it? You think they were gonna ask nicely?" I continue, my voice dropping lower. "They would have taken you whether you screamed or fought or begged. And whatever Ivan had planned for you after..." I let the words hang in the air.

Matteo glances at us in the rearview mirror but says nothing. He knows when to keep his mouth shut.

"So you're what—my savior?" Evelyn's voice drips with sarcasm but I can hear the fear underneath.

"I'm the lesser of two evils." I lean closer, my mouth right beside her ear, making her shiver. "And right now, I'm the only thing standing between you and Ivan Volkov."

She turns her head slightly, her eyes meeting mine with defiance that should have been crushed by now. Most people would be broken, pleading, by this point. Not her.

"And what do you want with me?" she says.

The question hangs between us as Matteo takes a sharp turn, throwing her body against mine. I don't answer immediately, just hold her steady as the car continues through the night.

CHAPTER 5

The reality hits me like a slap. Noah didn't just happen to be there when those men attacked. The timing was too perfect.

"Why were you there in the first place?" My voice sounds hollow in the car's interior. "At my apartment building. Right when those men showed up."

Noah's eyes meet mine in the rearview mirror, dark and unreadable. He doesn't answer.

The silence stretches between us and something clicks in my mind—a terrible possibility that suddenly seems obvious.

"You set this up, didn't you?" The words tumble out before I can stop them. "Those men weren't really Ivan's. You put them there just to have an excuse to take me."

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