Page 114 of The Road to Ruined

"I've had Teagan in every way possible," Sebastian tells Luca. "She begged for it, too, like a little whore. She asked me to run away with her, did she tell you that?"

Luca scoffs. "Yeah, right."

"Didn't you, Teagan?"

"Sebastian, stop."

"Teagan, what the fuck? You were going to leave me? For him?"

"You weren't there! You left me!"

"Not by choice! After I kill him, I'm going to knock some fucking sense into you, too, Teagan."

"Luca, enough," Declan says.

"You're going to be sleeping in handcuffs every night, and I'll spank your little ass so raw you won't be able to sit down for a month."

"Lofty goals. You won't live that long," Sebastian scoffs.

"You want Teagan, right?" Declan asks again.

Sebastian neither confirms nor denies it.

"What the fuck are you going to do with her if you get her?" he asks. "Hmm? Let's say you kill us, stop her from killing herself, and get her out of here alive; then what? You're supposed to kill her, aren't you? That's what your dead friend said."

"I don't have friends—"

"Are you going to leave The Order?" Declan asks.

"No one leaves The Order."

"You can't take care of her," Declan says. "You can't let her go because she's supposed to be dead. You can't trust her to stay hidden or not to harm herself because she's going to be angry with you. You can't move her with you because she's supposed to be dead. You can't keep her tied up somewhere because eventually, you'll have to leave her alone for too long, and she'll die. Or they'll notice, and she'll die. And she'll hate you for it until she does. You haven't thought this through."

"Girls don't like being tied up and held prisoner," Luca says. "Learned that one the hard way."

"So, you're saying my only option is to kill all three of you."

"That's one option," Declan says, propping his feet up on the coffee table. "Help us get her out of here." He turns to me and adds, "Come sit down, honey. It's okay."

I look to my left—to Luca—and shake my head. "I don't think I should."

"Luca, sit down. You're making Teagan nervous."

"And the masked douchebag with a knife makes her feel all warm and fuzzy? Why do I make her nervous?"

"More like wet and horny—"

"Mother fuck—"

"Luca, don't!"

"You're unpredictable—that's why," Declan says. "Sit down."

Luca sits at the edge of the bed. He's still in only his boxers and has that crazy look in his eyes he gets sometimes.

With his long hair and beard, he looks like a deranged, tattooed Jesus.

"Now will you sit, Teag? Put the knife down. I'm trying to be your port. That's what you want, right?"

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