Page 75 of Pyre

Edward’s laugh broke into a wet cough as she grabbed a wire hanger and jammed it into his sternum, eliciting a sharp hiss of pain. “No one,” he wheezed. “My way should die with me. But thermophiles… they’ll keep popping up. That’s just nature.”

“That doesn’t even make sense,” Ruby snapped, yanking the hanger out and tossing it aside. “If you didn’t tell anyone, it ends with you. No more thermophiles!”

Her voice rose, trembling with barely restrained rage. “And where the fuck is Jonah?”

Edward’s silence hung heavy in the air, and for the first time, Ruby allowed herself to really look at him. This man—this monster—had haunted her every waking thought, murdered her daughter, and twisted her life into a nightmare.

But now, pinned beneath her, he didn’t look like the menacing figure she’d built up in her mind. His body was battered and bruised, his clothes torn and stained with blood and filth from the fight. His once-pristine appearance was gone, replaced by an image of vulnerability.

His hair, streaked with gray, clung damply to his forehead. The wrinkles at the corners of his eyes deepened as he grinned, but they weren’t lines of joy—they were the marks of a man who had lived far too long.

For the first time, Ruby saw what lay behind his madness. His grin faltered, revealing eyes filled with sorrow—eyes that carried decades of guilt, regret, and some twisted form of pride.

“Three bodies a day,” he simpered, “Maybe more. Almost every day. For decades.”

Tears glistened at the rims of his eyes as he looked up at her. “And look at you.” His expression softened and it made her stomach churn. “The strongest thermophile to ever exist. My perfect creation.”

His hand reached up slowly, trembling as he brushed a piece of her hair behind her ear. Ruby froze, her breath caught in her throat.

“You’ll finally put an end to all of this,” he whispered, expression tender in a way that made her skin crawl.

Before she could react, Edward pushed her back—not with strength, but with a resigned gentleness. “Your boyfriend is fine. You’ll need him in the future.”

“I’m going to kill you,” she declared.

“I would hope so.” He sat, plopping himself down on the laminated concrete. “I’ve been waiting decades.”

“I’m going to burn you.” she tried again.

He looked up at her, head cocked to the side. “Would you like some help?”

She blinked back at him. Everything she had fought for. All those who had been killed by this man. And he sat, a bikini top caught in his tie, sitting on his hands and waiting for his death.

“What the fuck.” She ran her hands through her hair and glared at him. “Why are you doing this? I don’t understand.”

“I’m done. I’m ready to go,” he said simply. “Because you’re ready.”

“For what?”

“For what I made you for.”

She laughed, crazed, and looked for accelerants.

RUBY LEFT EDWARDwrapped in the twisted metal remains of three stick vacuum cleaners, the poles stabbed through his wrists and thighs. Even immobilized, his smug grin finally erased, his eyes still gleamed with silent defiance. Without another glance, she turned and stalked off to find Jonah.

She found him exactly where Edward had said he’d be—restrained in a rickety chair in the corner of the employee break room. His arms and legs were bound by three tangled bike chains, and a duct-taped Paw Patrol bib covered his mouth.

The moment Jonah saw her, his eyes lit up with a mix of relief and frustration. Ruby ripped the bib off his face in one swift motion, and his first words were a pained shout.

“You locked me up!” he yelled, wincing as he rubbed at his face, the scream of neck hairs torn out by the duct tape still fresh in his expression.

Ruby shook her head, already exhausted. “I didn’t do this.”

“At the TCA, Ruby,” he snapped, “You had me put in custody.”

She hesitated but didn’t deny it. “I did do that,” she admitted, her tone flat. She bent down and snapped the cables binding him as though they were threads, giving him room to stand.

But Jonah didn’t take the opportunity to bolt. Instead, he surged toward her, wrapping his arms around her in an embrace so sudden it left her stunned. One hand cradled the back of her head, the other pulled her tightly against him. His voice cracked with relief. “I’m so glad you’re okay. Where’s Edward?”

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