Page 71 of Beautiful Ruins
Her gaze shot to me, and I nodded. “Fine. I’ll be right upstairs,” she said quietly, her thumb brushing my thigh as she passed me.
The touch was a silent anchor in the storm she was leaving me to face.
I forced a tight smile, but the awkwardness wasn’t because of her. She knew that.
Sadie disappeared up the staircase, and the silence she left behind stretched tight and loaded. I took a moment before focusing on John, letting him stand there an extra second or two in his own impatience. After all, I had to prepare myself for whatever bullshit was about to fly.
John didn’t hesitate before launching in with his attack. “What the fuck have you gotten my daughter into?” he said, lowering his voice, his eyes darting to the staircase.
I dragged a hand down my face, taking my time with it. “Well, good morning to you too, John.”
Should have guessed he wasn’t there for pleasantries.
I sniffed, the living room still filled with the scent of antiseptic and coffee. One of my hoodies—Sadie had barely taken it off the previous two days—hung over the armrest next to a half-eaten muesli bar. Normal stuff.
“Don’t be a smart arse, son,” he said, his words dripping with disdain. “I’ve known you since you were born. Have some goddamn respect.”
It was laughable that he still thought he could pull that card on me. I scoffed and sat up straighter, the couch leather groaning under me as my stitches bit into the tender skin just beneath my ribs.
“Respect?” I lifted an eyebrow. “You want to talk aboutrespect? How about not coming into my home on a goddamn Saturday morning throwing around accusations like I fucking owe you something.”
Desperate bastard. He couldn’t stand losing his grip on her, maybe because deep down, he knew he never had it to begin with. I could practically see him choking on it. Even as I sat there, the urge to tell him to go fuck himself crawled up my throat. Instead, I took a deep breath and let the silence hang between us.
John clenched his jaw so tight I thought his teeth might shatter. He crossed his arms over his chest. The veins in his forearms bulged like he was holding back the urge to swing. If I’d been standing, maybe he would’ve.
“Sadie’s asking questions,” he said. “Ones she shouldn’t be asking. She’s been to the damn council to get plans from six years ago. What have you got her digging into?”
I rubbed my hands over my jeans, giving myself a moment to consider whether I wanted to throw him out on his arse, or give him an answer. He didn’t deserve one, but there I was, feeling a little more generous than usual seeing as I wasn’t dead and Snake was holed up in a prison cell where he couldn’t get to Sadie.
“She’s a grown woman, John,” I said. “I can’t control her any more than you can. Trust me, I’ve tried. She walks to the beat of her own drum. Always has. Try to steer her, and she’ll burn the map just to prove she can.” Just like a fucking firefly.
Heat spread up my chest. It was exactly the reason I was in love with her. But all that aside, I knew John too well—not that he’d admit that. He wasn’t going to get off this train until it derailed, so I played the next card I had, knowing it would sting.
“Maybe she got the idea from her mother. Ever think aboutthat? Or were you just hoping Sadie wouldn’t find out what Patricia was up to before she died?”
That landed. He shifted his weight. At least he was thinking, not hurling bullshit like it was going out of fashion.
John shook his head. “This has Ridge Riders written all over it.”
Not sure what crime he was trying to pin on me.
I sat back again, resting my arms on the back of the couch. “Maybe,” I said, sniffing. “Your wife was digging into the club. And the goddamn Mayor. She knew more than you did.” I threw the words at him, giving him a taste of the truth he seemed so fucking desperate to deny. “Maybe that’s something you should have been aware of considering your position in this town. Or were you just trying to bury that information with every other skeleton you’ve helped us place in the ground? Don’t act all high and mighty now, John. It doesn’t suit you.”
He didn’t flinch. The bastard was stone cold. Or he was even more clueless than I’d thought, and that was saying something. He was losing ground, and now he was digging his heels in.
“I want you to leave Sadie out of whatever it is you think you know,” he said, jabbing a finger in my direction. He adjusted his black belt around his growing middle, shifting on his feet. The pressure of his own little world was crumbling around him, and there wasn’t a single thing he could do about it. “If she gets hurt, I’ll take the whole club down.”
We had one thing in common. I didn’t want Sadie anywhere near that bullshit any more than he did, but it didn’t matter what I wanted. She was going to keep digging, with or without me. I’d already resigned myself to that fact, so I was going to glue myself to her side.
The difference between John Cooper andme? He wanted to own her. Chain her down. I just wanted her to be free, even if that meant burning the world to keep her safe.
“I won’t let that happen,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest as if I could shield myself from his accusations and strip him of his power in one motion.
John huffed out a humourless laugh. “How can you know that for sure?” He leaned in, his voice hard, daring me to make a promise I couldn’t keep. “I’ve seen what happens when the Riders get involved, Rowan. Nothing good ever comes out of it. Christ, I’ve got Snake sitting in a jail cell waiting for his fucking execution.”
I knew he was right about the club but admitting that to him would be like handing him a loaded gun and begging him to shoot. I’d already been shot once. I didn’t plan on it happening again.
“That may be true, John,” I said. “But you have my word. Nothing will happen to Sadie as long as I’m next to her. And if you do your part and keep Snake locked up, then we won’t have a problem. You’ve got a murder weapon, and now evidence he tried to kill me. That should be enough. All you have to do is get him to Long Bay.”
