Page 84 of Beautiful Ruins
Protecting his daughter? Protecting her from who? Me? Snake? Or something even worse? He was afraid, no doubt about that. But was it fear for himself—or for her?
My pulse went from a steady thrum to a chaotic pounding as I tried to piece together what Snake’s release had to do with Sadie. How the hell was setting him loose protecting her?
The questions piled up, clogging my throat. Thick. Suffocating. Snake being released had nothing to do with our investigation, I knew that much. No, this was something else entirely—it stretched back further and cut deeper.
As much as I wanted to charge after John, and force answers from his lying mouth until everything made sense, Iknew that would get me nowhere. Besides, he was already in his car, engine roaring to life.
What the hell had John done? Or more likely, what had he agreed to do to let Snake slither free?
Goddamn it. Had I left Sadie in danger?
I darted towards my bike, hands fumbling my phone as I yanked it out of my pocket and dialled Sadie’s number. Seconds passed, but they felt more like fucking hours.
“Come on, Sades. Answer me, baby,” I whispered, running a hand through my hair as I swung a leg over the seat. My heart hammered so hard it could’ve outrun the Harley beneath me.
Finally, the persistent ringing stopped, and Sadie’s laboured breathing echoed through the speaker. “Miss me already, huh?” Her voice carried a playful smile, one I’d missed for six years.
I exhaled sharply, the tension easing ever so slightly. “Where are you?”
“At home,” she said, drawing out the words, a tinge of confusion lacing her tone. “Where you left me. Remember? Why, what did Dad say?”
I jammed the phone between my shoulder and ear, yanking my keys from my pocket, then shoved them into the ignition. I never should’ve left her alone. Not with Snake loose. Not with questions unanswered.
“I’m coming home,” I said, kicking the engine over. The roar vibrated through my spine, but it couldn’t drown out the dread screaming in my chest. “I’ll tell you everything when I get there.” There was a slight pause, a thudding sound on the other end. “Sades, what’s going on?”
Sadie let out a long, weary sigh. My chest tightened. Something wasn’t right.
“Hang on a sec,” she said. “Someone’s at the door.” Her voice dimmed and her breath hitched. I pictured her movingthrough her living room. Then the creak of the door finally opening drifted down the line. “Wh-what are you doing here?”
The morning air turned cold on my skin. “Sades, who the hell is it?” I gripped the throttle, anxiety twisting through me like barbed wire, tightening with each desperate second.
She didn’t answer, but her small whimpers were enough.
Another pause. One beat too long.
Then a man’s voice—low, smug, and so damn wrong it turned my blood to ice. “Did you miss me?”
Not Snake—I’d recognise that arsehole’s voice anywhere. So, who the fuck was that?
“Sadie!” My voice cracked, echoing the panic that surged through every cell in my body.
“Rowan.” Sadie’s voice trembled, my name a plea on her lips. “Help—” Her words cut off abruptly, leaving her final word dangling in front of me.
Just like the noose Logan had tied around his neck.
Fuck.
Chapter Twenty-Six
SADIE
“You won’t be needing that.” Marcus snatched my phone from my hand and shoved it into his pocket as he stood on the doorstep, that same sly grin I’d come to hate planted firmly on his face like a brand.
It was the kind of smirk that dared you to fight back. One that said he knew exactly what he was doing and there was nothing you could do about it.
I stumbled back, my knees buckling. “What are you doing here?” I forced the words out, the tremor in my voice exposing my vulnerability.
Worst of all, he noticed. His smile widened, like he could already taste my fear. Like he knew he had me cornered.
