Page 92 of Beautiful Ruins
It was a long shot, but it was all we could do to keep suspicion off us for a while. We’d done this before. Not often, but enough to know what worked.
It was the best cover story we had. Still, I wasn’t happy about it. People would look for him. A disappearing act like this wouldn’t go unnoticed for long. We needed to make this look legit. The more time it bought us, the better it was for everyone involved. Sadie included.
Bear tapped the screen, and it was done. Then he shoved the phone into Marcus’s pocket and hauled his lifeless body up over his shoulder like it weighed nothing. Blood trickled from the gaping hole in Marcus’s head and dripped onto the ground. Scout was right next to Bear, hovering, awaiting his next lesson.
“Shovel,” I said, more a command than a question.
Scout nodded. “You got it, VP,” he said, darting off towards the ute.
I scrubbed a hand down my face, the soundtrack of cicadas filling the space between us. Killing, no matter who it was, still left a stain on your soul, one that never quite washed out.
But I’d have done it again. For Sadie, I’d have walked through hell with bloody hands and never once looked back.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
SADIE
Iwoke to the sound of metal scraping against concrete from somewhere outside. I patted the mattress beside me, but there was no warm body where one should have been. The mattress was cool to the touch. Had Rowan even stepped foot inside the house since he’d left me earlier to take care of Marcus?
The alarm clock on the nightstand told me it was just after three in the morning. I’d fought to stay awake, knowing what Rowan, Bear and Scout were out there doing.
The guilt should have gnawed at me, should have made me just as complicit in anything that had been done to Marcus. And maybe Iwascomplicit. I’d wanted him to pay for what he’d done to me. But the guilt? I couldn’t even bring myself to feel an ounce of it.
Just knowing he was no longer breathing was enough, even as the phantom pain of his fists still lingered. In time, I’d heal. But at that moment, it didn’t matter if I was whole. I had Rowan, and everything else seemed to take a backseat as wenavigated around the chaos we’d found ourselves in between Marcus and Snake.
I had hoped my father would put my mind at ease, then at least I’d have the truth about my mother.
I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and planted my bare feet on the worn carpet. The floorboards creaked under my weight as I made my way down the staircase. The cool breeze danced over my skin as I headed outside into the garage in the backyard.
As kids, Logan and I had been banned from stepping foot inside it. It had been off-limits, purely for adults. Still, it hadn’t stopped Logan and I from sneaking in there when Troy had been out, and stealing a few buds of weed to smoke in our treehouse.
Now, it was Rowan’s sanctuary.
The hammering sounds grew louder the closer I got, punctuated by the occasional muffled curse. I pushed open the heavy door, the hinges squealing like nails down a chalkboard.
Rowan didn’t even glance up. He remained hunched over the engine of the rusted-out car, grease staining his hands as he worked methodically in the dim light.
The blue Falcon had been Logan’s next obsession. He’d wanted to fix it up when we eventually got back from our summer trip. Now, it seemed Rowan had now taken over the project. It should have been a symbol of hope but was now another reminder of everything we’d lost.
It was as if Rowan was trying to resurrect something Logan had left behind, but the engine wasn’t the only thing in need of repair.
“Hey,” I said softly, hoping he would finally acknowledge me. Still, he didn’t look up. Didn’t even acknowledge my existence. Had he not heard me? Or was he ignoring me onpurpose? I took a step closer, the concrete cold against my bare feet. “Rowan?”
He finally responded, but it was nothing more than a grunt, as he aggressively tightened a bolt. The muscles in his forearms flexed with each turn of the wrench.
“Ro? Talk to me. Please.” I reached out, my fingers brushing his forearm.
His body stiffened immediately, a muscle in his jaw twitching as if my touch had shocked him. He flinched away, eyes avoiding mine. “You shouldn’t be out here,” he muttered, continuing to pretend that the engine was all that mattered. “Go back to bed.”
I forced myself to stand firm, crossing my arms, but the tremor in my hands betrayed me. “Not until you talk to me, Rowan. What’s going on in your head?”
His knuckles went white as he gripped the wrench tighter. “Nothing’s going on. I’m working on the car.”
I arched a brow. “At three in the morning?”
I took another step closer, but Rowan backed away, shaking his head. “I can’t do this right now, Sadie. I need . . . I need space.”
Tears stung my eyes. Rowan was lashing out, and it was all because of me. The guilt finally flooded in, and the weight of it almost crushed me. My knees trembled, and I wrapped my arms around my waist. What the hell had I done?
