Page 21 of Ruthless Desires: Vol. One
“Find anything yet?” he asks as he climbs out of the vehicle.
“First floor office,” I say. “We start there?”
Elliot nods.
Our gloves are already on, so we begin searching the office and then Roger’s bedroom. Once we have the van loaded, Elliot pulls out a can of gasoline.
Ah, yes. The final nail in Roger’s coffin: using an accelerant. There’s no way he’ll be able to escape the fraud charges.
“Get in the van,” Elliot says as he starts dumping the gasoline on the living room carpet.
Rhett and I are already halfway to the door. I open up the garage door again, just as planned, and Rhett gets into the driver’s seat and starts the van. We already locked the back door after ourselves, so it won’t look like there was any type of forced entry. And if any doorbell cameras pick us up, all they’ll see is an untraceable van.
It’ll look like Roger hired it out.
As Rhett pulls out of the garage, I open the side door so Elliot can jump in. I can’t help my smile. Wren will never know what we did, but that’s not the point. What matters is that she has people looking out for her. She hasus.
Elliot comes running out of the house, hitting the button to close the garage door. He jumps over the sensor and leaps into the van. The second Elliot is safe inside, I close up the van, and Rhett takes off.
“Good?” I ask.
Elliot nods, tearing off his mask and glancing out the back. An orange glow is already visible through the house’s windows. “No issues.”
“Perfect.”
Rhett takes us to a hill that overlooks Roger’s neighborhood. It’s far enough that we can’t make out many details in the dark, but by the time Rhett is putting the van in park, the fire is blazing. We all pile out of the vehicle, taking in the view.
“That’ll show him,” I say as we watch the flames dance. “No one talks to our girl like that.”
“Not our girl,” Rhett reminds me, his voice rough.
But even that reminder isn’t enough to douse the hope lit in me. Some would say I’m delusional—that the thought of Wren with all of us is a pipe dream. A stupid fantasy. But I feel something every time she looks at me—something that feels too deep to ignore.
We just need time. Well, that, and for her to want all of us as much as we want her. Elliot and Rhett may still be in denial about it, but I know them. She’s taking up space in all our minds.
And one day, she’ll be ours. Iknowit.
Elliot slips an arm around my shoulders and tugs me closer. His lips feather across my forehead, the softest touch. “The storage unit was a good idea.”
I lean into him, warmth spreading through me. “Got the idea from a movie.”
He lets out an amused breath as Rhett comes to stand on the other side of me. Even though he doesn’t touch me, he stays close, blocking out some of the chill from the wind.
We all watch together as the fire trucks finally show up. The fire is raging at this point, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the house is a near-total loss.
Good,I think to myself. With the way he treated Wren, Roger deserves this.
My only wish is that she could see what we’ve done for her.
Chapter nine
Rhett
December
Snow swirls around us as we step into the warmth of the coffee shop. It soothes the bitter chill from outside, but an ache takes root deep in my chest as I move closer to the counter. The place is strung up with red and green streamers and twinkle lights, and soft Christmas music plays through the speakers.
My throat feels raw, and a familiar pressure builds between my eyes. It always hits hard at this time of year. The absence of a person who should be by your side, the silence instead of their laughter.
