Page 128 of Ruins
Who I am.
What I am.
How I can’t fucking breathe without her.
But then Itrulysee it.
The redness of her nose, the slight swelling of her eyes.
The way her light is already dimmed.
Because of me.
I drop my hand.
And instead of telling her the truth, I do her a favor—
I walk away.
As I shut the door, I hear it. A single, sharp, muffled sob. My chest tightens, my hand clenching into a fist at my side.
I am at a loss.
I should have stayed.
I should have fixed this.
I should have—
No.
I need to get out of here. I need to leave her be, let her be free. I pull out my phone and call Maksim. He answers on the first ring.
“My wife doesn’t know anything about her father’s dealings,” I start, my voice clipped, sharp as a blade.
“You keep her out of it.”
Maksim chuckles darkly.
“Fine.” He pauses. “Is Scythe interested in a kill?”
I exhale slowly, letting the anger curl around my ribs, a slow-burning fire igniting in my gut. “Always.”
“We’re at the warehouse,” Maksim informs, ending the call.
I text Romeo and a few of my men, sending them the address before striding outside.
The moment I step into the cool night, I let it happen. The familiar rush of adrenaline. The slow, suffocating rise of something dark and violent and untamed. I allow the animal within me to surface.
Scythe.
The name that strikes fear into men’s hearts, that makes grown men beg.
The name I earned in blood.
***
The warehouse looms in the distance, a skeletal ruin swallowed by the night. The scent of oil, blood, and damp concrete lingers in the air, mixing with something thicker—fear.
