Page 69 of Ravaged and Ruined
My eyes snap to the door as it crashes open, slamming against the inside wall hard enough to rattle the wood. Garett storms in, his suit jacket’s gone, tie loosened and hanging crooked, like it’s choking the life out of him. His sleeves are rolled to his elbows, exposing the black ink coiled up his arm.
Five more fucking minutes and I’ll be free enough to choke him with that tie.
He stops halfway between me and Lacey, right where the pregnancy test lies on the floor like a landmine. Disgust twisting his mouth.
“I had plans for us, Love, and this wasn’t part of it.” he sneers, flipping the stick over with the toe of his polished shoe like that will erase the truth.
“Don’t call her that.” I spit at his feet. He inches closer like the predator he’s always been. I shift just enough to keep working the rope, praying he doesn’t notice how loose it’s getting.
“You’re in no position to make orders.” he says, crouching in front of me. “Hell, there’s nothing stopping me from killing you right here and taking her with me.”
“You do that,” I growl, “and you’ll never find out what happened to your shipment.”
He waves a hand like he’s brushing off a fly. “That’s Sophia’s interest, not mine.”
“So you’re planning to screw her over too?” I snap. “Betray your own blood?”
His eyes flare. “I warned you to stay the fuck out of my way.”
He raises the gun and presses the muzzle to my forehead. The cold steel bites deep. Lacey gasps behind him, the sound like a blade slicing through my already broken ribs.
“I told you,” I grit out, “she’s not yours. She’ll never be yours.”
He turns his head, slow and deliberate, to look at her and I scrap the rope again. Another few seconds and I’m free.
“Keep your eyes open, Love. I want you to see what happens when someone crosses me.”
Lacey’s quiet, but I can feel her eyes on me. Holding it together by sheer will.
Garett swings his head back to me, his thumb tapping the safety off. I grip the rope harder. Almost there. Almost there…
“You touch him and I’ll put a bullet between your eyes,” Sophia says, voice cold, heels clicking sharp against the old floorboards.
Garett rises, grabbing Sophia by the arm and yanking her back where the dim edge of a window throws broken moonlight across the floor.
“You’re out of control Sophia. He’s never going to tell us what you want to know and he’s never going to crawl back to you.”
They stare each other down, a storm of rage thick in the stale air between them.
“Don’t pretend this is about the shipment or taking over Daddy’s organization. This is about your sick obsession with her.”
Their voices drop lower as they argue near the back wall, but I’ve heard enough to know the enemy isn’t united. That’s our advantage.
I shift my wrist, twist just enough to feel another strand snap. Almost there.
Somewhere outside the building, a roar like thunder rips through the foundation. It shakes the whole damn floor beneath us. Dust rains from the rafters. Wood creaks like it might collapse.
“What the fuck was that?” Garett barks.
“Find out. Now.” Sophia snaps back.
Their men scramble past the door like ants kicked from a nest, shouting orders, grabbing weapons. Garett and Sophia are right behind them, vanishing into the chaos.
I yank again, this time with everything I’ve got, and the jagged piece of wood I’ve been grinding into the rope finally bites deep enough. The bind snaps and I nearly collapse with the release. My arms fall forward, deadweight for a beat. I shake them out, and roll to my side. I rip the remaining ropes from my body, blood pounding in my ears. Adrenaline hits like a freight train and I crawl to Lacey.
She gasps. “Aero.”
“I got you.” My hands are already at her wrists, my bloodied fingers working the knots.
