Page 81 of Reclaim (Deadly Hearts 3)

ChapterThirty-Nine

Ruby

My nerves are shot. I’m about to tell them all about how I don’t want marriage and babies, and while I know Layton’s stance on this, what if the others think differently and I lose one or more of them over it?

Layton edges over to give me some moral support. He places his massive hand on the back of my neck, and it goes some way to calming me.

Opening my dry mouth, clutching my hands in front of me, the security light at the back of the house goes off, catching my attention.

We all turn to stare at the bedroom window.

My heart hammers in my chest when a person walks slowly past the window, her long dark hair tumbling around her shoulders. She stops and turns to face us.

Maribel.

Before any of us can move, she raises her right hand, and we see the blood pouring out of her wrist and the stained knife clutched in her fist.

I gasp, moving forward, my hand outstretched to open the window.

Her dead eyes look at me, she takes in my face and then they flick over my shoulder to Layton. I grab the window latch, but before I can turn it, she stabs herself in the side of the neck with the knife, not even flinching when the blade slides into her flesh.

“NO!” I roar and scramble to get the window open.

Maribel falls to the ground outside as I tune out the activity that has surrounded me, only Layton’s voice cutting through the horror is heard.

“Ruby,” he says, clamping his hand on my arm as I’m halfway through the window. “Don’t go out there.”

I hiss and shake him off, falling off the sill to the ground next to the bleeding woman. I place my hand around the hilt of the knife, but it’s too late.

She’s gone.

There is a trail of blood down the garden path from her slashed wrist and this finished her off quickly.

“Why?” I scream at her dead body, picking her up by the shoulders and shaking her. “Why did you do this? Dammit! Dammit, Layton! You should’ve warned me she was this far gone; I would’ve gone to her sooner…” The tears tumble down my cheeks, mingling with the blood on her body. I let her go when Declan, having followed me out of the window, reaches out for me.

“Stand up, Ruby. Go inside.”

“No, I’m not leaving her.” I shake him off.

“Ruby. This doesn’t look good,” he says quietly. “Go into the house and wash your hands.”

“No,” I growl.

Layton storms over to us, having burst through the back door and he scoops me up, flinging me over his shoulder. He marches back into the kitchen with me kicking and screaming and he places me on the kitchen counter near the sink. Wordlessly, he starts to fill the sink with warm water.

I slide off the counter, but he spins and grabs me again, replacing me.

“Don’t move,” he says in a tone so cold, my soul shivers.

“You knew she would do this?” I shriek suddenly.

“No, of course not.”

“You said she was disturbed. If you’d told me how much, I could’ve helped her.”

“She was beyond help,” he snarls.

“That’s not for you to decide,” I state.

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