Page 60 of Ruthless

“Go,” Chaz growled.

Trevor bowed out, shaking his head as he walked back toward the van. Victor burst into laughter, a sound that made my insides ache with fear. I took a deep breath as they climbed back inside, leaving me alone with my brother and his men…

And whoever was in the Bronco—which happened to be theonlyreason I was okay with being left with my brother.

“That’s that,” Chaz muttered as the van began to back up. “Thank God.”

“Can we go now?” Jacob, one of his men, asked.

“Yeah, let’s get the fuck out of here before that dumbass changes his mind.” Chaz looked at me, his face darkening. “What the hell happened between the two of you?”

“Nothing,” I lied. “I had to make friends.”

“Bet you made more than that,” Victor seethed, his tone sending a shudder through my body. “The fucking things I’d do—”

“Shut the fuck up,” Chaz shouted, spinning around and shoving Victor back. “Just because she’s here doesn’t mean you can talk about her again.” Victor chuckled, but Chaz ignored it. “You’re not riding with us. Your ride is over there, and you can fucking thank him when you get in, because he saved all of our asses.”

I knew it.

I held back the tears of relief as I left the three of them, nearly sprinting to Lucas’s Bronco. I ripped the passenger door open to see my partner sitting in the driver’s seat, a look of relief on his face as well. I climbed inside and pulled on my seatbelt, leaning back against the seat.

“He’s a sick fuck,” Lucas grunted, his eyes focused ahead.

I shifted my gaze to see who I already knew he was talking about, and my eyes locked with Victor’s. Bile shot up the back of my throat and I nearly vomited all over the dash of Lucas’s car. I wrapped my arms around myself and turned to Lucas.

“Get me out of here.”

“You don’t have to ask me twice,” he said, giving me a smile before pulling out and leaving the SUV. I caught sight of the van ahead of us, and I wondered if they could see I was in the Bronco with Lucas, and not with Victor. Maybe that would bring Trevor some peace… Because it had to be over between us.

And it was back to real life for me.

“I didn’t want to get out and muddy the waters,” Lucas said blankly as he turned onto the highway, heading toward home. “I knew you recognized me on the phone, and I have a good feeling they knew I was there, but yeah.”

I nodded, a million questions burning in my mind. “Tyson…”

“Yeah, the asshole deserved it,” Lucas snapped, shaking his head.

My eyes widened, surprised by this side of Lucas. He hated seeing people get the fate some would say they deserved. “So… You knew about his past?”

“Yes, well,” he paused to look over at me. “Not until after you were gone. I always thought something was off with him—but younevertold me how fucking awful he treated you, Rachel. He used you to start dealing drugs for your brother. He got in with that fuckingsickowho is obsessed with you.”

“Yeah, it’s bad,” I said with a heavy sigh. “I told you it was bad.”

“I had no idea it wasthisbad,” he groaned, running his fingers through his hair. “I don’t want you living alone.”

“What?” I turned to him, an incredulous look on my face. “Since when do you tell me what to do, Luke?”

“I’ve had to dig into my past to get you out of this mess,” Lucas began, his voice calm. “And those same people will ensure thatnothinghappens to you.”

“What people? What about your past?” I demanded, folding my arms across my chest. “I know that you have ties to the mafia. Ialsoknow that you know who Axle really is—some mafia guy named Trevor.”

His face tensed and then he turned to me, coming to a stop at a gas station. “Yeah, you don’t know about my past, and I’ve kept it out of my life… But Ihadto help you, Rachel. You’re like a fucking sister to me, and I couldn’t let you suffer because your brother is the scum of the earth.”

He ignored the part about Trevor.

But I had other questions. “So, Tyson made the deal with Victor to come and get me for two million dollars?”

Lucas nodded. “Yeah, I found out the night Tyson took off at the drop. I thought he was just playing hero, but then I went through some of Tyson’s shit. I don’t know. I don’t understand how the hell he got in so deep. He owed Chaz a lot of money, and Victor…”

---