Page 72 of Ruthless

Untilfinally, the same door that we had escaped from opened again, and out walked Lucas, covered in blood. I gasped at the sight, but he didn’t appear injured otherwise. I headed for the third row of seating behind, still waiting for Trevor to appear.

Lucas swung the door open, letting out a sigh. “That was a fucking mess.”

“Appears to be,” Gifford grumbled. “Take that shirt off so you don’t get blood all over my seats.”

“Yeah, okay,” Lucas said, pulling his shirt over his head. He tossed it into the floorboard and then peered into the backseat at me. “He’s coming, Rach. I promise. He’s fine.”

I nodded, unsure of what to even say to him. So… I waited, my eyes transfixed on the door of Victor’s house. I didn’t want to know what was taking him so long, but I wished he would hurry up.

“You okay?” Lucas turned to face me in the seat.

I realized in that moment, that he looked a lot like Trevor—more than I had ever realized before. “I think so. He didn’t get very far with his plans.”

“Yeah, I know. I’m so sorry that I didn’t notice the cameras going dark. I should’ve never let anything happen to you.”

“It’s okay,” I choked out, suddenly seeing Trevor appear from the corner of my eye. My heart jumped as he trotted to the SUV, his face blank. Unlike Luke, he didn’t have much blood on him. But still, he stripped his shirt off before opening the car door.

“It’s done,” he said, nodding as he climbed inside. As soon as he closed the door behind him, Frank took off, stomping the gas.

“So, you’ll send someone to clean up?” Trevor climbed between the seats, plopping down next to me.

“Of course,” Gifford replied. “And I will let you have the night with Rachel. We will drop you off at her house, but then I expect to see you in the morning.”

“Of course,” Trevor answered, glancing over to me. Part of me expected him to touch me or hold my hand, but he did nothing like that. In fact, he put more space between us and avoided my eyes…

The entire hour-long drive.

I was ready to burst when I finally exited the SUV at my house, halfway expecting him not to follow me out. However, surprisingly, he climbed out behind me, and the SUV pulled away.

“We need to talk,” he said in a flat voice. “You were just a pawn to get me to my father.”

I blinked back the tears, shaking my head. “I know, and I’m sorry. I didn’t want to do it…”

“But did you mean your feelings?” He demanded, his voice straining. “Because I might have saved you from Victor and I might fuckingdiefor you, Rachel, but I’m not going to be used.”

I studied his face, which was riddled with pain and heartache. “Idofeel all those things for you, Trevor. I mean, yeah, it was really fucking complicated. I waskidnapped.And I don’t know why I fell for you, but it wasn’t just some kind of sick kink or something.”

“I never said that it was. But I know that you used me because you thought that might be the way to survive,” he argued, his tone colder than I expected. “I don’t blame you for it, but I can’t be that for you. I might be some coldblooded killer, but you’re something different than anything or anyone else.

His words brought tears to my eyes, and I wiped them away, my eyes drifting toward the woods around my house. I struggled to even find the words, with only three actually coming to my mind. Taking a deep breath, I met his ghostly eyes, looking warmer than ever beneath the moonlight.

“I love you,” I whispered.

He nodded, his eyes drifting away from mine. “You mean that?”

I stepped toward him, grabbing his hand and squeezing it tight. “Yeah, I mean that. I love you, Ghost Eyes,” I laughed as I said his nickname, feeling silly for saying it outside of the confines of the basement.

“Well,” he let out a chuckle. “I don’t know why the fuck you call me that, but I love you too, princess.” He placed a kiss on the top of my head and pulled me into him. “And I’ll never let anyone fucking hurt you again.”

Epilogue

Trevor

One year later…

“It’s kind of extensive to have a view like this,” Nate glanced out the window of my NYC penthouse. “Are you sure that your biker boys are gonna wanna visit this place?”

“Yeah, they’ve already been here twice.” I glanced out the window, taking in the skyline. “I don’t find it that excessive, really. You’re the one with the excessive luxury over there, you fuckin’ mob boss.”

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