Page 144 of Chasing Ruin
Or worse.
“No?” He tilts his head, studying her like she’s some kind of experiment. “Still no words for your dear old dad?”
The worddadmakes something inside me snap. But I force it shut.
“C’mon, sweetheart,” he coaxes, voice dripping with mock warmth. “Give your old man a break. It’s a reunion, after all.” He smiles, ugly and vile. Like this whole situation is entirely amusing to him.
I watch Charlotte. Watch the way her gaze doesn’t waver. Doesn’t soften.
That hostile gleam in her eyes? It holds. Steady and unyielding.
Even when he leans closer invading her space, her armor doesn’t crack.
“Alright,” he says, voice gentle—almost paternal. “You’re probably not in the mood. What with all the…” His hand lifts, gesturing lazily at the surrounding cells.
Charlotte flinches. And that’s when I see it.
The glint.
Not from the thick silver rings wrapped around his fingers—but a knife.
Every instinct in me roars to life.
Fuck. I can’t intervene. There’s no point. I’m useless here. Completely, utterly powerless.
All I can do is sit here and pray that Wolf gets to us before I have to watch this turn into something I’ll never survive.
A soft vibration sounds. Without looking away, Hellfire grabs his phone from his jeans pocket.
That infuriating smile he’d been wearing, vanishes in an instant. He frowns before his face hardens at whatever he’s seeing on his screen.
“Well, then,” he murmurs, before abruptly shooting up. “Guess our time’s up.”
Cracking his neck, he gives her a once over and leaves after locking her cell again.
He doesn’t even look at me. Not even to see if I heard anything or if I’m awake.
I realize I’m really just here for the sickening ploy I’ve been reduced to.
The second the sound of his boots fade, Charlotte lets out a wet sigh. Her shoulders slumping. She drops her head into her hands and sobs quietly.
My whole body aches to touch her. To pull her in—shield her from this, even if it’s a lie I tell myself just to keep breathing through this nausea.
I can’t do any of it.
And still, I’d rather be here with her than anywhere else in this world. “I’m still here, baby” I rasp, forcing my voice to steady. “Look at me, yeah?”
Her head snaps up at my voice.
Shock. Relief. It floods her face so fast it nearly knocks the air out of me.
Like before, she crawls toward the bars. Close enough that I feel her presence like a tether keeping me from slipping under. “Theo,” she whispers.
Fuck. My name on her lips feels too right for a place like this. Too soft. Toomine.
My eyes fall shut, savoring it. I could die on that sound alone.
There’s only a fraction of warmth in her voice, but it’s there. And it’s because of me.
