Page 51 of Chasing Ruin
He shakes his head reluctantly.
“The difference is… they acknowledged my pain. My hurt. My anger. Not—not their guilt. They created space for my peace, not their penance.That, Ruin, is the difference.”
Twice. I’ve said his name twice in the past two years. I think I’m done for a while.
The silence stretches, heavy and deep. The only sounds are from his occasional tattered breaths. He looks almost completely elsewhere.
An hour passes and he finally mumbles that the lockdown is lifted. His eyes never lifting from his phone.
The first thing I notice when I enter the clubhouse is the grim yet enraged face of every single brother. Hound is pacing around his Ol’ Lady. Guess having her so close to the line of fire must’ve shaken him. Scar and Bulldog are in a corner, deep in conversation, but their faces are utterly dark. Spike is next to them, nodding along.
The whole atmosphere is foreboding and I can’t seem to stop wondering if they blame me. Again.
Finally, I enter Wolf’s office. Ryder is standing behind his desk, arms crossed.
That’s when I notice the second thing. Wolf’s arm. Dried blood still marks his skin, as though cleaned haphazardly. A white bandage peeking under his left sleeve.
Ruin and I take the seats across from Wolf’s desk. The silence doesn’t help anything, and for a moment I realize I haven’t actually looked at him yet.
When I finally do, my chest tightens. His face is streaked with dried tears, but his eyes are empty now—dry, distant. He’s staring at a phone in his hand like it holds the answer to something he can’t solve. I don’t think he’s even noticed that Ruin and I walked in.
Ryder places a gentle hand on his shoulder, and Wolf jolts like he’s been shocked. “Charlotte,” he croaks when he looks up.
Relief softens his entire face. His eyes close as he exhales, a small, exhausted smile touching his lips. He clears his throat. “You okay?”
For once, I don’t have a comeback ready. No sharp retort. No venom. The devastation I saw in Ruin earlier feels tremendously small compared to what I’m seeing in Wolf.
So I answer honestly. “No. Someone was shot. The compound was hit. And I’m not sure this club can handle Hell’s Army alone.”
Ruin and Ryder both bristle at my bluntness.
But Wolf? He simply nods. “You’re right. We—”
He stops mid-sentence, like the words refuse to form. Then he straightens slowly, squaring his shoulders. The shift is immediate. “Alright,” he says evenly. “I promised transparency, so here it is.”
My lips part as dread coils in my stomach. I’ve clearly missed something in the past few hours, especially judging by the bandage wrapped around his arm.
“This morning, Ryder and I were overseeing our usual weapons shipment—with the Nomads and the Reapers. But we—”
“You said it was delayed,” Ruin snaps.
“Quiet,” Wolf growls, exhaustion bleeding through his voice. “But… we were ambushed. The Nomads lost their VP—”
Ruin stiffens beside me while Ryder drops his head.
“—and the Reapers lost a prospect. We’ve also lost the Reapers’ alliance.”
My stomach twists. This… this isclub business. Why are they telling me this?
Wolf must see the shock on my face, because he gives me a tired, almost rueful smile. “Transparency, Charlotte.” He pauses, swallowing hard. “We also lost the shipment that was supposed to help us deal with Hell’s Army. So right now, we’re stretched thin until the next supply comes in.”
Ruin curses quietly beside me.
God.This isn’t just about me, is it? Hell’s Army isn’t just targeting me. They’re hurting everyone here.
“We… we also learned something else,” Wolf says.
His voice cracks horribly. His eyes squeeze shut, and for a terrifying moment I think he’s going to cry. “We learned the reason you came to the club when you were fourteen… was because Da—Savage got you out of a buyer contract. You were…” His voice falters, staring at me with pained eyes. “Charlotte, you were being sold to the Romanian Mafia’s flesh trade.”
