Page 24 of Unlocking Ruin

Yes, I was head over heels, yet I still couldn’t admit it out loud. So I acted; actions speak louder than words.

Rylan’s large, lonely green eyes, framed by her brown hair, spoke to me. Begged me to help. Hooked all the depraved parts of me and the heroic parts; the few I had anyway.

I was going to save her—from the others.

From me? That verdict was still pending.

I needed one thing: she was my key to getting revenge. But the more I watch, the more I crave. The more I question the after.

What will I do after I taste vengeance? Can I convince Rylan to let me have her?

Rylan and I share a twisted trait: we both botched a job to set something right. She has no clue what I botched, what lines I crossed, what bridges I burned; if she did, she’d be on her knees in gratitude.

I don’t want a desperate thank you. I want her kneeling, by choice.

The sedation works. Lifting her up, I carry her to her bed and take care to lay her down and prop up her ankle. I can’t leave yet; I watch her sleep until dawn. By then, the cops have finished their rounds. I carry her through her backyard into mine—renting the house behind hers has its advantages.

Not that I’m stalking her.

Well, I am, but it’s also for her safety. Consider me a private guard.

Rylan doesn’t know she’s prey for more than just me. She needs me, and soon she will come to understand just how badly she does.

I settle her in the back seat of my SUV, buckling her in carefully. I even bring a pillow so her head has somewhere soft to land, and a blanket.

Sliding into the driver’s seat, I text my team:

The Poacher:

Wings up.

I’ll reach the private airport in twenty minutes. To play it safe, I call Alister Baine—the man who asked me to watch Rylan, and a founder of BANKS Corp—before we board. If Alister’s tracking me, he’ll see this spot, not the airport.

Ring, ring. That sound pulls a grin across my face.

The call picks up. No hello, but then again, why would Alister Baine greet me? The old man’s been trying to control me since my father died.

“I’ve got her,” I admit. Which means I’ve got Alister right where I want him. I’m the only lunatic who’s ever managed to back him into a corner.

The thrill surges through me. I should be celebrating—and I will, with Rylan.

Alister’s exhale of relief curls a twisted grin across my face. He thinks Rylan’s safe. He thinks he’s won. If this were a game of chess, I’d be a pawn.

But guess what? I crossed the board and survived, which means I can be reborn into anything I want. A king? I look in my rearview mirror at Rylan. Perhaps I want a queen?

I clear my throat purposely, dragging out the rasp. “There’s been a change of plan. I’m keeping Rylan,” I inform Alister in a casual, confident tone. The tone he taught me to use when negotiating.

Ironic now, isn’t it, old man?

You see, Alister hired me to watch Rylan, then to get her out when shit hit the fan. Alister has no idea I had been watching Rylan for years before his request.

Like Rylan, I’m botching a job; I’m keeping her.

For a long moment, the phone line is quieter than a graveyard. His silence speaks to his shock, the disbelief that I just placed a knife in his back. Alister’s processing yet another betrayal in BANKS Corp.

“What did you say?” he finally asks, his voice sounding like molten iron, bubbling, fighting the forced mold I’m pouring him into.

“You’re going to get me Nelson.”