Page 57 of Unlocking Ruin

I knew the moment he led Rylan back to her room, his fist would find me next. Rylan screamed my name so loudly that there’s no way he had missed it.

Part of me wants to ruin his hearing, so he’ll never hear her moan my name in pleasure again.

My giant younger brother lifts me by the collar, the material burning under my arms as it stretches under my weight; I’m suspended in midair. I respond to his glare with a low, dark chuckle.

He’s massive, but I could drop him flat in a heartbeat if I wanted to.

“You’re fucking it all up!” he barks while dropping me. My feet hit the ground hard, but my back suffers from the strain of the heavier impact. All this deception is making my knees hurt.

Stand strong, get over it! You’re not stopping now just because you grew feelings for Rylan.

Feelings? I reject my inner voice.

It’s more than a feeling; it’s a desperate, gnawing need to see her, touch her, and make her love me before the truth emerges.

“That must be why I want Rylan,” I say, standing as tall as I can. Every breath stings, promising a week of pain. I rub my ribs, grateful nothing’s broken. “She fucks things up. So do I. That’s why we’re perfect.”

A vein pulses in Torben’s neck. With a fur coat, he’d blend in perfectly on a Viking set. And that ridiculous man bun—who actually wears those?

“Stop this while you still can,” he begs, his accent thickening as he speaks. Torben attended school mainly in Scandinavia, while my father sent me to an exclusive boarding school in Vermont. We didn’t get to spend much time together until we were older—more ruthless and capable of killing to protect each other. That’s how our world works: you don’t risk putting all your eggs in one basket; you diversify and spread them apart in case an enemy ever gets close enough to crack and ruin one.

Like a sword, Torben raises his finger. “Loyalty only extends so far. Taking Rylan is one thing; fucking her is another. Alister will kill you for this.”

My gaze wanders to the window. My feet start to lead me there. Rylan’s breath still clouds the glass. With a smirk, I wipe it away, feeling the final trace of her warmth on my fingertips. “He won’t kill me.” I press my fingers to my lips, remembering her taste.

I knew Rylan wanted me. All it took was a few pokes to get her to admit it. Neither of us can help this. It’s like a new gravity demanding we fuse. You’d never believe it unless you could experience it. It’s unparalleled, the kind of emotion people dream about but think will never come true.

“Alister will do worse.” Torben approaches and rests his hand on my shoulder.

I remember when he was small and so thin, I worried he’d fall and just snap in half. Then years went by. I didn’t see him, but we spoke on the phone. We met for the summer, and I still remember my shock. The school dad sent Torben to stole my baby brother and spat out a man so quiet and cold I found myself unsure how to act around him for the first month.

The unyielding mountain of Torben’s hand presses down on my shoulder. “Alister will take Rylan from you and hide her so deep not even our resources could unearth her. Your skin survived the fire that claimed our father. It won’t survive the knife in Alister’s hand.”

I knock his hand away. My gut hardens to iron, my spine to steel. “Let him try.”

“It’s not just a betrayal to Alister. You betrayed Henderson. He will come for us too.”

Henderson. Rylan’s half-brother looks similar to her. Ivory skin, dark brown hair like their father, and just as slim as her. A genetic trait that also keeps Alister lean in his older years. Henderson never could hold onto muscle like Torben could, so he turned to a different weapon to survive.

“I can convince Henderson to forgive me.”

“But can you forgive yourself?” Torben fires back. “Rylan is in our world now because of you.”

“She is where fate deems her to be.”

A wave of emotion simmers under Torben’s breath. Once more, my phone rings loudly, breaking the tension.

“Henderson is your enemy now,” Torben grunts, dropping onto the couch to sit; he makes the three-seater appear cramped.

“Henderson is not my enemy,” I bite. Exasperation is evident on Torben’s face as he shakes his head.

“He’ll forgive me. I’m protecting her.”

“By fucking her against the window?”

Rage flashes through me. “Stay in the guesthouse.”

“No.”