The girl flinched but held her ground, fear and desperation warring in her expression. “You don’t understand,” she quavered. “He’s all I have.”
A muscle in Jonah’s jaw tightened. “All you have?” he repeated bitterly, the words catching in his throat. “You’re nothing to him but a fuel source. This isn’t love. This isn’t devotion. It’s suicide.”
The thermophile sneered at Jonah, his face a twisted mask of defiance. “She does this willingly,” he spat. “She loves me. You’re the ones who don’t understand.”
“You’re a parasite,” Jonah seethed, “A leech, feeding off someone who’s too lost to know she deserves better.”
The man laughed, a harsh, bitter sound. “And what’s she supposed to do? Walk away? What else does she have?” He pulled the girl closer, his hand gripping her shoulder. She flinched but didn’t pull away. “They don’t understand,” he murmured in a low, seductive whisper. “They’ll take me away. They’ll leave you alone. But if you stay with me, we can face anything together.”
Jonah took a step forward, his hand on the gun in his holster.
The thermy shoved the girl in front of him like a human shield, his hand flying to her neck. “Stay back,” he barked, his grip tightening as she winced. “Come any closer and I’ll snap her pretty little neck.”
Ruby stopped cold. Jonah cursed under his breath behind her.
“Let her go,” Jonah drew the gun, aiming it at the pair. “Or I’ll shoot your ass.”
“Shoot him?” Ruby barked at Jonah. “Are you out of your mind? You’ll hit her.”
Jonah’s glare slid to her. “I’ve got a clean shot.”
“You think you do,” Ruby snapped, not taking her eyes off the thermophile. The girl trembled, her lip quivering as she glanced between them. Ruby’s stomach twisted at the sight. “You fire that thing, thermy moves, and she gets hit. You want that on your conscience?”
“Do you want to let him walk out of here with her?” Jonah barked back.
The thermophile grinned, sensing the fracture between them. “You should listen to your boyfriend,” he drawled, smug and slick. “Unless you’d rather take your chances.”
Ruby smiled then—a slow, dangerous curl of her lips. “Oh, honey,” she said softly, “I don’t take chances.”
And before anyone could stop her, she moved.
Bolting forward, she swung the baton in a brutal arc. The thermophile flinched, pulling the girl tighter as he stumbled back. Ruby didn’t hesitate—she dropped low, hooking her baton behind his knee and yanking hard.
The thermophile staggered, his grip loosening enough for Ruby to grab the girl and shove her toward Jonah. “Get her out of here!” she barked.
“Ruby—” Jonah cut off as the thermophile lunged, snarling. Ruby spun, the baton cracking against his jaw with a sickening thud. He stumbled back, swiping wildly, his strength stronger than a human’s but sloppy—desperate.
He bolted for the window.
“Oh, no you don’t,” Ruby muttered.
She charged him, shoulder-first, slamming her full weight into his side. The world tilted. Glass crunched against her limbs as they smashed through the window, air ripping past her face as they plummeted. She twisted mid-fall, forcing him underneath her as they hit.
The impact slammed through her body like a freight train. The thermophile crumpled beneath her as the roof of a rusted car caved in with a shriek of twisted metal.
Ruby groaned, rolling onto her side, glass raining around her.
“Ruby!” Jonah yelled from above, footsteps pounding as the girl screamed. Flashlights swept over the lot as TCA agents poured in, shouting orders.
Ruby pushed herself up, her ribs screaming in protest as she planted her baton into the crumpled hood and hauled herself to her feet. The thermophile lay sprawled, dazed and twitching as two agents rushed forward with a syringe.
Jonah appeared a moment later, out of breath and furious, with the girl in tow. His glare snapped to Ruby as she dusted herself off, wincing.
“You’re insane,” he growled.
Ruby grinned, popping her baton shut with a flick of her wrist. “I’m fine, thanks for asking.”
Jonah shook his head, muttering something under his breath as he checked on the girl. Ruby let out a long, shaky breath, her heart still pounding in her chest as the TCA loaded the thermophile into the waiting vehicle.
