She fought back a cry, her hands scrambling to push him off, her breaths shallow and ragged. Every nerve screamed at her to stay still.
“Do you trust the people around you?”
She forced her voice to work, choking out, “Yes,” barely more than a whisper, her vision blurring from the pain.
“Poor choice.” He straightened, wiping the blood from his nose as if it were nothing more than dirt. He grabbed a pitcher of beer, smashing the edge against the table. He thrust it against her hand, the jagged glass slicing cleanly through her pointer finger. She barely registered the shock before he flicked the severed piece into the nacho cheese.
Her scream tore from her throat, raw and ragged, as hot, sticky blood seeped between her fingers. She tried to crawl back, to escape, but he caught her by the ankle, dragging her back. His boot pressed down on her ribs, grinding against the fractured bone with merciless pressure, his gaze cold and unyielding.
“I asked,” he said, dangerously calm, “do you trust them?”
“Yes,” she managed again in a fragile rasp.
A trace of pity crossed his face “Poor, naive, Ruby.”
He stepped back, settling himself casually on the table, watching her struggle to sit up. When she finally managed it, biting down against the pain, he grinned.
“I just wanted to say hi, for now.” His foot connected with her shin, a sickening snap as her tibia fractured. She crumpled, her scream dying in her throat, pain roaring through her entire body.
“You have so much potential, but you're not ready.” He crouched beside her, his voice low, admiring. He chuckled softly, leaned in, and kissed her cheek. “I’m going to take everything from you. I’m going to destroy you, then mold your broken pieces to my desire.”
Hopelessness sank into her bones, a cold weight she couldn’t shake. Trapped and helpless, her broken body refused to move as he rose, dusted off his pants, and strode toward the exit.
With a wiggle of his fingers, he slipped through the bowling alley doors, his cheery whistling fading into the din of sirens. As the first fireman burst through the doors, Ruby crumpled, her whole body trembling, the world around her a blur of flashing lights and echoing pain.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
THE BOWLING ALLEYstood empty, every trace of her encounter erased. The fires she started had been minor, leaving only a bit of smoke, and the fireman cleared out quickly. Management sent all employees home for the rest of the day and locked the front door. Behind the shoe counter, Lucas tapped away on a laptop.
An eerie silence settled over the space, the scent of charred upholstery and stale nachos clinging to the air like a ghost. Afternoon light slanted through the high windows, casting dark lines across the polished lanes. Cold emptiness seeped into Ruby's bones, mirroring the anger simmering in her chest and the deep regret she couldn't shake.
Her argument with Jonah echoed in her mind, that rare anger sharp as a blade, cutting right through her defenses. She clenched her fists, wincing as her freshly sewn finger throbbed in protest. The pain grounded her, almost a comfort, something solid she could latch onto as her thoughts unraveled. Normally, you’d need to graft a vein in a much more complex surgery, but her body didn’t give a shit. Half an hour later she could bend it once more. Her leg had healed incorrectly, making it difficult to walk, but her ribs had knit back together efficiently.
"What were you thinking?" He had been raw, vulnerable, stripped of his usual humor. “He could’ve killed you.”
And she hated that her answer—her flimsy, cold "But he didn’t"—had only added fuel to the fire.
The paramedic glanced up as he reached for another tool. “This is going to hurt,” he warned, though the words barely registered as he swung the hammer to break her leg. She stifled a scream, grinding her teeth so hard they might shatter. The pain pulsed, hot and immediate, as she blinked back tears and forced herself to breathe.
“Do you know what it was like? Stuck in that restroom, listening to your screams,” Jonah said. “Actually, I know you do. You did the same shit to me that he did to you and your daughter.”
“It’s not the same!”
“It is. And YOU KNOW it is!” Jonah yelled back, composure broken. “We’re supposed to be partners, Ruby.”
She barely felt the cold sweat on her face as she turned her frustration on Jonah. “WHY? Why are we partners? Because of some whim of yours?” Her words cut deep, slicing through the tension, pushing him away before he could even think of finding a way in. “What can you do? If I, a thermophile, can’t stand up to him, what makes you think you could’ve done anything but get in the way? You’re just a regular ass human. You couldn’t save your sister, and you sure as hell couldn’t have saved me.”
The silence that followed cut deeper than any of Edward’s threats or the burn of her healing wounds. Jonah’s face crumpled for a fraction of a second, a flash of hurt so visceral that she wished he’d yell back at her, just to fill the crushing void between them. But he didn’t. His silence punished her in the worst way—a mirror of her own bitterness staring back at her.
“Jonah, I’m sorry, I—” Her empty words thinned against the weight of what she’d said.
He nodded stiffly, his shoulders taut, as he turned away, taking slow, measured steps. Then he paused, his voice barely above a whisper, yet as sharp as glass. “I know you didn’t mean it. But it hurt. And it pissed me off. So I’m going to take a walkand let you feel like shit about what you said. Then we’re going to sit down and discuss this, as adults.”
He left, his footsteps echoing through the empty bowling alley. She watched him go, the frustration giving way to a hollow ache. She’d ripped something precious out of her own hands and flung it away in a moment of anger.
The silence weighed heavily until Lucas broke it with a cough, making her jump. “God, the tension was practically choking me.” He gave her a wry grin.
“Shut up.” Ruby flung a bowling shoe at him. He ducked.
