Ruby stayed stiff in his arms for a beat before relaxing slightly. “Indisposed at the moment,” she said quietly. She pulled back just enough to meet his eyes, the weight of what she needed sinking in her chest. “I’m going to burn him. And I need to do it alone.”
Jonah’s expression shifted immediately, the relief draining from his face. “What?” he seethed. “Why?”
She looked down, hesitating before she met his gaze again, her own steely and determined. “I need to know he’s dead. But I also need to make sure no one else ever finds out how he turns people into thermophiles.”
Jonah’s brows furrowed. “And you don’t trust me?”
The accusation hit her harder than she’d expected. Ruby flinched. “It’s not about trusting you,” she said, quieter now but no less firm. “It’s about the people who might use that information against you. Against your family. If he spits it out, the TCA would want it. His followers would want it. Hell, anyone in power would want it. And I…” She faltered, the words catching in her throat. “I can’t let that happen. Not to you.”
Jonah’s jaw ticked. “He killed my sister.”
Ruby’s face hardened. “He killed my daughter,” she hissed. “And he made me into a monster.”
The air between them thickened with tension, neither willing to look away.
“I’m sorry,” Ruby said after a beat, her tone still sharp, “but I outrank you there.”
Jonah’s hands clenched into fists, but he didn’t argue.
She sighed, softening just a fraction. “I’m not asking you, Jonah. I’m telling you. If I wanted, I could lock you back up in here.” She gestured toward the chair he’d just been freed from. “But I won’t—if you agree to let me do this on my own.”
His expression twisted with disbelief. “Why even bother telling me?” he snapped, throwing his hands in the air.
“Because we’re partners?” she said, her answer weak and unconvincing even to her own ears. She gestured toward a nearby panel of monitors. “You can watch from here. There’s no sound. But the TCA will be here soon, so I have to do it now.”
Jonah looked at her, his anger and confusion warring with something deeper—something like heartbreak. After a long, heavy silence, he finally pulled her into another hug, his grip tighter this time, as though trying to memorize the feel of her. Then, without another word, he sat in the chair facing the screens.
Ruby lingered for a moment, watching him, before turning and walking away.
She made her way to the baby aisle, her boots scuffing against the linoleum as she approached the towering shelves. Grabbing several boxes of cribs, she hefted them effortlessly over her head and carried them back to Edward. He watched her silently, his head tilted with what might have been curiosity.
Dropping the boxes beside him with a loud thud, Ruby didn’t pause. She turned on her heel and headed for the seasonal clearance section. There, amidst a chaotic mix of inflatable pool toys and forgotten summer stock, she grabbed the biggest bottleof lighter fluid she could find. Her hand hovered briefly over a pack of bendable lighters before snatching one up.
With the supplies in hand, she made her way back toward Edward, her steps steady and her expression unreadable.
“Wanna know a secret?” Edward rasped as Ruby yanked the final vacuum pole away, its jagged edges shrieking against the linoleum.
She didn’t answer, her focus fixed on the crib boxes she tore apart. Wooden slats spilled out in a cascade, and she stacked them into a crude pyre, the movements methodical and sharp.
“I developed a cure,” Edward continued lightly, conversational despite the situation. “Gave it to the government. And they did nothing with it.”
Ruby froze mid-motion, her hands gripping one of the slats tightly. Her head whipped up. She searched his face for any sign of a lie, scanning every twitch, every flicker of emotion.
He grinned lazily, tilting his head as if daring her to call his bluff.
Her jaw tightened as she turned her attention back to the pyre, finishing her work. She dragged him toward the planks and propped him up, tying him in place with the long HDMI cord she’d grabbed from the technology aisle.
“You’re lying,” she snarled.
“I could be,” he admitted, shrugging as much as the restraints would allow. His posture slumped against the bindings, a mockery of defeat. “But I’m not. I didn’t start like this, you know. I found the cure. I gave it to anyone I thought could make a difference—the police, the government, anyone who’d listen.”
Ruby kept her expression blank, though her knuckles whitened as she tied the last knot.
“They all knew,” Edward continued, his tone dripping with bitterness. “And they did nothing. Not a damn thing. I thoughtI could spur them into action—burn a few bodies, infect a few others, get them to see. To use what I’d given them. But they didn’t care. They just covered up the ones I burned and burned the ones I didn’t. Made excuses—wars to be fought, soldiers who think their infection is permanent fight harder. So they buried it all.”
Ruby paused, the can of lighter fluid clutched in her hand. She wasn’t sure if it was the venom in his words or the hint of truth they carried that made her stomach churn.
“And then,” Edward added with a small, cruel smile, “I realized I enjoyed it. The burning. The desperation in their eyes. The power.”
