In the distance, there’s a familiar voice roaring, “Ruby, where the fuck are you?”

Oh shit. That’s Uncle Hook. Michelle ratted me out.

I barely have enough time to yank my skirt into place before the door flies open and in walks the man who’s my uncle in every way but blood. He’s nearly as tall as Da, though he’s built a little leaner, his long dark hair pulled back in a messy bun and his medium-brown skin flushed with anger. “Ruby!”

He stops short at the sight of me. At the dead man at my feet. “What the fuck is going on here?”

“I can explain.” Except . . . can I? I’m still not sure I’ve processed what the fuck just happened. I had the wrong guy going down on me. Wolf killed him. And then I came all over his hand while he choked me.

Uncle Hook shakes his head. “Not another word. We’ll take care of this.”

True fear flickers to life for the first time. “You can’t tell Da. Or any of them. You can’t.”

His dark eyes are sympathetic, but he’s already shaking his head. “It’s too late, Ruby-girl. They’re already on their way to my place. They’ll beat us there.”

I’m going to kick Michelle’s ass for this. I am in so much trouble.

Uncle Hook holds out his hand, his expression devastatingly kind. “Come here. Don’t look down.”

At the dead man at my feet. The one he obviously thinks I killed.

Didn’t I?

Wasn’t there part of me that knew he couldn’t possibly be Wolf? The vibe had been off, and I didn’t question it. I didn’t want to question it. Maybe part of me wanted to punish Wolf for not being the first one to actually talk to me. Maybe part of me wanted to call his bluff.

Joke’s on me.

There’s no window to throw myself out of, and Uncle Hook takes up most of the doorway. There’s no escaping what comes next. I curse myself for my recklessness and put my hand in his. He easily urges me over the dead body and whisks me out of the bathroom. The bar itself is empty but for the bartender.

She holds up her hands when Uncle Hook cuts her a harsh look. “I saw nothing.”

“No, you didn’t.” His gaze gentles on me, but there’s no opportunity to escape here either as he hauls me through the bar and out into the waiting SUV. It’s only when we’re safely inside and driving away that he speaks to me again. “You don’t have to answer this, not to me, but if it’s easier to talk to me than your parents . . .”

Understanding dawns, bringing with it even more humiliation. He’s asking if I was assaulted. If it was a justified kill. It would be so easy to lie, but I can’t. I just can’t. Not about that. “That’s not what happened.” Yes, he kept going even after I had tried to get him to stop, but if he hadn’t been about to be murdered, I don’t know that I would have stopped him… And, sure, he wasn’t exactly honest about who he was, but I didn’t slow down enough to verify… Gods, my head hurts. Maybe it turned into an attempted assault, but that’s not the real reason he’s dead and it feels wrong to pretend he died for any other reason than the selfish impulsiveness that led me to that bar with the intent to fuck my stalker.

Uncle Hook’s shoulders dip the tiniest bit. “If you⁠—”

He doesn’t believe me. “Jesus fuck, he didn’t do anything to me I didn’t want him to. I went back there of my own free will. Things got out of control, but not like that.”

His brows slam down, but he seems to rein himself in forcibly. Probably still wondering if I’m protesting too much. This man has been a fixture in my life since I was born. He won’t believe that I killed a man in cold blood any more than my parents will.

I didn’t kill the man in question, but that seems a small-enough detail considering the fact I’m responsible for his death. More unforgivable yet is the fact that my body still thrums from what Wolf did to me. I came harder with him than I’ve ever orgasmed with anyone else before. All with a dead man at my feet.

OceanofPDF.com

8

We make the rest of the trip in silence. As promised, Hook delivers us to the tall building that houses both his family and his crew. These days, Michelle has her own suite on a completely different floor from her parents. Part of me wonders if she’ll be waiting for me too. This reeks of a shitty intervention, but that’s not fair. I’m in a mess of my own making, and as angry as I am with my best friend, if I were in her position, I can’t say I would have done anything differently. I am acting out of character. Reckless. Putting myself in danger. I can’t even argue that I’m not, because Wolf is proving himself to be a threat right down to his bones. He’s killed at least one person. Likely more.

Upstairs my parents wait for me with Aunt Tink. Mom rushes to me the second we walk through the door. She grabs my hands and surveys my body. No, she’s looking at the blood spattered across my front. “Are you hurt?”

I’m changed. Altered into something unrecognizable. But hurt? “No.”

“Who was he?” This from Dad. He’s got that look in his eyes, the one that promises violence to anyone who crosses those he cares about.

“One of mine,” Uncle Hook says. “He’s been with us for nearly a decade; he’s a bastard, but she says it was consensual.”

I give him a sharp look, not liking how he phrased that. “It was consensual.” At least to start with. But explaining that means explaining what I was really doing there, which means explaining Wolf, and I’m not ready to have that conversation.

Mom surveys me with those big dark eyes that are like staring into a mirror. “Tell us what happened.”

Now is the time to come clean. To confess that things got out of control with Wolf. To tell them that I have a stalker who’s dangerous and violent. To explain that I encouraged him despite knowing what a shitty idea it was. I don’t know why the words won’t unstick themselves from my throat. Surely it’s better to tell the truth than to have them staring at me like they’ve never seen me before.

I’m not ready to give him up yet.

I am a fool. I’m the girl in the horror movie running up the stairs even as the audience screams at me to call the cops, to yell for help, to do anything but help orchestrate my own violent death.

I have to say something, though. I take a deep breath. “Luke and I broke up. I guess I’m rebounding pretty hard, and I went looking for trouble. I was in the bathroom to hook up with that guy.” One of my fathers makes a choked sound, but I keep my gaze on my mother. “Someone came in when we were in the middle of it. A guy I don’t know. He killed, uh, the guy I was hooking up with and took off when Uncle Hook started yelling.”

“The guy.” Aunt Tink snorts. “Gods, Ruby, you don’t even know the name of the guy you’re fucking?”

Mom doesn’t look at her. “What we’re not going to do is slut shame my daughter.”

“Who’s slut shaming? I’m just commenting on good survival instincts.” She shrugs, completely unrepentant. “In the future, stick to college boys and businessmen, Ruby. And get their name first.”

“That’s enough.” Da steps between me and Aunt Tink. “Let’s go home.” He cuts me a sharp look when I start to protest. “Now is not the time to cling to your independence.”

“Okay,” I finally say, feeling very small.

He turns to Uncle Hook. “Do you need any assistance in the aftermath?”

“No. I’m going to keep this in-house. She was never there. He’s not normally one to get into bar fights, but it’s as good a story as any. You stay in this line of work long enough and old grudges have a way of catching up with you.”

They exchange a look steeped in meaning and history. “Thanks for getting our girl.”

“Anytime.” Hook glances at me. “Don’t stay mad at Michelle for too long. She was only trying to look out for you.”