Page 28 of Vows of Ruin

He groans as the words break him open. His hands drag down my thighs again, firm and claiming, before he pushes into me with one strong, aching thrust. We both gasp, me at the fullness, the stretch; him at the way I clutch him like I might never let go. We move together. Not soft, not slow. This is a claim.

His hand finds the back of my neck, holding me still as he kisses me deep and relentlessly. I rake my nails down his back, marking him the way he’s marking me. His hips fire harder, faster. His name falls from my lips between gasps.

“God, Wrenley,” he growls. “You’re going to ruin me.”

“You first,” I whisper, lips brushing his ear.

He groans deep, guttural, and with a final shuddering thrust, we both come undone, clutching each other like lifelines. I collapse back onto the table, breathing hard. His forehead rests against mine, our skin slick and trembling, our bodies wrecked.

There’s blood on the floor. There’s a body cooling five feet away. But he looks at me like I’m salvation. And I feel it, the vow burning into my chest.

He touches my face again, gentle now. “You’re fucking unstoppable.”

I smirk, tugging him closer by the back of his neck. “Don’t forget it.”

I tug my shirt back over my head, still breathless, the echo of Liam’s body pressed to mine not yet faded from my skin. The scent of blood lingers, iron and final, I don’t flinch when the door opens.

Torque steps in first, grinning like the bastard just walked into his favorite scene. Wrecker’s behind him, whistling low under his breath, and Hunter brings up the rear, eyes scanning the room with the cool professionalism I’ve come to depend on.

They all know. They were here when I jumped him. I can see it in the way they’re trying not to laugh, the sideways glances at Liam’s flushed face and my still-damp hair. I don’t care. Let them look. Let them know.

Hunter crouches beside the body without a single word of judgment, just calm, trained movements. He plucks the dagger from the woman’s neck, wipes it on her now ruined blouse, then rises to hand it back to me.

“Here you go, Miss Wrenley.” He places it in my palm like a gift of honor.

“Riot called,” Torque adds from behind him. “Her house is secure. He and Elias are with her now.”

“I’ll have a couple of guys help me take care of this. We’ll find out who she was and get everything to Elias.” Hunter continues.

I meet his eyes, not letting go of his hand yet. “Hunter,” I say. “We don’t pay you near enough.”

His mouth tips into the faintest smile. “No ma’am, you don’t.”

He turns, already barking orders into his phone before the door fully shuts behind him. His efficiency is a comfort, cold, clean, and surgical.

Torque claps Liam on the shoulder as he walks past, eyes still gleaming. “Well,” he says with that shit-eating grin, “Milkshakes on the way home.”

I snort, shaking my head. “You know it. Extra whipped cream.”

Liam’s hand brushes mine, grounding me, and I squeeze it once before letting go. Silently telling him that I am not going to fall apart.

“We should go,” I say, already walking toward the door. “Let’s share what we’ve learned.”

There’s blood behind me, a dead woman cooling on the floor, and a brother out there with my name carved into his obsession.

But right now? I feel powerful. Untouchable. Alive. Unafraid.

Chapter Thirteen

Reaper

Wrecker burst through the front door like the wrecking ball he is, on too much caffeine, already mid-story. “I swear on everything holy, I just watched the most epic thing I’ve ever seen.”

Elias doesn’t even look up from this laptop. “Better than Hugo shoving Riot into the koi pond? Because that was cinematic genius.”

Wrecker grins so hard his cheeks practically crack. “So much better. Our ruthless queen stood up, said absolutely nothing, and then threw a fucking dagger into that chick’s neck. One shot, clean, dead.”

The room freezes. Max turns toward Wrenley, eyebrows raised. “You did what?”