Page 91 of Ravaged Devotion

He covered his head and clenched his jaw so hard his teeth ached. The logical part of his brain was telling him it all added up, but the rest of him…the rest of him refused to believe it.

Because even if Ryker hated him, he’d never want to kill him…right?

There’d been ample opportunity for him to do so. Hell, according to the Black Hart, he’d spent the past six months waltzing into Rue’s bedroom at night and taking him in his sleep. That was all types of illegal, horrible, and wrong. It certainly amounted to some form of revenge against him, didn’t it? Not to mention everything else he’d done. All the other ways he’d tortured Rue.

Hadn’t that been enough?

Enough to make Ryker no longer wish for his life, if he’d ever wanted to take it at all?

But then what if this wasn’t about Rue? What if it wasn’t Rue he was after here, but the rest of them? His dad and Rue’s mom? The board? If the other Black Harts were in on it, it made sense that the three of them had been so adamant about going outside on their own.

Shit!

He’d completely lost track of time! They were supposed to create the distraction so Ryker and the others could make their way back to the main lodge. What if—

The banging abruptly stopped and Rue went still all over again, listening intensely. He had no clue how long he sat there, pants seeping up the gore beneath him, but eventually the sound of the door opening had him flinching, and he curled in on himself even more, as if that would make any sort of difference against a massive monster with razor sharp teeth and claws.

The closet door eased open and he shrunk in on himself, eyes still squeezed shut.

“Rue,” Ryker’s voice was low, close, “Sweetheart?”

A sound escaped his lips before he could help it, and despite all of his suspicions, Rue found himself practically throwing himself at the Black Hart, arms latching around his neck in a burst of energy.

Ryker pulled him out of the closet and held him tightly, giving him a moment, seemingly content to stand there and wait as they both processed the fact that neither was hurt.

“The others?” Uriel was the one to shatter the moment, and Rue lifted his head to find him and Ellery standing just outside the office, the latter keeping watch.

“We got separated,” Rue told them. “One of those things is inside.”

“We know.”

“It was just here.”

“I saw the claw marks on the door,” Ryker said, pulling Rue back in for another hug, as if he hadn’t fully convinced himself that Rue was here and all right. “I thought…I was so worried.”

“Must have smelled the dead body and figured there was nothing in here for it,” Ellery surmised, glancing quickly at Cosima’s corpse.

Reminded that it was there—and that his butt and the back of his thighs were soaked with all sorts of disgusting juices, Rue grimaced. “Can we…?”

“Ell and I will go hunt down the monster,” Uriel offered. “You and Rue go find the others. Safety in numbers.”

“What he means is,” Ellery corrected bluntly, “don’t be afraid to toss one of them as bait if you need to.”

Rue glared at him, but he wasn’t paying them any attention, still sweeping their surroundings.

“Let’s check the rest of this floor,” Ell suggested, slapping Uriel’s arm with the back of his hand.

“Here.” Ryker pulled the blaster from his waistband and held it out, but Ellery shook his head.

“Keep it.”

“You’re literally going up against that thing on purpose. You need all the ammunition you can get.”

“I don’t trust any of those pricks currently hiding,” Ellery stated.

“He’s right,” Uriel agreed solemnly. “They’ll use you as bait just as easily as you’ll use them. Don’t let your guard down around anyone but each other.”

“None of us Black Harts are dying here,” Ell said, sending a quick grin their way before he wandered off, leaving his cousin to follow.