Page 35 of Vows of Ruin

He hits me again, and it’s just darkness.

Twilight bleeds through the trees as I stumble out of the clearing, every inch of me aching, caked in dirt, dried blood, and sweat. My wrists burn where the rope had been, and the taste of copper still lingers on my tongue. I don’t know how long I’ve been out, but the sun is sinking fast, draping the forest in shades of violet and gray.

I brace myself against a tree. My chest heaves, vision swimming. I won’t collapse. I can’t. Not until I find Margot. I push off the tree, gasping as fire lances through my ribs. My hands shake. I keep moving. One foot, then the other. It takes what feels like forever, but I find the wreckage.

The car is mangled, twisted metal, broken glass, the scent of gasoline lingering in the air. My stomach turns. I stumble forward and find her. Margot slumped just outside the vehicle, blood crusted at her temple, lips parted slightly as she breathes shallow and slow.

Alive.

I drop to my knees beside her. Relief floods me. I choke on a sob I don’t have time for. I whisper her name, gently shaking her. No response, but she’s breathing. She’s breathing.

“Donnie,” I rasp. No answer.

I force myself up again, calling for him again. I circle the wreckage. There’s blood. Drag marks. A trail leading away from the road, into the trees. I follow it with dread clawing through my ribs. When I reach the end, it’s just his hat and sunglasses. No body.

My hand clutches the base of my throat, as I can still feel Sebastian’s fingers there. Bile rises as I stagger back. Back to Margot. I check her again, still breathing. I dig for her phone, for mine. Nothing. Everything’s gone. Stolen or destroyed.

I slump on the ground beside her, body shivering, mind slipping.

I see headlights. Twin beams cut through the trees like a goddamn miracle. Tires skid. Doors slam. Boots thunder on asphalt. “WRENLEY!” A voice, familiar and frantic, shouting my name. “WRENLEY!”

Max? Liam? I can’t tell. All I see is silhouettes sprinting toward me, all heat, shadow and desperation.

Relief crashes into me. The tension holding me upright breaks, and I crumple to the earth. A sob rips from my chest as darkness drags me under again, but not before I whisper, barely audible. “I’m here.” The world fades to black.

The hum of tires on pavement is the only sound I register at first, that, and the bone-deep ache blooming behind my eyes. I blink slowly, the world spinning before it sharpens just enough to reveal the soft interior of an SUV and Liam’s face hovering above mine.

His palm cups the side of my head, calloused and warm, steadying me as everything tilts sideways again.

“Mags?” I rasp, voice cracked and raw.

“She’s here too,” he says, gentle but firm, like he’s afraid I might splinter if he speaks too loudly. “We’ve got you, baby. We’re getting you to Doc.”

I try to sit up, but pain slices through my ribs in my chest. “Where’s Donnie?’

Liam squeezes my hand, his grip grounding even as dread churns in his eyes. “We’re going to find him,” he says, voice low but sure. “But I need you to stay awake for me, okay?”

That’s all he says, that’s all he needs to say. Even as the darkness tries to pull me under again.

Chapter Fifteen

Reaper

The SUV screeches to a stop behind Doc’s house, gravel crunching beneath the tires as Max throws it into park. Torque’s already at the door, yanking it open before we’ve even killed the engine. I’ve got Wrenley cradled in my arms, her weight limp against me, and Max is pulling Margot into his own arms just as gently.

Doc’s waiting at the door, eyes sharp, hands gloved, all business. Elias stands behind her, face pale, jaw tight, like he’s trying not to combust. He hasn’t said much since I called him, but the way his fingers twitch tells me he’s seconds away from burning the world down.

“Get them inside,” Doc says. “Reaper, if you can keep it together, I need your help.”

“Yes,” I say, already moving. “Of course.”

Max is pacing behind me like a caged animal, his fingers curling and uncurling as we lay the girls down on the exam tables. Elias doesn’t speak, just moves to the far wall, watching everything like a storm ready to break.

Doc checks Margot first. She’s finally conscious, groaning softly, her eyelids fluttering as she sees Elias. He rushes to her side. She murmurs his name, and his knees hit the floor, his legs giving out beneath him.

“She’s concussed,” Doc mutters. “Needs stitches here,” she motions to a gash near her hairline. “But stable.”

I turn my full attention to Wrenley, and that’s when I really see her.