Page 23 of Ruined By the Rook


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Rook

“Stay the fuck away from my sister!” Luka shouts. I fight Vin and King’s hold trying to go for him again. Bishop and Knight hold Luka back.

“Fuck you! You fucking got my kid killed.” His eyes slam closed as guilt washes over him. “You don’t get to fucking close your eyes like a coward, look at me, you fucking pussy!” He does as he’s told and holds my gaze. When I see nothing but self-loathing and hatred in his gaze, something inside me tells me to stop. I take deep calming breaths trying to reign in my temper. I can’t blame him completely, even though I want to. I should have gone to Bishop the moment I found out Clare was pregnant, he could have helped us. Instead, I thought I could handle this shit on my own. If I’m honest, I’m angrier at myself than Luka. “You think because you told her that I knew where she was that she would hate me?”

“One can only hope,” he mutters beneath his breath.

“Why the fuck didn’t you tell me, Luka? That was my baby,myfucking kid and the love of my life.” His eyes narrow to slits but I push on. “I fucking love your sister, Luka. She is my first love and shewillbe my last whether you like it or not. She will be part of this family. You can either accept that or walk the fuck out that door and wait for someone to put a bullet in your fucking head because you know the only way out is in a box!”

“I never wanted her to be a part of this life. Clare is too good for this world, Rook, you have to know that. I thought by staying away from her and my dad would keep her safe from Tony. After he died, I could have reached out to them but I didn’t because they would want to be a part of my life. I’m too far into this world now, our enemies would use her as a way to get to me so I would sell Bishop out.” What he says resonates with me and I get his reasoning but I still can’t let go of him not telling me about Tony.

“How’d you know it was Tony that hurt Clare?” He shakes his head.

“I didn’t, not for sure until she turned up here and saw you again. I saw it in her eyes, she never would have run from you if someone didn’t threaten your life. I know my sister, Rook. It broke her to leave you, for you to think the worst of her it killed her. She has no idea that dad and I talked weekly until you went missing. I broke all contact in fear that whoever took you would track down my family. I’m sorry about the baby, I really am, but you need to understand that my sister was my first priority and ensuring she was safe from Tony meant her being away from you andme.” I hate to admit it but he makes sense and I respect that. “Clare won’t tolerate you killing people, she is good and loves everyone. Fuck.” He scrubs a hand down his face. “Do you know how hard it was to tell my own sister she had to move out when I know she can’t afford rent?”

“She has a place, withme!” I defend. “You did what you could to get her away from our father and try to keep her safe but she still found her way back to me. I won’t let her go a second time, Luka, I can’t.”

“Where the hell is Clare?” Gage interjects, I spin around and scan the room, she isn’t here. Luka and I both race out of the room and into the living room thinking she is with the girls.

“Where’s Clare?” I demand.

“She ran out of here. We tried to stop her—” I don’t wait around for Kiara to finish, I run from the house heading straight for mine. I can hear Luka following after me. I shove the front door open and race up the stairs calling her name. I head straight for our room, checking our bathroom and that’s when I notice the sink bare of her things. I head for the wardrobe next, some of her clothes are gone and that’s when it hits me, Bob never barked when I came in the room. I look to where his crate normally sits and see his travel crate is gone. I race back down the stairs and find Luka in the living room with her phone in his hand.

“She’s gone,” he mutters. I stalk over to him and snatch her phone from his hand and race out of the house.

“Not for long,” I mutter beneath my breath.

* * *

It’s nearlymidnight and still no sign of Clare. My brother’s, Vin, Luka and our men are scouring the city for her. I have tried everywhere and I’m running out of fucking ideas of where to look.

“Hang a right here,” Luka shouts. Knight does as he told and follows Luka’s direction until my surroundings become clear.

“The shelter,” I breath out, pissed at myself for not thinking of this place. Luka turns to face me.

“I know I am going to be in shit for what happened tonight with Bishop—”

“No, you won’t be,” I say, cutting in.

“Yeah, I will. This is the second time you and I have gone at it and I was lucky enough to get away with it the first time.” Knight and Vin remain silent in the front of the car. “Look after my sister, Rook. Love her like she deserves and make sure she never gets hurt by this life. My biggest fear was always worrying that my involvement with this life would dim the light in her eyes. Don’t ever let that light dim.”

“I swear it.” I hold his gaze so he knows he I am serious as I say, “I’ll make sure nothing happens to you, Luka. Out of everyone, Bishop knows what it’s like to deal with someone banging his little sister.” I ignore Vin’s chuckle from the front. “You don’t fall under the same category as the other men in his fold. Your sister is going to be a Murdoch and you and I are going to fight from time to time, and your boss is gonna keep his nose out of it.” We come to a stop outside of the shelter. I grip the hand ready to go in search of my girl but Luka’s grip on my arm stops me.

“One, thank you. Two, let me go after her, Rook. I should have gone after her years ago.” I open my mouth to argue but he quickly continues. “She needs to yell at me and hate me. I’ll tell her you were here.”

“Arehere,” I correct.

“Nah, bro, you need to leave and deal with your Ivan problem now. Finish that shit so when you come for her, there will be nothing in the way of you two.” He offers me his hand to shake. I stare at it for a beat before cautiously placing mine in his. “For what it’s worth, I’m really sorry about everything you have gone through and for any part I played in keeping my sister from you. You’re a good kid, Rook, but I need you to know something.”

“What?” I hedge. I feel Vin and Knight’s gazes on us but don’t pay them any mind as I focus on Luka.

“No one will ever be good enough for her in my eyes. I don’t care if your family is rich as fuck and can give her everything she ever wants. I will never willingly walk her down the aisle–” I narrow my eyes to slits in warning. “But, I also won’t stand in the way of her happiness. If you make her happy then I guess… I need to let her go.” He releases my hand and reaches for the door handle to get out.

“How do you know she’s here?” Knight asks, he peers over his shoulder and shoot me a devilish smirk.

“I knew she was here the whole time.” I growl, pissed the fuck off at the bastard again in a short span of time. “She needed time to cool off. If we had of come here first, she would have ripped both our balls off. Go handle your shit, Rook, and get right before you come for her,” he says, then slams his door closed and heads for the back entry into the shelter.

“What’s the play here, brother?” I mull over what Luka said for a minute. He’s right. I need to end shit with Ivan and bury my past tonight so I can move forward and not allow it to drag me down or get in the way of mine and Clare’s future.

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