Page 75 of Alpha Ruined

Darlene raises an eyebrow. “Look, I was being realistic and partially romantic. But, still, he’s only proving my point. That pen set he purchased was the perfect gift for you. He wasn’t even at the shop; he didn’t see how much you wanted it. He justknowsyou already.”

Her phone buzzes, and it’s Cole.

Enough about my day. Tellme about yours.

She ignores it, overwhelmed with emotions.

Hedoesknow her well. Even before she showed Cole her scars, he picked up on her nuisances and subtle behaviors.

Oscar, as if in agreement, gently nuzzles her face and chirps.

“Flirt,” Darlene chides the cat. “She’s not taking you home. You’re stuck with us.”

Bree scratches the cat under his chin, and he closes his eyes in bliss.

“Oh, hey, babe,” Kyle says from the kitchen as he opens a bag of chips. “Did you tell her about the creepy abandoned cabin? For her article?”

“What creepy abandoned cabin?” Bree’s ears perk up.

Darlene narrows her eyes at Kyle. “No, why would I do that?”

“Uh, because it’s literally a crime scene?”

Bree whips her head to Kyle. “A crime scene for what?”

“That social worker that you’re writing about? Ellie? She was staying at the cabin while she worked at the prison, but now it’s closed off. The basement door was kicked down too, so they think she might have been hiding from him there.” Kyle waggles his eyebrows. “It was covered in crime tape for about a week.”

Bree looks back at Darlene excitedly. “Wait, this is the first I’m hearing about it! The cabin wasn’t mentioned on the news at all!”

She’s almost ready to bolt out of Darlene’s house and explore the place.

“It’s just a cabin,” Darlene shrugs. “Everything of importance was taken out of it.”

Still, it’s a piece of information that Bree didn’t have before.

She wonders what happened there.

“Don’t you dare think about going,” Darlene warns, as ifreading her mind. “It’s dangerous as hell, and the last thing you need is to have someone call the sheriff because you’re trespassing.”

Bree makes a face. “I wouldn’t go. That’s ridiculous.”

Just like she wouldn’t visit the prison.

Her phone buzzes with another text from Cole, but she doesn’t read it, too giddy about her chance to explore somewhere new and forbidden.

CHAPTER 25

BREE

With the excusethat her fridge is overflowing with food, Bree avoids dinner with Darlene and Kyle and leaves their place as the sun begins to set, but not before giving Oscar a generous amount of head pats.

She tells herself she’s only going to visit the abandoned cabin for ten minutes at most.

She just wants to look inside. She won’t trespass.

On the outside, the cabin isn’t as nice as hers, but it’s well-kept and finely built.

Ellie Winters stayed here while she was working with Erik Hart.