Page 89 of Ruthless Salvation

And war was coming.

Damyon had said I had twenty-four hours to hand over Stormy. That time was almost at an end, and I was confident he intended to follow through because it was what I would have done. If I were in his shoes, I wouldn’t even wait the full twenty-four—hit the enemy unaware. That was why we were taking every precaution.

I ushered Stormy upstairs and got her situated in the guest bedroom with Jolly, who I’d brought in as protection. Ideally, I wouldn’t have let her out of my sight, but she didn’t need to hear the shit we’d be discussing. It would only make her worry more, and I wouldn’t be far. Someone I trusted would have eyes on her at all times without distraction. Even if I was only one room away, I wasn’t leaving anything to chance.

Present

“I wishI could be there with you, but Keir wouldn’t even let me finish my sentence when I tried to ask.” Rowan’s call was an unexpected relief. I’d only been in the back bedroom a couple of minutes when my phone lit up.

“I’m just glad you’ll still speak to me after I ran out on you like that. I kind of freaked out a little.” God, I was so embarrassed. I knew I shouldn’t be. She understood the complications of my situation, but it was never great having an audience when you panic.

“Girl, if you had any idea of the wild stuff I did when I thought I had no other option, you’d think I was unhinged.” She paused, her voice dropping low. “Did you talk to him … about … you know?”

I had to laugh. “Yeah, we talked. I told him everything, and I think that maybe, things will be okay, assuming we can get all this chaos sorted out.” That was the catch, and it was a big one.

“Oh good! I’m so relieved. That sort of thing is scary enough without relationship complications.”

I stole a look at Jolly as I considered telling her about our doctor’s visit but decided to hold off. That was big news, and I wanted Torin to be able to share it with his family and friends. The older man didn’t seem to be paying attention, but I’d learned from working with him that he was aware of more than he let on.

“We’ll have time to sort things out,” I assured her, keeping things nice and vague.

She started to respond when an ear-piercing siren split the air. With the phone still in one hand, I slammed my hands over my ears as best I could and jumped to my feet.

“You stay put,” Jolly hollered. “We’re not going anywhere until we’re told.”

“Ro, something’s going on.” I had to yell over the siren. “I’ll call you back.”

If she replied, I didn’t hear it. I could hardly hear my own thoughts.

Jolly stood and positioned himself between me and the door. Tor had said something like this might happen, but it didn’t make it any less terrifying. What felt like an eternity passed before the door flew open.

Torin’s stare clocked me for a cursory once-over, then cut to Jolly. “Building communications center sent a message. It’s a gas leak filtering into the ventilation system. They want the whole building to evacuate.”

“Is it Damyon?” I lowered my hands from my ears as fear anchored me in place.

“Without a doubt.”

Jolly glowered. “He’d poison a whole damn building full of people to get us out?”

I swallowed. “I wouldn’t put it past him to burn the thing down rather than let me go.”

“We talked about him pulling a stunt like this,” Torin said, his tone all business. “Everyone knows what to do.” He waited for us to nod before leading the way into the hall.

“What about my cat?” I blurted. We’d never specifically discussed a gas leak. Was I supposed to leave poor Blue Bell?

Jolly grabbed my wrist and yanked me with him. “Jesus, woman. We’ve got bigger problems. Let’s go.”

He was right, of course. I was just too terrified to face them.

Damyon was here for me, and I could only pray that Torin found a way to stop him.

Present

It seemedDamyon and I were as sickeningly similar as I’d suspected. He hadn’t waited the full twenty-four hours to come for Stormy, but I had discussed the possibility with my cousins and had a plan.

Granted, my plans had centered around the chance of a fire or explosion that wouldn’t necessarily compel our evacuation, but Damyon had been thorough. We had no choice but to make our exit.

Every ounce of my attention was laser-focused on what needed to be done. The wailing alarm didn’t even register as I directed our escape. Keir and Oran were both present and would normally have taken the lead, but they had respectfully taken a back seat and let me run the show. Six of my cousins had come to the apartment, and we had a dozen more nearby. The goal was to keep Stormy safe, but it was equally important to me that no one else ended up dead in the process.