Chapter 14
FOURTEEN
Ruin
The moment silence washes over the room, not a single foot shuffles. No one speaks or dares to even move. I believe everyone knows who cut the damn music.
Almost like an apparition, I find my mother suddenly near the music system, throwing the power cable of the massive speaker on the beer-soaked floor. All while my father is charging toward… me? Fuck.
“Dad—”
“You shut up, boy,” he growls before grabbing Wolf’s cut in an unforgiving grip. “You been talking to this woman?”
I hear a scoff from where my mother and Charlotte still stand. But I’m, yet again, distracted by a banshee-like screech.
“This woman? I’m Ruin’s—”
“Nothing. You’re my nothing. You’re someone I fucked on and off for maybe a year. And now, you’re done.”
She stares at me with her wide, disbelieving eyes. I can’t hide the steel and rage from my voice any longer. But that’s nothing compared to the voice I hear next.
“Take your hands off me, Torch. I’m still your Prez.”
Wolf rarely uses that tone, which is why I know something’s not right with this situation.
The moment Sarah opens her mouth again, I signal Misty to quickly handle her. She swiftly walks behind her and covers her mouth before she spews more bullshit. My father is still seething, both hands clasped against Prez’s cut.
“Don’t wanna hurt the former VP, Torch. Off. Now.”
Jesus.
“Dad.” My voice is clipped, yet cautious.
He gives Wolf a shove before letting go of his cut. I can see the wrinkles on the leather against the dim light of the club.
Before I can get a word in, Wolf strides over to Sarah, who is still struggling against Misty’s hold. Low, angry growls escaping her mouth.
I never thought the shy, sweet Sarah from two years ago was hiding this side of hers. She is nothing like the mousy girl I flirted with at my tattoo shop. And I’m wondering what brought this on.
“When?” Wolf tilts his head menacingly, showing every bit of the Prez that he is. “When did you hear me say Charlotte is never coming back?”
Sarah’s eyes widen unnaturally. I can see fear dull the previous, confident spark in her eyes. She starts to shake her head frantically, making me narrow down on the possibility that she’s probably not as innocent. But we need to dig in deeper.
“Misty.” I nod at her, and she promptly lets Sarah go.
She’s no longer struggling. In fact, she’s looking like a cornered animal, constantly darting her gaze toward the exit.
“When, Sarah?” Wolf asks again in a calm voice. Sarah still flinches.
“J-Just a year ago. I… you said…”
“What did he say?” I jump in when she trails off.
Her whole frame is shaking like a leaf. It’s as though she’s realizing the club she’s been avoiding is as dangerous as she imagined—or didn’t. But we won’t hurt her, we just need answers.
“H-He—” She stammers, her attention on me. “He said Charlotte w-was never coming b-back. That she’s not c-club anymore.”
“…as much as I’d like her to be,” Wolf finishes with a resigned whisper.
Sarah gives the floor a shaky nod. Her demeanor miles apart from the catty woman she was a moment ago. And I know it’s all because of the dangerous gleam in Wolf’s eyes.
He sighs, walking away and I almost mirror him. I have no idea what he’s thinking, but one thing is for certain—Sarah needs to be investigated.
“Take her to Ruin’s office,” he mutters to Joe, one of the prospects. Then he looks at me. “You… my office. Now.”
A blink—and he walks away, shoulders stiff.
I risk a glance toward Charlotte, who is watching Sarah being taken to one of the rooms. Her expression is unreadable, but I still notice the way her shoulders are squared, chin up in a way that claws out respect from everyone here.
Her silence wasn’t an armor here. It was a tactical move, weaponizing her earned, untouchable peace.
I long to walk over, tell her I didn’t mean anything by the words I’d used to placate Sarah over two years ago. But my plans dissipate like smoke when I see fucking Ryder approach her.
I can’t hear what he’s saying, but Charlotte’s face softens—so does my Mama’s.
Fucker probably called her love again. Thinking about his voice forming that word makes my blood boil, but that rage has nowhere to go.
I hastily make my way to Prez’s office, locking the door behind me as a million things tangle wildly in my head. Wolf is standing behind his desk, hands resting on the wood, tapping it with an unsteady finger.
“Tell me exactly when you met Sarah,” he says without looking up.
God! Looks like I’ll be interrogated first.
“It was a month before I was patched in as VP. She came in for a tattoo.” My voice is rough with anger, jealousy, and frustration that I brought in from outside. “Then… well, you know what happened that night.”
A shameful heat rises in my spine as he nods, head still down. I can see a frown marring his face. The lines near his eyes are tight with tension. I probably look the same too. It’s the good old paranoia.
“She dumped you after that,” he notes, his tone questioning.
“She… yes. But then we met again at Calli’s diner a year ago. That’s when we… started up again.”
He looks up sharply. “She knew you visit that diner often? That our tattoo shop, your work, is merely three blocks away?”
I swallow hard. “I don’t know, Prez. I didn’t look that hard. Besides…” My chest moves on a heavy exhale, not knowing how to tell him this when he probably knows how I’ve started to feel about his sister.
“Besides?” He quirks a brow.
“She hates the club, Wolf. Refuses to come. We tried dating for maybe three weeks this time around and then… one club party, and she went off the handle. Since then, she’s just been an on-and-off… stress release.”
“She know that?” He snorts.
I know I’ve made a mess of things. Sarah knows she’s not my girlfriend, but she also knows we’re exclusive. Or at least I kept trying to convince her of that.
“She should.”
A short bitter laugh escapes him. “The thing is, Ruin… I’ve only ever said those words about Charlotte in my home, or here—in this fucking office. So I’m curious to know how she even heard me.”
I force myself to remain calm. We already know there could be more traitors in the club, and we don’t need an outsider knowing any of our business. Fuck.
“Let’s go,” he grits out, clipping my shoulder with his as he passes me.
I drag a frustrated hand over my face before following him to my office.
??????
“I’ll ask you again, Sarah,” Wolf hisses, each word carved out of thinning patience. “Where exactly did you hear me? Where were you? Where was I?”
Even I’m exhausted listening to her circle the same nothing answers. She doesn’t look like she’s hiding something. She looks like she’s terrified of saying the wrong thing.
Doesn’t help that Wolf already lost his temper and hurled my mouse against the wall. Plastic shards still scatter the floor like evidence of how thin his restraint is.
I liked that mouse, dammit.
Now Sarah keeps glancing at those broken pieces like they’re a preview of her future.
Jesus. She’s a civilian, Wolf. Rein it in.
“I-I don’t remember,” she stammers, squeezing her eyes shut. Then she snaps them open again like she expects a punch to land if she blinks too long.
“Fuckin’—”
“Hold up, brother.” I clamp a hand down on his shoulder. His muscles are tight. Coiled. Vibrating under my palm like a live wire.
I step in front of him and crouch down to Sarah’s level. “You need to tell us where you heard him,” I say calmly. “You understand that, right?”
Her mouth trembles. Her gaze darts between me and the door like she’s mapping an escape route. My softer tone doesn’t soothe her. It makes her cry quieter.
I try one more angle.
“Okay, listen. If you can’t remember where,” I say, lowering my voice another notch, “Wolf, here, will assume you bugged his office. Did you bug his office, Sarah?”
I don’t think she did, but nothing else is working. The good-cop-bad-cop routine, or even the usual silence tactic. Which leaves me with intimidation.
Her head snaps back violently. “W-what? No! No, I didn’t! I swear, I—” Her words break into a sob, her body trembling. “Give me a s-second,” she pleads. “It’s been a long time, Ruin. P-Please.”
She squeezes her eyes shut again. This time it’s different. Not bracing but searching. “I… think it was… yes. It was that party,” she whispers. “The one you made me go to.”
Made her. My jaw ticks.
Behind me, Wolf starts pacing. Slow. Measured. Predatory.
Then—
“I was in your office,” she blurts, eyes flying open. She looks at Wolf. “Ruin’s office. I… I wanted to surprise him. The club girls were all over him and I just—I needed to… anyway. So I hid in there, waiting. That’s when I think I heard you.”
The club girls were all over me?
For a split second, it sounds ridiculous. I doubt that ever happened. They know not to do that since I’ve made it clear to them I won’t be going there.
But then I remember that night. Sarah’s insecurity, the way she clung to my arm like it was the only solid thing in the room. Her glaring at every club girl, even the Ol’ Ladies.
Yeah. Her paranoia was evident.
“Which office is Ruin’s?” Wolf asks, tilting his head slightly. His voice is calmer now.
And I realize why he’s asking. We’re currently in my office and she doesn’t even recognize it.
“The one by the stairs,” she whispers, but it comes out as a question.
Dots connect. She mistook Wolf’s office as mine.
“Christ,” Wolf mutters, disgust lacing the word. “Get her out of here, Ruin.”
I nod, but something tightens in my chest. I swiftly pull my phone from my cut and open a photo. “Have you ever seen her?” I ask, turning the screen toward Sarah.
She squints. Hesitates before leaning closer.
“I… yes. She came to the salon. A few days ago.” Her brows pinch. “Why?”
Wolf’s curiously watching us now. When I turn the phone toward him, his expression hardens.
Glory’s face fills the screen.
“No reason,” I say flatly, sliding the phone away. “If she shows up again, you call me. Immediately. Got it?”
Sarah nods fast. “She said she’ll come back soon. Lashes. Nails. Everything. I can check with Evelyn if there’s a standing appointment for Leila.”
I’m already nodding, filing it away.
The air changes. When I look up, Wolf has gone completely still. Rigid. Color draining from his face like someone pulled the plug. His chest rises too fast. Too sharp.
“What did you say?” His voice is low, dangerous in a way I don’t recognize. “Her name.”
Sarah swallows. “L-Leila? She said her name is Leila Richard. Is it… not?”
No, it isn’t.
But the wrong, full name Glory gave Sarah lands in the room like a dropped grenade.
Wolf blinks once. Twice. And then he moves. Storming out the office without another word.
The door slams hard enough to rattle the frame.
Sarah looks at me like I have answers. I don’t. Because whatever just detonated behind Wolf’s eyes, I’ve never seen it before.
And I have no idea what it means.