Chapter 6 RUNO
RUNO
We’d have to make this quick if I wanted to take a nap and look somewhat presentable.
I had already ripped the fucking lip ring out before heading down the stairs, my men following close behind.
Everyone was a bit antsy, including Finn who kept yelling at me that there was something he needed to tell me.
That could wait.
Our guests needed a little attention.
Jade sat bound in her chair, tears streaming down her face, her eyes red and puffy as she twisted against the ropes.
Brent was a little more subdued, glaring at us from his spot, his hands tied behind his back, his face a mask of pure hatred.
It made sense, though. Not only was he Samael’s friend but he had warned Samael about me.
It’s a good thing my beautiful cop hadn’t listened.
Dark: Can we hold up just a second and talk about why Jade is down here? I don’t want to kill her.
Daemon: Brent’s the real prize. Break him slow. Make him beg.
Killian said nothing but I didn’t expect him to. However, it surprised me that Finn was begging for their lives, mainly Jade’s.
Finn: Just let them go, okay? You can lock me away but let her go.
“Just shut up!” I whisper-yelled before stalking forward to rip the duct tape off Jade’s mouth. I had a big speech planned for her, words ready before I put her to rest but she got there first, a scream tearing from her lips.
“Runo, don’t hurt me! Please, just let me go!”
Finn: She’s pregnant! Don’t hurt her, you idiot!
I froze, my hand still clutching the tape, the world narrowing to that single word.
Pregnant. My breath caught in my throat, a strange mix of shock and something warmer, almost possessive, stirring in my gut.
The basement spun for a second, the pain in my back fading to a dull ache as I stared at her.
My men crowded in, Samael’s voice cutting through my thoughts. “What’s wrong?”
Slash leaned closer, his wary eyes flicking to Jade. “Runo?”
I turned to her, my voice coming out as soft as I could make it. “You’re pregnant? I’m going to be a daddy?”
Jade’s eyes flashed with fury, her tears mixing with spit as she growled. “No, Finn was going to be the father, but not you. Definitely not you.” She spat at me, the glob landing on my cheek.
The room went still, my men holding their breath, the air thick with tension. I wiped the spit off my face, the wetness smearing across my skin. Some part of me wanted to rip Jade limb from limb for the disrespect, but the other part…
Finn: Don’t hurt her. Please.
Finn pleading with me was terribly entertaining but I needed to know how he knew.
How? I asked him. He went quiet, retreating almost immediately.
I returned my attention to Jade, warring with my own emotions.
My kid, or Finn’s, but still a piece of me was growing inside her.
I couldn’t kill that. I couldn’t destroy another fragment of myself.
Jade’s voice shook as she spoke again. “I don’t care what you need to tell yourself, just don’t hurt me. We won’t ever bother you. I promise.”
I opened my mouth, words tangling on my tongue, when Samael grabbed my arm and dragged me off to the side, out of earshot of Jade.
He held my face in his hands, his thumbs pressing into my cheeks, his dark eyes searching mine.
It was the first gentle touch we had shared since I surfaced and I fought hard not to lean into it.
We had time for that later. “I’m glad to see you still have some conflict in that dark heart of yours.
I was worried you’d have no emotion. Let her go. ”
I shook my head. “But she needs to die.” The plan was to cut off everything from the old and start in with the new. The problem was she was currently creating the new, that baby in her belly.
Samael nodded, his wry smile curling. “She will. Of old age. Don’t worry, I’ve got a few guys who can make sure she doesn’t do anything stupid like go to the police.”
“She wouldn’t do that. I’ve kept everything. If she tried to get to them, I would let them see everything she’s done for me.” I thought for another minute or two before Samael planted a light kiss on my forehead.
Finn: I definitely thought I was going to have to fight you harder on that.
Killian: It’s because he’s holding back the entire truth. There’s something you’re not telling us, isn’t there, Runo? You would never do something if it didn’t benefit you.
I threw him a metaphorical middle finger before stalking back over to Jade. “I’m going to let you go.” No explanation, no back and forth. There didn’t need to be. Plan B would work just fine, especially if Samael was going to donate a man or two to the cause.
Jade just watched, wary as I began undoing the knots on her ropes, the silence in the room stifling.
Until Brent decided to grunt from where he was sitting, stealing my attention toward him.
“We’ll get to you in a little bit. Samael and I are going to have so much fun with you, I promise.
For now, just wait. I have to drop off Finn’s girlfriend—or ex?
I’m not sure—and then I have to go to work.
But after? We’re going to have fun. We would’ve done it last night, but Slash got a little carried away. I love that for him.”
Brent’s eyes narrowed, his muffled curses vibrating through the tape.
Jade flinched as the last rope fell away before I gathered her up, half-carrying her trembling frame toward the stairs.
Samael slowly stole her from me, throwing me a curious glance.
“You shouldn’t even be standing, let alone awake right now, but if you’re going to be stubborn, the least I can do is make sure you don’t tear your stitches. ”
“So thoughtful,” I purred as I gestured to the bathroom down the hall. “Get a shower, Jade. I can’t send you off looking like that.” I waited until she scurried away from us before facing Samael. “Why are you all being so good at this?”
“You mean, letting you lead? Because we don’t know what fucking game you’re playing,” Aeron pushed out as he returned up the steps. “When we play, everyone knows the rules. Here? No fucking clue. Also, Jade’s pregnant with Runo’s child? How the fuck—”
Slash cut in. “I have a better question. Why the fuck is Jade not screaming? How do you know she’s not calling the police?”
I threw up a hand to stop his questions.
They didn’t know Jade like I did and while this part of the plan was a little flimsy, I know it would work if we didn’t spook her further.
Did I still want to meet the part of me I had created?
Sure. And one day I would. But right now, the task was to get her to where she thought she was safe.
“She listens very well. You remember Nyla at Bondage Palace, right? Jade was very helpful. She knows that if she doesn’t do what I say, her entire life is over.
Besides, some part of her hopes that Finn will resurface. ”
Aeron’s face scrunches up in disgust. “Did Finn even like her?”
I shrugged. “At some point, I suppose but it’s my body so it doesn’t matter.” Anger flared in my chest as I tried to temper down the reaction I wanted to give. Why were my men questioning me?
Killian: Because you haven’t really explained anything to them. You’ve given them information and demanded they take it at face value. You’re bad at this. Switch with me.
Fuck no. Slash’s voice pulled me back. “What game are we playing? What’s the end goal, Runo?”
“The end goal is when my dad finally understands.”
Samael jostled my shoulder lightly. “Bullshit. Try again.”
“The end of the game is when my dad gives up trying to be so damn perfect and owns up to the fact that he failed my mom. But the end goal? When I get you all to love me again. You fell in love with pieces of me. I want you to love all of me.”
Silence followed, each of my men wearing slightly different expressions of confusion.
The moment was ruined when Jade returned, damp hair clinging to her shoulders.
She had slipped into a shirt and a pair of shorts, most likely Aeron’s, the woman wrapping her arms around her chest as she waited for me to say something.
I grinned at the fear still lurking in her expression, even as Finn told me to dial it down.
“I know everything about you,” I purred while reaching for my phone.
A few taps later, I grabbed a scrap piece of paper and scribbled down a confirmation number.
“I would’ve never trusted you otherwise.
You’re going to run back to your mother and we’ll never see each other again. ”
We won’t?
Jade shakily took the piece of paper. “How do you… you know everything about me, don’t you?”
“I don’t do things half-assed, Jade. I needed… well, Finn needed to trust you. We know all about that cute little cottage and that ex-boyfriend you’ll probably shack back up with. You’ll probably work at the little café there or start teaching.”
Her face twisted up in horror as a gasp fell from her lips. “You’re going to have me watched, aren’t you?”
My grin widened. “See? You get it. I won’t do anything if you don’t. You won’t even know that they’re there. Bye, Jade.”
She clutched the paper against her chest before darting out the front door, her hurried steps disappearing down the sidewalk. When I turned to look back at my men, the confusion had turned to worry.
Samael’s brows were furrowed, concern creeping into his dark eyes. “You’re not even going to try and see your own child?”
I shrugged again, the movement pulling at my stitches, a fresh stab of pain shooting through me.
I needed drugs. Good ones. “I don’t have to.
HMD, what my mother had, is rare as fuck, but it’s not really hereditary.
I was more at risk, sure, but DMD? It changes things.
She’ll grow up with some latent issues that Jade won’t be able to handle. She’ll call me.”
Samael’s frown deepened, but a chuckle soon followed. “You’re very sure of this.”
“I got my first therapist when I was four.”
Samael shook his head, his chuckle growing. “And here, I thought I was patient.”
I pointed down the hall, gesturing for my men to follow. “I’m grabbing an hour or two before work. Ya’ll coming?” No one budged, a wariness in their expressions that I hoped to soon get rid of. “Would it help if I gave you Finn or Daemon to cuddle?”
Slash snorted. “No, it wouldn’t.”
“Meh, I tried,” I cackled as I disappeared down the hallway, Lucy appearing from under the couch to follow me. One day soon, my men won’t be able to resist the darkness that I brought. One day, they would relish it, fall apart in it, bathe in it.