Chapter 19
Rue squeezed his eyes shut and covered his mouth to prevent any sounds from slipping past his lips. Outside the closet, he could hear the creature slamming against the door to the office.
He’d told Lenore to head upstairs without him while he made a beeline for the office.
She’d argued at first, but there’d been no time, and eventually she’d done what he’d said.
At the time, he’d been so focused on making sense of what he’d seen, he hadn’t considered the real ramifications of staying behind.
He was now.
Since he’d only planned on running in, grabbing the game manual he’d seen in the desk drawer, and then leaving, it hadn’t occurred to him to blockade the door either.
At least he’d had enough sense to close it, but there was no telling how long that would hold against the weight of a monster the size of a hoverbike.
The game manual was only a few pages, and he’d folded it in half and stuck it in his back pocket.
He’d only managed to open the front page before the creature had attacked the door, but the name printed on the inside was imprinted on his retinas.
He wanted to check again, wanted to see that he’d read things wrong but the fear gripped him far too tightly for him to attempt it.
When he’d realized the creature had followed him, he’d hidden in the closet, shoving Cosima’s body out hastily. The end result was him sitting in a pool of her post death fluids, the smell of rot and blood keeping him in a state of queasiness.
He wondered if Lenore had gotten to safety. Clearly the creature wasn’t after the others, giving them more time to find a hiding spot. Throwing up had drawn the thing’s attention.
Rue hoped she didn’t feel too guilty if he did end up dying here.
More than that, he hoped Ryker never learned about the series of events that led to him being trapped in a bloody closet, potentially seconds away from being mauled to death.
Despite their agreement, or how Lenore hadn’t meant to vomit all over the monster, there was little doubt in Rue’s mind Ryker would retaliate. His Black Hart wasn’t exactly known for his rational thinking when it came to things like this.
Ryker Hart was emotional and explosive because of it. Years of having no filter and no repercussions for his actions had allowed him to be.
The twins were similar enough that Rue had believed he’d mistaken them in his drunken state, in the middle of the night when Ryder had told him so.
But they were also different enough that now that he’d slept with Ryker again, he could say with absolute certainty that the man who’d fucked him in the rose garden was the same one who’d mounted him in the kitchen.
However…
Before this, Ryker hadn’t known that any more than Rue had, and what’s worse, Ryker had clearly believed that Rue had cheated on him with his brother. Must have thought that Rue was playing them both.
All of the snide remarks made sense now, the comments about Rue’s loose morals, and how easy he was.
The anger Ryker had constantly displayed toward him.
Rue had spent the past three years believing Ryker hated him because he’d abandoned his post as watcher when Ryder and Uriel had entered Belladona, resulting in the two of them stuck in the game. But that wasn’t it at all. Ryker’s loathing had been more personal.
He’d thought Rue had betrayed him and their time together. Had seduced him and his brother, only to run when he’d been rejected by Ryder. Which also meant Ryker had spent these years thinking Rue had wanted Ryder more than he’d wanted him.
Ryker Hart was emotional and explosive.
He wouldn’t let an insult like that stand. Wouldn’t allow anyone to get away with hurting or humiliating him, even if that person ended up becoming a member of his family.
Suddenly, using little brother as an insult took on a much deeper meaning.
And a much more dangerous one.
In all of the times he’d said it, Ryker had been warning him.
Warning him that it didn’t matter.
That there was no protection in joining the Harts through marriage.
That Ryker was still going to make him suffer and pay for every supposed affront.
Cheating on him? With his twin? To Ryker, there was probably no greater insult. In his mind, Rue had made a total and utter fool out of him.
The game manual seemed to burn in his back pocket, the thumping of his heart momentarily drowning out the sounds of the creature banging on the outer door.
The creature Rue had finally gotten a good look at.
The one that had seemed somehow familiar.
The game manual wasn’t an official release. It was high quality, but clearly a pitch. Rue hadn’t bothered flipping through it, thinking that Cosima was simply into games, but the image of the creature on the cover had been unmistakable.
An exact mirror of the one currently trying to eat him.
With the name Ryker Hart printed inside the cover.
Game creator: Ryker Hart.
Game creator.
A part of Rue felt guilty for even suspecting him, and yet…There was evidence, and it made sense.
Ryker orchestrating an elaborate revenge scheme made a hell of a lot more sense than him easily forgiving Rue the way that he had.
What if that was why he’d really left him in the woods their first night here?
What if the monsters had been meant to get him then?
What if—
He covered his head and clenched his jaw so hard his teeth ached. The logical part of his brain was telling him it all added up, but the rest of him…the rest of him refused to believe it.
Because even if Ryker hated him, he’d never want to kill him…right?
There’d been ample opportunity for him to do so.
Hell, according to the Black Hart, he’d spent the past six months waltzing into Rue’s bedroom at night and taking him in his sleep.
That was all types of illegal, horrible, and wrong.
It certainly amounted to some form of revenge against him, didn’t it?
Not to mention everything else he’d done. All the other ways he’d tortured Rue.
Hadn’t that been enough?
Enough to make Ryker no longer wish for his life, if he’d ever wanted to take it at all?
But then what if this wasn’t about Rue? What if it wasn’t Rue he was after here, but the rest of them? His dad and Rue’s mom? The board? If the other Black Harts were in on it, it made sense that the three of them had been so adamant about going outside on their own.
Shit!
He’d completely lost track of time! They were supposed to create the distraction so Ryker and the others could make their way back to the main lodge. What if—
The banging abruptly stopped and Rue went still all over again, listening intensely.
He had no clue how long he sat there, pants seeping up the gore beneath him, but eventually the sound of the door opening had him flinching, and he curled in on himself even more, as if that would make any sort of difference against a massive monster with razor sharp teeth and claws.
The closet door eased open and he shrunk in on himself, eyes still squeezed shut.
“Rue,” Ryker’s voice was low, close, “Sweetheart?”
A sound escaped his lips before he could help it, and despite all of his suspicions, Rue found himself practically throwing himself at the Black Hart, arms latching around his neck in a burst of energy.
Ryker pulled him out of the closet and held him tightly, giving him a moment, seemingly content to stand there and wait as they both processed the fact that neither was hurt.
“The others?” Uriel was the one to shatter the moment, and Rue lifted his head to find him and Ellery standing just outside the office, the latter keeping watch.
“We got separated,” Rue told them. “One of those things is inside.”
“We know.”
“It was just here.”
“I saw the claw marks on the door,” Ryker said, pulling Rue back in for another hug, as if he hadn’t fully convinced himself that Rue was here and all right. “I thought…I was so worried.”
“Must have smelled the dead body and figured there was nothing in here for it,” Ellery surmised, glancing quickly at Cosima’s corpse.
Reminded that it was there—and that his butt and the back of his thighs were soaked with all sorts of disgusting juices, Rue grimaced. “Can we…?”
“Ell and I will go hunt down the monster,” Uriel offered. “You and Rue go find the others. Safety in numbers.”
“What he means is,” Ellery corrected bluntly, “don’t be afraid to toss one of them as bait if you need to.”
Rue glared at him, but he wasn’t paying them any attention, still sweeping their surroundings.
“Let’s check the rest of this floor,” Ell suggested, slapping Uriel’s arm with the back of his hand.
“Here.” Ryker pulled the blaster from his waistband and held it out, but Ellery shook his head.
“Keep it.”
“You’re literally going up against that thing on purpose. You need all the ammunition you can get.”
“I don’t trust any of those pricks currently hiding,” Ellery stated.
“He’s right,” Uriel agreed solemnly. “They’ll use you as bait just as easily as you’ll use them. Don’t let your guard down around anyone but each other.”
“None of us Black Harts are dying here,” Ell said, sending a quick grin their way before he wandered off, leaving his cousin to follow.
“Stay safe,” Uriel gave those parting words and then left as well.
“Don’t you want to go with them?” Rue asked once the two of them were alone, but Ryker merely shook his head.
“I need to get you somewhere secure, they understand that.” He took his hand and linked their fingers, tugging Rue after him to the door and then into the hall. His eyes moved toward the stairs and then they were walking to it and up the flight to the third level. “What happened?”
“I don’t know,” Rue confessed. “There weren’t any sounds or anything like that, so my only guess is someone let the creature inside while the rest of us were busy.
Maybe Jesse. He…” Bile threatened to rise and he had to pause and swallow it back down.
“He was the only one downstairs, as far as I’m aware. ”