Chapter 35
Chapter thirty-five
Raegan
Reid gets us back to Hype in the early morning before sunrise.
We couldn’t risk the long drive with the state of Dane’s hand.
There are muscles and nerves exposed from the breakdown of skin that puts him at risk of infection the longer it’s untreated.
We wrapped it with a sliced-up hoodie to help protect it until we got there.
While it takes Reid over an hour, it feels like seconds for us. I’m still reeling from the fight with James. From the fears that he’d revealed and now feel like an open wound for everyone to see as I silently bleed out.
Two hands cover each of mine.
Dane and Jackson.
“Come on, Rae. Let’s go to the apartment for the rest of the night. We can put on a movie and cuddle under a blanket until you get hungry, and then I’ll cook you whatever you want to eat.”
“We’re not doing anything until Cassandra heals your hand,” I counter, my tone resolute. “That never should’ve—I thought I couldn’t—Dane, I’m so sorry...” Each attempt is interrupted by emotion threatening to crack through. I’m not supposed to hurt the men I love. I’m supposed to protect them.
“You’re a villain in the making.”
“Stop.” Dane tugs my hand, encouraging me out of the car.
Jackson twirls my hair together to the base of my neck, then pulls my hood up. He stays at my back when I move, like my personal shadow.
The others are already inside, so we exit quickly and go through the door with as little time outside as possible. Dane spins the second we’re in and yanks me into his chest. For a few seconds, he just holds me.
“Just because he attacked us through you, doesn’t mean it was you, Rae. You could never hurt me.”
I draw a shuddering breath, clutching his back and burying my face into his hoodie.
He’s right. I’ve had nothing but control over my gift since training with Jackson and Kell.
James picked at a sliver of worry in the back of my mind and made it feel like so much more in the moment.
Even though it wasn’t a fear I’d dwelled on for more than a few seconds.
And I won’t give it more than he already has.
“Thank you,” I whisper. Slowly, I pull away.
Jackson smiles at me and tucks my hair behind my ear, following it to the ends and spiking my heart rate at the intensity of his stare. “Where you go, I go,” he reminds me, but I know instantly what he’s really saying. Even if you became a villain, I’d be right by your side.
The sharp click of shoes precedes Elias’s appearance from the back hallway. One hand is seated in his pocket while the other flicks out to check his watch. “You’re back earlier than I expected.” He passes by Reid and Tinsley on their way to their apartment to rest as Aiden and Kellan join us.
“Reid teleported us back”—Elias’s gaze flicks to the door, and Aiden coolly adds, “With the car.”
“I appreciate you not leaving it behind. My contact is enroute to the hospital as we speak. It’s been put on lockdown until they can safely get the prisoners out. We already have a safe place where they can go.”
Mm. Probably where they sent the trafficking victims to help them process everything. “One of my half-siblings is with them,” I chime in. “I don’t know what he plans to do, but he wanted to stay with the prisoners.”
Elias nods, withdrawing his phone. “I'll let them know so there’s no friendly fire.”
“If you don’t mind, Thorton, it’s been a rough twenty-four hours. We can talk after we’ve gotten some rest,” Aiden remarks.
“Of course.”
Other voices draw our attention behind Elias. A group of Hype employees have stopped to stare at us and whisper. The bar must have closed recently if they’re still up and cleaning.
“...her.”
“Ruin...”
“...Raegan of Ruin...”
“...world breaker...”
“...of destruction better...”
A smack startles the group to look toward the bar. Ethan sets a box of liquor down. “The shift ended twenty minutes ago. Get a move on. Slowest one is on bathroom duty tonight.”
The threat is like lighting a torch under their asses, and they scatter to whatever they are supposed to be doing.
“What the fuck was that about?” Dane demands of Elias, taking a step in front of me.
I touch his arm, and he immediately shifts back, but closer to my side as a show of support. “It’s fine, Dane.” I gave myself the Ruin moniker at the Pits fight, so I’m sure it’s now making its rounds here. I can’t say I’m thrilled about the other words I overheard, but it is what it is.
Elias gives me a look of sympathy. “If it bothers you, I’ll request they stop. The toppling building has been a buzzing topic here when someone recognized it as your gift, and the word spread.”
“No, it’s okay. I went by Ruin at the Pits, so if any fighters from that night were here, they’d recognize it and use that name.”
“It’s what else your staff may plan to do with that information that concerns me. And how they react around Raegan moving forward,” Aiden remarks.
Kellan crosses his arms and stares one of the staff down who’d been looking at me until they scurry out of sight.
“Maybe we should host a Pits fight night here so they see Raegan’s not the only one with a dangerous gift.
We’re all dangerous in our own way, and they should learn that if they haven’t yet. ”
Elias appears unamused by that suggestion. Fighting for fun doesn’t seem like his thing. “As you can see, there are quite a few things to catch up on when you’re ready.”
Aiden sighs, swiping a tired hand over his face. “We were only gone for a day.”
“And your mission has resulted in a cascade of repercussions.” He runs his hand down his suit jacket. “Get some rest. We’ll talk tomorrow.” Elias smiles and offers me a polite nod before he retreats to the back hallway.
“Fucking hell,” Dane mutters.
“Come on.” I loop my arm through his. “Let’s find Cassandra.”
“You’re back!” Portia squeals and throws Cassandra’s door open, leaping at me as a blur of color. Dane and Kellan are at my back while Jackson and Aiden returned to our apartment with our hoodies and incognito gear. After Dane’s hand is healed, we’ll be joining them.
“Portia? What are you doing here?”
“I filled everyone in on our day and played some games,” she explains excitedly. “The others had a watch party for when the news would break on us taking down the GE building.”
Kell barks out a laugh. “A watch party?”
“That’s weird,” Dane states flatly.
Portia shrugs and drags me further inside. “Since they couldn’t be there with you, they wanted to at least cheer you on from here and make sure they didn’t see anything weird”—she eyeballs Dane—“that you’d need to worry about.”
“And?” Kellan prompts.
“Nothing to worry about!”
“I wouldn’t say that,” Fabian interjects from the living room.
“Ah! Reggie!” Gabe cheers on the couch with his hands up.
“You’re famous here now. They’ve come up with all sorts of nicknames for you downstairs.
Raegan of ruin, ruin, world breaker, goddess”—he shakes his fists and opens them—“of destruction! Quite the list. I may have started the last one for the excuse to see you in a devastating dress and crown just to feed the fans.”
I’m not sure how to react to any of that, so I focus on what he said last. “Fans?” Maybe he chose the wrong word. If anything, I expected fear now that they know what I can do.
“Oh, in the droves, my dear! Everyone was terrified of GE coming after us, but after what they’ve seen you can do, you’re their shining beacon of hope! Of course, there are always haters, but Portia gave them each a good talking to with some wonderfully scary backup, and they’ve been quiet since.”
“Oh... that’s... okay,” I manage, still processing.
“Good work, Rainbow.” Kellan grins at Portia, who nods with faux seriousness.
Dane whispers in my ear from behind, “No going anywhere here alone.” He lightly pinches my hip. I don’t tell him that Jackson has been warning me of that since we started staying here.
Before, I argued it. Now, I might agree.
“Where’s everyone else?” I ask the room.
Portia claps. “Oh! That’s what I meant to tell you when I opened the door. Your friend just woke up! The others are in there.”
“Evie?” She nods, and I hurry into the bedroom.
Cassandra helps Evie out of the private bathroom while Silas is seated on the bed.
“Welcome back,” Cassandra greets us with a smile.
Silas jumps to Evie’s other side to help support her weight.
“Evie! I’m so glad you’re awake.” I stay just inside the doorway to give them room to help her back in bed.
“Thanks. I’m glad to be up, too.”
“How are you feeling?”
Silas piles the pillows at her back while Cassandra pulls the blankets up her lap. “I could eat,” she admits.
“She’s hungry,” Portia reports from the doorway to the living room, as if answering someone’s question. She turns back to the room. “Fabian says he’s ordering. What are you in the mood for?”
“Anything. Whatever has the shortest delivery time,” Evie replies, holding her stomach.
“Don’t overeat or eat too fast,” Cassandra warns her.
“Fabian’s got it,” Portia tells us, joining my side.
Silas looks past me, and I realize Kellan’s now leaning in the doorway with his arms crossed. His gaze drops to mine. “Did you get them all?”
“Yeah. One didn’t join the group, so we had to go after him. Otherwise, we would have been back a lot sooner.”
He nods. “That’s really good news.”
“What did I miss?” Evie asks.
“Wait! Don’t do a catch-up sesh without me!” Gabe cries from the living room. He’s stopped by Kellan’s large frame crowding the doorway. “Excuse me, large, tattooed man. News awaits!”
Kell raises an eyebrow at me. Smirking, I shrug. He turns, giving Gabe room to slip through.
“Before that, can you heal Dane’s hand?” I direct to Cassandra.
“Of course.” She looks around the room for him, and I realize he’s still in the living area with Fabian and Zedd.
“Dane!”