Ruin has both hands up now. Palms open. Still. But his eyes—God—he’s staring at Wolf like he doesn’t recognize him. Like this version of him doesn’t exist in his world.
“Give me a reason,” Wolf says, his voice shaking. Not with fury but with desperation. “Give me a damn reason why—when… when I gave all the officers different false intel…” His breath stutters. “…yours is the one that got hit.”
My stomach drops. Oh.
Oh, God.
Wolf laid down a trap and they failed. But how?
“I don’t know,” Ruin says calmly. But I catch it—the slight tremor in his hands. “I don’t know, Prez. Let me find out.”
Something in me snaps. Before I can think better of it, I reach out and tug on Wolf’s cut. Hard enough to pull his attention. His gaze falters—just for a second. “They’ve both been with me, Wolf,” I whisper. “The whole time.”
Ruin’s head snaps toward me. Surprised. Then something shifts in his expression as he drops his gaze. Thinking. Processing. Like he’s dumbfounded that I’d come to their defense.
The air changes. Wolf lets out a rough, broken groan. The gun hits the table with a dull thud.
Only then do I notice that the safety was never off.
“Rebel sold the Reapers out,” Wolf says suddenly. His voice is frayed. “Their own president. Sold them out.”
The words don’t land, not at first.
“Bug told me a few days ago,” he continues. “He worked with Hellfire. Shut down every security system in their compound… and handed his own fucking club over on a silver platter.”
I see it then. The exact moment it sinks in for Ruin and Ryder. Their faces go blank.
“What?” Ruin whispers, like he’s speaking to himself. “He—what?”
Wolf doesn’t respond, doesn’t do anything to confirm that the news hasn’t shattered everything they’d thought about their allies.
He breathes in, deep and ragged—then exhales equally as roughly. “No one can be trusted,” he says finally, voice hollow now. “And I’m asking you, Ruin.” His eyes lift, locking onto him again. “How do I trust you?”
Then they shift to Ryder. “Or even you? When the plan I set to catch a traitor is pointing me straight at the both of you?”
Silence crashes into the room. They’re both frozen. Thinking. Searching. And failing. Like they can’t find a shred of evidence to support their innocence.
Something inside me snaps completely. “Say something!” I bite out, my voice sharp. “You’re being given a fucking chance, so say something!”
Wolf glances at me. Guilt flickers across his face but I ignore it.
“We must’ve made a mistake,” Ryder says, his voice hoarse. “Someone must’ve—”
“What better way to weaken the club,” Ruin cuts in with a slow nod, his brows drawn tight, desperation bleeding through, “than by taking out the two most trusted men to the Prez?”
Wolf’s eyes flicker—uncertain, unsettled. I can see it. The fight happening right there, behind his gaze. The brutal, physical effort it’s taking for him to even try to believe them.
“Well, what do we have here?” The accented drawl slices through the room.
My entire body locks. Every single person in the basement goes still.
Mihai. He steps in like he owns the damn place. Slow. Unbothered. That long black overcoat swaying behind him with each deliberate step.
My brother exhales sharply beside me, already sounding exhausted. “What are you doing here, Mr. Rosca?”
Mihai grins, all teeth and arrogance. “Just here to see my favorite allies.”
A second man follows him in—huge. Broad enough that he has to angle himself sideways just to get through the door. His face is blank. Empty.
