Page 127 of Ravaged Devotion

The sound of footsteps in the hall interrupted them. A moment later, Avan appeared in the doorway. He bowed his head.

“Young Master Hart, the police are here and asking to speak with you.” The old man glanced at them and then looked away.

“Thank you,” Rue said for Ryker. “Tell them we’ll be right there.”

“We’ll meet them in the main house,” the Black Hart added.

“Of course.” Avan turned and hurried away.

“He didn’t know what to do,” Rue guessed, “seeing us like this.”

“Our parents are gone.” Ryker stood, lifting Rue as he did so. “No matter how uncomfortable it makes them, everyone is going to have to get used to us being together. And quick. Because I have time to make up for, and I’m not willing to waste anymore of it. What about you, little brother?”

Rue linked his arms around Ryker’s neck and held on as he carried him from the room. “I’ve been in love with you since we were twelve, Ryk. If you’ll have me—”

“Oh I’ll have you.” He grinned wolfishly at him.

“Stop.” Rue shook his head, though he was smiling also. “The adrenaline has worn off and I am no longer experiencing misplaced arousal. I just feel…”

“I know.” He kissed his forehead. “We’ll get through this, sweetheart. Together. I promise.”

They had to pass by the room where the pods were stored on their way out. Inside, Rue could hear Uriel moving about, cleaning up Bowie’s remains.

Rue pressed his face in the crook of Ryker’s neck and refused to spare it even a glance as they walked by.

If everyone was guilty, that meant there was no use in seeking forgiveness. Either for himself, or for others.

Strangely, Rue found he could live with that.

So long as he had Ryker by his side, he could live with anything.

Epilogue:

One Year Later

Rue walked into the office and smiled when Ryker nodded at him. The Black Hart was on the phone, so Rue moved to the meeting room that was attached and began setting out the dinner he’d brought.

After Rhys had been pronounced dead, Ryker had inherited the majority shares of the company. He’d been voted in as the next CEO and had taken on the role early, despite still being in school. It was ridiculous, but that was the sort of planet they lived on. The kind where money and power meant more than a degree or experience.

Maybe Ryker wanted to prove all the naysayers wrong, because he’d thrown himself into the job, proving time and time again that he was more than the perfect candidate for it. If nothing else, his father grooming him to take over was something he was grateful for.

“How was practice?” Ryker entered the meeting room, kissing Rue on the cheek before inspecting the food he was still laying out. “Why did you buy so much?”

“Practice was good.” Rue was working with an up-and-coming band on their first studio album and having the time of his life doing so. Technically, he didn’t have to work, since he’d gotten the Vadim family fortune, but he’d always loved music, and with no one left to stand in his way or dictate his future, he’d been able to pursue a career in it. “Did you forget? We’re meeting with the head of Glass Roof.”

A new tech company had approached them recently about Ryder’s situation. They believed very strongly that they had a way of breaking him free from the game, and after some debate, Ryker had agreed to meet with them personally to discuss.

Of course, he was only comfortable doing so on his own turf, which was why that person was coming here, to Hart Holding HQ.

“Uriel should arrive soon as well,” Rue reminded. Since he’d experienced what it was like trapped inside a virtual world, they’d all thought having him present for the meeting was the wisest choice. It also wasn’t solely up to Ryker whether or not to accept the offered help.

The two of them might be twins, but Uriel was Ryder’s best friend, and he’d spent hundreds of years, and dozens of lifetimes, inside the game world with him. One of them had woken, and the other had chosen to stay, but it was questionable whether or not Ryder was still doing so willingly, with a clear mental state of being.

By Uriel’s own accounts, the two of them had lost themselves in there, forgetting who they really were and where they’d come from. It was understandable that Ryder had yet to find his way home, when there was a very real chance that he no longer remembered there even was a home for him to come back to.

“Do you still want to visit the cemetery tomorrow?” Ryker came up behind him and wrapped his arms around his waist, forcing Rue to stop setting out the plastic dishes. “You always overeat when you’re anxious.”

Rue blew out a breath. “We should.”