Shit!
“You're not helping,” Scarlet growled at me under her breath. “Shut up. I need to concentrate.”
“Scarlet,” Sean rumbled from closer behind us than I thought possible or safe.
“She didn't do it!” I yelled, breaking through Scarlet’s hold temporarily. Our speed slowed considerably when I did.
"Are you trying to get us killed?" she snarled at me, taking over again after my minor outbreak.
“I know that, Ruby,” he said, breathing hard. “But they don't.”
With Scarlet in control, she put some distance back between us and the PC, and I was happy to have it. The brothers were gaining on Sean, and I suddenly remembered that I was not the only one on the run from a death sentence.
“Don't let them catch you!” I blurted out, turning to see where our pursuers were. “They'll kill you too—”
The final word of my sentence was knocked out of me as Sean sacked me like a quarterback whose offensive line had left him hanging. We rolled multiple times across the roof until colliding with the tiny little ledge at the end of it. I was incredibly thankful for that ledge, without which I'd have fallen to my death. Sean would have walked away with a booboo on his arm or maybe a bruise. How nice it would be to be allegedly invincible.
He flipped me on my back and pinned me down, giving me the once over quickly; it made my heart race inappropriately.
“Is she gone?” he asked hurriedly.
“I think so,” I said, uncertain of the answer. “I think my panic is overriding her self-preservation instincts for the moment though she seems awfully pissed off about it.”
“Good. Tell her that being gone is the best self-preservation instinct she could have right now.”
For now...
He stood me up abruptly as the others converged and cornered us. There was no real escape—not for me anyway. I stood nearly naked and covered in the blood of friend. A friend who was likely to die. A friend that Scarlet had tried to save, an action that served better to portray her as the assailant.
I looked guilty as sin.
“Can you explain the blood?” Sean whispered down to me.
“Will they listen?” I whispered back.
“Not likely.”
“Great,” I groaned. “Plan?”
“None.”
I suggest you two figure something out quickly, or I'm going to take my chances with these boys.
“I'll let you know when it's your turn,” I muttered under my breath, trying my best to keep my mouth closed. Sean shot me a look, and I gave him my “you know damn well who I'm talking to” face.
That commanding and unfamiliar voice from the alley snapped my attention back to the increasingly large crowd gathering around us.
“It's good to see you’re still capable of doing your job when it counts, Sean.”
Sean scoffed as the source of the backhanded compliment emerged from the crowd. I shrunk like a coward.
His size alone was formidable, but everything about him demanded my fear, from his chiseled, hardened features, to the black, bottomless orbs that seemed to pierce my very soul when they landed on me. With every step he advanced, I wanted to put equal miles between us. I'd seen my fair share of threatening psychos and madmen in my short time, but nobody was more terror-inspiring than he was. Not even close.
“The doting father role never really did suit you, Ares. Now really isn't the time to try it on.”
“Ares?” I choked out in a whisper to Sean. I wanted desperately to conceal my panic and surprise, but failed miserably.
“Yes, Ruby,” Ares replied. “He insists upon calling me by my first name, though daddy never really did seem to fit very well...”
“Holy shit...,” I said, trailing off.
“I don't know about the 'holy' part, but the 'shit' is appropriate enough,” Sean mocked, staring his father down. I looked at Sean with complete astonishment.
“This is your dad...the fucking god of war?” I ground out, with a strained attempt to control the volume of my voice. “You never thought you should mention that he was coming?”
“Was the god of war,” Sean hastily corrected. “Past tense. He lost a fight—a big one. He now serves to keep the peace. It's poetic really...God truly does have a sense of humor.
“Well, who's your mother then, the Queen of Sheba?” I whispered.
“No, though that would have been an interesting combination, Ruby,” Ares interrupted, looking annoyed. “His mother was my consolation prize. I had such high expectations for her. Pity that she couldn't quite live up to them.”
Sean's chest rumbled with dissatisfaction.
“You will show respect when you speak of her.” He managed to control his rage before looking down at me. “She was an angel.”
“Literally?” I asked, thinking nothing at that point would have surprised me. "Wings and all?"
“Wings and all,” he replied.
I was wrong—I was surprised.
“This parental lineage discussion is positively riveting, Sean, but let's not get too off track here. I believe an execution is in order,” Ares reminded him, tapping his toe impatiently. "Perhaps even two.”
“No,” Sean replied.
“No?” Ares asked with curiosity, “I was unaware that you were the decision maker now, nor was I aware that 'no' was an option when given an order.”
“She's innocent.”
“Your mind is poisoned. You're hardly in a position to objectively assess her guilt or innocence,” Ares shouted, pointing at me. “We found her covered in the human's blood, hovering over her dying body, red eyes blazing. I suppose the human harmed herself and Ruby here just happened to be passing by half naked at this hour to aid her?”
“Ronnie,” I said softly. “Her name is Ronnie.”
“Was,” Ares replied, overemphasizing the word. “Her name was Ronnie. You speak of the dead in past tense, Ruby.”
“Fine,” I enunciated back at him. “Was Ronnie, and no, it didn't quite go like that, but—”
“Silence!” he yelled, holding his hand up to deflect my explanation. “Your words don't interest me. Your death, however, does. Immensely.”
“Do you know for fact that Ronnie is dead?” Sean asked his father. I visibly cringed at the thought, and I watched Ares eye me strangely as I did.
“Your theatrics fool no one,” he informed me haughtily. “And dead or not isn't the issue. She attacked a human, and that's a big no-no, as they say.”
I was tucked so tightly into Sean's side during our three-way conversation that I felt his cell phone vibrate frantically as Ares continued to ramble on about Sean's broken oath and my impending death. I was so over men who needed to make a production out of death. Sean reached for the phone while Ares looked on, annoyed that Sean wasn't paying enough attention.
“Yes, Jay?” he asked, staring his father down. “Is it working? How did she get there in time?” I looked to his face to try and see what was going on, but he gave up nothing. “Interesting. No! She stays where she is. Don't let anyone near them until I tell you otherwise,” Sean ordered. “And Jay...put her on the phone. She needs to talk to someone.”
He lobbed his phone at Ares, who stood by looking unaware of what was going on. Apparently superhuman hearing wasn't a gift Sean got from his father. He held the phone up to his ear and said nothing. His eyes widened in disbelief before narrowing tightly at me. It made the hair on the back of my neck stand up and brought a low grumble from my chest. Sean grabbed my arm and clamped down on it, warning Scarlet to keep it in check.
Volatile situations don't need volatile people interfering.
“I see,” he said finally. “No, Jay, that will be all. You may do as Sean ordered. We will be down shortly.”
He threw the phone back to Sean, who had an immensely satisfied look on his face.
Ares did not.
“It would seem that there has been a tiny misunderstanding. The human says you actually were trying to
help her, though I'm still not convinced that this could possibly be true. Your kind has unrivaled blood lust. You should not have been able to control yourself around that amount of blood, let alone be helpful in it.”
I opened my mouth to defend myself, but he dismissed me again with a wave of his hand.
“It would explain your current appearance, so I'm not going to try to make sense of it beyond that. The human's word is enough regarding this matter.”
“Maybe you should learn to trust your son's judgment. It seems to be superior to yours,” I added, stress and adrenaline clearly clouding my own. Ares' face was dangerously close to mine in a blink of an eye.
“You presume to lecture me? Your life hangs precariously in the balance and you choose to insult me? Intelligence never was a trait of your kind. It's what made it so easy to exterminate you.”
Sean crowded his father away from me with his body, giving me some much needed space.
“Since there will be no exterminating today, we'll be leaving now,” Sean told his father, ushering me around him away from the roof's edge.
“Not so fast, dear boy,” Ares barked. “I said she was cleared regarding this particular matter, but we're in no way done here. You can start by explaining what happened here tonight. I think I'll find this explanation highly enlightening.”
I wasn't overly interested in telling him that I seemed to have some odd connection to a notorious rogue wolf who'd been in town killing women, but there was no other way to explain why I was at a crime scene when it happened to count. He'd probably been told by the PC who were ratting Sean and I out anyway, so I threw caution to the wind and let the truth set me free.
“I saw what he was thinking,” I sighed. “I knew where they were, so Scarlet hauled ass over there to try and save Ronnie. She's a friend, and her daughter is family. I had no choice.”
“So you admit to willingly unleashing your beast?” he asked, looking entirely too pleased with himself.
“Yes,” I answered stiffly. “I had no choice.”
“Fine,” he said, with a dismissing wave of the hand. “Tell me who he is.”
“The Revenant,” I said, squinting up my face in anticipation of a massive freak out from everyone around me. Nobody made a sound—except for Sean.
“You knowingly went after the Rev?” he shouted down to me, eyes darkening.
“Not exactly,” I countered meekly. “Scarlet did. But like I said, she didn't have a choice; he was going to kill Ronnie. I think she was trying to take him out herself. She said she had a plan, but I had no idea that she was crazy enough to take him on alone. I would have tried to stop her, though I'm sure that would have been in vain.”
He said nothing in response, which was usually when someone with an ounce of intelligence would have shut up, let him explode, then apologize. I did none of those things. Instead, I rambled on nervously, a habit I still hadn't managed to correct.
“What exactly do you mean by 'I saw what he was thinking'?” asked Ares, looking far more intrigued with me than I was comfortable with.
“Well, I sorta had a vision. I'm not sure if that's exactly what you'd call it, but I've been seeing the murders since he arrived in town. It took me a while to figure it out, but, based on the information that the press released and the stunts he pulled exposing himself to me, I was pretty sure I was seeing the events as they occurred,” I explained. “I thought it was all a big nightmare at first...”
“When exactly did you realize it wasn't?” Ares inquired.
“After the second murder.”
“And you didn't see fit to inform anyone of this?” he added. I visibly hesitated.
My reaction tipped my hand.
“Oh I see...it wasn't you who was withholding pertinent information, it was him,” he said, eyes falling on Sean once again.
“She told me,” Sean confirmed, "and some of the others as well. I ordered them to keep quiet for the time being, and I did with that information what I saw fit. That is my job, is it not?”
“No! Your job is to report to the Elders and await your orders. Perhaps you need some time spent somewhere private to remember that,” Ares snarled, before composing himself again. “But don't worry, some of your brothers, who actually remember how things work, betrayed you and shared this tidbit of information after Thomas died. Apparently they're far more capable of doing your job than you are.”
I felt Sean's tension as his emotions nearly knocked me to the ground. Whatever threat was implied, he wanted no part of.
“Perhaps.”
Silence permeated the rooftop as the two men stared each other down. The intensity of their gazes could have melted glass.
“So where is he now?” Ares asked me, without averting his gaze.
“I don't know,” I answered softly, “but he'll be back. I'm certain of that.”
“And how are you so certain of this?”
“Because he didn't get what he wanted,” I said, voice trailing off as I stared blankly over Ares’ head at the stars. “He'll never stop until he gets what he wants.”
“What does he want, Ruby?” Sean asked, gently turning my face up to his.
“Peyta. He wants Peyta,” I explained, “and he'll have to kill Ronnie for that to happen. She'll never give her up willingly.”
“I don't understand.”
“He's her father, Sean. The Rev is Peyta's father,” I said mournfully. “Apparently you're not the only one with a crazy dad.”
“Holy shit,” he said, wearing an expression of pure shock and awe.
“I don't know about the 'holy' part, but the shit is appropriate enough,” I replied, with a wan smile on my face.
“I guess so,” he replied. “This would explain the on-the-run lifestyle she's had for so long.”
“And her knowledge of werewolves. He was Changed when Peyta was a baby. He was so angry when he said she was taken from him.”
“This human knows about werewolves?” Ares asked with a raised eyebrow. I found myself once again trying to anticipate how to best play the situation. “It seems that somehow she's been entangled in a group of individuals who seem to have inside information about us.”
“And just how much information does she have?” he pressed.
“Not sure,” I said, lying my pants off and praying he wouldn't notice.
“Liar.”
“What is it with you two?" I asked, looking back and forth between Sean and Ares. "Can you smell a lie? Does my nose grow?” I was seriously frustrated with my lack-of-upper-handedness.
“It's written all over your face,” they replied in perfect unison.
“Fine. I know a lot, but I'm not saying shit until I know what you're going to do with it,” I demanded. “If bodies are going to drop, it won't be because of me.”
They growled in unison too.
“Do they know about us?” Ares asked, looking painfully restrained.
“What have you told her about me?” Sean asked, looking painfully like his father.
“Ronnie thinks you're the sweet piece of ass I should be tapping, Sean. I don't think she has any clue who or what you are. If she suspects anything, it'll be that you're a werewolf too,” I said, hoping that would be enough to earn the Underground a stay of execution. I turned to address Ares with hate in my eyes. “She knows nothing of you or the rest of your minions. Leave her alone.”
“Well, Ruby, that's a tad complicated. She's been bitten by a rogue, you see. If she survives, she will become what created her as her husband became what had bitten him. We can't have another one of those running around, now can we?”
My heart sank to the tar covered roof I stood on. Ronnie was going to die no matter what. I balled my hands at my sides as I stared at my bare and bloodstained feet, trying desperately to keep Scarlet at bay.
I failed.
“If you touch her,” I started, my voice taking on her telltale husky tone as I continued, “I will make it the last thing you do.”
“If yo
u threaten me again,” he countered, “I will make it the last thing you do.”
I looked up to him with crimson eyes blazing.
“Then I believe the gauntlet has been thrown.”
“So it would seem,” he replied, staring back at Scarlet with equal parts hate and intrigue. I suspected he wasn't challenged by others very often—except for Sean.
“We're leaving,” Sean snapped, as he grabbed Scarlet by the upper arm and hauled her away. I begged her to relinquish control, but she wasn't having any of that. Surprisingly though, she let Sean manhandle her with no recourse whatsoever.
“So that's it?” a voice called out from behind the wall of PC brothers. “She's let off the hook again? When will you see her for what she is? She's a lying, murderous whore. She makes you all look like fools.”
Sophie pushed her way through the masses to stand a few yards in front of them, next to Ares.
“Why is she here?” Sean asked, the anger apparent on his face.
“I brought her,” Ares said coolly. “We knew the Rouge was loose. I figured there would be collateral damage. It is her purpose, Sean, or have you forgotten that along with the many other things you seem to conveniently disregard when it suits?”
Sean's jaw tightened as his grip on Scarlet's arm released.
“Glad to see you remember the rules,” Sophie added, still looking greatly displeased. “Ares, why do you let her go? Do you really believe that Jer killed the others? Would you let her live to kill again?”
“I killed no one,” Scarlet growled, “but continue talking, and I'll correct that oversight.”
“Your lies are as transparent as your underwear. The only one who can't see it is Sean because you've bewitched him. I'll enjoy watching him kill you one day.”
“Or perhaps he'll enjoy watching me kill you one day,” Scarlet replied, turning slowly towards Sophie. Again, I begged her to let me take over to no avail. I was stuck in the backseat—Miss Daisy again.
Ares watched us with the delight of a child about to blow the candles out on his birthday cake. His warring nature bled to the forefront as he salivated over the potential for violence. It must have reminded him of his time at Mount Olympus, wreaking havoc from on high and enjoying the show—the greatest of spectators.
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