Devil's Ruin

by Bijou Hunter

  Seeing red, I’m too pissed to think straight. In fact, I’m so focused on the nutjob outside the security fence that I never consider the one I’m following to the front gate.

  I’ve heard the warnings regarding Yarrow. First, Oz warned us. Then the Everything Nice foxes warned us. Hell, even Tana told us to treat her with kid gloves. The eighteen-year-old is cracked in the head, though the details behind her crazy weren’t shared. Despite the warnings, I enter the psycho’s personal space and send her into wacko overdrive.

  Now the wide-eyed Yarrow takes wide swipes at me with a knife made for disemboweling. I nearly reach for her wrist, thinking I’ll disarm her easily. Then I see the look on her face, and I realize I’ve kicked a hornet’s nest.

  Beyond rage and fear, Yarrow’s blue eyes flare with what I can only imagine is doom. I haven’t seen such horror in a long time. Instantly, I’m lost on how to respond. No words make sense. I only dodge her swiping blade and hope someone smarter than me can soothe the turmoil I’ve created.

  “Yarrow,” Pepper says from behind us.

  The familiar voice breaks through Yarrow’s crazed desire to kill me. Despite lowering her weapon, she remains focused on me like a terminator waiting for a green light to return to kill mode.

  Pepper is a butch chick with her short dark hair, arms full of tats, and bro attire. Rumor is she’s the crew’s sniper. Despite her hard exterior, she moves with a cat’s stealth toward the younger woman.

  “Let me have the knife,” Pepper whispers.

  Yarrow’s gaze flashes to her friend and then back at me. I should lower my eyes. Instinct says I ought to treat Yarrow like a wild dog and do nothing to challenge her. Except I can’t look away from this extraordinarily beautiful, batshit crazy woman.

  Flipping her blade around, Yarrow tilts the handle for Pepper to take. She still watches me as if ready to attack.

  “What did he do?”

  Yarrow shakes her head, remaining silent. Pepper looks to me to explain. I should probably worry she’ll try to stab me next, but I’m too focused on Yarrow to care.

  “I have a stalker bitch, and she showed up here,” I mutter, refusing to feel guilty about shit that isn’t my fucking fault. “I might have gotten too close when I followed Yarrow to the gate.”

  “Might have,” Pepper hisses.

  “Shit happens, buddy,” I grunt. “So, is she okay now?”

  “She isn’t trying to kill you. So, yeah, I’d say she’s okay.”

  Pepper caresses Yarrow’s dark hair from the scalp down her shoulders to her back. The younger woman blinks a few times. As if awakening from a hellish nightmare, she lets go of my gaze and turns fully to Pepper.

  “Annie said he hurt her.”

  “Annie lies,” I nearly yell.

  Pepper gives me a dirty look. “No one cares about your love life, pal.”

  “She’s never been my girlfriend.”

  “Don’t care.”

  “You should because the stalker showed up at your home base to cause her trouble.”

  Still glaring at me, Pepper shows a hint of additional irritation at the idea of a problem lingering outside the gate.

  Then as if out of thin air, Oz and Ginger appear. They talk at the same time, asking questions I just fucking answered. Ignoring them, I stare at Yarrow who gives me a menacing, side-eye glare.

  Ginger gets a quick summary of the situation from Pepper and then says, “Yarrow, go inside and stay with Bay.”

  “No.”

  “Someone has to protect Bay,” Pepper says and hands Yarrow the knife back. “Teamwork means you can’t just say no.”

  Taking her blade, Yarrow glances at the front gate and then the doorway to Pepper and Bay’s townhome. Finally, her gaze returns to me.

  “Okay.”

  Then she strolls away as if she hadn’t been ready to disembowel me moments ago. Once Yarrow disappears into the townhome, I’m finally able to focus on someone else.

  Except despite her absence, my mind refuses to stop thinking about the troubled young woman. The way her blue eyes stared at me in horror and then rage. How quickly she turned off her feelings and returned to normal. Her every reaction leaves me transfixed.

  I’m officially addicted.

  ➸ Yarrow ☆

  I don’t like when my friends treat me like a child. They forget I’m not the person they saved a few years ago. I can control my temper. In fact, I think I control myself better than they do. Of course, my views don’t matter because they outnumber me. I learned that fact very quickly the first day we met.

  Giving in to Ginger and Pepper, I walk away from Blackjack. I won’t see what happens with Annie. I guess I should just be thankful that Pepper returned my blade.

  In the townhome’s master bedroom, I find Bay resting on her back. She opens her eyes when I enter.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I’m supposed to take care of you.”

  “Is that right?” she says, patting the bed.

  I kick off my shoes and remove my weapons before crawling next to her. Bay’s freckles scared me when I first saw her. I’d never seen so many dots on a person’s face before, and I thought she was sick. Now I run my index finger down her nose as a reminder of how much has changed since we met.

  “Where’s Pepper?” she asks, watching me through half-open eyes.

  “There was a woman at the gate looking for one of the Heretics. She said he hurt her. He said he just fucked her. I got startled and decided to cut open his stomach so he’d die.”

  “Is he dead?”

  “No.”

  “Did you cut open his stomach?”

  “No.”

  “Why?”

  “Pepper interfered.”

  “Which of the Heretics was it?”

  “Blackjack.”

  “Which one is that?”

  “The one with a beard.”

  “Don’t they all have beards?”

  Imagining the Heretics, I realize they are very hairy. I think they want to be hairy because it makes them seem manlier and that’s important to men like them. I’m not sure if growing hair is difficult, and their hairiness is a form of bragging.

  “He’s the one with short dark hair.”

  “Isn’t that Oz?”

  “He’s the other one with short dark hair.”

  “They all look the same to me.”

  “When can I feel your baby move?” I ask while placing my hand on her stomach.

  “I don’t know. Search online for an answer.”

  I reach for my phone on the small table next to my gun. Once I find the answers, I return the phone.

  “Between sixteen and twenty-two weeks. How many weeks are you?”

  “Eight.”

  Sighing, I rest my hand on her flat stomach. “It’s going to take forever.”

  “Yes, it will, but that’s okay. The wait is worth it.”

  I see her smiling at me and decide to smile back. My mind is on the activity at the front gate, though.

  “Do you still want to kill Blackjack?” Bay asks.

  “No.”

  “How come?”

  “He’s not here. I’m not scared of someone not in the room.”

  “Really?”

  “Why should I be?”

  “I guess you shouldn’t,” Bay says, taking my hand. “What did he do to startle you?”

  “He talked too close to my ear. I don’t like how that feels, and I thought he might attack me. Killing him seemed like the smart move.”

  “Will you want to kill him when you see him again?”

  “As long as he stays away from my ears, I don’t care if he lives,” I mumble, though I’m very curious about how he made my body go from cold to hot so fast.

  “Do you wish you had killed him?”

  “No, it’s probably better that I didn’t. Oz would be upset.”

  “Yeah, he would.”

  “I wonder if he’d be upset because he likes Blackjack or because
he can’t afford to lose another member of his small club?”

  “Probably both.”

  “Blackjack was fast,” I say, replaying the way he jumped out of the way. “If he wasn’t, he would have been dead before Pepper showed up.”

  Bay studies me with her half-open eyes. I let her think whatever she’s thinking. Glancing back at the doorway, I wonder if I can see the gate from the window in the spare room.

  “Will you rest with me?” Bay asks, closing her eyes.

  “I am.”

  “No, lie with me and close your eyes, so I don’t feel alone.”

  “What’s wrong with you?” I ask, doing what she wants.

  “My body is changing for the baby, and the changes make my head hurt.”

  “Do you think your baby will be like Duffy?”

  “Maybe. No one knows what causes autism. I’ll love the baby no matter what.”

  “I hope you have a girl,” I say, keeping my eyes closed.

  “Because you don’t like boys.”

  “No, because I don’t want you to name your baby Froggy.”

  Bay laughs, but I don’t open my eyes. If I do what she wants, she might fall asleep and then I can sneak away to see what happened with Annie. Did the woman with the white-blonde hair get her revenge? Is she a liar like Blackjack said? I’m dying to know the answers, but I can’t go until Bay sleeps.

  “How long do we keep our eyes closed?” I ask, yawning.

  “Ten minutes should do it.”

  Nodding, I imagine the front gate. The woman is on the outside and can’t get inside. This fact makes me happy. I don’t want her inside the gates. I don’t care if Blackjack hurt her. She shouldn’t be in here touching our things. I don’t think she should be anywhere near us. Once Bay is asleep, I’ll make sure Annie stays outside.

  ➸ Blackjack ★

  Oz gives Ginger and Pepper a quick summary of the facts between Annie and me. We met. We fucked. I didn’t want a relationship. Annie did. Stalking ensued. Though the facts aren’t true, they’re what I’ve told the club bros. The truth makes less sense anyway, so better to stick to rational lies.

  “So, she’s the raccoon chick?” Ginger says, fighting laughter. “Didn’t you ever hear that saying, ‘don’t stick your dick in crazy’?”

  I think to defend myself, but what’s the point. “Speaking of crazy, will Yarrow be okay?”

  “Yeah, why wouldn’t she?” Ginger asks.

  Pepper steps closer and smirks. “Why, did you think you were the first man she tried to disembowel? Sorry, pumpkin, you’re not special.”

  “Funny shit, but that crazy bitch came here in broad daylight to cause trouble. If she did it once, she’ll come back. Next time, she might try to chat someone up in the parking lot. Maybe Yarrow again. Or could be Duffy or your kids, Oz. So, can we stop worrying about my dick and think about how to get rid of her?”

  “The pig has a point,” Pepper says and moves toward the front gate. “I don’t want the chick releasing raccoons here.”

  Ginger and Pepper disappear through the gate while Oz and I peek through the brush to spy on the conversation. At first, I don’t see Annie, but she wouldn’t leave so easily. She enjoys being run off. Once she’s sent away, she’ll get online and complain about how people bully her. She might even write a blog post about how I wronged her, and now my friends are ganging up on her.

  “What can we do for you today?” Ginger asks someone I can’t see from my spot. Pushing Oz aside, I get a better view of Annie in all her seemingly semi-normal glory.

  “I need to speak with Blackjack.”

  “He doesn’t live here, and we’re not his secretaries so we won’t take a message. Now, why don’t you get going?”

  “Are you dating Blackjack?”

  “Both of us?” Pepper asks. “So, like a ménage a trois situation?”

  “I don’t know what he does. I only know he lies, and he hurt me, and I want to talk to him.”

  Ginger glances at Pepper and they share a silent conversation I can’t even begin to imagine. When they finish, Ginger focuses her gaze on Annie while Pepper flanks the bitch.

  Ginger crosses her arms and smiles. “We can’t have you bother Blackjack when he’s servicing us, so here’s the deal. If you come back here, we’ll harm you physically. Very, very badly. No way can we let anyone mess with our sex slave.”

  Pepper leans in closer and says in Annie’s ear, “Feel free to mess with him when he’s away from here, though. No harm in that.”

  “You can’t threaten me,” Annie says in her baby-girl voice. “I have rights.”

  Ginger maybe realizes she’s talking to a brick wall. Backing away from Annie, she points her finger like a gun at the bitch.

  “Get gone, or we’ll see how many rights you have.”

  Pepper follows Ginger, giving Annie a hard nudge as she passes by her. Next to me, Oz sighs.

  “You really shouldn’t have fucked that chick,” he mutters in a hushed voice.

  Unable to defend myself, I only watch Annie. She doesn’t move for nearly a minute, and I wonder if her crazy brain is rebooting.

  I follow after Oz, and we meet the women at the gate door. Pepper is giving me the same disapproving look my mother often shot my direction when I was a kid. Ginger’s gaze remains focused on her husband.

  “That chick needs putting down.”

  “You say that about everyone,” Oz teases, and she shrugs.

  “I’m not wrong.”

  “Killing her isn’t an option.”

  “Why not?” Pepper and Ginger ask nearly in unison.

  “She’s a defenseless woman.”

  The women share a look and nearly start laughing at Oz. I swear my balls shrivel up every time these foxes exude their hyper bitchiness.

  “If she ends up dead, people will assume I did it,” I point out.

  “And that affects us how?”

  “I guess it doesn’t.”

  They finally do laugh, and Ginger pokes a frowning Oz in the gut.

  “Cool your jets. Though she’s a deranged wart, we’re only messing around about killing her.”

  “I don’t like killing women.”

  “Then we won’t make you kill her,” Ginger says and presses her body against his.

  I look away, uninterested in watching them make out. Pepper must feel the same way because she walks away. Despite how much I want to ditch this place, I still worry about Yarrow. I can’t ask Ginger since her mouth is busy, so I chase after Pepper and stop her before she reaches the townhome door.

  “What?” Pepper asks without looking back at me.

  “I wanted to make sure Yarrow was okay.”

  “She won’t hunt you down and kill you if that’s your concern.”

  Exhaling roughly, I wish there was a way to explain why Yarrow’s panicked expression haunts me. Pepper wouldn’t understand. Besides, I’m not a guy who shares shit with people.

  “For fuck’s sake, why can’t you foxes ever just give me a straight answer for anything?” I growl, and Pepper immediately glares at me. “Look, I freaked her out, and I’m worried about her. Why can’t you act like a human being for one fucking second and check on her, so I won’t worry?”

  Pepper studies me with her now amused blue eyes. “You’re sweet,” she says, and I roll my eyes. “Okay, princess. I’ll give you the scoop. Yarrow is fine. Happy now?”

  “How do you know?”

  “She’s asleep. If she were upset, she wouldn’t sleep.”

  “How do you know she’s sleeping?” I ask, looking up at the second-story windows.

  “Bay texted me. See, Yarrow has a talent where she can sleep anywhere at any time if she keeps her eyes closed for five to ten minutes. It’s also a talent she doesn’t know she has, so we can get her to zonk out with little effort.”

  Frowning at how they trick one of their crew members, I keep my eyes focused on the window as if Yarrow might appear.

  Pepper sighs loudly after a m
inute. “Don’t even think about it.”

  “Too late,” I say and step back. “Far, far too late for that warning now.”

  Pepper shakes her head. “You’re a man with a strong death wish.”

  Still backing away, I shrug at her comment. “Probably, but everyone dies sometime.”

  “You make a good point,” she says and opens the door to her place. “I look forward to attending your funeral.”

  I grin at her comment, but my mind remains on Yarrow upstairs. I try to visualize her sleeping, but I’ve paid so little attention to the pretty little fox up until now that I can’t imagine her face except frozen in her fear.

  Chapter Three

  Life Lesson #3: honesty usually hurts feelings

  ➸ Yarrow ☆

  Last night, I dreamed of Blackjack twice. In the first dream, he was riding a giant bicycle down my old street in Little Memphis. In the second, he moved into Ginger’s home and slept on her couch, forcing me to sleep on the floor. The only good part was that he snored and the sound relaxed me.

  Each time I wake, I wish to see him again. Mostly, I want to know if he plans to take my couch. Since dreams aren’t real, I decide to stay away from the Heretics.

  Except Blackjack lingers in my thoughts. Is he a monster? Should I kill him? Is he a good kisser? What would sex feel like with him? Does he have a tattoo on his butt? Would he hurt me like he did Annie? So many questions, but I’m mostly interested in the butt tattoo one.

  Bored sitting all day at the townhomes, I’m relieved when Makoa asks Ginger if he can walk to the nearby park to play.

  “By yourself?” Ginger mutters from the lawn chair. “Nope. No way. People are evil. You can’t go.”

  “Nice overreaction there,” Clove teases from the hot tub.

  Interrupting their eye-rolling competition, I say, “I’ll walk with him.”

  Ginger nods immediately. “Good deal. Wait, should I go with you?”

  “No.”

  Her eyes narrow as if suspicious, but I turn away and gesture for Makoa to follow. I expect Ginger to follow me since she rarely trusts me alone with Oz’s kids. However, Makoa and I leave the property without interference.