He nodded. No argument or hard time. Maybe this wouldn’t be as difficult as I feared.
Except I was at a loss for what to say next. When words failed, I resorted to action. I tugged down my shirt far enough to show him the bruise on my chest. It was barely there now, but enough of a hint remained.
He squinted in the dark as he leaned in closer. “What is that? Did he beat you?”
I pulled my shirt up quickly. Words might’ve been the better option. “No. He didn’t do it. It’s a debt.”
I spat out the rest of what Ryker had told me, along with my own knowledge before the situation devolved. I watched as dread filled Ruck’s expression.
Then the denial hit. “Why would the Debt Collector want you? How do you know he isn’t lying?”
“He isn’t. I can feel it.”
His face fell. Ruck trusted my instincts enough to accept it, which was a really good thing. Convincing someone you’re going to die was a lousy thing to have to do.
“Who would’ve negotiated a deal for you?”
“Remember where I was right before I met you.”
“This is why you can’t leave?”
“He knows the Debt Collector. He thinks he can help me get rid of it.” Plus there was that eighteen months he’d just given away.
“Why would he do that?”
“So that I can help him get into Bedlam. He thinks I can get past their wards.”
Ruck’s mouth dropped. “Bedlam? The Bedlam? The one with the dragons? You can do that?”
This was worse than telling him I was sick. “He thinks I can.”
A silent “whoa” formed on his lips.
“That doesn’t mean I can.”
“Does that mean you’re staying?” Ruck’s voice was barely above a whisper. I understood. I never thought I’d leave him either. We were going to die together. Or that was what I’d thought.
I nodded. “But not forever.”
Sadness fell over his expression, and as much as it twisted my insides to see it, it was better than what came next. There were few people as stubborn as me, but Ruck was one of them.
Pure determination burned on his face. “Then I’m staying too.”
There was a rustling in the trees. Suddenly, Marra, Sinsy, and Fetch were coming toward me.
“We’re staying too,” Sinsy said as they all rushed me.
Marra pointed at the five of us and then made a circle. We’re one. Fetch nodded.
They’d obviously heard everything, so I cut to the real problem, the thing that made me want to chase them out of here. “If I can do what he wants, it’ll bring war here. You know what happens then.” We all did. Death. We’d seen so many refugees coming through the Ruined City because of wars that I’d lost count.
“Do they have food?” Sinsy asked, as if I hadn’t mentioned war.
Oh yes, did they ever have food. But I couldn’t talk about that. “It doesn’t matter about the food if you’re all dead. Plus, I’ve made a deal to get some for you in a—”
“What do they have?” Ruck asked, the others looking more interested in the menu. Did they not hear the part about walking into their deaths?
“Stuff. They’ve got some stuff.” I shrugged, hoping we could blow this part off.
Fetch stared at Ryker, Sneak, and Burn. “They look like they eat a lot.”
“I’m not leaving you here,” Ruck said.
“If he can stay, why can’t we?” Sinsy asked.
I shook my head. “Fine. Let’s all go have a chat.”
Ryker was the one who wanted them gone—let him tell them. They weren’t listening to me, so I might as well use his innate nastiness to my benefit. Let him scare them off.
I took another look around before I walked over to Ryker. “Where’s Tiger?”
“Tiger went to work for Loretta,” Ruck said.
I nodded. I’d wondered if that was going to happen after another week of being hungry. I hoped he didn’t end up on the stick, but it was his choice.
I stepped in front of Ryker with my crew behind me. I’d expected the ward to be the first obstacle that would keep them out, but they walked right through it. Ryker must’ve taken it down. Couldn’t imagine why, though.
Ryker stood with Sneak on one side and Burn on his other. I stopped in front of Ryker. It was hard to ignore how good it felt to have my crew at my back, but I had to. They had to go. It was for the best, even as each step they took away from here would cut me deep. Their deaths would be worse. After Ryker attacked Bedlam, this place wouldn’t be safe.
“They want to stay.” I threw my hands up. Now I just needed to wait for Ryker to tell them to leave.
Ruck puffed out his chest as he stated firmly, “We’re staying. We go where she goes.”
Ryker looked at them, and I waited for the bastard to get on his high horse and treat them as he had me. I saw him take in the way Marra was nudging Sinsy in her own way of speaking. I knew how weak and bedraggled we all were compared to his people, how thin and weak. He’d think they were useless to him and send them on their way. Every second he took sizing them up weighed in my favor. Ryker would definitely send them away.
He took a last appraisal and then said, “You take care of yourselves and you all get a work detail.”
What? What did he just say? Oh no, this wasn’t what was supposed to happen. He’d told me to get rid of them! Stunned into silence, I watched in horror as the details got worked out.
“We can work and we always take care of ourselves,” Ruck said, still puffed up.
Ryker turned to Sneak. “Give them the open rooms on Block D and tell Tracy to give them jobs tomorrow.”
Ryker turned and walked away while Sneak was waving my crew toward the direction of the city, Burn going with them. My smiling crew following.
Ruck paused when I didn’t move. I was torn between catching up with my crew or tracking down the crazy man who’d let them stay.
“I’ll find you in a couple of minutes,” I said to Ruck, and chased Ryker.
It took me a few minutes to close the distance. “What are you doing?” I asked as he kept walking.
“Going for a swim. It’s a perfect night for one, and there happens to be a nice lake over there.” He kept walking as if he hadn’t done a one-eighty by letting them stay.
“I don’t care about your sudden need for a swim. I’m talking about my crew. You told me to get rid of them and then you let them stay? Isn’t it bad enough you’re going to kill me and your people? You want to take everyone out?”
The accusations didn’t rile him at all as he kept his pace. “Why is it crazy for them to want a better life?”
“Because it’s not going to happen. You’re going to start yet another war!” I fisted both hands as a bad situation kept getting worse.
We cleared the last group of trees, and the land opened up to a beautiful body of water.
He stopped at the bank and turned to me. “If you want them gone, you make them leave. I’ve changed my mind about wanting them gone.”
“You’re doing this to…” I lost my words as he pulled his shirt off. Seriously, did the guy lift boulders for fun or something? I’d never seen a male that looked like this before. Was it all the food? I wanted to reach out and touch the ridges on his stomach, just to see if they’d squish. That couldn’t all be muscle.
“I’m doing what?” he asked as he tossed the shirt to the ground. There was this strange heat in his eyes, as if he’d caught me staring and liked it.
I turned away from him and looked at the water. “You’re doing this to screw me. You know I won’t leave without them. If my crew is here, I’m stuck.”
“Sure. That’s it. Glad you worked it out” He made it sound as if I was ridiculous.
I wasn’t. Why else would he do it? He wouldn’t care it they were starving without me. I saw his hands go to his pants out of the corner of my eye. It was time to fight another day.
I wanted to scream at him to not be so crazy, but then I’d have to stay there with him while he was nude. I kind of wanted to see what he looked like with no clothes on, which was the main reason I knew it was time to get out of there.
If I couldn’t get Ryker to send them away, I’d make them leave.