Chapter 7

𝘼𝘽𝘽𝙄𝙀

I waited outside Ruby's apartment just like she had asked me to. There were other old-looking apartments next to Ruby's.

Groups of boys and girls sat outside, gathered in small circles. Smoke curled into the air around them as they laughed loudly, sniffed cocaine, and listened to a French song blasting from someone's speaker.

"Ruby's family?" one of them asked suddenly. His French accent twisted the words badly, but I understood him.

I nodded, my heart pounding in my chest, praying that they wouldn't come after me.

Every single one of them looked dangerous.

Tattoos crawled across their necks, arms, and faces like dark vines. It almost seemed like having ink all over your body was a requirement to live in this neighborhood.

If they weren't speaking French, or if I hadn't taken the plane that brought me to Paris, I would've doubted this was Paris.

Paris was supposed to be a city of love, not for thugs. Anyway... Ruby had earlier mentioned that this neighborhood was far from being a city of love like Paris was known for.

"You want smoke?" another guy asked, holding out a cigarette.

I shook my head immediately.

"She don't smoke," he laughed loudly. His friends burst into laughter with him, mocking me.

He couldn't even speak correct English, and yet he was mocking me for not being a smoker? He's a coward for that. But I kept that thought to myself. I wasn't stupid enough to say it out loud.

Suddenly...

CRASH!

The sound of something breaking exploded from Ruby's apartment. My heart jumped. Without thinking, I hurried to the window and carefully peeked inside.

Landry and Ruby were arguing.

Landry looked furious. His face was red, his hands moving angrily as he shouted in French. Ruby's voice was softer, pleading in French too.

"I don't want her here. She's Regina's daughter!" Even if he couldn't pronounce the words correctly, I heard what he said.

I was right.

Landry didn't want me here.

And honestly… I don't blame him. 

My mom made them feel like they were useless and not worth living.

No sane person would happily welcome the daughter of someone who had treated them like trash.

I swallowed hard.

Maybe coming here had been a mistake.

Maybe I should just go back to California.

Maybe it was my fate to remain trapped under my controlling mom forever.

Tears threatened to fall from my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. It wasn't worth it. Crying wouldn't save me from my mom.

Quietly, I picked up my luggage and began walking away. But before I could take more than a few steps, Ruby appeared in front of me.

"Where are you going, Abbie?" she asked, her voice strained.

"I don't want you and Landry to fight because of me," I said softly. "He doesn't want me in his house. I should respect that."

"No, Abbie," Ruby said quickly. "I'll convince him. I'm his wife."

I shook my head softly. "You don't have to do that, Ruby. I'm going back to California."

"But you're trying to escape from her, right? My brother told me what you found out about her. Why do you want to go back when you're already here?" she asked.

"It's the best thing to do. I know Landry loves you, I don't want to set a conflict between the both of you," I whimpered.

The tears I had been holding back finally slipped down my cheeks.

Ruby sighed deeply and wiped my tears. "You came this far, I can't let you go back like this," she sighed. "I have an idea of where you can stay. It's ten times better than where I live. Ten times better than any buildings in L'impasse des Ombres."

"Where?" I asked, my voice barely audible.

Ruby didn't say much. She took my hand and before I knew it, we were in front of a black painted building.

It was the only building on the street, like the owner was so obsessed with isolation.

The building itself didn't look old or worn like the others I'd seen since arriving. No faded walls, no peeling paint, no cracked windows. It was immaculately... beautiful. It screamed luxury in a way that made my chest tighten.

If the owner was wealthy, why did he choose to live in a cramped neighborhood? Is he a criminal hiding from the cops?

Ruby mentioned that cops never stepped foot in this neighborhood.

Is he a crime lord?

An assassin?

A thief 

Or worse... a killer?

"Who did you say the owner is again?" I asked nervously.

I hadn't met the owner of the house, but he was already giving me the creeps.

Ruby didn't answer. She pulled her phone from the back pocket of her shorts, spoke a few words in French before hanging up. Then she looked at me and smiled.

"He'll be here soon," Ruby said, smiling at me.

I touched my earlobe, as if grounding myself for whatever nightmare was about to appear.

My imagination ran wild. Maybe he was an old man with a potbelly. Or someone with missing teeth. Or worse… an ogre. Because who in their right mind would live alone in a street with no neighbors, no houses behind or in front? He even painted the whole building in black paint.

If he's not a criminal... then he's an ogre hiding his ugly face from everyone.

"Logan," Ruby said suddenly.

I lifted my head, and my eyes almost felt like they'd pop out of their sockets from how wide I'd opened them.

He wasn't an old man.

He didn't have a potbelly.

He didn't even look like an ogre.

He was…

Was there another word for handsome? No. That didn't even cover it.

His face was calm… eerily calm and innocent… but every inch of him screamed danger. How could someone look so innocent yet still radiate a threat that made my stomach twist in fear?

There was no ink on his skin, no tattoos to warn of his violence, but his aura… it whispered death. Far worse than any thug covered in ink.

Then my gaze dropped to his knuckles. MERCY NONE.

My eyes widened even more. He... he was the one who helped me earlier.

He walked past me like I didn't exist, his steps silent, each movement a controlled blade of danger. 

He approached Ruby with that same unspoken intensity. Not a single word escaped him, and yet the air around him felt heavy and suffocating.

Just the raise of his eyebrow was enough to make Ruby speak.

"I… I didn't mean to bother you, but right now you're the only one who can… be of help to me," she stammered, her words barely audible, her hands quivering.

He still didn't speak.

Ruby pressed her lips together, almost as if she was scared of him. Anyone would.

She then pulled me closer, almost shoving me to his face. When my eyes met his cold, obsidian eyes, it felt like I would melt.

"This is my niece, all the way from California. She came to spend a month and a half with me, but Landry… he doesn't want her in our home," Ruby said, her voice trembling, tiny against the weight of his silence.

For the third time, he didn't speak. Is he mute or something?

"Can... can she stay with you?" Ruby whispered, her voice quivering like a leaf in a storm.

What?! I screamed inside my head, panic clawing at my chest. Ruby wants me to stay with this… this demon?

His cold, unblinking eyes flicked from Ruby to me.

The way he stared at me… it was like he could see my soul and rip it apart if I dared breathe too loud.

No…

No…

I take it back.

I'm not drawn to him.

He's a demon.

I… I cannot… I will not… stay with a demon.