Burn Me Once, Burn With Me novel Chapter 587

The next moment, a hand rested gently on Ruby's head. A warmth spread from her scalp downwards, and a tightly wound nerve inside her finally relaxed. Caught off guard by the gesture, she looked up with a frown, only to see a look of pure admiration on his face.

"This is great," Sylas said, his tone exceptionally earnest. "Otherwise, I'd have to worry about you getting bullied whenever I'm not around." Ever since he'd learned about her past, he had felt that his sole purpose was to protect her. Anyone who had wronged her or wished her harm, he would repay in kind, using any means necessary.

Ruby stared into his eyes—dark and intense, yet radiant. They were so different from Cassian Veyne's, which had always been as cold and still as a deep pond. "I'm going up to see Fanny and Hayley," she said, flustered by the sudden thump in her chest. The sharp sting of her nails digging into her palms, however, was slowly eating away at that flicker of life. She turned and walked away, almost fleeing.

This time, Sylas didn't follow. He crouched down on the spot, a hint of melancholy in his posture. He looked down at his palm, where the warmth of her touch seemed to linger, but when he closed his hand, he grasped only empty air. He looked up toward her office window. It was clean and bright, but she was nowhere to be seen. He knew he'd been too forward and decided against following her, returning instead to his car. The faint, sweet scent of her perfume still lingered in the air. He closed his eyes, not starting the engine, but leaning back against the soft seat, greedily inhaling her fragrance.

As Ruby reached the second floor, she was met with the teasing looks of Hayley and Fanny. Her mind tensed, the nerve that had just relaxed pulled taut once more. "What? Mr. Cunningham didn't come up?" Hayley asked, craning her neck dramatically to look behind Ruby.

Fanny stood beside her, stifling a laugh. Ruby's expression immediately darkened. Their entire exchange downstairs had clearly been witnessed by the two of them. "Alright, that's enough," she said, rubbing her brow in annoyance, trying to hide the blush creeping up her face. "How's the analysis of the map coming along?"

At the mention of business, they both dropped their playful demeanor. Fanny nodded at Ruby. "Come with me."

The three of them entered the office, where an enlarged printout of the map lay on the table. Only now did Ruby get a chance to examine the entire layout properly. She had been too tense and cautious at the Grayson manor to study it in detail.

"Based on the data from our drone and observations from our people on the outside, we estimate the factory covers an area of about ten thousand square meters," Fanny explained.

Fanny nodded. "I think that's the most probable location. Since Hanley is the secret owner of this factory, the workers probably don't even know what he looks like. The only people he'd interact with are the managers. If he wanted to hide someone there, he would have arranged it with them."

Hayley thought it made sense and looked to Ruby for her opinion, but she was frowning and silent. "Ruby, what do you think? Fanny's theory seems solid."

"If you agree, I'll send the drone back to do a few more passes specifically over the management building to see what we can find," Fanny added, also turning to wait for Ruby's decision.

"It's wrong," Ruby said suddenly, looking up. Her brow was still furrowed, her expression tense.