Ronnie Radke's Arc

Chapter 3 of 7

Elena came to the penthouse a week after the stadium show. Her camera never stopped. She filmed Ronnie in the dark suite, the city glowing through black glass. She filmed Tina shrieking on her perch, green wings flaring. Ronnie watched the red light blink and knew the danger. One frame could catch what he was. Vampires did not show up right on film. His skin, his eyes, his speed. A single bad shot could end everything. She lowered the camera to pet the parrot. "You hide up here like a ghost," she said. She laughed. Her brown curls fell across her face. "But I think you're the gentlest man I've met." Ronnie almost believed she saw the real him. That scared him more than her lens. He had fed on people for a hundred years. He had never wanted one to stay. But he wanted her to stay. Bruno arrived without knocking. Gold rings, purple jacket, a diamond at his throat. He looked at the camera, then at Ronnie's face, and read both. "Oh, honey," he said softly. "No." He pulled Ronnie into the next room. His voice dropped to a hiss. "She films you every hour. You know what a camera sees. One wrong frame and we're both hunted." His fangs showed. "You know how we fix leaks. I can make her a sad little accident by morning." "No," Ronnie said. Bruno blinked. "No?" "I'm handling it my way." Ronnie had never told Bruno no before. The word hung between them. Bruno's smile faded. He saw something in Ronnie he did not like. He straightened his jacket and left without another word. Ronnie went back to Elena. He took the camera from her hands and set it down. The red light died. For the first time, nothing watched him. He told her the truth. Not all of it. But the shape of it. That he was old. That he was not what people thought. That the footage could never be safe while she chased what he hid. She did not run. She stepped closer. "Then stop hiding from me," she said. "Show me." He let his eyes change. His fangs slid down. She reached up and touched his mouth. She was not afraid. She was in love, and so was he, and that terrified him more than any camera. He did not turn her. Not yet. Instead he made a deal. She would keep filming the series. But she would guard his secret now, edit every frame, cut anything that showed the truth. She became his shield instead of his threat. The camera problem was solved. He had traded surveillance for love. But Bruno had walked out with that cold look. And Ronnie had let a mortal inside his secret while his whole operation ran on keeping that secret buried.