CHAPTER FORTY-THREE #2
Me. She would have come to me, but I wasn’t here.
“I was scared.” Her eyes dart away from mine. “They told me to keep my mouth shut. And then they left me on the ground.”
“I’m so sorry. But they let you go!” I hug her. “They didn’t kill you, too.”
Her lips tremble. “They warned me that I could never identify them. That I shouldn’t bother trying.”
“We have to find them. Do you remember anything?” My voice is sharp, accusing .
She furiously wipes at her eyes. “I didn’t know what to do. And now—” She shakes her head. “There’s no evidence. No way to prove anything.”
My jaw clenches, and I sit back on the sofa. “There has to be something.”
Ruby nods, tears slipping down her cheeks. “There’s something else. They had accents like Valdrin.”
My stomach knots. Albanians. “Did you recognize his voice?”
She shakes her head no.
I can’t imagine Valdrin hurting Ruby like that. Even to get revenge on me.
Connor walks back over and holds out his phone. “Is this the man you were with?”
Ruby gawks at his phone and backs away sharply. “How do you know him? Don’t hurt me!”
I put myself in front of Connor. “Of course, he won’t hurt you.”
God, I hope that’s true.
Ruby suddenly looks like she’s ready to drop, and I need to figure out what the hell Connor knows about this.
Gently, tugging her arm, I say, “Ruby, come on. Why don’t you get some sleep?” I walk her into my bedroom so she can take a nap. “I’m sure you’re exhausted. You’ll feel a little better after some rest.”
As the words come out of my mouth, I worry I sound insensitive. But she’s an adult, there’s little else I can do except offer sanctuary and want her to be comfortable.
Catatonic, she hikes to my bed and curls into a fetal position on the top cover. I drape another blanket over her and kiss her forehead.
After I close the bedroom door, I meet Connor in my kitchen. “She didn’t set up your man.”
“Maybe not directly. But she’s a witness,” Connor says anxiously .
“She’s a victim, Connor,” I say with a bite of passion. “That was the guy your brother mentioned this morning?”
“Aye.” He shows me a photo of a decent-looking man with a salt-and-pepper mop, wearing a suit at some kind of gathering, holding up a glass of whiskey.
I sit down at my kitchen table, my legs too shaky to stay upright. “You killed one Albanian, and they sent three to kill one of yours. It has to stop.”
“You’re right. And I’ll handle it.” He gets on his phone again. “Come to 3A.”
The third guard that I’ve seen occasionally with Blade and Jett arrives in the apartment a few minutes later. In a dark suit with sandy brown hair slicked back, the guard hikes toward us in a powerful gait. “Yes, boss?”
“Nero, you’re going to guard Raina’s best friend until further notice,” Connor says.
I shudder at how serious this is. “Connor...”
“Where does Ruby work?” Connor asks me with Nero hovering in the living room. After I give Connor the name, he looks at me. “Have you ever been there?”
I nod.
“Never again,” he says through gritted teeth.
“Fine by me. But Ruby has to keep working,” I argue.
“Now she has a guard.” He signals to Nero. “You go to that club, and you introduce yourself as Ruby’s private security. They set her up with Hendrix, and she was assaulted. Let them know she’s not to go on any more dates .”
“Will do, boss.” Nero looks around. “How do I get back inside?”
Connor turns to me. “Key?”
“By the door.” I don’t mention the set Ruby has on her, or the other spare in my bedroom. Not while she’s resting.
“Nero will take care of Ruby.” Connor holds me by the forearms in a comforting way.
I whisper, “For how long?”
Connor drills me with a stare that reaches into my soul. “For as long as you want me to.”
I keep my jaw tight, knowing it will hit the floor in a second if I don’t. “Nero is one of your guards, Connor.”
“I have you now, Venom.” He speaks with such confidence and pride, and for some stupid reason, that warms my heart. “But we have to leave. The brotherhood knows where you live. If anyone shows up looking for you, Nero will handle them and keep Ruby out of it.”
I nod. “Let me say goodbye to her.”
Connor lays a kiss on my lips. “Two minutes, love.”
I wander into my bedroom and find Ruby on her back, staring at the ceiling. “Hey. I have to leave. You come here whenever you need to. There’s a guy in the living room who will watch out for you.”
“Why do I need protection?” She wipes her eyes.
“I know you’ve been through a lot, but I have to tell you something.” I sit on the floor and lean against the wall. “It’s about Valdrin.”
“What?” Ruby stiffens, then blushes. “What about him?”
“Ruby, I’m so sorry, but I think the men who hurt you work for him. There’s some kind of gang war going on with them and Connor’s family .” I use those terms so she can understand.
“What side of that war are you on?” she asks me, sharp and intense. “Connor is crazy about you. It’s obvious. But if he’s involved with a gang?”
I was always on the side of the law. Even when I bent the rules to take what I wanted. Something inside me aches to be part of Connor’s world now.
I’m still reconciling that Levin Berisha was not my father, but the man who gave me life exists somewhere in that brotherhood. That’s if he’s even alive. But what those men did to Ruby has nothing to do with me. As time marches on, it’s leading me further and further away from my bloodline.
And right to Connor.
I take Ruby’s soft, tiny hand. “I’m on your side.”