Ruby
He was so sure that she worked at the Velvet House, and no matter how many times she denied it, there would be no changing that. The problem was that he hadn’t been guessing. Ant knew that it was her under that wig, dancing on stage, and that scared her to death.
“I heard from Bolt that Ant was coming in today to get his check-up for the FBI, and I worried that he might try to talk to you again,” Banshee explained.
“Yeah, well, I was the doctor giving Ant his check-up, so talking to me was a given. I just didn’t expect him to corner me about—well, you know.”
Banshee grabbed her shoulders. “Hey, look at me. Dancing isn’t illegal. You shouldn’t be ashamed of having to do it to make some money. We’ve all done things that we didn’t want to do, but had to, in order to get through life.”
Ruby let out a broken laugh. “It sure feels illegal when your hospital board is full of moral crusaders and donors with wives who don’t want their doctors having skeletons in their closets.
” Banshee didn’t argue, and Ruby was thankful for that.
She didn’t have the energy to fight with her friend right now.
Ruby turned away, pacing the small room. “I lied to him again. I keep lying, and he just keeps watching me like he’s waiting for me to crack. Why can’t he just leave well enough alone?”
“Are you going to crack?” Banshee asked quietly.
Ruby stopped pacing; her voice came out raw.
“I don’t know if I can keep holding it in.
He’s relentless.” The tears came then, and she wanted to kick herself for being so vulnerable.
She pressed a hand over her mouth as they fell, her shoulders shaking.
“I did everything right,” she said through the tears.
“I studied, and I worked hard. I earned my degree. I didn’t hurt anyone by dancing. I was just surviving.”
Banshee pulled her into a hug without hesitation. “You did what you had to do to put yourself through school. That’s admirable. If Ant can’t see that, then he’s not worth your trouble. And he’s an ass if he says that dancing is wrong. Hell, he works at that club too, right?” Banshee asked.
Ruby nodded, “He does, as a bouncer. He’s not accusing me of doing anything wrong, and he doesn’t look at me like I’m dirty,” Ruby whispered.
“He looks at me like I’m a puzzle—one that he wants to solve, and that scares me even more.
” Puzzles got solved, and Ruby worried that Ant would be able to put the pieces together and out her for dancing at a strip club.
The part she wasn’t willing to tell Banshee was that when Ant looked at her, she felt seen in a way she never had before—not as Ruby the doctor, and not as Scarlet the dancer. It was as if he saw both of them in her. Ant saw all of her, and that was the part that really scared her.
Banshee pulled back slightly. “You want Rebel to know?”
Ruby hesitated. Then nodded. “Yeah. Before this turns into something worse. If Ant has asked Bolt about me being a dancer, then Rebel is bound to find out. She should hear it from one of us.”
“And Valentine’s Day?” Banshee asked gently. “Will you still come into the clubhouse for the party?”
Ruby huffed out a shaky breath. “Ant asked me to be his date for Valentine's. Can you believe that? He accuses me of lying and then asks me out. What kind of guy does that?”
“Well, you are lying to him,” Banshee pointed out. “Are you going to go out with him?” Ruby stared at the wall, the question hanging heavy and unanswered between them. Banshee knew her inside and out, and she knew that there would be no lying to her Prez.
“I don’t think this is about a date,” she said finally. “I think he’s testing me. Pushing me to see how close he can get before I break and spill the truth.”
“And if he’s not testing you, what will you do?” Banshee asked. “Maybe he just wants to go out with you, Ruby. What if he just wants you?”
Ruby shook her head. “No one just wants me. Not the real me, anyway.”
Banshee squeezed her hand. “You’d be surprised.” Ruby looked down at her trembling fingers, at the thin scar on her wrist from a fall she’d taken years ago on stage—one she’d stitched herself in the dressing room and then danced through the pain.
Ant knew, and sooner or later, he was going to tell everyone down at the clubhouse. What would she do then? Ruby couldn’t let that happen because facing her friends as a stripper wasn’t going to happen.
Ruby straightened, wiping her eyes. “I won’t let him use my past against me.”
Banshee nodded. “Then we make sure he doesn’t get the chance.”
Ruby squared her shoulders, her doctor face sliding back into place like a mask she’d worn too long.
She wasn’t sure how she was going to convince Ant that she wasn’t a dancer down at the club he worked at, but she had to try.
Letting him tell all of her friends about her dancing wasn’t going to happen—not if she could help it.
Ruby knew something was wrong the second she walked into Savage Hell and the music dipped—just a fraction too low. Not enough for anyone else to notice, but it was enough for her to notice.
Rebel was standing near the bar with her arms crossed over her chest and her jaw set. Banshee was beside her, whispering something in her ear. And Ant—Ant was leaning back against the pool table like he owned the place, watching them all.
Her stomach dropped at the way that he was looking at her.
She knew that he wasn’t going to leave well enough alone, and having to deny his accusations all night wasn’t on her to-do list. And yet there he was, calm as sin, watching her like she was his business instead of dangerous ground that he needed to avoid.
Rebel saw her first. Her gaze softened for half a heartbeat—then hardened again, as she crossed the room to where Ruby stood.
She grabbed Ruby’s hand and tugged her over to the pool table, where Ant was standing.
She felt sick knowing that her friend was going to stir the pot.
All Ruby wanted to do was hide away until this was all over.
“You wanna tell me why a fed-adjacent asshole is asking questions about my doctor?” Rebel said more to Ant than to Ruby.
Ruby’s throat went dry. “He—”
Ant spoke over her. “I just want five minutes to talk to Ruby. That’s all.” He didn’t answer her question, and Ruby wondered if Rebel would let that stand.
Banshee joined them, and Ruby groaned out loud, drawing all their attention. “What the hell is going on here?” Banshee asked.
“Hey Prez, I was just telling Rebel that I need a few minutes to talk to Ruby,” Ant repeated.
Ruby flinched at the word Prez. He’d done his homework. Was he checking up on all the Harlots now because he wanted more information about her?
Banshee didn’t raise her voice. She didn’t have to. “You got thirty seconds before I decide you’re a problem and have one of the guys remove you from the club.”
Ant straightened slightly but was smart enough not to make a move towards them.
“I’m not here to cause trouble. If I wanted to cause Ruby trouble, I already know enough to make that happen.
” He looked directly at her, and she wanted to look away, but she couldn’t.
“Your secret is safe with me,” he promised.
Every nerve in Ruby’s body screamed at her to call bullshit, but she wanted to hear him out. “Go on,” Ruby prompted.
“I’ve done some checking into you, and you’re clean. You don’t have a record, and if all you’re doing is dancing at the club downtown, well, who am I to cause you any trouble then?” he asked. Ruby’s chest tightened.
Ruby’s mouth curved into something sharp. “Well, that’s a funny way of trying to reassure me, Ant,” she drawled. “I’m supposed to feel better that you checked up on me and ran a background check to make sure that I was clean. That’s an invasion of my privacy.”
Ant nodded once. “I’m trying to tell you that I know about Velvet House, and I won’t tell anyone else your secret.”
The room felt as though it went dead quiet around them. She looked at Banshee and then at Rebel. “Well, shit,” Rebel said under her breath.
“You just fucking told Rebel about Ruby’s secret, asshole. So, tell Ruby again how you are going to keep her secret,” Banshee breathed. She was practically in his face, and Ruby had to hand it to the guy; he stood his ground, even against a force like Banshee.
Ruby’s vision tunneled. She felt exposed, almost like the walls had peeled away and left her standing under stage lights again, naked in every way that mattered. Rebel didn’t look at her right away. She kept her eyes on Ant. “You are telling me something I already know,” Rebel said.
Ruby’s breath caught. “You know about me dancing?” she whispered. Rebel took her hand into her own and squeezed it.
Rebel finally turned to her, her voice calm.
“You think I didn’t wonder how a broke kid paid for med school without selling her soul?
Plus, Bolt told me that Ant had been asking questions about you.
When I asked what kind of questions, well, I put two and two together.
What I can’t understand is why you didn’t feel like you could tell me.
I mean, I’ve told all of you that I was a stripper while raising Jace.
Hell, I did so much worse than just stripping to put food on the table for my little brother, but that’s not anyone’s business but mine and the Harlots,” she said, staring Ant down.
Ruby wasn’t sure if it was relief or worry that had her knees nearly giving out.
Banshee wrapped an arm around her as though noticing how she was feeling.
“You never asked,” Ruby whispered. “I didn’t want anyone to know, but I would have been straight up with you if you had asked me.
” She hoped that Rebel believed her because she’d never lie to any of her Harlot sisters.
Rebel shrugged. “I didn’t need to ask you about it. What you do to take care of yourself is your business. I just want you to know that you can always come to us, and we can help you, Ruby.”
“I’ve already told her that much, but our girl is stubborn. She won’t accept help paying off her student loans,” Banshee said.
Ant watched the exchange closely. “I’m not here to expose her. I’m here to make sure nobody else does.”
Ruby stared at him. “You don’t get to play hero. I don’t need your help, Ant. I told you from the beginning to just mind your business.”
“I’m not playing the hero,” he said quietly. “I’m just trying to help.”
Banshee took one step forward, and the air felt as though it shifted. “Then let’s get something straight. Ruby is under my protection. She’s got the Harlots’ and Bastards’ full protection. Whatever skeletons she has in her closet stay buried, and you keep your mouth shut.”
Ant met her gaze. “I agree.”
“Then why are you here?” Ruby demanded. Her voice shook—but she didn’t back down. “Why push me for answers? Why ask about Valentine’s Day? Why look at me like you’re waiting for me to confess my deepest, darkest secrets to you?”
Ant’s jaw flexed. “Because I don’t like secrets that can get people hurt.”
Rebel snorted. “Bullshit. You’re here because you’re curious about Ruby. You didn’t like that she lied to you, and you couldn’t help but prove you were right.”
Ant didn’t deny it. Ruby felt heat crawl up her spine—anger mixing with fear. “Curiosity doesn’t give you the right to corner me in my exam room. And it doesn’t give you permission to use your FBI resources to do a background check on me.”
Ant’s eyes softened. “I wasn’t trying to corner you. I was trying to see if you’d tell me yourself before I dug further.”
Silence stretched between them, and she knew that she wasn’t going to win this battle.
Ant didn’t feel as though he had done anything wrong.
Hell, he probably felt she was in the wrong for lying to him, but he had no right to dig into her past just because she had lied to him.
She wasn’t one of his cases or persons of interest.
Banshee looked between them and then back at Ruby. “You want me to handle this?”
Ruby hesitated because she knew that if Banshee handled it, Ant would disappear. Her problems would be solved, and no one would have to find out about her secret, but something in Ruby twisted at the thought of never seeing Ant again.
“No,” she said finally, “that won’t be necessary.”
Banshee’s brows lifted. “You sure?”
Ruby nodded, “I can handle him,” she lied. She wasn’t sure if she could handle anything that Ant might throw at her. She just hoped that he had finished digging up dirt on her. Ant’s gaze locked on hers. Something like respect flickered there, and she wondered what that was about.
Banshee sighed. “Fine, but hear me, Ant—one wrong step, and you won’t make it out of Huntsville with all your teeth.”
Ant smiled faintly. “Fair enough. Message received.”
He turned to Ruby. “Valentine’s Day’s still open. No pressure.”
She barked out her laugh, glaring at him. “You’re unbelievable. Do you really think that I’d go out with you now?”
He shrugged, “I hope so,” he replied. He walked out of Savage Hell without looking back, and all Ruby seemed to be able to do was stand there, shaking, as she watched him leave.
Rebel put a hand on her shoulder. “You don’t owe anyone the truth unless you want to give it. Just remember that it’s your story to tell, not anyone else’s, and no one can take it from you.”
Ruby swallowed hard. “I don’t know if I can keep lying to everyone,” she admitted. “Especially not the Harlots.” Keeping the truth from her sisters felt wrong. If a stranger could figure out her secret, everyone would be able to. She wanted to be the one to tell everyone.
Banshee squeezed her hand. “Then don’t lie to them. But make sure whoever gets the truth is worth it. You know that the Harlots will always have your back.”
Ruby stared at the door Ant had just walked through, her heart pounding as her past clawed at her.
He knew the truth, and now, Rebel knew. Her can, or worms had been opened, and there would be no putting them back.
It was time to decide if she just kept surviving or if she finally stopped hiding the truth.
The one thing she knew for certain was that there was no way that she was going to be Ant’s Valentine’s date—no matter how much her traitorous body wanted her to say yes to him. He had betrayed her, and that was something she’d never be able to forgive or forget.