Ruby
She was never one to do as she was told, but for some reason, she found herself doing as Ant asked her, not bothering to look back over her shoulder to find him watching her. She could feel his eyes on her as she walked over to her bike.
Banshee: You need to call me—NOW!
And if that wasn’t enough for one morning, she had a second message from Bolt.
Bolt: Call me. Now!
Banshee would have to wait. Her fingers felt clumsy as she hit Bolt’s number, worried that something had happened to Ant.
“Tell me what’s going on,” she said the second he answered. “Is Ant okay?” There was a pause on the other end—too long. The kind that meant something bad had already happened, and there was no taking it back.
“They ID’d the guy you had a run-in with last night,” Bolt said. “The one from the club who sat in your parking lot.”
Ruby closed her eyes, the shelves pressing in around her. “Okay.”
“He’s wanted,” Bolt continued. “For kidnapping young women two states over. He has an active warrant out for his arrest that just hit the system this morning.” Her knees buckled. She grabbed the edge of the counter, breath rushing out of her lungs like she’d been punched.
He was wanted for kidnapping. Not harassment or assault, but something much worse. Something that didn’t end with fear alone.
“I—” Her voice broke. She swallowed hard. “Tell me that you didn’t let him go.”
“We did. We didn’t have cause to hold him then,” Bolt said, anger threading through his voice. “Ant’s tearing himself apart over it.”
Ruby slid down the wall and sat on the floor, her scrubs whispering against the tile. Images she didn’t want to think about flooded her mind—his hands, his voice, the way he’d looked at her like she was an unpaid debt.
“He followed me,” she whispered. “If Ant hadn’t been there—” Ruby didn’t finish what she was going to say. She didn’t have to. Bolt knew exactly what would have happened to her if Ant wasn’t there last night, but Bolt didn’t interrupt her.
“And now he’s gone,” she finished. “You guys don’t know where he went?”
“No,” Bolt said grimly. “We are guessing that he went underground. Ant and I have been hitting contacts up all morning. But the guy ditched his car, burned his phone, and vanished. I guess he knew that sooner or later, we’d figure out that he was wanted and would come looking for him.
Ruby pressed her palm to her chest, trying to slow her heart. “The girl that he kidnapped—do they know where she is?”
“Actually, it was two girls, and they are both still missing,” Bolt said.
Tears came hard and fast, spilling down her cheeks before she could stop them. She cried for the women she didn’t know, for how close she herself had come to being abducted, just like them, and for the weight of what could have happened settling into her bones.
“I should’ve pushed harder,” Ruby said. “I should’ve reported him. Should’ve insisted—”
“No,” Bolt cut in. “That’s not on you. Predators count on doubt and on women questioning themselves.”
Ruby laughed weakly. “Funny thing is—I’m a doctor. I tell patients to trust their instincts all the time. Yet, I didn’t follow my own advice.”
“Different rules when it’s your own life,” Bolt said gently. “Ant is on his way over there to check on you. Don’t give him too hard a time. He feels like shit for allowing this to happen.”
“It’s not his fault either,” she insisted. “I’m good here; he doesn’t have to come all the way over here just to check on me.”
“Humor him,” Bolt said. “I’ll be in touch when I know more.
Just be careful and trust your instincts, Doc.
” He ended the call, and she did the same, shoving her phone into her scrubs.
Ruby stayed on the floor until the room stopped spinning.
When she finally stood, her reflection in the metal cabinet startled her—pale, eyes too bright, mouth set tight like she was bracing for impact.
Ruby had almost forgotten the level of vigilance that she used to have when she was younger.
She never let her guard down when she started medical school.
She was always alert and always ready for whatever life had to throw at her.
But this time, she didn’t see any of this coming, and that worried her. What if she had lost her touch?
Her phone buzzed again, and she sighed, pulling it out of her pocket.
Ant: I’m so sorry.
Ant: We should’ve held him.
Ant: I won’t stop looking for him until he’s back behind bars.
She stared at the messages, chest aching for him. She could picture him—jaw tight, shoulders coiled, blame eating at him even though it didn’t belong there.
She typed back with shaking thumbs.
Ruby: This isn’t your fault,
Ruby: But I need to know you’ll be careful.
Ruby: He’s dangerous, and he probably is pissed that you helped me last night.
The reply came fast.
Ant: I know.
Ant: That’s why I’m not quitting until I find him.
Ruby closed her eyes and sat back against the cold concrete wall.
She still had another six hours to go on her shift, and she wished she could just leave now, but she couldn’t, as a new doctor, she had to have one hell of an excuse to skip out of work, and there was no way that she wanted anyone at the hospital to know that she had a stalker.
There would be too much that she couldn’t explain, and that would only lead to more questions.
Ruby finished her shift. Instead of just six hours, it felt like six years, but that was probably due to the fact that she was watching the clock with every break that she got. She hadn’t heard from Ant since his text messages, but she tried not to worry about him.
She got back to his place at dinner time and parked her bike in his garage, as he had instructed earlier.
She had always thought about having a house like Ant’s.
It was nice—not too big and not too small.
But at the rate she was going, she wouldn’t have her own home until she was ready to retire.
It was one of the reasons why she couldn’t give up dancing.
She was able to put some sizable chunks of money down on her college loans, and that got her one step closer to owning her dream home—someday.
She walked into the kitchen to find Ant holding his cell phone away from his ear, wincing like whoever was on the other end of the call was saying something he didn’t want to hear.
“Got it, but I’m not her keeper,” Ant said.
Those were the words that she had given him earlier, and she knew that his conversation was about her.
“Well, she just walked in, so why not ask her that?” Ant said, holding the phone out to Ruby.
“Banshee had lost her mind trying to reach you. You never answered her text messages.” Shit—she had forgotten all about Banshee’s message to call her.
After she got off the phone with Bolt, it was all she could do to remember her training to treat patients for the rest of the day.
“Sorry that I didn’t get a chance to call you,” she said. “It was crazy down at the hospital.” That was a total lie. The place had been dead all day, but there was no way that she’d tell her Prez that.
“I take it that Bolt got a hold of you,” Banshee said. She sounded good and pissed.
“Um, yes. He told me about my stalker getting out. But Ant has me covered, so you don’t need to worry.”
“Bullshit,” Banshee said. “It’s in my job description to worry about you, as the Royal Harlot’s Prez. You need anything?” she asked.
“No,” Ruby said.
“Good, then I’ll see you at church tonight, right?” Banshee asked. “Bring your bodyguard, if you want. Bolt will probably be here too. Your stalker is causing quite an uproar with the other Harlots. They want in on finding this guy, and I’m betting that Bolt is coming in to try to talk them down.”
“Shit,” Ant said. “The last thing the FBI needs is a bunch of women vigilantes.”
Banshee barked out her laugh. “That guy fucked with a Harlot, so now, we’re all involved,” she said. Ruby suddenly felt torn between her club and Ant.
“We’ll both be in,” he said, taking his phone back from Ruby. “See you in a few.” He pocketed his cell phone and turned to face her. “I was going to make us some dinner, but I guess we can eat down at the club, if that works for you.”
She nodded. “I really haven’t eaten much today, and a burger sounds like heaven,” she admitted. “Give me ten minutes to shower and change, and I’ll be ready. Do you mind if I use your shower?” she asked.
“Of course not,” he said. “You’re welcome to use whatever you want.
” She looked him over, dirty images playing through her mind of all the ways that she’d like to use Ant.
Ruby quickly shook her head, trying to rid herself of the mental pictures of Ant half-naked, as she headed up the stairs to the master bathroom.
With any luck, Banshee wouldn’t be too pissed off at her, and she could get some much-needed time with her Harlots.
Savage Hell felt heavier than usual. The music was louder, the laughter sharper, and it was too bright against the darkness creeping in at the edges. Ruby could barely get into the bar room before Banshee pulled her into a quiet corner, arms folding around her without a word.
“He targeted you,” Banshee said when Ruby finished telling her everything. “That wasn’t random.”
Ruby nodded. “I know. He said that I owed him.”
“You owe that creep nothing. You did nothing wrong,” Banshee continued. “But things change now.” She knew that the Harlots were going to have a few rules that she’d have to follow because, like it or not, they were now involved in her mess.
“I figured,” Ruby grumbled.
Banshee’s eyes hardened. “We’re going to have extra eyes on you at all times. No solo rides at night. And if you even think you see him—”