Ruby
It had been almost two months since her stalker disappeared.
Bolt and Ant had been able to track down his information, which was harder than she imagined it would be.
The guy had used so many aliases that finding his real name proved challenging, but they did it, and Rodger Evans was a slippery snake.
He had gone underground, and apparently, had enough contacts that he had basically become a ghost. She tried to convince Ant that she was good to go back to her place, but he refused to let her.
He had a bunch of excuses as to why she couldn’t move back to her shitty little apartment, and she was starting to find most of them amusing, but the truth was, she liked living with Ant.
Being in his bed every night had her hoping for things that she didn’t think she wanted—namely, a stable relationship.
She had been on her own for so long that she was used to being alone.
But being with Ant had changed all that for her.
So, she let him believe that she was buying all of his excuses, even though she was doing so just to be able to stay with him.
Her phone rang, and she grabbed it off the nightstand to see Banshee’s name flash across the screen. She should have known the day was going to tilt sideways the second that she saw Banshee’s name, but she still answered.
“Are you at the hospital today?” her club’s Prez asked.
She hesitated and then shook her head. “Um, no,” she said, realizing that Banshee couldn’t see her.
“Would you mind swinging by the new clubhouse?” Banshee asked.
“We’re short on drywall, and the idiots who delivered this morning brought the wrong damn size.
Do you think that you could convince Ant to lend you his truck?
” She wanted to laugh at the idea of Ant letting anyone drive his truck. He loved that thing.
“I don’t think that Ant will let me out of his sight,” she mumbled, looking up to find him standing in the doorway. She shot him a sheepish grin, and he rolled his eyes at her. “He’s standing right here. Let me ask him.”
“Banshee needs me to run some drywall out to the new clubhouse. Can I borrow your truck?” she asked. He barked out his laugh, and she couldn’t help but smile. “Yeah, I was sure that you wouldn’t let me touch your baby.”
“That’s not why I’m laughing, honey,” he admitted. “She’s calling a doctor to run construction errands now?”
She giggled, “Yeah, I guess that is pretty funny. So, how about driving me to the store and then over to the clubhouse? You’ll get brownie points from Banshee.
” She knew that would coax him into helping her.
He knew that Banshee was still mad at him for giving Ruby such a hard time about dancing at the club.
Ant would do just about anything to get on Banshee’s good side.
“Fine,” he mumbled. “Tell her that we’ll leave her after I have my coffee.” She watched him walk out of the room and down the hallway. She didn’t realize that she was smiling until Banshee barked her name into the other end of the phone.
“I’m here,” she said. “We can run over the drywall after Ant has some coffee. Trust me, his having coffee first is best for everyone’s safety.
” Banshee thanked her and ended the call.
Ruby was expecting a lecture about Ant having to tag along, but she got none.
With any luck, they’d be able to run this errand for Banshee and get back in time for lunch.
She had been looking forward to spending the day together with Ant for over a week now, and if she got her wish, they’d spend most of it naked, in bed.
They pulled into the gravel lot of what would soon become the Royal Harlots’ new clubhouse — a half-finished structure of exposed beams, raw plywood, and the sharp scent of sawdust hung in the air.
She hadn’t been a Harlot for long, but she knew how important this new building was to the club.
They had been sharing Savage Hell’s clubhouse since their conception, and a clubhouse all their own meant something to all the women.
It was something solid, being built from nothing, and most of the work was being done by a Harlot or a Royal Bastard, making it even more special.
Ant killed the engine and glanced over. “You good?” They had spent over two hours waiting for the drywall to be loaded into the back of Ant’s truck, blowing her plan of getting home before noon so that they could have lunch in bed, naked.
Ruby nodded. “Yeah,” she lied.
“You don’t look very happy,” he said.
“Well, I’m not,” she admitted. “This is not how I planned on spending my day off. And besides that, something just feels—off, somehow. I can’t put my finger on it, but I feel like I’ve spent my morning waiting for the other shoe to drop.
” It was really just a silly feeling that she had down in her gut, but she had learned a long time ago to trust them.
Something just felt wrong, but she couldn’t explain how or why she felt that way.
The site was quieter than she had expected. A few bikes were parked near the far end of the building, but there was no music, no shouting, and Banshee was nowhere to be seen. She was usually hanging around, barking orders at someone, but everything was quiet. Too quiet.
Ruby stepped out slowly, scanning the open lot. “Where is everyone?”
Ant grabbed his gloves from the seat. “Probably inside.” She didn’t like that answer. Still, she followed him toward the stack of drywall in the truck bed. Ant lifted the first sheet like it weighed nothing, balancing it easily against his shoulder.
“I can help carry some,” Ruby offered automatically.
He gave her a look. “Not a chance, honey.”
She rolled her eyes at him. “I am not fragile, Ant. I can lift things, and hard work doesn’t scare me.”
“You’re also not hauling drywall in those boots,” he said, looking down at the black, high-heeled boots that she had chosen to wear today.
They were sexy as hell, and something that she’d never be able to wear to work.
She planned on asking him to fuck her in just the boots, and seeing the way that he looked at her while she was wearing them, he’d have no problem saying yes.
She looked down at her feet and back up to Ant. “Fair enough,” she grumbled. “What should I do then?” she asked.
“You just stay right here,” he ordered. “I’ll get this stuff into the building, and then, I plan on taking you home and getting you naked—except for those boots.” She smiled and almost squealed her delight, causing him to chuckle. He shook his head at her and started for the building.
She watched as he headed toward the unfinished doorway, and Ruby felt it again. That creeping, crawling sensation along her spine. Something was wrong, but she couldn’t put her finger on what it was.
“Ant,” she called.
He turned slightly. “Yeah?”
“I—” She couldn’t finish what she was saying before the world exploded around them.
The blast ripped through the building with a deafening roar, heat, and pressure slamming into Ruby like a physical force.
The ground shook as the air punched from her lungs.
A violent crack of wood, glass, and something metallic seemed to tear apart all at once as Ruby hit the gravel hard.
For half a second, her brain refused to process it.
Then terror surged, and her world felt as though it came back into focus.
“ANT!” She scrambled to her feet, coughing, as her heart slammed wildly against her ribs.
Flames licked inside the structure, and debris was scattered across the lot.
Her mind snapped into clarity with horrifying speed.
This was not an accident, and it wasn’t random. It had to be him—her stalker.
“He’s here,” she whispered to herself. She realized that he must have been waiting for the right time to strike.
He had planned this, and now, she was at his mercy.
And if he had rigged the building to explode, then he was watching.
He had to be, but Ruby didn’t stop to think about the danger that he posed to her.
She didn’t stop to assess the situation.
Hell, she didn’t stop at all. She ran straight into the smoke.
“Ruby, WAIT—!”
Someone shouted behind her. She wasn’t sure who it was. Her ears were ringing so badly that she couldn’t tell if the voice belonged to a man or a woman. It might have been Banshee, or maybe Bolt, but the sound barely registered in her muffled brain.
Inside the building, the air was so thick that it nearly choked her.
Dust and chemicals stung her throat as she breathed in the toxic air.
The skeletal frame of the clubhouse groaned ominously, parts of the ceiling already sagging.
She knew that she didn’t have long before the entire thing would collapse on top of her and Ant. She couldn’t allow that to happen.
“Ant!” she screamed, her eyes burning. “ANT!”
A section of drywall lay shattered near the entrance, and her pulse spiked violently. If she wasn’t wrong, that was the same drywall that Ant had carried into the building right before it exploded.
“Ant, answer me!” she shouted. She stopped to listen for just a few seconds but heard nothing. Until a cough broke through the silence. She heard deep, ragged breaths coming from the room just to the right of her.
Ruby’s head snapped toward the sound. Through the haze, she saw him half buried beneath fallen beams and splintered boards, blood streaking down his temple, as he tried to push himself upright.
Relief and horror collided in her chest all at once. “Oh my God—” She dropped beside him instantly, doctor mode obliterating the panic that welled up inside of her.
“Don’t move,” she ordered, her hands already scanning him for any signs of injury. “Talk to me. Can you hear me clearly?”
Ant blinked, dazed but conscious. “Yeah, I can hear you.”
“Do you have any ringing in your ears?”
“A little,” he admitted.
She touched his face gently, checking his pupils. “Stay with me,” she ordered.
Smoke thickened as something above them cracked. “We need to move,” he rasped.
“I know,” she breathed. She tugged against the beam that was pinning his leg. It didn’t budge. Ruby’s adrenaline surged.
“Help!” she yelled. “I NEED HELP IN HERE!” Footsteps thundered towards them as Bolt and Banshee burst through the smoke seconds later.
“Jesus Christ—” Bolt dropped beside them. “We got you,” he promised Ant.
Together, they lifted the beam just enough to help Ant slide free. He gritted his teeth but didn’t cry out in pain. But judging from the way his leg was positioned, he had to be in a good deal of pain.
Ruby hooked an arm around him. “I’ve got you.” They staggered toward the exit as the building groaned again, fire beginning to creep along the interior walls.
The outside air hit Ruby’s lungs like salvation. She barely had time to breathe before a voice sliced through the chaos. It sounded like it was mocking her as she searched the area, trying to find where it was coming from.
“You really should’ve danced for me when I asked.
” Ruby froze. Every cell in her body turned to ice.
She knew that voice. It made her feel sick every time she heard it.
She saw him across the lot, standing near the tree line, smiling at her.
Her stalker was back, and the look in his eyes said something terrifyingly clear.
This was never about the money that he had paid her for a lap dance.
This was about her, and now, she knew that he’d do anything to get to her—including hurting the man she loved.