28
T he hardwood floors creak beneath my boots as I pace a hole in the hallway, my fury on a rolling simmer.
Thunder rumbles outside and I glance at the open doorway of my bedroom.
Ruby’s laid out on the bed talking in low tones to Curt, the staff medic we keep on site.
As if sensing my eyes on her, she turns her head to meet my gaze.
Heavy lidded eyes look back at me, her rose-gold hair spread out on the pillows, and she graces me with a small smile.
Something protective and primal snaps inside of me.
War. This is fucking war.
On instinct, my hand balls into a fist and I lift it, aching to take a swing. I want to plow my fist into someone’s face over and over again.
“You wanna punch something, wait for the Wolfingtons,” Ford says as he and Davis come to the top of the stairs.
I release my breath, loosen my fist. “I’m going to kill them.”
“Easy, man.” Ford claps me on the shoulder. “Don’t lose your head.”
“It’s already fucking gone,” I grit out, tearing a hand through my hair.
The Wolfingtons don’t know what they’ve done. No one touches Ruby.
The image of finding her crumpled on the ground is seared in my brain. Slipping her limp body into my arms, not knowing whether she was alive or dead, pulled me apart. An undeniable reminder that I could lose her. The relief I felt feeling a pulse. The rage I felt knowing someone had hurt her.
She needed me and I wasn’t there.
Once again, always a minute too late, a heartbeat away from my girl.
Wyatt comes limping down the hallway. “When we fightin’?”
“Shut up and rest,” I bark, giving him a worried once over. He’s got a minor concussion, but damn if that can stop the kid.
Eyes glassy, Wyatt leans on the wall. “Damn. I get kicked around and I still don’t get any respect.”
“C’mon,” Ford says with a wide grin. He steers our little brother away. “I’ll tell you a bedtime story about how much of a pain in the ass you are.”
Davis watches them lope down the hall, then turns to me. “We wait,” he says in a low voice, his face all business now.
Even though he’s cool-headed and responsible, Davis is the one to worry about when trouble touches our family. I see blood in his eyes.
“We give it a few days. Let Wyatt heal. We go when they least expect us, so we get the jump on them. We’ll weed the Wolfingtons out first. If it’s not them, it’s DVL.”
I nod.
“Charlie,” he says, a tightness in his voice that has me frowning. “I checked out the security footage. With the new cameras installed ...” He sighs. “Ruby’s cottage was just out of reach.”
I close my eyes and try not to throw up. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”
“I know.” Guilt stains his voice. “I’ll fix it.”
I’m about to tell him it’s too late to fix it, Ruby’s hurt, my heart is on fucking fire, when Curt exits the bedroom.
“How is she?” I demand.
“She’s fine,” Curt says, his words immediately bringing relief to my troubled mind. “Her heartbeat’s irregular, but all she needs is rest. Make sure she eats something and takes it easy for a couple of days.”
I run a hand through my hair, keep it there.
Davis gives me a look tinged with amusement and sympathy. “Let her rest, Charlie. She’ll be okay. Don’t worry.”
“She’s staying here,” I tell him, already headed for Ruby. The thought of not being near her has me unhinged. I won’t be able to relax until I see her.
Inside the bedroom, the lights are dim, the door to the balcony open slightly to allow a draft of cool air. Ruby’s propped up on pillows, eyes closed, looking small and fragile in one of my T-shirts.
My insides turn cold. That old familiar feeling I’ve lived with the last ten years slices through me like a blade.
Fear. Helplessness.
She’s battered and bruised. Had the living hell scared out of her. She was attacked. Threatened. Assaulted under my watch.
And it’s all my fault.
Why wasn’t I there? Why didn’t I protect her?
At the sound of my bootsteps, Ruby opens her eyes. “Charlie?” Her voice is barely above a whisper.
“I’m here, darlin’.” I approach the bed to sit beside her. “How are you doin’?”
“Better.” Her long dark lashes bat against her pale cheeks. “Now that I have my Cowboy.”
The soft tease in her tone settles me, and I give her a quick once over. Her blue eyes are focused, but she looks worn out and all I want to do is put her to sleep.
I pick up her hand, running my finger over the silky smoothness of the inside of her wrist. She has bruises on her knuckles that I recognize from my barfight days.
“Hit the guy, didn’t you?”
“Yeah.” She smiles wanly. “Tried out my uppercut.”
I kiss her bruised knuckles. “Good girl.”
Pride sideswipes me.
She might be a fairy tale, but she’s also strong. Mighty. A fighter.
The reminder that someone tried to hurt her, meant to do God knows what to her, has my insides turning to ice. I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to her.
A rocky exhale tears from the inside of my chest. “Ruby.”
“It’s okay, Cowboy,” she says, but her voice tremors.
“ Ruby .”
With a little whimper, she closes her eyes, and then our chests collide as I crush her tight in my arms. I need to touch her.
I need to hold her and know she’s safe. The feel of her heartbeat hammering against mine is enough to put me in the grave.
Goddamn this woman. This fucking bright force of an incredible woman that someone tried to take away from me.
Ruby being hurt would end me. I know it with every breath in my body.
“I screamed,” she whispers, arms looped around my neck. She trembles against my chest. “I screamed, and you came for me.”
“I’ll always come for you. Never doubt that.” I kiss her temple, inhale her strawberry scent, and finally my mind comes back down to earth, my rage steadying knowing that she’s okay.
“Thank you.” Her silvery exhalation of gratefulness carves me up inside.
“Don’t thank me.” I pull back to look her in the eyes. “Not for that.”
She shakes her head. “Charlie ...”
“What is it?” I ask gruffly, tucking strands of hair behind her ear. “What’s wrong?”
Tears spill down her cheeks, the sight of them shattering my heart for the second time tonight. “I didn’t lock my door.” Her bottom lip trembles. “That’s how he got in.”
Fury snakes through my veins. “That’s not your fault. Someone hurtin’ you is never your fault.” I nudge her chin up with a stern finger. “You hear me?” I say firmly, wanting her to understand.
She blinks back tears and nods quickly, absorbing the words.
Hating to let her go, but wanting her to rest, I lie her back against the pillows. “Do you remember anything else about what happened?”
“I don’t think so. Not yet. My head ...” She winces. “It’s still fuzzy.”
There’s more to ask her, but her dazed expression stops me. She’s been through enough tonight. Questions can wait. All she needs to know is that I’ll fix this. That she’ll never be hurt again.
Ruby sighs and stretches out in the big bed, looking soft and small. “Is Wyatt okay?” she asks.
She was just attacked, and she’s worrying about Wyatt.
Goddamn.
This girl breaks my heart in the best way.
“Wyatt’s fine.” I cover her with the blanket and take her hand. “I want you staying here, Ruby.”
Her eyes are two huge saucers. “Charlie, I don’t think—”
“Baby, it’s not a request,” I growl, and she silences.
“You’re staying. End of story. I want you safe.
I want you with me. Until we find out who’s behind this, you’re not leaving my sight.
No arguments,” I say, reaching out to cup her cheek.
She sighs—a fact that I take as a good sign she’s giving in—and nuzzles her lips into my palm.
“Not about this. Not when you were hurt.”
“Okay,” she breathes.
Slowly, she sinks back into the pillows. With relief, I note my hand’s still in hers. It disintegrates something inside of me. Every closed off wall I’ve bricked myself into over the years crumbles.
The trust she gives me. I’m honored. Humbled.
“I want you to get some rest,” I say, my fingers tightening around hers. “But first, I want to tell you something. Last week, you asked if I’ve ever done something bad. A bad deed I don’t regret.”
I blow out a breath. Why I feel compelled to tell her, I’m not sure. Maybe because I want her to know that tonight has been my goddamn kryptonite. Maybe it’s because I need somewhere to lay my rage and guilt. Maybe because I’ve realized how much anything happening to Ruby would end me.
Seeing her hurt, seeing what I could lose—
It turns me into a fucking desperate man.
Only instead of wanting to run away from that, it has me wanting to hold tighter to her.
“There was this guy,” I begin, my voice a low rasp. “Back in my hometown. He was a close family friend. We grew up together. Played football. Last summer, when I went home, I found out he had hurt my sister.”
Memories of last summer come rushing back.
Emmy Lou and bruises on her wrist.
Red dirt earth and headlights.
Slayton on his knees, hands raised in front of his face.
The gun in my hand.
Ruby stays silent, lying frozen and wide-eyed.
“So I hurt him.”
I scrub a hand down my beard, letting that same restless, raging feeling from last summer overtake me. “I didn’t know about it for a long damn time.”
Shame still eats me alive that my little sister and little brother were the ones dealing with it. I was the big brother. I was supposed to keep them safe. It’s a gutting feeling I know Ford and Davis share.
“It was midnight. I drove him out on this long dirt road in the middle of nowhere. I beat the shit out of him. I made him tell me what he did to my sister. I busted open my knuckles. I broke his ribs, his face. I did anything to make that piece of shit feel pain.”
I ball a fist, clearing the hoarseness from my throat. “And then I pulled out a gun.”
I dare a glance at Ruby. If I’m scaring her, I can’t tell. She sits still, her face pale, but placid.
“I had him there. In the dirt, the headlights, and he looked so fucking pathetic, crying his bullshit tears.” A muscle in my jaw jerks. “I felt nothing. I wanted to kill him so fucking bad. I put the muzzle against his forehead. Put my finger on the trigger.”
Lower lip trembling, she asks, “Did you kill him?”
“No. I thought of my brothers. My sister. If I killed him, no one would win.” I press Ruby’s hand to my heart.
It’s pounding against my ribs. “I drove Slayton to his parents’ house and I made him tell them what he had done to my sister.
And I promised that motherfucker, if he came back home again, he was a dead man. ”
The longest silence falls.
And then Ruby tilts her head and asks, “Why are you telling me this, Charlie?”
I look her in the eyes. “I’m telling you this because I will always keep you safe. I will always protect you.”
She gives me a sad smile. “You can’t protect me from everything.”
“I can. And I will.”
If it’s a lie, I don’t believe it.
I believe in her, in myself.
I lean in, cupping a hand to her cheek. “No one puts their hands on you, Ruby. Do you understand me? No one touches my girl.”
A little smile curls her lips. “I’m your girl, Cowboy?” Her voice is dreamy, tired.
“You are.” The words wrench from my chest. “You’re my girl.” I sweep the hair from her eyes, urging her to sleep. “And I will never let anything happen to you.”
“Never?”
“Never.”
Ruby makes a sleepy hum of affirmation, long lashes fluttering closed. I keep her small hand in mine. Her pulse beats in my palm. I hold it against me, the very beat of it precious.
I can’t deny it anymore.
Brain, body, heart, soul—this woman’s got me roped.