Chapter 8 Ruby
EIGHT
RUBY
I drummed my fingers against my keyboard before deleting all of the random letters. I hated review days, especially with night classes. Sure, the class was once a week, but it was three hours long and a fucking review before a test sort of negated the need for the test in the first place.
Or all of the studying packets the professor sent home.
But as the professor continued to drone on about shit I could answer in my sleep, my mind drifted to Diego. A smile crept across my cheeks before I forced myself to bury it, but the warmth between my thighs told me that the smile was simply creeping south. And yet, I had mixed feelings about him.
Sure, I wanted to sleep with him. He was sexy and incredibly strong. He took the pain and the stitches without an ounce of numbing solution, and he still had a way of keeping himself together that no man I’d ever come across was capable of doing.
But was it really smart to have a crush on someone my brother didn’t trust?
Don’t get me wrong, Puck and I were different in many ways. And yes, he bugged the hell out of me sometimes. But his gut?
His gut was always right.
“Damn it,” I whispered.
“What was that, Miss Ruby?” the professor asked.
I looked up from my laptop. “Nothing, sorry. I just have something caught in my throat.”
A few of the people snickered around me, but that seemed to be enough for the professor to turn her back toward us so he could continue on with her review lesson.
Which meant I dove back into my thoughts on Diego.
Puck annoyed the hell out of me sometimes, but I always trusted his gut. His assessment of people.
And Puck’s gut said that Diego wasn’t all who he said he was.
He might just be overprotective, though.
Sure, that made sense. Puck had always been wary of any man that wanted to be around me, and I’m sure he caught some of the glances Diego and myself passed one another.
But I had no way of being sure without asking him point blank.
And if I did, he’d call me out. And if he called me out, I’d never be able to lie to him.
We could read each other like fucking books.
“Miss Ruby?”
My eyes darted toward my professor. “Yes, ma’am?”
She narrowed her eyes. “Is there something on the floor more important than this review?”
My jaw hung open. “Uh…No, ma’am.”
She nodded. “Then, eyes up here. The next question is yours.”
I listened to her rattle off something basic and I interrupted her to not only continue her train of thought, but to give her the answer she sought.
She glared at me while the rest of the students either giggled beneath their breath or stared at me like I had just whipped my dick out for everyone to see, and my professor wasn’t impressed.
“Well, since you apparently know everything, you can go sit in the corner and take your test. In fact, why don’t we all go ahead and start on our tests, yes? Close your laptops, put away your books, and go to the bathroom one last time if you need to.”
The class collectively groaned and as they passed by me for one last gossiping bathroom break, they glowered at me. I didn’t care, though. The quicker I finished the test, the quicker I could get home and take a fucking shower.
And as the professor passed out the tests, I smiled to myself when I read the first question.
This test is going to be a breeze.
I stared at my phone after getting out of the shower.
I hadn’t expected Diego to text me, but apparently, he had whenever he had gotten home.
So now, I had his number. I wasn’t sure why that made me feel weird.
But as I sat perched on the edge of my bed with my extra-large towel wrapped around me, I tossed the idea of calling him around in my head.
“Ah, fuck it,” I murmured.
Then, I tapped his number and held the phone to my ear.
“Mmph, hello?” Diego asked.
His gravelly voice sent a shiver down my spine. “Am I calling too late?”
He cleared his throat. “Ruby?”
I blinked. “Yes?”
I heard him shifting around before he sighed. “Everything all right?”
I scoffed. “Uh, yeah. I just got out of the shower, and I figured I’d call and check up on you.”
He chuckled. “The shower, huh? Lucky bathroom.”
I blushed at his words. “Diego, I’m being serious. Are you okay? Are you in any pain? Did you take your medication?”
“Yes, yes,” he said as he shuffled around a bit more, “I took the meds, I’m feeling great, and I’m just about to get to sleep.”
“Well, I’ll change your dressing while I’m there tomorrow, too.”
“I can do that myself. It’s fine.”
I crooked an eyebrow. “I know you can’t see my face right now, but your words aren’t flying with me. You can’t redress a back shoulder wound.”
“Ruby, seriously. I’m fine to change my own—”
I stood to my feet. “I might as well do it while I’m there checking up on you anyway. It gives you one less thing to stress about which means your body can divert that energy into its healing properties.”
He paused. “Do you even know what you just said?”
I grinned. “Yep. I told you to suck it up and deal.”
He chuckled. “All right, then I suppose a bit of help can’t hurt.”
“Trust me, you’ll want it once we go to lift your arm.”
He groaned. “Ugh, the phantom pains alone make me shiver.”
You make me shiver. “Get some rest and I’ll come by after my morning shift tomorrow.”
“Sounds good. I’ll see you then.”
I smiled. “See you soon.”
I hung up the phone and it was all I could do to get to sleep.
I was much too excited to spend time with Diego by himself, and that excitement must have registered all over my face.
I bounded into the bar the next morning with my hair curled and my nice summer dress on and the second I took inventory of the stockroom, Puck found me.
“The hell you look so nice for?” he asked.
I snickered as I tapped along the iPad screen. “You mean no girls can look nice unless they look nice for a reason?”
He walked up to me. “This got anything to do with that asshole from last night?”
I peered up at him. “I’ll have you know that I aced my exam last night. Thanks for asking, by the way.”
His eyes raked down my form. “Yeah, but you’ve never dressed up after any other exams.”
And when I didn’t have a rebuttal for him, he plucked the iPad out of my hands.
“Hey!” I exclaimed.
He held it up over his head and forced me to look into his eyes. “Stay away from Diego.”
I leapt and snatched the iPad out of his hands. “Give me that. I’m working here, assface.”
“I’m serious, Ruby. Don’t do it. He’s bad news.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m a big girl, Puck. I can make my own decisions.”
“So, does that mean you can handle the cartel all on your own as well?”
His question gave me pause. In fact, it gave me multiple pauses. I hadn’t really thought about that aspect of everything.
And Puck smelled the energy change in the air between us.
“You think you can handle being attached to some guy that runs with those kinds of people? Because one day, you’re doing exams and working here at the bar, and the next second you’re snatched up and held for ransom because Diego fucked up and they want to make him pay for it. ”
I clicked my tongue. “Notch trusts him.”
“Well, Notch is being a dumbass, and he’s emotionally compromised. He was best friends with Diego’s older brother. Of course, he’s going to want to see the good in a guy he promised to watch over.”
And of course, in crew fashion and form, Notch stuck his head into the stockroom. “I trust Diego’s actions and that’s all that matters.”
I nodded in his direction. “See? He gets it.”
Puck scoffed. “Well, does he get the fact that once you hop on this dude’s dick that means you’re attached to him for life as far as the cartel is concerned?”
Notch stepped into the room. “Wait a fucking second, what’s happening? And why do you look so nice, Ruby?”
I threw my hands into the air. “Can’t a girl just look nice!?”
“No,” Notch and Puck said together.
I shook my head. “I’ve got work to do. So, help me or get the hell out.”
“Uh, Notch?” Stone asked.
I groaned. “What is it now?”
Notch peeked his head out of the stockroom. “Oh.”
I whipped my head up. “Oh?”
Puck tried to peer around the corner of the doorframe. “What’s going on out there?”
And when Notch moved to make his way out of the stockroom, I saw what they were all gawking at.
“Diego?” I asked softly.
“Oh, hell no,” Puck murmured as he marched out of the stockroom.
I watched all of the guys tense as Diego stood just beyond the front door.
He seemed to be talking himself into something, as if he were holding some sort of argument in his head.
Then finally, he ripped the door open and strode on in.
I furrowed my brow as the guys stood in a single line at the bar, their arms folded over their chests to somehow accentuate how badass they thought they were.
But me?
I couldn’t take my eyes off the jeans clinging to Diego’s lean, long legs.
His strides were confident and clean. He held his head high as he walked through the bar and right up to the guys who were all waiting in some kind of firing line.
I knew they were all praying he’d make a wrong move.
All they needed was a reason to slaughter him, and they would.
However, there was something that flashed behind his eyes when he flickered his gaze to mine that gave me pause.
There was fear behind his eyes.
And I knew then and there that I’d help him, no matter what.