Chapter 29
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Ruby poured a glass of orange juice and took a sip, leaning against the counter.
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
She jumped. Chase had snuck up behind her. He’d pulled on a pair of sweats, and they hung low on his hips.
Ruby set her glass on the counter with a clink. “Just a lot on my mind.”
“Yeah. I bet.” Chase opened the cabinet and took out another juice glass. “But it makes a guy a little worried when his girl runs off right after sex. I mean, not my girl. A girl. A friend. You know what I mean.”
She conjured up a smile. “I’d tell you if I didn’t enjoy it. I needed to release some tension, so…thanks for that.”
Inwardly, she cringed at how dismissive she sounded. But there was no way she could confess what she’d really just been feeling.
It didn’t have anything to do with the murder investigation or Conrad Decker or the rest of what had happened last night.
But it had everything to do with Chase.
Why couldn’t she just tell him that had been the best sex of her life? The deepest connection to another adult she’d ever felt?
He was so kind to her and Haley, always there when they needed him. Strong exactly when he needed to be—like at the fight—but achingly gentle when Ruby needed that, too. Chase constantly surprised her. He made her feel so free and so damn alive…
He was more than she’d ever expected.
And she liked him. A lot. More than she’d ever liked a friend.
This was an altogether different kind of liking.
“I had fun. I promise.” She ran her fingertips over the stubble on his chin, though she couldn’t quite meet his eyes. “It’s just hard to quiet my brain about everything else. It’s not your fault.”
“The exact words every guy longs to hear after sex.”
She dropped her head onto his shoulder, just so she didn’t have to look into those piercing ice-blue eyes.
No. She was shutting down that train of thought right freaking now.
Chase was the Prince Charming from some fairytale that Ruby didn’t believe in. That she couldn’t afford to believe in.
“Can I cuddle you now?” Chase asked.
“You have my explicit consent. Do you need me to sign something?”
“Very funny.” His arm circled her waist, and he kissed her hair. “I just don’t ever want to hurt you,” he said softly.
“You couldn’t.”
Chase’s body tensed, and she felt like she’d said the wrong thing. Even if she wasn’t sure why.
Two days later, Jane asked them to meet her at Bennett Security.
She greeted them in the lobby. “I have news. And it’s big.” Jane waved for them to follow, heading toward their usual conference room.
Ruby lifted her eyebrows at Chase. “Do you think this is it?”
“Hope so.”
She felt his hand brush her lower back as they walked, but he quickly pulled away.
In the past couple of days, they’d been waiting to find out the full implications of the raid on the underground fighting ring. The car from Bennett Security had been sitting outside their apartment building again, keep watch.
Every time Ruby had called Jane to ask for the status on Decker and Peele, Jane had put her off.
Finally, they were going to get some answers.
To her questions about her case, at least. Ruby’s other issues…she couldn’t deal with thinking about that right now.
They reached the conference room. Sylvie was already there, typing away on her laptop. Noah and Max arrived shortly after.
Once again, Devon wasn’t here. Thank goodness. Ruby’s brother had been hovering constantly around the apartment, anxious for news. Same with her mother. Whatever Jane and Max had to share, Ruby assumed her family would want a full report after this meeting was over.
Max shut the door to the conference room, then took a seat. “Jane, I’m going to skip the pleasantries because I know you have something significant to share.”
“I do. Just got word this morning from the prosecutors assigned to Ruby’s case. They anticipate they’ll drop the charges against her this afternoon.”
Ruby gasped, and Chase’s hand went to her leg. The others cheered, and Sylvie clapped her hands.
“Are they charging Conrad Decker?” Ruby asked.
“I’ll explain everything. But I wasn’t going to bury the lead on that bit of news.” Jane grinned. “It’s too early to break out the champagne, but the moment that dismissal is filed…”
“I’m chilling some bottles of Dom Perignon,” Noah said.
Jane pointed at him. “My thoughts exactly, Mr. Vandermeer. A man of taste.”
Chase’s fingers tightened on Ruby’s knee. She looked over at him, and his eyes were full of emotions she couldn’t decipher. She couldn’t resist kissing his cheek.
“What was that for?” he murmured.
“A thank you. You made this happen.”
“Not just me.”
Ruby wanted to kiss him again, but she restrained herself.
My case is being dismissed, she repeated to herself. Which meant Tessa Waverley had no grounds to take custody of Haley. And CPS would leave Ruby alone, too.
Just days ago, she’d been desperate for a break in her case. She couldn’t believe everything had turned around so quickly.
Almost too quickly.
She felt like laughing and crying and screaming all at once. And also throwing up. Because it was just too much.
Max quieted the room. “We’re not there yet. Back to business. Jane?”
“Decker has been charged in LA County with attacking Chase, and any day now he’ll be charged with Mickey’s murder in West Oaks.
The prosecution is relying on witness testimony from the owner of the cake supply store, who saw Decker discard evidence in the alley behind her shop.
A towel. The lab results have come back, and they show both Mickey’s blood and Decker’s DNA.
A clear link to the murder. But that’s not all West Oaks PD has discovered. ”
Jane nodded her head at Chase. “Thanks to Chase’s affidavit, a judge granted a search warrant for Decker’s home and car. The police found the murder weapon stashed beneath the floor of his car’s trunk.”
Ruby couldn’t believe it. “What about Chase’s other testimony?” she asked. “The link to Adrian Peele?”
Jane spread her hands on the conference table.
“That decision belongs to the DA’s office, not me.
I’m not aware of any search warrants issued against Peele.
But I think they’d be foolish to charge the man based on Chase’s testimony alone.
Perhaps Decker will flip and agree to go against his boss.
But so far, Decker denies everything. He claims the murder weapon was planted, which is his best hope because the evidence is so damning. ”
Noah swiveled his chair. “I also heard from Sean Holt at the LAPD that he’s getting pushback on charging Peele for anything related to the fighting circuit. The guy’s likely to skate.”
“And the fights will probably be back in operation by next month?” Chase asked.
Noah looked rueful. “Probably. Sometimes, that’s how these things go. At least we tried. And we got Decker.”
“I’d like to continue posting a security detail outside your and Chase’s apartment building,” Max said.
“Just to be safe. Though it’s probably an overabundance of caution.
The murder weapon and the DNA are the evidence that will convict Decker, so there’s nothing to gain by going after you now.
And if Peele won’t be prosecuted anyway, I can’t imagine he’s got much further interest in you. ”
Ruby nodded. Some of her elation had dampened. She hated to think that the man truly responsible for Mickey’s murder would get away with it.
Nora was another loose end. Ruby had already spoken to Tag Bailor on the phone, and he’d been shocked but not surprised to learn Conrad Decker had killed Mickey.
Tag hadn’t heard anything from Nora, though.
He was still worried, and so was Ruby. But if Nora didn’t want their help, what could they do?
“I know it’s frustrating,” Jane said. “Not having it all wrapped up in a bow. But let’s focus on the positive. You’ll be able to get back to your life. Back to your career. I’ll get your arrest record sealed. With time and some luck, it’ll be like this never happened.”
Like it had never happened.
Ruby turned those words over in her head.
As they left, Chase leaned over and whispered, “I’m glad you let me be part of your team.”
“I am too.”
Her heart swooped. And her first thought was, I don’t want things to go back.
But she couldn’t start with that again. Fantasizing that she and Chase could be something more. She couldn’t go messing up their friendship because of a few stray feelings that probably wouldn’t lead anywhere.
Their marriage might be ending sooner than she’d expected, but it had never been real beneath the surface.
All they’d been doing was playing house.