Chapter 43
Chapter Forty-Three
Shelby sped through a yellow light. “Dispatch said they’d send a car. But they asked for details, and I had to say I didn’t know for sure Chase was in trouble.”
Ruby tried calling him, but Chase didn’t answer. She punched End on her screen.
The car was flying, and they were just a few minutes away. Ruby tried to keep her panic locked down. Chase would do anything to protect Haley. Ruby had faith in him.
But if something had happened to Chase?
“Please drive faster,” she said through gritted teeth. Then she turned around. Nora was in the back seat. “Keep explaining. Who really killed Mickey?”
Back at Chase’s house, Nora had almost bolted after seeing Shelby. And Ruby had almost let her go. But Nora still had information, and Ruby needed to know who might’ve gone to her apartment. And why.
But Ruby wasn’t prepared for what Nora said next.
“Tag killed Mickey.”
“What? Mickey was his best friend. Why would he do that?” The car swerved. Ruby grabbed hold of the seat.
“At first, I didn’t understand it either,” Nora rushed to say.
“I saw Tag plant the knife in Decker’s car, and I thought there had to be some mistake.
Tag had found it somewhere else. Or maybe it wasn’t the knife that had killed Mickey at all.
For days, I had no idea what to think. And then I just decided I didn’t want to know.
Whatever was happening, I didn’t want to be involved.
That’s when I saw you at the fight, and I tried to tell you to do the same. ”
“But the police did find the murder weapon in Decker’s car. You put it back?”
“Of course I did. I hated him. I didn’t know what role he’d played in Mickey’s death, but I wasn’t about to help him.
I popped open the trunk and left the knife there.
And when the police found the knife, it cleared your name, right?
I just…” Nora shook her head. “I decided to forget about all of it. I didn’t know whether to trust Tag, so I couldn’t go back to Bailor Fitness.
But I was just going to pretend I didn’t know anything. ”
The car stopped short, and they all lurched forward. Shelby cursed. Another car honked. “Sorry,” Shelby said. “Don’t mind me.” She steered them around the obstacle and pushed the accelerator.
“Then why did you have to leave LA today?” Ruby asked Nora.
“Because a friend on the circuit texted me that Adrian Peele had been murdered. Stabbed, just like Mickey. And it all clicked. I finally understood, and I knew Tag would come after me next.”
“Why?”
“Because he blames me for what happened! The fight where Decker almost killed him. Tag blamed Mickey, so he killed him and tried to frame Decker for it. He killed Peele. The only one left was me. That was why he’d been trying to find me. Tag hadn’t been worried about me. He wanted to kill me.”
“I don’t understand,” Ruby cried. None of this made any sense, and Nora had been speaking so fast her words had blurred together. “Do you think it’s Tag at my apartment?”
“Has to be,” Nora said. “He’s trying to find me. The only reason I’m in this car right now is that Tag might try to use Mickey’s daughter to get to me. I couldn’t live with that.”
If anything happens to Haley or Chase, Ruby thought, then trust me, Nora. I won’t let you live with it, either.
“But I swear,” Nora said, “I didn’t think Tag would do this. I don’t even know how he realized I’d come to West Oaks.”
“Like you said. You had nowhere else to go.”
Shelby turned onto Ruby’s street. Street signs flew past, and her apartment building appeared. Shelby punched the gas.
From somewhere nearby, she heard sirens. But no squad cars were visible yet.
They were less than a minute away. But something poked her mind like a hidden splinter.
“There’s something that doesn’t fit,” Ruby said. “If Tag killed Mickey, he would’ve had to run from the apartment before the police arrived. With his limp, how could he have moved that fast?”
Nora didn’t reply. Ruby glared back. The other woman looked exhausted and pale. “When he planted the knife on Decker’s car, I saw Tag walking normally. He’s been faking it. I don’t know for how long.”
Which explained how a skilled fighter like Mickey could be attacked without even defending himself. He’d never expected Tag to move so fast.
And that meant Tag Bailor was an even greater threat than Ruby had imagined.
“There’s the entrance!” Ruby shouted. Shelby had almost missed it. The car braked and swerved into the building’s parking lot.
At the same moment, Chase burst through the side exit door and charged at full speed across the grassy area beyond the parking lot.
He was clutching Haley.
A second later, Tag emerged. Blood poured from his nose.
Tag had a knife in his hand.
“Don’t stop the car.” Ruby grabbed the steering wheel and aimed it at Tag.
“You want me to run him over?” Shelby cried. She started to brake. “That is not protocol.”
“Shelby, go.”
“Oh, fuck. Fine. Let’s do this.”
Shelby drove the car off the concrete. It bucked wildly as it cleared the curb and landed on the grass.
Tag looked over just as the car rammed into him. He flew across the hood. Rolled and fell to the grass.
Ruby didn’t waste a moment. She grabbed her purse and threw open the car door. Ran.
Incredibly, Tag was struggling up to standing. A savage snarl had twisted his face.
Ruby dug into her purse.
She held out the taser and pressed the trigger. The prongs hit Tag in the chest. Instantly, he convulsed and fell back to the ground.
Ruby stood over him. “That’s what you get for messing with me and my family. You piece of shit.”