Chapter 46
Nathan
R uby stopped late last night just outside of Tucson at a seedy-looking motel.
We caught up to her in the middle of the night, but I was not about to knock on her door at midnight.
The way she’s behaving, she’s scared, paranoid, and not in her right mind.
I don’t want to frighten her into a heart attack.
Instead, we waited all night, dozing off in our vehicles, until she emerged from the motel, dressed in all black, and opted for breakfast at the small diner across the street.
Dad and I are in his Jaguar. Terry, one of Hodge’s PIs, is in a plateless sedan behind us. We’re all watching Ruby through the diner window. “I’m going in alone,” I announce.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Dad answers.
“Dad. Trust me.” I step out of the car and head toward the restaurant.
Dad must have faith because I don’t hear footsteps behind me.
A polite ding announces my entrance. I bypass the hostess stand, giving a curt nod to the waitress.
“Meeting someone,” I say, and proceed to Ruby’s booth.
She’s buried in her phone and doesn’t notice me until I plop down across from her.
Shock blanches her face the second she peers up.
“Good morning, Ruby. Where are you headed with three black duffel bags full of cash?”
No longer surprised, she’s angry. Her eyes narrow to pin-sized. “I thought you were having me followed. Peter warned me. I should’ve listened.”
“Ruby…I’m tired of this war. Aren’t you? Don’t we all want the same thing here?”
My statement gives her pause. She opens her mouth like she was armed with a comeback, but I took her off guard. “No. We don’t. You want Peter in prison, or worse.”
All true. But that’s not why I’m here. “I want Claire safe and happy.”
“You want to take her from me too,” Ruby whispers.
She looks so weary. Not at all like the calculating villain I remember from the past. She’s frail, her blue veins pressing against her thin, pale skin. How could I not pity her right now? “We could’ve done this together,” I say. “Did you ever consider that?”
She wets her dry, cracked lips. “How so?”
“I can’t forgive Peter. But I could’ve forgiven you.
You let Elise down in so many ways, but you could’ve had a fresh start with Claire.
I didn’t want to own that little girl. She wasn’t part of a power struggle.
Did you ever stop to think that I wanted a relationship with Claire not just to spite you?
Why wouldn’t you want your granddaughter’s life filled with even more love and support after she lost her mother? ”
She drops her head, unable to meet my gaze. “Elise kept her from me. You guys wouldn’t let me see my only grandchild.”
“Ruby, wake up.” I raise my voice a notch higher than restaurant level.
“Elise kept Claire from danger. You are so delusional about Peter, you’d rather him hurt his family before admitting he’s a monster.
You made the choice to alienate your grandchild when you swept abuse under the rug like it was nothing. ”
Elbow planted on the table, she holds her forehead. Tears fall from her eyes and splash onto the speckled white table. “It was the drugs,” Ruby whimpers. “It’s not my Peter. It’s the drugs that make him crazy. It’s not his fault.”
No, fuck that shit. Unless she’s tying him down and jabbing the needle into his arm, it most certainly is his fault. Not saying he doesn’t deserve help, but he sure as hell never deserved Elise, and he doesn’t deserve a relationship with Claire. Not then, and not now.
I take a deep breath. Yes, that pissed me the fuck off. No, anger doesn’t get to run the show anymore. “Let me help you, Ruby.”
“You can’t. It’s gotten too out of hand. Just let me do what I need to.”
I lean into the table, lowering my voice. “Being?”
She sniffles. “They just want their money. Once they have that, they’ll leave us alone. If I go to the police, they’ll hurt everybody. I couldn’t do that to Claire?—”
“You already did,” I grind out. “Up until this point, you have already made every single poor decision you possibly could. You’re not fit to raise Claire. You don’t know how to prioritize her well-being over that pedestal you still have your son on.”
Ruby cries harder which brushes against my heartstrings, but doesn’t completely tug. She needs to face the music. Actions have consequences. “I don’t have enough. But I thought if I gave them something…”
“Peter’s debt?” I ask. “How much?”
She forces herself to look at me. “With interest, five hundred thousand.”
“And how much do you have?”
“Twenty-eight thousand, cash.”
I exhale sharply. “Ruby, if you go to Mexico with less than ten percent of what Peter owes the cartel, they will kill you. Claire will never see her grandma again. But that won’t be enough. They’ll come after Claire.”
Ruby’s bottom lip trembles. “The things they threatened if we go to the police…” She shudders violently. “I can’t even repeat it. Peter wants to run.”
I shake my head. “Where? They’ll find you.”
“I know, I know,” she sobs. “That’s why I drained my savings. I took a second mortgage on the house. If I give them a deposit, they’ll know we’re trying.”
“Trying isn’t good enough.”
She slams her fist on the table. “I haven’t slept. I can’t eat. I can’t think. How did it get this far? Claire and I were fine until?—”
“Peter got out of prison?”
Ruby nods, a disturbingly sad frown sweeping over her face. “I’m scared. Of them…of him.”
Hot anger pumps through my veins. More and more it seems like Peter disappearing would be the solution to everybody’s problems. I’m tempted to just feed him to the drug lords he stole from.
If I knew their cruelty would end there, I would.
But Ruby and Claire will never be safe until the debt is paid.
“I don’t know what to do, Nathan. I’m sorry.”
“Ruby, look at me.”
Her eyes lift to meet mine, guardedly. “Is this the part where you swoop in to save the day, yet again? Just like with Elise?”
“Elise saved herself. Crediting me with that is an insult to her memory. Leaving Peter, taking Claire, starting over on their own, was the most difficult thing she ever had to do. And she did it for her daughter. You could at least show some respect for that.”
She bows her head. “Okay. I know.”
“You’re going to pay off Peter’s debt on my dime.
Text your contact and let him know we’ll set up a drop, untraceable.
We’ll double what he owes if they can ensure they never contact your family again and will never sell to or through Peter.
I’m not in the business of trusting the integrity of drug lords.
I have guys who can handle it. After that, you need to wipe your hands clean of this whole situation.
Tell Peter’s parole officer he’s back on drugs, and then let him go , Ruby. ”
She stares over my shoulder, her open emotional wounds written all over her face. “I don’t have a choice, do I?”
“You do. I’m simply asking you to make the right one.”
Her eyes land on mine. “Why are you doing this for me? You hate me.”
“There’s a stipulation.”
She sucks in her lips. “You want Claire back.”
“I want you to let Claire choose. If you’re giving her a better home than I can, so be it. But if she wants me… Let her go, too.”
“And never see her again?” Ruby’s eyes fill with tears.
“No. I don’t want to take anything else away from her.
As long as Peter’s not in the picture, you can see Claire as much as she’s okay with.
If you cut that tumor known as your son loose, you can still be part of her life.
Birthday parties, holidays, whatever you like.
When it comes to Claire, it should’ve never been a situation of either-or. ”
She doesn’t take long to weigh her options. “She’ll choose you, Nathan. I know it. Just…” Tears pouring, she clasps her hand over her mouth, catching her sobs. “Don’t cut me out again.”
“Don’t give me a reason to.”
My anger with Ruby has cooled, but only some. Part of me wants to embrace the frail, elderly woman who looks as helpless as Spike did in that pool, minutes from death. But I still need time.
At least, this is a start.
“I’m going to call one of my PI guys. He has contacts that are familiar with the cartel and how they operate. He can help us arrange a safe drop.”
“Okay.” Ruby sniffles.
“Stay here… Maybe order us some coffee?”
She nods eagerly.
Exiting the booth, I dial Hodge who answers on the first ring.
“Hey, I need you to?—”
“I don’t know what happened, man. I just got another car. I’m on my way to your place right now. I bet that’s where he’s headed.”
I exit the restaurant, hot Arizona air blasting my face. “What the hell are you talking about, Hodge? We just caught up with Ruby in Arizona.”
“ Shit. You’re not with Spencer and the girls?”
“No.” Dread pours over me like heavy cement. “What the fuck? Explain.”
“I was following Peter. I went into a gas station to piss, and when I got back, my tires were shot out, and a bucket of paint was thrown on the windshield. Peter’s onto me. He lashed out.”
Of course Peter clued in that he was under surveillance. Ruby just confirmed that moments ago. That’s not the part that’s making my stomach turn inside out.
Peter shot out Hodge’s tires, meaning Peter has a gun…
He knows I’m having him tracked…
And I haven’t heard from Spencer all morning.