Chapter One Hundred Five
Xavier
The hospital hallway is too bright as Ruby’s last words replay in my head. ‘I’m not yours to worry about. I don’t want to be yours to worry about.’ I push through the exit doors.
The cold night air hits my face hard, but it doesn’t cool off the anger boiling under my skin. Or the guilt. Because my selfishness led to her getting hurt. Because she called Jake. Because I failed her again.
I drag a hand through my hair as I stride for the truck. Her life is in danger because of me.
The engine roars to life beneath me. For a few seconds, I sit there gripping the steering wheel before pulling out of the parking lot.
I don’t consciously decide where I’m going. My hands already know. Ruby’s house looks no different than it did. The new window shines in the early morning sunshine. There’s nothing announcing that she got knocked out by some asshole.
My stomach churns as I walk the yard, scanning from side to side. The pigs stir in the straw when I step near the fence, but they settle again once they recognize me. Squirt lets out a nervous grunt when he spots me.
After I let him out, he presses his snout against my leg. “Hey, boy.”
Then I see it. Dark stains against the grass near the gate. My brain refuses to process what I’m looking at. It hits like a boulder to the gut. Blood. Ruby’s blood.
The air leaves my lungs in a rush forward. I crouch beside the disturbed patch of grass. The dirt is torn up where she must’ve fallen. A landscaping stone with dark stains that smear one edge.
My chest pangs violently. She was standing here feeding the pigs. Thinking she was safe. And someone came up behind her.
For one terrible second, all I can picture is Ruby collapsing into the grass while somebody stood over her. Rage floods through me so fast my hands start shaking.
I pick the rock up. The dried blood along the edge turns my stomach. “Jesus Christ.”
My voice barely sounds like mine. Someone did this to her. Not a stupid note. Not a meaningless threat. This. I set the stone down because if I hold onto it any longer, I’m going to put it through somebody’s skull.
Ruby said she isn’t mine to worry about. She doesn’t want to be mine to worry about. Not my responsibility. Not my obligation. Just a friend.
I stare at the blood staining the grass. That word feels ridiculous. She’s not just a friend. Not someone I’m helping because it’s convenient. Not some casual thing I picked up accidentally.
She’s everything.
That realization scares the hell out of me because everything I touch eventually falls apart. So what could I offer Ruby besides disappointment?
The crunch of tires in the driveway pulls me out of my head. Jake’s truck. He steps out, scanning the yard with the automatic alertness of a cop. “Figured you’d end up here.”
“Yeah.” I toe the rock by my foot and stop. Shit. If this is evidence, I’ve messed it up. “Is this what was used to hit her?”
Jake shakes his head. “No.”
“That’s the landscaping rock she struck when she went down.”
My stomach twists.
Jake’s voice stays even. “The one used to attack her was jagged but smaller. We recovered it last night.”
“Were there prints?”
Jake gives a slight shake of his head. “Nothing usable.”
“So we’re back to nothing.”
“We’re back to documenting what we know,” Jake corrects. “The rock that hit her matches the ones lining the edge of the driveway. The good news is, whoever did this didn’t come intending to use it as a weapon.”
“How does that change anything?”
He folds his arms. "They didn’t come here with the intention of hurting her.”
My hands ball into fists. “I don’t care what their original plan was. They waited until she was alone, attacked her, and stayed off every camera we have. How’s that possible?”
Jake’s gaze holds mine. “It’s someone who's paying attention and evolving as things change. Every camera you install. Every routine you change. Every security measure you add, they’re adjusting right along with you.”
A knot twists in my stomach. “So how do we catch them?”
Jake doesn’t answer right away. “We make them stop reacting....” His eyes meet mine. “....and start making mistakes.” Jake crosses his arms. “We start with the guys who started escalating once you entered the picture.”
Greg and Brent.
As I stand in Ruby’s dark yard beside the blood soaking into the grass, I shake my head. This is a lot worse than any of us wanted to believe.