Chapter One Hundred Twenty-Seven
Ruby
It feels like I’m trapped inside a glass bubble. Like everything happening around me is muted. Distant. Slow and fast at the same time.
Xavier’s arms are wrapped around me, strong and solid, his chest rising and falling hard against my cheek. His voice is saying something. I think. But the words don’t fully reach me.
Across the kitchen, Jake snaps one handcuff onto Lindsey’s wrist. “You have the right to remain silent–”
The words blur together. My ears ring from the gunshots. White pills scatter across the floor beside the overturned chairs. Broken glass sparkles beneath the kitchen light.
One second Lindsey is standing there crying and shaking. The next, she’s moving. Fast. Her eyes wild. One loose handcuff swings violently through the air.
“You did this.” Her voice slices through the kitchen like broken glass. “This is all your fault.”
My heart stutters as she charges toward us at full speed. I can’t move. My arms and legs are so heavy that it feels like I’m melding to the floor.
“Why didn’t you listen to me?” The metal cuff flashes beneath the lights as she swings it wildly. “Why couldn’t you stay away from him?”
Xavier releases me. He steps in front of me and catches Lindsey mid-lunge, wrapping both arms around her in a tight bear hug before she can reach me.
She thrashes. Screaming. Kicking. “She ruined everything.”
Jake moves fast. He steps in beside them and drives his hand sharply into a pressure point near her shoulder. Lindsey’s body crumples inward.
“Stop resisting,” Jake snaps.
The kitchen tilts around me. Tired. I feel tired. My stomach twists hard. Oh God. The baby.
Fear crashes through my chest so violently it steals my breath. The bitter taste from the pill hits the back of my throat all over again. I stumble toward the sink. My hands barely catch the counter before my body folds forward.
I gag hard. My stomach heaves again. Behind me, metal clicks again as the second cuff snaps shut. Lindsey is screaming something. Her voice sounds hoarse now. Broken. But it barely registers.
My whole body shakes. Fear claws violently through my chest. What if one pill was enough? And the second one dissolved. What if….
I spin around so fast the room sways. “Call Emily.”
Jake looks up sharply.
“Ruby–”
“Call her!” My hand presses instinctively against my stomach. Panic tears through me. “The baby–” My voice breaks. “Oh God… what if I hurt the baby?”