Chapter 36
Tucker
“Wow.” Tobias shakes his head. “That’s some bullshit.”
I’ve just finished explaining the basics of what brought Ruth to my doorstep to my brothers. I did my best not to go into too much detail, but there were certain things that were relevant and Ruth agreed it was okay for me to share.
Like how William fucking Sheppard preyed on vulnerable women. The way he used his money and power to lure them in and then to torment and terrify them.
“We need to make sure he can never make any claim to Birdie.” Walker looks relaxed, but there’s tension in his shoulders.
He’s become very partial to my little girl in the weeks since she and Ruth came home.
More often than not, he finds his way to our house on the weekends, spending time crawling through her castle and bringing new additions to her plastic barnyard.
At this point she has just about every animal in existence occupying that thing.
And I know she hasn’t filed for a single exotic animal permit.
“We’ve decided to file the paperwork for me to adopt Birdie. If he tries to come forward and contest it, he’ll find out how serious I am about ruining his life.” It’s been radio silence from William, which is unnerving, but I’m not waiting forever. Someone’s got to make a move.
It might as well be me.
“Except…” Trevor moves his eyes around the room before bringing them to mine. “What if it wasn’t ever about Birdie?” He tips his head, brows lifting. “Ruth is pretty fucking great. I’m sure it would chap his ass that she walked away from him.”
I’ve never met William Sheppard—probably for the best—but I’ve seen his background check. Watched plenty of videos of his slimy smile during the election campaign that made him a senator.
He’s married to his high school sweetheart.
Has three teenage daughters. Ran a platform based on values and faith.
If it became public he not only had an affair, but also an illegitimate child, that would hurt his chances for reelection.
And as great as Ruth is, men like him only care about themselves.
I shake my head. “I get what you’re saying.
But men like Sheppard believe one woman is the same as the next.
Ruth is nothing more to him than a liability.
He worried she would share delicate information about his outside interests, and went straight for the jugular to keep her quiet. Ruth’s jugular is Birdie.”
Nothing is more important in this world to Ruth than her daughter. Not me. Not her own safety. Not her happiness or peace. She would sacrifice it all for that little girl.
It’s one of the many reasons I fell in love with her. One of the many reasons I fully intend to make her my wife.
Just as soon we have enough time to come up for air.
But as soon as my name is on Birdie’s birth certificate, it’s full speed ahead.
“I don’t think—” Titus is cut off when the door to our meeting room flies open and Brooke stumbles in.
Her skin is pale and her eyes are wide, chest heaving as she scans the room. The second her eyes land on me, I know what’s happening.
“Shit.” I shove up from my chair and take off, my brothers hot on my heels as I race for the entryway. I hear yelling before I even make the last turn.
But it’s not a man’s voice carrying down the hall.
It’s Maren’s.
I’m running as fast as I can, but somehow Trevor manages to catch up with me, outpacing me by two full strides by the time we reach the lobby.
My stomach drops to my steel-toed boots when my eyes find Ruth. She looks frozen. Fused to the floor as panic drains the blood from her face.
It must all go straight to Maren’s, because the tiny woman is completely red-faced, looking about two seconds away from committing murderous acts as she screams in the face of the man I knew would be waiting here for me.
William Sheppard has certainly changed since his campaigning days.
He looks like shit. So bad that I’m kinda hoping the stress of facing down Maren’s wrath will send him into a cardiac arrest. It’ll save me the trouble of having to kill him for finding the balls to set foot on my property.
Which also raises a question. How the fuck did he get in this building in the first place?
“You can take your fake court papers and shove them up your ass.” Maren smiles, the expression terrifying. “On second thought, you probably love having your prostate tickled. So how about I just cram them down your throat?”
William is sputtering, looking like he has zero clue how to handle what’s happening. He probably doesn’t. The man likely goes to great lengths to surround himself with people who don’t challenge him.
That’s probably why it pissed him off so much when Ruth and the rest of the women taking him on didn’t do what he told them to do. When they refused to cower under his threats.
Maybe Walker was on to something after all.
I pass the security desk just as William attempts to step around Maren. Maren must have anticipated the shift, because she makes sure to stay right in his path, blocking any attempt he might make at getting closer to Ruth.
And for some reason, that’s what pushes William over the edge. He body checks Maren, sending her stumbling back. Thankfully, Ray is close enough to catch her as she goes down.
But then there’s no one between William and Ruth.
He smirks, thinking he’s won, but the fucker has no idea what’s coming for him.
Trevor and I aren’t the only people closing in on him.
There’s a trio of mercenaries from Alaskan Security at a full run who will reach Ruth’s side a few seconds after I do.
But I’m afraid it won’t be fast enough. William is right there. He’s reaching out, a snarling smile on his face as he—
William’s head whips to one side, eyes bulging as his spine goes stiff.
Trevor—who managed to get a few more steps ahead of me—Superman punched the senator right in his jaw.
I can’t even imagine how much power and momentum he put into that, but I’m willing to bet William is going to be spending a fair amount of money on reconstructive surgery.
And a fair amount of time eating through a straw.
I nearly trip over my own feet as I reach Ruth, wrapping both arms around her as I continue moving, getting her away from whatever the fuck is about to go down.
She’s shaking, her entire body vibrating as I scoop her up, heading for Trevor’s office since it’s the closest place she can comfortably sit.
The guys from Alaskan Security are yelling behind me, screaming at William. Telling him to show them his hands.
I’m about to turn—see what’s going on—when I’m hit from the side. The impact is hard enough it sends me tipping straight toward the floor. There’s no way I can stop it, the most I can hope for is to make sure Ruth doesn’t get hurt when we hit, so I twist, taking the brunt of the impact.
And it is one hell of an impact. I hit the tile so hard it sounds like—
A gunshot?
The air has been knocked out of me, and I’m going to be bruised from my ass to my shoulders, but I still manage to roll, keeping Ruth against me as I block her body with mine.
Because somebody’s shooting a fucking gun.
A quick series of pops follows the initial discharge, then everything goes eerily quiet.
Someone groans behind me, and I crane my neck to see Walker flattened on the floor, wincing as he tries to move. “Fuck, you’ve got a hard head.” He reaches up, running a hand over his jaw. “Last time I do you a favor.”
I hold Ruth tight to me as I continue scanning our surroundings, trying to figure out what the hell just happened.
The team from Alaskan Security is huddled together, hunkered over William’s unmoving form. A pistol lays beside him, a pool of blood slowly oozing its way toward the weapon.
Walker grunts, pushing to a sitting position. “Did he hit you?”
Fucking hell. William was shooting at me.
Instead of checking myself over, I run my hands down Ruth’s arms and over her legs, looking for any sign of injury.
“I’m fine.” Her blue eyes lock onto where the man who’s been terrorizing her for almost two years is bleeding on the tile. “Is he dead?”
Walker groans again as he pushes up to his feet. “He sure doesn’t look alive.”
I’m going to have to agree with him on that one. I haven’t seen so much as a twitch come from William. And the amount of blood leaking out of him is substantial. “Who shot him?”
“I can probably narrow it down to one of three people.” Walker rocks his head from side to side. “Fuck I’m old. I used to be able to take a hit better than this.”
I’m sure I’ll be feeling the effects of Walker’s tackle as soon as the adrenaline wears off. He’s big as hell and solid as a rock. I meet my cousin’s eyes. “Thanks for saving my ass.”
He dips his head in a nod, expression serious. “Anytime.”
“I’m fine.” Maren is still yelling, only now she’s directing her ire toward Trevor. “Go bother someone else.”
But instead of going like she requests, Trevor leans closer, saying something low enough I can’t make it out.
Maren’s eyes widen, outrage sparking in their depths.
Then she slaps him across the face.
“Oh shit.” Walker is watching the same show I am, looking just as stunned as Trevor over Maren’s hit. He turns to me, a grin spreading across his face. “Remind me to send Trevor flowers for putting himself in your mom’s line of fire next.”
Trevor watches Maren go, jaw clenched tight. As soon as she disappears from sight, his eyes come to us and he strides over. Crouching down next to Ruth, he looks her over from head to toe. “You okay?”
His tone is so gentle. So soft. So different from anything I’ve ever heard from him before. It’s obvious Ruth has found her way into more hearts than just mine.
Or he’s just scared she’s going to quit and he’ll have to find another assistant. Either way, he’s being nice to her, and that’s all that matters to me.
Her breath shudders in and out of her lungs. “Honestly, I don’t know.” She swallows, the line of her throat working. “Everything happened so fast. I was expecting our lunch order, so when one of the security guys called and said someone was here to see me, I assumed that’s what it was.”
“Which security guy?” Our team has strict instructions to ask for ID and get approval before unlocking the door and letting anyone inside. We also have a list of people who aren’t allowed inside under any circumstances, and William is on that list.
Obviously for good reason.
Ruth’s eyes drift away, her brow pinching. She barely shakes her head. “I don’t remember.”
“That’s okay.” I pull her close, scanning the space to see who’s around so I can decide which one of them to question first. “Let’s get you somewhere comfortable so you can relax.
” I want to take her to my office—get her as far from this area as I can—but the police will be here soon, and they’ll want to talk to her.
So I go back to my original plan, walking her to Trevor’s office.
He accompanies us, sticking close, blocking Ruth’s back as we walk. It’s another gesture I appreciate deeply. Proof my family is willing to put their own lives on the line to protect the woman I love.
I love it and hate it at the same time. Ruth deserves to have people ready and willing to keep her safe. To support her. To love her. But I hate that it almost got someone important to me hurt.
Before we turn the corner, I take one more look back into the lobby where William lays. Hopefully, this is the end of Ruth’s nightmare. I wish I could feel bad over the loss of a life, but I don’t. Certainly not his.
It saves me the trouble of ruining him. Because that’s what I was going to do. As soon as Birdie was safe, I was going to find every way possible to make Senator William Sheppard suffer.
So maybe I am a little disappointed he’s dead, because that was going to be one hell of a good time.