Resisting Ruby Rose (The Ruby Rose Series) (18 page)

Never mind that doing something as simple as going shoe shopping with my mom would probably never happen again.
I’d
officially become the girl Martinez predicted fourteen years ago: a murderess embracing my genetics. The daughter of her worst nightmares.

“Come on, they’re waiting,” Quinn said, placing his hand on the small of my back, next to the gun, and guiding me out of the room.

I didn’t look at Liam when I got to the kitchen. I didn’t acknowledge the way he seemed at ease with Eva. I didn’t let myself care when she whispered into his ear and they left the house side by side through the garage.

The only thing that mattered was moving my feet forward and staying focused on how to execute a plan that involved only one person dying: Martinez.

CHAPTER 24

As Silver drove, Quinn and I sat on opposite ends of the middle row (no one wanted to call shotgun under the circumstances). Maybe the distance between us was out of respect for my biological father. Maybe it was because both of us needed some space to think. The way Quinn had his hand up at his jaw sure looked like he was striking the thinking-man pose.

Before we all left, Liam and Eva in her sleek, ice-blue BMW and us in Silver’s van, we agreed on a strategy—a tactical plan to seek out Martinez despite his obvious advantage. It was strictly an exploratory mission meant to garner any kind of intel on what Martinez was planning to do. Even though my mind was present during the entire game plan, including weapon, vests, and ear-comm-unit distribution, my heart wasn’t in it. I couldn’t fathom a way to beat Martinez at one of his setups.
I’d
been through enough of them to know. Hell, Liam and Silver had, too, but they were both adamant that we follow our only lead wherever it would take us.

Quinn and Eva didn’t seem to oppose the plan either, for some reason deferring to Silver’s judgment and expertise. For so long, Liam and I had been alone in our criminal pursuits, limping our way along in reaction to Martinez’s planning, without proper training or weapons. Without a team of experienced, proficient, and talented killers. It felt beyond strange to be one of the least qualified and most unwilling in the group.

There had to be another way to get at Martinez, aside from following the bread crumbs that h
e’d
planted. Massaging my temples, I forced my brain to focus on developing some kind of brilliant strategy to find him, kill him, and prevent any more death or destruction. But unlike Eva, I had no training in computer hacking and tracking. And unlike Quinn and Silver, I had no friends in Skryker’s crew or throughout quasi-military agencies to request extra intel.

All I had was blind hatred for the person who had destroyed my world and betrayed both my parents, the police department he swore an oath to, and the community h
e’d
promised to protect.

What had really happened to Martinez to drive him to this point? Did he ever have a soul? My father, Jack Rose, wouldn’t have tried so hard with Martinez if there hadn’t been some redeeming value in his partner’s heart. My mother, Jane Rose, wouldn’t have gotten involved with him romantically if h
e’d
always been this evil.

I thought back to the day I watched his funeral on the living room TV.
I’d
wiped away tears as I watched the two women who looked like Martinez’s mother and daughter mourn his death.
I’d
wanted to reach out and comfort them, to explain to them that it was my fault Martinez was dead. Little did I know that he was alive and well. Planning his next move to expose my family secrets and destroy us all.

Sitting up a little taller, I felt a rush of inspiration run through me as I considered a potentially overlooked issue. Did Martinez’s family know he was still alive? Were they in on it somehow—had they only pretended to mourn his loss? Could they still be in contact with him? Maybe it was because the CIA told me keep my nose out of the investigation, or because it felt so good to live in denial with Liam all summer, but
I’d
never even considered going to Martinez’s family.

“What’s wrong, Ruby?” Quinn asked, concern in his voice.

I pursed my lips as my brain kept considering the ramifications and possibilities of what I could do with this information.

“Just tell me.” He was no longer a safe distance away from me on the seat.

I sat forward and directed my questions toward Silver. “Do you know Martinez has a family? A mother? A daughter, maybe?”

“Of course I know.”

“Have you talked to them?” I asked, flabbergasted that he was acting indifferent to this huge chink in Martinez’s armor. As far as I knew, this was his only area of possible vulnerability. “Have you considered using them to get to Martinez?”

Silver turned to face me, the intensity of his look pushing me back against my seat. I felt like a little kid on a road trip who’d spilled a soda all over the floor.

“What do you mean, ‘use them’?” he asked, turning his focus back to the road but not disguising his irritation.

“She
means
,” Quinn cut in, “have you determined if they can be useful in locating Martinez? It’s a proper question, and
I’d
love to hear the answer.”

“Yes. I’ve talked to the target’s mother, and there’s nothing we can
use
there.”

“You mean she’s not aware that her son is still alive and is a raging sociopathic madman capable of mass murder?” I asked. It was difficult to believe that she really thought he was dead.

“No, she doesn’t know.” Silver took a hard turn, sending my body into the door. “I’ve looked into phone records, bank records, and conducted surveillance. His mother received a legitimate life insurance policy payout of $250,000 for the benefit of his daughter. Neither of them know.”

That’s it? That’s all he had to say on the matter? I waited for him to explain himself, but he didn’t. Quinn grabbed my hand and looked at me in a way that said exactly what I was thinking.
We have to get to the family.

“We’re headed into a trap—you know that, don’t you?” I asked, resorting to my flippant abandoned-daughter tone. “Why don’t we set our own trap for once?”

When he answered, it sounded as if h
e’d
been expecting the question. “Just because others have resorted to brute tactics and destructive devices doesn’t mean we will.”

“Says the man who kills for a living,” I said viciously, folding my arms across my chest.

Quinn chuckled—h
e’d
never seen the bratty little girl that Silver brought out in me.

“What?” I asked Quinn, narrowing my eyes at him. He was next if he wasn’t careful.

“Ruby, I don’t think you understand—” Silver started.

“Oh, please, don’t even try that on me,” I spat. “If there’s one thing I’ve tried the hardest to understand, it’s the balance of committing a wrongful act for the right reasons. My father—the father who raised me, Jack Rose—he’s the one who taught me that lesson. Not you.” I thought back to all the time Jack and I spent by the pier, past the breakers. All those years he spoke of his shoreline and making the hard choices that bring you home. “Maybe it’s you, Commander Silver, who doesn’t
understand
what I’m willing to do in order to save someone innocent. Like shooting a dude in the head because he was about to kill a little girl. Like climbing into a cage to save someone I love from a fire. Like—”

“I get your point, Ruby,” Silver said, jerking the car to the side of the road. Throwing it into park, he turned to face me. “Martinez needs to be stopped, I fully agree. But hurting his mother, or, God forbid, his daughter, who is only a few years younger than you, Ruby, is the wrong way to go about it. I’ve made that mistake far too many times, and I won’t make it again.”

“It’s the only way,” I argued. “I’m not going to allow you to lead Liam into a trap. I won’t sacrifice his life for two strangers, innocent or not.”

“Ah,” Quinn said quietly, sounding deflated. “So that’s what it is.”

As much as Quinn liked to think all I needed was his “distraction” to cure me of my feelings for Liam, he was wrong. I wouldn’t let Liam be hurt, even if he hated me.

“I don’t want
anyone
to get hurt,” I continued. “But if someone’s life needs to be in jeopardy, it’s not going to be ours. So tell me where they live.”

“Ruby, are you done?” Silver asked patiently.

I shrugged, irritated at his father tone when he should have been using his colleague tone.

“This is not what I wanted for you.” His brow furrowed. “I never wanted you to make these kinds of soul-breaking decisions. Or see me making these decisions. You deserve a normal life filled with graduation speeches, wedding vows, babie
s . . .
I want to be a part of that.”

My jaw dropped. How was this the time to become sentimental?

“Yeah, well, that’s not in the cards for me anymore,” I said.
I’d
wanted those things, too, at one point. Maybe not the babies, exactly, but
I’d
had my valedictorian speech practically written since freshman year. This was not the time to be dwelling on feelings of loss, though. “Either we act or people die. People I care about. More innocent lives will be taken than just the poor souls related to Martinez.”

“How about this?” Quinn sat forward, interrupting our standoff. “
I
will go and pay a visit to the Martinez clan. That way neither of you are directly involved in the ‘soul-breaking’ part.”

Silver and I considered his words without speaking.

“Not to sound too arrogant, but usually it’s only hearts that break when I’m involved,” Quinn said with a tension-releasing wink. “No offense, old man, but when I want a girl to do something, my first move isn’t to grow a gray beard and buy a van.”

“What do you propose then?” Silver said.

“Drop me off at the nearest car rental establishment with her name, address, and cell phone number, and I’ll have the girl jumping into these arms within the hour. We’ll figure out where to take it from there.”

Silver turned away to look out his driver’s side window, as if considering the overconfident proposition. “OK, 007, if you think you can pull it off, fine. But you go alone. Ruby stays with me.” Silver began typing into his phone.

“Perfect,” Quinn said, as the pertinent information came through on his.

No one spoke while Silver got on the freeway and headed toward the airport, where Quinn would leave us.

The silence grew heavier the longer Quinn was gone.
I’d
sent Liam a text from Silver’s phone to abort the previous plan and to tell them to hold position until instructed otherwise. I just hoped his position didn’t somehow involve holding Eva.

So much had happened in the last few days. I was wanted for the murder of a prominent public figure, Bill Brandon.
I’d
become a millionaire by joining a covert team of underage agents led by an untrustworthy douche. Martinez was going public with his evil intentions and was about to hurt far more people than just my family. Liam and I were no longer together—which hurt more now than ever. And then there was the strange new relationship with dear ol’ Dad.

Silver sat on the other double bed in the hotel room, staring at the TV news reports flashing pictures of Bill Brandon and me.

“I didn’t kill him, you know,” I said.

“Ruby, I know that.” Silver scratched at his jaw. The gray beard was looking less Clooney and more Claus at the moment. “I know the way Skryker operates, and this was his way of obtaining work insurance on you. Not to mention the Brit.”

“What do you mean, ‘not to mention the Brit’?”

“Skryker is smart. He’s got you chained to him several different ways. It’s not just the evidence he’s most likely got tying you to Brandon’s death. It’s the
relationship
you’re developing with this Quinn kid. It’s all to tighten his grasp on you.”

“It’s not like that,” I argued, not knowing what else to say. I had no idea where I stood with Quinn. I knew we were “partners.” That w
e’d
kissed, and I liked it. That I wanted to do more with him but didn’t. That we both wanted a way to break the tie with Skryker but couldn’t. “Quinn is on our side.”

“How can you know that? He’s been Skryker’s main youth operative for three years. He knows what he’s doing. He knows how to charm you, woo you, take advantage of you.” Silver leaned closer, as if his proximity would help me get the message to trust him and
not
to trust Quinn. “You’re not the first recruit Skryker has set him on. So I want to believe that you’re being very careful and keeping a certain amount o
f . . .
distance.”

My stomach turned. No, I hadn’t given Quinn my body, but yes, I had given him my faith. That was something I wasn’t sure I could get back either.

“So you’re saying that Quinn is a double agent. That he’s playing me.” I stared at an unruly cuticle, trying to calm myself by focusing on the smallest of problems. An old tactic.

“Yes, but that’s not our biggest issue right now.” Silver got up and looked through the minibar, apparently unconcerned with the fact that the markup was 3,000 percent. He grabbed a bottle of water and a granola bar and threw them at me where I sat on the bed, like he was testing my reflexes. “Nice catch.”

“Uh, thank you?” I unscrewed the cap and downed the bottle. I wished I could numb my emotions the way the cold water numbed my throat. “So what’s our biggest issue, then?”

“Avoiding your arrest and taking Martinez out before he does any more damage.” Silver stared at his own full bottle without drinking. “I’ve alerted Mathews to the threats, since he wasn’t aware that h
e’d
been made a target, but there’s almost nothing he can do—short of going into hiding—to ensure his own safety. He’s staying at the hospital with your mother and increasing security within a five-mile radius.” He finally took a long swig.