Resisting Ruby Rose (The Ruby Rose Series) (3 page)

What if Skryker and Quinn
could
help me get justice—the one thing I most desperately desired?

“Are you OK?” Liam asked from the doorway. I jumped as if h
e’d
just caught me in my underwear.

“I didn’t hear you coming,” I said, flustered. I gathered all the papers and photos and covered them with the envelope. Why did I feel like I needed to hide this from him? He was the one I shared everything with.

“You opened it, eh?” Liam said, furrowing his brow before joining me on the bed. “I thought you might wait for me.”

“Sorry. You can look if you want.” I moved the envelope off the papers. “It’s information on Martinez, proof that he’s been here in HB. It’s from the Agent Skryker guy I told you about. The man that Mathews and I went to see two days ago. The man with the vague proposition.”

“Right. So, he thinks it was Martinez who set the bomb, too, huh?” Liam said, scanning through the information.

“Seems that way. There are phone logs to prove he was in Southern California, a list of explosive materials they believe he was in possession of, and pictures of him hiding in plain sight,” I explained. “Who else would’ve had motive? He’s not done with me.”

Liam blew out a breath after he read Skryker’s letter. “I don’t know. I just though
t . . .
” He looked at my tired eyes. “I don’t know what I thought. C’mere.” Liam pulled me close, then laid us down on the bed. Heat emanated through his thin shirt as our chests pressed together. I would never get used to being this close to Liam Slater. His fresh scent swept me out of my misery, if only for a few moments.

“Let me get you out of here for a few days,” Liam whispered in my ear. “Let’s get away from Skryker and Martinez and hospitals and everything. I know you want to do something, go after Martinez somehow. But sometimes taking a step away from the problem helps you see the solution better.”

Liam was right. He was almost always right. I could sit in the hospital waiting room for who knew how many days, doing nothing. I could go talk to Mathews, who wouldn’t tell me anything except to go away. I could stay here at Dr. T’s, putting her in danger. Or I could go to the mountains for two days and take a moment to breathe, to train, to shoot, to prepare.

“OK, I’ll go,” I whispered into his chest so softly, I wasn’t sure he heard me.

“Seriously?” Liam pulled away to look at my face. “You’ll go?”

“Yes, but I want to be back by Friday—or earlier if needed, OK?”

Instead of expressing how excited he was with words, he showed me with his lips. They were on mine, firm and eager. His hands were on either side of my face, locking me in. As his kiss grew deeper, he rolled me on my back and lay on top of me. At first, the pressure of his weight made me feel slightly claustrophobic, but then the feeling of his body enveloped me with a comforting warmth. Like he was shielding me from everything around us. Like he would lay down his life for me.

The passion growing between his body and mine burned me up. I thought for a moment that I wouldn’t be able to hold myself back anymore, that I wanted to be as close to Liam Slater as two bodies could be, that inside this bubble of passion, nothing else could exist. No pain. No fear. No billowing guilt or raging anger.

And that’s when he stopped. “Let’s save some of this for the cabin,” he breathed, as if it wounded him to say those words. He pushed up off me, and I wanted to grab his shirt and force him back. To take another dose of his medicating kisses. But he was right. If we were going to start moving faster, we could at least do it somewhere romantic—somewhere a parent figure couldn’t barge in at any moment. Maybe the cabin was a better idea than
I’d
thought, after all.

CHAPTER 4

For the first half of the three-hour drive to Big Bear, the atmosphere in the car was subdued, as if we were smothered by the city fog w
e’d
left behind. I figured that no one wanted to act excited out of respect for my mother. But as soon as we left the urban areas behind and saw all the trees, anticipation took over.

“This is so what I needed,” Alana said in an overly dramatic voice from the backseat, where she was practically sitting on Chase’s lap. “The beach is completely out of control, with the U.S. Open in town and all the surf jocks lining the shore. Not to mention all the increased security because o
f . . .
you know. Yesterday, I could practically smell the weed and vomit a mile away. It’ll be nice to have some peace and quiet. Did you say there was a hot tub there, Chase?”

Normally Alana loved the surfing championships and the plethora of hot boys they brought. Now she was pretending to hate it? I turned and stared at her in disbelief, but she wasn’t looking at me.

“There’s absolutely a
hot
tub,” Chase said, bobbing his eyebrows at her in a way I didn’t need to see. “And did you say you brought that bikini with the polka dots?”

“Oh my gosh, you guys, get a room!” Liam said as he drove Big Black up a switchback. I still couldn’t believe
I’d
let him drive. But a bet was a bet—if he could get us out of Huntington Beach without the paparazzi following, he got the keys.

“Don’t worry, we’ll definitely get a room.” Chase wrapped his arm around Alana. I turned forward again, no longer needing to rubberneck at what was happening in the backseat.

I wasn’t quite sure when
that
had happened.
I’d
been so caught up with my miserable life that
I’d
failed to notice Chase and Alana were now a couple. I knew Chase broke up with his girlfriend, but only a few days ago. The way Alana and Chase were touching each other made me think that either they were moving lightning-fast, or possibly some unfaithfulness had occurred. I really hoped not. When we got a few minutes alone, I needed to talk to Alana.

I checked my phone for the thousandth time to see if there were any updates from the hospital, Dr. T., or other breaking-news sources. Nothing, except for Mathews imploring me to be safe and smart, and reassuring me that he was watching me via his twenty-four-hour surveillance team of Tweedledee and Tweedledum—whom we actually might’ve lost a few miles back, because I couldn’t see them anymore. Regardless, they had me on GPS, so whatev.

As we reached the front drive of the cabin at the top of the hill, we rolled the windows down to let in the invigorating, fresh pine air. Alana jumped out of the car before Liam even stopped.

“Holy mother trucker!” Alana gaped at the front steps. “This place is amazing. Like, MTV
Cribs
amazing. Is it open?”

“It should be,” Chase answered, following after her. “My uncle said his caretaker dude would have it all ready for us.”

Alana squealed as she ran on her daisy-duked legs into the house. I hoped she brought warmer clothes than she was used to wearing.

“Wanna go in?” Liam asked from the driver’s seat. “I’ll get all the luggage and bring it up.”

“Actually, I think I might take a little walk and stretch my legs,” I said, as I climbed out and took in my surroundings. “I want to check out that shooting range, and if my memory of the property map serves correctly, it’s down that path.” I pointed to the northwest.

“Right, I should’ve seen that coming,” Liam said, as he got out, too. “I’ll take everything in and start getting dinner ready.”

“Dinner?” I rounded Big Black to meet Liam at the back. “You’re going to make dinner?”

“Why are you so surprised? I can cook, you know,” he said with an offended smile. “I actually have something pretty nice prepared.”

“Well, consider me very pleasantly surprised, then.” I kissed him, lingering in the moment a little longer than intended. Pulling away never got easier. “I’ll be back soon.”

“Be careful,” he called after me as he began grabbing bags out of the back.

I took a winding path down toward the sound of rushing water. The trees were ancient and wide, covered in moss and moisture. Roots snaked up all over the overgrown walkway. I stepped carefully to avoid over-muddying my vintage Chinese Laundry boots, otherwise known as my Chi-Chi’s. Wildflowers shot up in every direction from the base of saplings and firs. The smell of firewood, pine, rich soil, and fresh water enveloped me. As the path widened, stretching my legs turned into running at a full sprint. And it felt so good that I didn’t even care about under-protecting my Chi-Chi’s. After all, hadn’t I come up here to work on my physical and mental strength? The pain in my side felt almost enlivening as I forced oxygen into my lungs, steadying my heart rate as I pushed myself even harder.

Soon the trees opened up to a well-trodden path, and the air cooled as I approached the bank of the river. A small bridge spanned the stream and led to a large field beyond, where I could see the makings of a spectacular trap field, complete with short- and long-distance rifle stations that would make Jack Rose proud. The only feeling that could come close to this moment would be a stellar pair of Valentinos slipping perfectly onto my feet, all Cinderella-like, or Liam Slater’s lips running down my neck.

In an effort to catch my breath, I reached down to the steadily running water and dipped my hands in the chill of the mountain. I splashed some water on my face, refreshing myself after the drive and the high-altitude cardio. Closing my eyes, I absorbed it all. These few days away from everything could be exactly what I needed to prepare myself to take down Martinez once and for all.
I’d
brought the envelope of information on him with me and planned to intersperse training sessions with focused attention on the materials, hoping to glean details from it that might help me figure out how to proceed.

The sound of coughing jerked me out of my mountainside reverie. I opened my eyes to glance downstream. A man was crouched over a small dam in the river. He was about thirty yards away, but I could tell he had dark hair, a leather vest splattered with red paint, and some kind of knee-high boots—like he was a hunter. Except he was wearing a carpentry belt with tools as well. Tools and a gun.

He obviously had no idea I was here, intruding on his privacy. His back was to me, so I couldn’t tell what he was doing. Hoping my presence would continue to go unnoticed, I was trying to quietly back away when the pebbles on the embankment gave way and crackled as they fell into the water.

He stood and spun in my direction. Our eyes met. And simultaneous recognition dawned on both our faces.

He had a knife in one hand and blood on the other.

He knew who I was, and I most definitely knew who he was: Charlie LeMarq. The murderer I thought I had shot in the head.

CHAPTER 5

“Dinner will be ready in five minutes,” Liam hollered from downstairs.

I splashed another round of cold water on my face, but this time from the sink in one of the master bathrooms.

Drying my face with a towel, I stared at myself in the mirror. Had I finally, completely, and totally lost my mind? There was no possible way that Charlie LeMarq was alive. I had personally put the bullet between his eyes. I saw his dead body as I held little Riley Bentley. It would have been impossible to bring him back to life, like Martinez managed to do for himself. Was it all some trick? Or had Martinez finally pushed me over the limit of my sanity?

It had been nearly an hour since
I’d
burst into the cabin out of breath and scared out of my wits, and my heart was still beating overtime. I pinched my eyes shut and tried to stop myself from replaying the moment when I pulled the trigger and LeMarq’s blood sprayed. But everything kept coming back, crystal-clear: the feel of Smith’s cold steel, the scent of coppery blood, the sting of shock in little Riley’s eyes, and the drowning feeling of disgust for having been the one who pulled the trigger.

“Dinner is ready!” Liam shouted again. “Come and get it!”

I was crazy. I did not see a ghost. Maybe slapping myself would help me snap out of this insanity. I tried, but it only made my face more ruby-red.

Maybe seeing him was a totally normal guilt-induced delusion brought on by my mother’s traumatic incident. Dr. T mentioned that something like this could happen. Not specifically something this bizarre, but something. Surely the man at the river was just an innocent hunter or worker. Of course he had a gun—he was at a shooting range. And, unfortunately, he happened to look very similar to a particular child predator whose brains
I’d
blown out. He was just as surprised by me as I was by him, and that was all. Nothing was amiss. Mathews’s men were watching us, the house was secure, and LeMarq was very, very dead.
So get a grip, Ruby.

Still, before heading downstairs, I took a peek out the window. The forest line that had seemed so inviting a short time ago now seemed dark and sinister. In fact, the way the leaves rustled and the shadows caught my eye, I got the distinct sense that something was wrong out there. I shivered and pulled the blinds shut.

Alana and Chase came out of their room, giggling and whispering things I wished I hadn’t heard. From a safe distance, I followed them down the stairs and into the dining room, where soft music played and candles cast a warm light. A variety of beautiful dishes were spread out on the table, the delicious scents reminding me how hungry I was.

“Dude, for us?” Chase asked sarcastically.

“Liam, I had no idea you were such a romantic,” Alana said in a very un-Alana-like sultry voice. Gah!

Liam barely acknowledged them. His eyes were firmly on me. And mine were on him. He pulled out a chair and motioned for me to sit.

“You didn’t have to do this,” I said as I walked over and allowed him to help me into my seat. “I mean, it’s amazing, but honestly, I was expecting campfire hot dogs.”

“Maybe tomorrow,” Liam said. “But tonight’s special.” A glimmer shone in his eye, and a jolt of electricity shot through my chest.
Special? How special?

Liam sat next to me and poured me a glass of blush wine—he knew I wouldn’t drink it, but I didn’t say anything because it was more about the gesture. Chase tried to follow suit and did the same for Alana. I served myself some angel hair pasta with a fresh tomato and basil sauce. If it tasted half as good as it smelled, Liam was seriously getting rewarded for this effort.

As we were about to eat, there was a knock on the front door. My heart stopped and my hand froze in midair, holding a spoonful of salad. Why was my first instinct always fear?

“Who in the H could that be?” Alana asked Chase.

“I have no idea,” Chase responded.

“Maybe the caretaker?” Liam didn’t look nearly as concerned as I felt. He took a bite of pasta before following Chase to the door.

When they opened it, a girl’s voice came floating in. My arm unfroze. At least whoever it was wasn’t the man
I’d
shot in the head coming back to life as a zombie.

The more I listened, the more out of place the voice sounded. It was a young woman at the door, for sure—that was easy enough to judge without even seeing her—with a sultry voice that put Alana’s to shame. Except she had a foreign accent: French or Spanish, maybe.

Alana got up and hurried out there, probably as threatened by the girl’s voice as I would have been by a dead man’s. I followed her to the entryway to find out who this mystery visitor could be.

“You’re welcome to join us for dinner if you’d like,” Chase was saying to the girl. She was tall and dark with major curves, endless legs, and wavy hair framing her heart-shaped face.

“Oh, no, I wouldn’t want to interrupt,” she said with a wispy shake of her head.

“No problem,” Chase assured her.

Alana’s face was so red, I expected steam to blow out her ears at any moment.

“OK, maybe just for a minute, until my boyfriend gets back,” the girl said as she crossed the threshold.

The boys escorted the bombshell into the dining room, where Alana and I tried to appear as un-invisible as possible.

“Âllo, my name is Sofia,” the Accent said as she held her hand out to Alana to shake. Alana just stared at her like a growly little bear. I stepped in and took her hand.

“Nice to meet you, Sofia,” I said. “My name’s Ruby.”

We exchanged a lingering look. Like she was appraising me just as much as Alana was appraising her.

“Sofia knocked on our door to say hello,” Liam explained. “She and her boyfriend are staying at a nearby cabin and haven’t seen anyone in days. Her boyfriend has been gone all day and won’t be back until later, so she thought she could make some friends.”

“Right,” Alana said with overt spite. “Friends.”

Sofia and her mile-long legs sat down at the dinner table.

Somehow we managed to eat, which was a remarkable feat for Chase, since his mouth was hanging open while he gawked at Sofia through the entire meal. Luckily, she scaled back her flirtation quite a bit after she noticed how angry Alana was becoming. We found out she was only sixteen years old, she was visiting from Brazil, and she and her boyfriend were backpacking across the U.S. for the summer. Other than her off-putting sex appeal, she was actually quite lovely. Several times I found her ignoring the boys and focusing on me, like she really did want to make friends.

After dessert (chocolate cake), Sofia excused herself. She said that sh
e’d
gotten a text from her boyfriend and that h
e’d
be back soon. She had to walk half a mile, but even when Chase offered his escort services, she refused. I considered going with her myself, especially since that LeMarq-looking dude at the river was out there somewhere, but she slipped out while I was bringing plates to the kitchen. I reminded myself that Mathews’s men would make sure she was OK.

She wasn’t gone twenty seconds before Liam and I had to witness Alana and Chase’s very loud and public fight. And it wasn’t twenty minutes later before we had to endure their very loud and un-private makeup sex. Or what sounded like sex.

I hoped they weren’t breaking anything in there.

I knew Alana wasn’t a virgin—like I was—but I didn’t really need the auditory details. Especially since I had no idea what was going to happen between Liam and me tonight. Just thinking about the possibilities made me sweat. I focused on the update Mathews had texted me during dinner: my mom was still steady. No news.

While Liam finished the dishes, he told me to go upstairs and relax. I felt disgusting from the drive and the long day, so I decided to take a shower. Under the steam and spray, I imagined that all my worries about my parents, friends, and enemies were being washed away. I assured myself that I hadn’t really seen LeMarq, since it was impossible that he was alive. I let that delusion and all the other things bothering me go down the drain at my feet. There were plenty of things to be grateful for and happy about.

I was alive. I was in a beautiful place with the guy I fell in love with every time we touched. An
d . . .
mayb
e . . .
I was about to make one of the biggest decisions of my life.

If there was ever a boy I wanted to share this with, it was Liam. I had no doubts that he would ever hurt me or leave me. The only doubts I had were 1) if I was ready—I wasn’t religious, but I knew Jack Rose was, and he would have wanted me to wait until marriage; and 2) if Liam and I really belonged together—I worried that being with me meant being in danger. Liam deserved a normal life with a normal girl who had never killed a string of bad dudes. Then imagined them coming back to bloody life.

I turned off the shower and stepped out through the fogging glass. I didn’t know what decision I would make quite yet, but it was time to face my choice.