Scarred (33 page)

“He was my husband,” she said, looking mournful. “I loved him once. I owe him that much.”

“I thought he was randomly attacked?”

“He was attacked, yes,” she said, biting her lip, “but I'm not sure how random it was. After all these years, the whole thing still doesn't sit well with me.”

“You think he was
targeted
?” I asked, thinking of how Gregory had handpicked Cooper for his menagerie.

“Yes.”

“Well, if you think he has answers, then by all means use me as leverage, if you think it'll get you somewhere. I can play the eager beaver.”

“Thanks,” she said, dodging behind the counter. Part of me tensed, thinking of her handy Glock that lay dormant back there. She saw me flinch and laughed. “I've retired that for a while, Ruby. You can ease up.”

Instead of her hand cannon, she pulled out a tiny box with a ribbon around it.

“It's a little thank you of sorts.”

“For what?” I asked, taking it from her.

“Everything,” she said, looking down. “But mainly my peace of mind. I don't have to look over my shoulder anymore. You have no idea how good that feels.”

I didn't—I looked over mine constantly.

I opened the package to find an ornate rhinestone hair clip from the forties. It was a large fan of feathers, much like a peacock in its full glory. It was exquisite.

“Ronnie!” I gasped, fingering it delicately. “It's amazing.”

“I thought maybe it would help tame down that fro of yours,” she said with a chuckle.

“Thank you,” I said, putting the clip gently back into its box. “I love it.”

“I knew you would.”

I paused for a minute, not wanting to ruin the moment between us.

“About the other night...,” I began, unable to look at her.

“Leave it be, Ruby,” she said softly. “I don't need to know any more than I do. I just wanted to make sure
you
were doing alright with it and that Sean was...
understanding
.”

“I don't know if he is or not,” I replied, unable to look at her. “I didn't tell him. I was going to, but then Cooper hijacked the phone and told him that
he
infected Matty and that I was there on the full moon, but I got out alive and that's what he should focus on,” I rambled. “I never heard his reaction, but judging by the long stretches that Cooper couldn’t get a word in edgewise, and Sean not answering any of the texts I've sent him since, I doubt it was good.”

“Well, I can't say that's unexpected. Just be careful. There's a reason why there are so few female wolves out there,” she said, eyes serious. “They tend to be collateral damage.”

“I'll keep that in mind. Thanks.”

“No problem,” she said, feeling the awkwardness in the room as much as I did. We both paused, unsure of where to go from there. “
Hey
!” she shouted, turning to enter the back room, “I've got something else you're going to love. But this one isn't on the house.”

When she emerged through the beaded gateway to the stockroom, she held a vintage leather jacket so worn-in that it was hard to tell what the original color had been. What was left of the hue was a purplish-brown, and the suede was so soft you could have rolled it up and used it for a pillow. She slipped it on me from behind and smoothed the back out as I arranged the front. It was beyond perfect.

“You're truly evil, you know that, right?” I said, walking over to the mirror.

“Nope, I'm just a matchmaker of sorts.”

“What's it going to set me back?”

“More than you want to know,” she said with a grin.

“Ugh,” I said, knowing I'd pay whatever she asked for it. I couldn't
not
have it. “I don't have my card with me,” I told her. “I'll have to come get it later today.”

“Just take it,” she said, writing something down on a card for me. “Have Peyta bring me a check for this amount.”

“Jesus, Ronnie!” I said, looking at the figure she'd jotted down.

She turned up the wattage on her smile and laughed.

“Hey...business has been slow with me gone. I have to make that back somewhere.”

“Well, I'm glad to know that the
Royal Bank of Ruby
is here to help,” I said sarcastically.

“So am I. Now get out of here before I find a few more things to strong-arm you into buying.”

“Good advice.”

“From me?
Always
,” she said, eying me thoughtfully.

“Agreed,” I replied with a smile. “The best.”

* * *

I had dreaded it all day, but inevitably evening came. I still hadn't heard back from Sean, and, unfortunately for me, when it came to him, no news was not good news. At minimum, I was hoping to find out when he was coming back so I could mentally prepare myself for the hatred I was going to see in his eyes. I had betrayed him, and he now had that fact confirmed. To make matters worse, I was off to see the person I'd betrayed him with.

I played with my platinum ring as I drove down to Boston, thinking it was so strange that such a small thing could control something so powerful. Not that I wasn't thankful for it. That slender band was all that kept me from being forced into a broom closet in my mind and locked away indefinitely, while Scarlet and her soul mate did their thing.

My stomach tightened instantly when I didn't see Matty's car as I pulled up. I was ten minutes late as it was, and he was
always
on time. I waited for another five minutes to see if he would show up before texting him repeatedly.

Nothing.

I sighed as I got out of my car and started to text Cooper to alert him to the problem. He needed to know that I'd be late if I had to drive around Boston in search of a neowere. I was actually surprised that Matty hadn't come, since he'd been so jazzed about seeing Scarlet. In truth, I’d half expected to see him waiting for her out front, but no such good luck there.

Without a parking spot in sight, I had to leave the TT half a block north of the studio. I was too busy playing with my phone to notice the small group of men who were lurking in the shadows of the adjacent alleyway.

“Hey,
rubia
,” the one called. His voice gave me instant chills. I knew that voice.

I looked up to see the same group of guys who'd tried to attack me once before by the studio walking into the light of the street. The ones Cooper threatened to come back and eliminate. Instinctively, I went for the ring on my finger, knowing that I had to do something. I stood no chance against them by myself.

“She prefers 'Blue Eyes',” Matty growled from behind me. I hadn't even heard him coming.

“You again?” the leader said, stepping out and distinguishing himself from the rest of his group. “I don't see your blond friend around to save you this time. You really want to go there, or do you want to give me what I want and live?” He raked his eyes over me heavily and my body shook in response. Me going with him was
totally
not an option.

“Oh, I want to go there,” Matty said, voice terribly low and threatening. “Stay here,” he said to me, putting his body between me and them. “In the alley,” he called to the big guy. “It's less visible.”

“I couldn't agree more,” he agreed, flashing the knife he’d just pulled from the back of his pants.

The men moved like a wave, crashing into the alley with one big lurch. The fighting began instantaneously. As best as I could tell, there were about eight of them, four of whom were already sprawled out along the damp and dirty ground. Matty seemed to be saving the best for last.

“Matty, no!” I yelled, running after him. He had to be stopped. I wasn't sure that he'd killed anyone yet, but at the rate he was going, it wasn't going to take long to accomplish that.

“Get back,” he snarled, turning his flaming orange eyes on me. Scarlet slammed into my forehead, causing pain like I hadn't felt since the last vision I'd gotten from the Rev. It wasn't a welcome return.

Take it off!

I looked down to see my hand jerking towards my ring.

“No!” I yelled.

Take it off, NOW!

My fingers wrapped around the gleaming silver and started to pull.

“No, no, no...,” I told myself, trying desperately to keep it on. “You can't come out.”

You can't keep me in here. He needs me!

Sweat rolled down my face, cooled by the crisp night air as I fought with myself for control. I glanced up at the alley to see Matty pinning the last man standing against the red brick of the building. Even in the darkness, I knew that thug feared for his life. I didn't need to see him; his desperation wove through the air like a call for help.

“Matty,” I said, struggling to force the words out. “You have to stop.
Please
.”

“He wanted to hurt you,” he said, his eyes glowing in the darkness of the alley.

“Let him go. Just let him go.”

“I can't,” he said, turning his attention back to his soon-to-be victim.

“Stop!” I yelled in desperation.

LET ME OUT!

My control wavered
―
I couldn't fight her any longer. She was too much. I tore the ring off my own finger, launching it into the air.

I was met with instant darkness.

* * *

I don't know how long I was gone that time, but when I came to I was in my bed at home, naked.

And I was not alone.

25

Matty smiled at me as he roused. My screaming and crashing onto the floor seemed to have woken him.

“Morning, Blue Eyes,” he said, with a low and sexy morning voice. “Fancy meeting you here.”

“I
live
here. What are
you
doing here?” I asked, scurrying backwards on the rug, taking the comforter with me. “How did we get home last night?”

He eyed me strangely for a moment.

“You really don't know, do you?”

“No, Matty, I have no clue!” I said, sounding every bit as panicked as I felt.

“I drove your car here,” he said, still looking puzzled. “My parents got home last night. We couldn't go there.”

“So she told you to come
here
?” I asked, dumbfounded. “Was Cooper here? Oh my God...you didn't hurt him, did you?”

I tore out of the room, tripping on the blanket wrapped around me. I flung Cooper's door open to see the bed still made, unslept in.

“He wasn't here,” Matty growled.

“Stop that,” I said, sticking my finger in his face. “You stop that shit right now. If you so much as
breathe
wrong on Cooper, I will fuck you up myself, do you understand me?”

“Are you threatening me?” he asked, face intrigued.

“Yes. I am. Do you want to see if I'm good for it?” I said, puffing myself up as much as my false bravado would allow me.

“You're hot when you're mad,” he said, moving in for a kiss. “You know that?”

He locked his lips on mine and I felt Scarlet flare, but not take over. When I managed to pull myself free, I looked down at my hand to see that my ring had been replaced.

“You dropped it,” he said, twirling it around on my finger. “You used to always have it on. I thought it was important to you, so I grabbed it. I put it on you while you were sleeping last night.”

“Thanks,” I whispered, hating him for being thoughtful—for being the Matty I recognized. But I was happy to have woken up as me because of what he had unknowingly done. He'd caged the beast.

If only I'd known how to cage his.

The turning of the door knob snapped my attention back to reality. Cooper entered the living room, and, with one look down the hall at Matty and me, his eyes glowed yellow.

“Ruby,” he said, voice lower than I was hoping to hear it.

“Cooper, I can explain.”

“You don't need to explain anything,” Matty said, pushing me behind him.

“Oh, I think she does,” he said, holding up a copy of the Boston Globe. “
Eight
bodies were found near your dance studio last night, Ruby. Any thoughts as to how that happened?”

“You need to mind your own fucking business,” Matty snapped.

“And you need to mind yours,” Cooper said, moving towards the hallway. It was such a confined space and their bodies cramped it more than they should have. “You also need to recognize that she
is
my business.”

“She is
my
business,” Matty grumbled, advancing towards Cooper

“For now.” Cooper came within inches of Matty, and I fought hard to get between them.

“Enough,” I said, trying to force them apart. “This is neither the time nor place, you two. If you want to have a pissing contest, that's fine with me, but you can do it on your own time and your own turf. This is
my
house! Matty, you need to take my car and go home.
Now
. I'll talk to you later.”