But she didn’t get the chance to move past her surprise and question him.
The man put his hand on the door and shoved it open, forcing her back. Ruby gasped and stumbled, barely keeping her balance as the guy stepped into the apartment and shut the door behind him.
Her stomach twisted as she realized she was in danger. This man was scary and advancing toward her with a deadly calmness that was chilling. Ruby scrambled away as he got close, tossing her purse in his direction.
“Here,” she said, the quiver in her voice betraying her fear. “All of my money is in there. I have cash. Just take whatever you want and leave. You don’t have to hurt me.”
He kept walking toward her as she rambled, ignoring her purse that bounced off his chest and landed on the floor. Ruby clumsily backed away until her back hit the living room wall. Her heart was pounding against her ribcage, and she could barely breathe through her panic.
Then, the man let out a deep chuckle, and her knees felt weak from her terror.
“I don’t want your money,” he said, and she had the vague thought that the man spoke with a confidence that reminded her so much of Owen and his men that she’d seen at the restaurant that she was suddenly sure that he must have been a part of the mafia. Maybe the rival one that Owen told her about. “I’m here for you, little girl.”
He was getting so close now, and his words confirmed what she already knew. She needed to run, to escape this guy. Her phone was in her bedroom, and there was a lock on the door. If she could just get to it…
Refusing to allow herself to hesitate, no matter how scared she was of the big guy, she dove to the side and ran. She must have surprised him with her sudden movement, because he didn’t react quickly enough to stop her from darting around him.
Focusing with everything she had on getting to her room, she ran past the kitchen table on her way to the short hallway that led to the bedrooms. Knocking over two chairs to hopefully trip him up, she refused to look back and see how close he was. The apartment wasn’t big, which meant that his long legs could eat up the small distance quickly. She had to move faster. She put all of her effort into speeding up, fueled by adrenaline and desperation. Her heart leapt as she got closer. She was sure she was going to make it.
Until a meaty hand closed around her arm, yanking her backward off her feet.
Ruby landed hard on her back, knocking the air out of her lungs. It hurt like a son of a bitch, but she couldn’t let herself just lay here. His grip on her was awkward now that she was on the floor, so she ripped her arm out of his grasp and rolled to the side before he could get ahold of her again.
Struggling to take a deep breath, she crawled around to the living room while the guy cursed her for being so difficult.
Tough luck, asshole.
The coffee table was right in front of her, so she grabbed a candle in a glass holder and chucked it at the guy, still on the floor. Her eyes were watering from her efforts to breathe, but she still saw him duck the candle.
She also saw him pull out a gun.
Shit.What the hell was she going to do? She didn’t have a weapon close at hand. She didn’t evenowna gun. Maybe she should have asked Owen for one.
But she never could have anticipated this. It had to be happening because she was with Owen. He’d never forgive himself for this.
All the fight left her as the man pointed his gun at her face. Her mind went blank, and she froze. Was this it? Was she about to be killed in Michelle’s apartment?
The man advanced on her, and she was just glad that her friend wasn’t here. As terrified as she was, things would be so much worse if Michelle was dragged into this.
“Say goodnight, bitch,” the man said, grabbing her arm in a bruising grip this time and raising the gun above his head. She barely had time to wonder why he wasn’t shooting her when he brought the butt of the weapon crashing into the side of her head and everything went black.
15
OWEN
Owen signed the last paper in a stack of them and sat back in his chair. This was a first. He’d finished his paperwork early this month. Everything was in order and he could finally get out from behind this desk.
Earlier, he had to go to the location of the new gambling ring to make sure that everything was ready to begin operations again. He’d purchased a storefront, where Stevie had helped him find someone to sell high-end women’s fashion, and the back half of the large building was being used for illegal gambling. Connor had overseen the project, and Owen was happy with how it turned out.
Now, it was almost dinner time and finishing his paperwork early meant that he could go see Ruby. He’d have the kitchen make something for them before he left. He wasn’t in the mood to cook tonight.
He was about to leave the office to take care of that when the door burst open. Owen was shocked to see Stevie rushing inside. She never came in without knocking, knowing that he could be handling some kind of troublesome business. She was panting as if she’d run up the stairs.
“Owen, you have a phone call. I transferred it up here.”
He frowned. There was worry etched into the lines of her face and he had a feeling that he wasn’t going to like whatever he heard when he picked up that receiver.
He did it anyway, giving a gruff greeting to whoever was about to ruin his night. “This is Owen.”
