Ant sat in the exam room, elbows on his knees, looking out the half-closed blinds. The hallway echoed with distant footsteps, loud voices, and monitors beeping. Everyday life—seen through glass. He didn’t belong here. And he didn’t like waiting, but he had no choice. He was there to finish onboarding for the FBI, and without a drug screening and check-up, he’d never be able to start work. No amount of insistence that he was fine would change anything for him either.
Then the door opened, and Ruby stepped inside the small room, making it feel even smaller. She had his chart in her hand and a quiet determination in her eyes. She was wearing light blue scrubs that were covered by her white lab coat. Her stethoscope hung around her neck, and her hair was pulled back like she meant business. She didn’t look as surprised to see him as he was to see her. In fact, he was shocked to find her standing in front of him. But Ruby only looked troubled.
“Ant.” She shut the door behind her. “Didn’t know you were assigned to me this morning.”
“Didn’t know I was getting special treatment,” he said with a smirk.
“You’re here for a check-up and bloodwork,” she said, more stating a fact than asking him a question.
“It’s standard procedure,” he insisted. “Onboarding stuff for the FBI.” She kept it professional, moving toward the computer to log his vitals after she took his blood pressure and pulse.
“We will run a quick physical, draw blood, and sign you off for active federal clearance,” she explained. “We do these all the time for the Arsenal and FBI.” He watched her hands as she typed—steady and skilled. “Just routine,” she said quickly, as though she was trying to rush through everything. “You’ll be cleared by this afternoon.”
He leaned back on the exam table. “Funny thing is, I’m not used to being examined by someone I’ve seen dance on a stage before.” Yeah, there was no way that he was going to be able to drop the subject—even after Banshee and Bolt both warned him to. There was something about Ruby that both rubbed him the wrong way and turned him completely on at the same time.
Her shoulders stiffened—but she didn’t stop working. “I told you,” Ruby said, her voice controlled, “that wasn’t me. You’re mistaken. Maybe I just have one of those faces and look like someone else you know.”
“You sure?” Ant tilted his head. “The Velvet House, off Highway 23. It was just a few days back, and I could swear that it was you on stage that night. You’re not someone that I’d easily forget.”
Ruby kept typing, jaw ticking. “That must’ve been someone else.”
“I saw your eyes,” he said quietly. “Hard to forget those eyes.”
She finally turned to him—expression firm. “I don’t care what you think you saw. I put myself through medical school, Ant. I worked harder than most. And I didn’t dance my way through it, even if this person you’re talking about and I have the same eyes.”
He held her stare, trying to decide if he believed her or not, but he didn’t buy it. Ruby reached for the blood pressure cuff and motioned to his arm. “Let me check your vitals.”
He offered his arm as she sat close enough to feel her hands brush his skin. “You know you already did all of this, right?” he asked. “You took my pulse too, and I’m guessing that’s what you entered into the computer while you were trying to ignore my questions.
“Well, I can’t be too careful. You’ll be working for the FBI, so taking your vitals twice might be a good idea. We wouldn’t want you falling in the field or anything, just because I didn’t do a thorough job,” she said. He could tell that he was flustering her, and he had to admit that he liked seeing her that way.
“Valentine’s Day is next week.” He said it like it was an observation. She didn’t even bother to look at him, so he decided to take it a step further. “You got plans?”
Her focus stayed on the cuff. “Nothing special. Probably working and doing rounds. I really don’t celebrate Valentine's Day.”
“You should let someone take you out,” he said. “A woman like you shouldn’t be spending that day alone.” She glanced upat him—and for a moment, he saw something unguarded in her eyes. It was something softer—something that knew loneliness better than she wanted to admit.
She masked it quickly. “I’m not interested in dating right now.”
“Or just not interested in dating me?” he asked quietly.
Ruby finished the blood pressure reading and stepped back. “Your vitals are fine. I’ll have a nurse come in to take your blood and will send your bloodwork to the lab.”
She tried to turn around to leave, but he saw the fear behind her eyes. It wasn’t the kind that trembled, or the kind that fought to stay hidden. Ant stood slowly from the table. “You don’t have to be scared of your past. Everybody’s got one.”
She held his chart to her chest like armor. “I’m not scared. Because there is no past to be scared of.”
Ant let a slow smile rise. “Now that’s a hell of a dance, Doc.”
Ruby’s voice lowered. “Leave it alone, Ant. Whatever you think you know—it won’t do either of us any good if you say it out loud.”
He stopped at the door. “What about saying it in private?” She didn’t answer, and he knew she wouldn’t. But the truth was already out—silent, heavy, undeniable.
He only had one more thing to say. His voice was calm, almost kind. “Valentine’s Day,” he said. “I’ll be around. In case you change your mind.” Ruby swallowed hard—but didn’t look away. And that was how Ant knew that she had something to hide. And this time, he knew that he wasn’t wrong.
Ruby (Royal Harlots Huntsville Chapter Book 9) Universal Link-> https://books2read.com/u/38Kk2Z
You won’t want to miss what’s coming next from K.L. Ramsey! Here’s a sneak peek at Beast’s ChristmasBelle (Royal Bastards MC: Yonkers, NY Chapter Christmas Novella Book 4) coming this December!
