“Let him follow us,” Ant said. “Bolt will be able to find him more easily if we know exactly where he is. I called him while you were packing, and he’s pinging my phone. We figured that asshole would follow us, so he’ll stop him on the way to my place, and that will keep him from finding out where I live. Bolt willonly be able to hold him for so long, though, but we should be able to figure out who he is and how dangerous he is.
About five miles down the road, Bolt’s truck passed them and did a U-turn, his lights flashing, as he stopped her stalker. She turned in her seat to look back at them on the side of the road and couldn’t help but worry. “Will Bolt be okay?” she whispered.
Ant barked out his laugh, “That son-of-a-bitch will be more than okay,” he insisted. “He’ll chew that guy up and spit him back out.” She knew that Bolt was capable. Ruby just hated that they were having to do all this on her behalf.
Neither of them spoke until Huntsville blurred into quieter streets and fewer lights. Ant’s place sat just outside town—a modest house tucked behind trees, the kind of place meant to disappear if you wanted it to. He pulled into the driveway and killed the engine.
“You’re safe here,” he said.
She nodded and grabbed her bag from the backseat. Ruby stepped out of the truck slowly, the night air cool against her skin. The house was dark except for a porch light.
“I hate this,” she admitted as he unlocked the door. “I’m sorry to put you through all this.”
“It’s not a problem, really,” Ant insisted. “Besides, I kind of owe you for outing you being a dancer to Rebel.”
“Okay, if that’s how you want to look at it,” she teased. “I just hate that this guy might not stop coming for me. I have a life, and I can’t miss my shifts down at the hospital.”
Ant’s jaw tightened. “Men like that think that no means yes. They like it when women put up a fight, but he’s not going to get the chance to fight you again, honey. The hospital has good security, right?” he asked.
She nodded, “Yes, why?” she asked.
“Well, I’ll make sure that you get to work, and I’ll pick you up, too. Other than that, if he shows up at the hospital, call securityand have him removed. Then, call me, and I’ll stop over to talk to the asshole. Sooner or later, he’ll listen to reason and leave you alone. Either that, or he’ll cross a line and end up in prison. Either way works for me,” Ant said. She wanted to point out that she hoped that he’d just get sick of her and leave her alone, but she had a feeling that she wasn’t that lucky.
Inside, the house smelled like coffee and clean laundry. His home was lived in but comfortable. Ant tossed his keys on the counter and turned to her. “I’ll take the couch,” he said immediately. “I’ll grab some blankets. You don’t have to worry about your safety here. The lock is solid, and I have cameras outside.”
Ruby hugged herself, tension finally cracking her usually calm exterior. “You don’t have to sleep on the sofa. I can take it, and you should sleep in your bed. I don’t want to be a bother.”
“The sofa works for me,” he said firmly. “Besides, as a doctor, you need your sleep. I wouldn’t want you going into work and messing anyone up because I made you sleep on my couch.” She looked at him—really looked this time. She didn’t see him as a bouncer or as an FBI agent. He was just a man who’d stepped in when no one else had been there, and for that, she was thankful.
“I don’t want to cause you any trouble,” she said.
Ant’s expression softened. “You’re not causing me any trouble, Ruby.” She wanted to believe him, but she didn’t. Her problems were her own—not his, yet he was stepping in to help her when he didn’t have to. His words hit harder than she expected.
“Either way, I insist that you let me take the couch. I can sleep anywhere,” she insisted. “It’s something that they teach med students. You’d be surprised about the places where I’ve been able to get some shut-eye.”
He shook his head as he disappeared down the hallway. Ruby sat on the couch, noting how her hands trembled now that theadrenaline was fading. She pressed them together, breathing slowly, trying to calm her anxiety.
Ruby was never one to rely on other people. It had always been her against the world—until she joined the Harlots. She had never learned how to be protected. It was all new to her, and having Ant insist on keeping her safe had her feeling things that she shouldn’t feel for him.
Ant came back with blankets and set them beside her, then paused. “The door is locked, and the alarm is on. So, don’t open the door, or the alarms will go off. If you hear anything—anything—you wake me.” He paused on his way back down the hallway and turned back to her. “You sure that you’re good with the couch?”
“I’ll be fine,” she insisted. “Thank you, Ant—for everything.”
“You don’t have to thank me, Ruby. It was my job to make sure that guy didn’t get to you, and I screwed up. I should have read the signs that he was going to follow you—they were all there. He hesitated, then added quietly, “He won’t touch you again.” She believed him, too.
As Ant headed down the hallway, Ruby leaned back against the couch cushions, exhaustion settling deep into her bones. Outside, the night was quiet—but she knew better now than to trust quiet. For the first time in a long time, she wasn’t alone with her fear. And that scared her almost as much as it comforted her. Because safety, real safety, made room for something else to creep in—trust. And Ruby wasn’t sure she was ready for what that might mean.
ANT
Ant couldn’t sleep. He lay on his back staring at the ceiling, listening for any noises that seemed out of the ordinary. The soft click of the heater, the tick of cooling pipes, and the faint rustle of fabric when Ruby shifted on the couch down the hall. Every sound ran through him like a wire pulled too tight.
Every time he closed his eyes to try to sleep, he saw the car sitting in the back of her parking lot. He kept seeing the tension in Ruby’s shoulders when she recognized it. He saw the fear in her eyes, and he was sure that had everything to do with her being pulled back into a life she’d fought tooth and nail to escape.
He rolled onto his side and checked the security monitor on his phone for the third time in ten minutes. The driveway camera showed nothing but shadows and trees swaying in the night breeze. It was quiet—too quiet.
Ant decided to give up on sleep, as he eased out of bed and padded down the hallway. Ruby was asleep on the couch, curled on her side, the blanket pulled up to her chin. One hand was clenched in the fabric like she expected it to be taken from her atany moment. Her face, without makeup, looked younger—softer even. She looked breakable in a way that made his chest ache.
He stopped himself from touching her, not wanting to wake her. He didn’t pull the blanket over her body. And he didn’t let himself do anything that could be mistaken for anything other than him caring for her.
