“He followed me,” she whispered. “If Ant hadn’t been there—” Ruby didn’t finish what she was going to say. She didn’t have to. Bolt knew exactly what would have happened to her if Ant wasn’t there last night, but Bolt didn’t interrupt her.
“And now he’s gone,” she finished. “You guys don’t know where he went?”
“No,” Bolt said grimly. “We are guessing that he went underground. Ant and I have been hitting contacts up all morning. But the guy ditched his car, burned his phone, and vanished. I guess he knew that sooner or later, we’d figure out that he was wanted and would come looking for him.
Ruby pressed her palm to her chest, trying to slow her heart. “The girl that he kidnapped—do they know where she is?”
“Actually, it was two girls, and they are both still missing,” Bolt said.
Tears came hard and fast, spilling down her cheeks before she could stop them. She cried for the women she didn’t know, for how close she herself had come to being abducted, just like them, and for the weight of what could have happened settling into her bones.
“I should’ve pushed harder,” Ruby said. “I should’ve reported him. Should’ve insisted?—”
“No,” Bolt cut in. “That’s not on you. Predators count on doubt and on women questioning themselves.”
Ruby laughed weakly. “Funny thing is—I’m a doctor. I tell patients to trust their instincts all the time. Yet, I didn’t follow my own advice.”
“Different rules when it’s your own life,” Bolt said gently. “Ant is on his way over there to check on you. Don’t give him too hard a time. He feels like shit for allowing this to happen.”
“It’s not his fault either,” she insisted. “I’m good here; he doesn’t have to come all the way over here just to check on me.”
“Humor him,” Bolt said. “I’ll be in touch when I know more. Just be careful and trust your instincts, Doc.” He ended the call, and she did the same, shoving her phone into her scrubs. Ruby stayed on the floor until the room stopped spinning. When she finally stood, her reflection in the metal cabinet startled her—pale, eyes too bright, mouth set tight like she was bracing for impact.
Ruby had almost forgotten the level of vigilance that she used to have when she was younger. She never let her guard down when she started medical school. She was always alert and always ready for whatever life had to throw at her. But this time, she didn’t see any of this coming, and that worried her. What if she had lost her touch?
Her phone buzzed again, and she sighed, pulling it out of her pocket.
Ant: I’m so sorry.
Ant: We should’ve held him.
Ant: I won’t stop looking for him until he’s back behind bars.
She stared at the messages, chest aching for him. She could picture him—jaw tight, shoulders coiled, blame eating at him even though it didn’t belong there.
She typed back with shaking thumbs.
Ruby: This isn’t your fault,
Ruby: But I need to know you’ll be careful.
Ruby: He’s dangerous, and he probably is pissed that you helped me last night.
The reply came fast.
Ant: I know.
Ant: That’s why I’m not quitting until I find him.
Ruby closed her eyes and sat back against the cold concrete wall. She still had another six hours to go on her shift, and she wished she could just leave now, but she couldn’t, as a new doctor, she had to have one hell of an excuse to skip out of work, and there was no way that she wanted anyone at the hospital to know that she had a stalker. There would be too much that she couldn’t explain, and that would only lead to more questions.
Ruby finished her shift. Instead of just six hours, it felt like six years, but that was probably due to the fact that she was watching the clock with every break that she got. She hadn’t heard from Ant since his text messages, but she tried not to worry about him.
She got back to his place at dinner time and parked her bike in his garage, as he had instructed earlier. She had always thought about having a house like Ant’s. It was nice—not too big and not too small. But at the rate she was going, she wouldn’t have her own home until she was ready to retire. It was one ofthe reasons why she couldn’t give up dancing. She was able to put some sizable chunks of money down on her college loans, and that got her one step closer to owning her dream home—someday.
She walked into the kitchen to find Ant holding his cell phone away from his ear, wincing like whoever was on the other end of the call was saying something he didn’t want to hear. “Got it, but I’m not her keeper,” Ant said. Those were the words that she had given him earlier, and she knew that his conversation was about her.
“Well, she just walked in, so why not ask her that?” Ant said, holding the phone out to Ruby. “Banshee had lost her mind trying to reach you. You never answered her text messages.” Shit—she had forgotten all about Banshee’s message to call her. After she got off the phone with Bolt, it was all she could do to remember her training to treat patients for the rest of the day.
