“I need to go after him,” he slurred as she helped buckle him into the passenger seat.
“You’re in no condition to go after anyone, Ant,” she insisted. “Trust me, I know—I’m a doctor.” She smiled at him, and he was sure that he had smiled back at her until she shook her head and started his truck.
Ruby pulled her cell from her purse and called someone. “This is Dr. Monroe. I need a team waiting for me at Bay C. I’ll be there in eight minutes.” She was quiet for a few seconds and then growled in frustration. “Just have a team there waiting. I’ll fill everyone in once I get there.” She ended the call and tossed her phone onto the dashboard.
“I’m fine,” he slurred. He didn’t sound fine, even to his own ears, but he hated seeing her worry this way.
Ant tasted smoke and blood every time he swallowed. Everything rang a high, piercing whine that made the world feel distant, like he was underwater. His head throbbed in brutal pulses, vision flickering between sharp clarity and dizzying blur. But none of that mattered.
He had seen Ruby’s stalker, and catching the guy and ending all of this was the only way to keep her safe. Ant watched as Ruby’s stalker stood at the tree line, taunting her like this was a game instead of attempted murder. The bastard’s silhouette was calm, almost casual, as if he hadn’t just blown apart a building with Ant inside it.
As Ruby barreled down the highway, the entire scene played through his head again. He was trying to piece everything together, and he still felt a bit fuzzy. But he remembered how Ruby had gone completely still, as though she was focused on her stalker. If she went into the woods after him, Ant might lose her forever, and he couldn’t allow that to happen. He tried to push himself upright, rage roaring through his veins. His muscles screamed in protest. Something in his leg burned white-hot.
“I’ll kill you,” he growled — or tried to. But nothing came out of his mouth as the words barely made it past his teeth. Banshee and Bolt tore past him like missiles, running into the tree line after Ruby’s stalker.
“MOVE!” Banshee barked at Bolt as she ran past him and Ruby.
Bolt didn’t slow down, already sprinting into the woods. “We’ll get him!” Bolt said. Ant wondered if he was trying to convince himself or the rest of them.
The stalker smirked, actually smirked, before vanishing into the trees. Ant tried again to stand, and pain shot through his leg. Bolt doubled back to him, grabbing him around the middle,and hoisting him up from the ground. His voice thundered as he barked orders. “Ruby, get him to the hospital!”
“No—” Ant rasped. He wanted to tell him that he could help catch the guy, and that he wanted to keep Ruby safe, but he knew that wasn’t going to be possible with his throbbing leg.
He needed to go after him. Ant wanted to finish this. But he knew that if he tried to, Bolt wouldn’t be able to do his job because he’d be helping him. Letting Bolt do his job while he got his leg looked at would be their best chance to finally catch Ruby’s stalker, and then she’d be safe.
Before he could fight it, Ruby was there by his side, wrapping her arms around him as Bolt took off for the woods again. Her hands held him up as they made their way back to his truck, and her voice steadied his nerves.
“Ant, stay with me,” she shouted at him from the driver’s seat. He was in and out, trying to remember everything that had happened. “You keep falling asleep, and I need you to stay awake,” she ordered. “We are almost to the hospital, and I have a team waiting to take care of you.”
He blinked up at her. She was covered in dust, her eyes blazing with fear and fury, her curls falling loose from her ponytail. She was beautiful and terrified for him. He hated that he was putting her through this on top of everything that she had to deal with. That realization hit harder than the explosion.
The next thing he knew, he was being pulled from the truck and placed on a gurney. Ruby was right beside him the whole time, shouting orders at the doctors and nurses who were taking care of him. He wanted to protest and tell her that he needed to help Bolt.
“I need to go after him,” he slurred as Ruby took his hand into her own. “Bolt needs my help.” Ruby effectively ignored him as they rolled him into a small room and pulled the curtain shut. Ruby took charge, and he was thankful that she did. Hedidn’t want anyone else to take care of him but her. Ruby’s hands moved fast but steady, fingers sure despite the tremor he could feel beneath them.
“You’re in no condition to go after anyone, Ant,” she insisted. She smiled at him as she shouted orders at the other doctors and nurses in the room. They all seemed to follow her orders, sticking him with needles and cutting off his jeans so that she could get a better look at his leg.
And even through the haze of meds that were flooding his system, Ant felt something twist deep in his chest. He tried to smile back at her, but judging by the way she shook her head at him, he failed. Ant could feel his eyes roll back in his head as the meds gave him a warm, fuzzy feeling all over. Everything hurt, but he was sure that was about to change.
Ruby’s voice cut through the fog, sharp and commanding. She was his controlled chaos, and he wasn’t sure what he’d do without her there by his side. “I’m tired,” he grumbled.
Ruby’s jaw tightened. “That means that the pain meds are doing their job. You can rest now, and when you wake up, you’ll be as good as new.”
“I can’t sleep,” he slurred, “need to protect you.”
She gently cupped his face, and he tried to lean into her touch. “I can take care of myself,” she promised. “I’ll be right here when you wake up, Ant.” He wanted to relax, but for some reason, he couldn’t. She was safe at the hospital. They had security, but something inside of him was screaming to stay awake to protect Ruby.
“No, I don’t have time for intake questions,” she snapped at the nurse who was trying to ask her questions. “Just have someone else fill them out. I’m not going to stop taking care of him to fill out your paperwork,” she spat.
Ant squinted at her through blurred vision. Even now — with her adrenaline surging, and her stalker on the loose, she was infull doctor mode. And God help him; it made him want her even more.
“I’m fine,” he slurred. Ruby shot him a look that could’ve cut steel.
“Tell your leg that, babe,” she said. “Stop fighting the medication and just rest,” she ordered.
He smirked weakly. “You always this bossy?”
Her fingers tightened on his arm. “Only when someone I care about is acting like an idiot.” The words sliced clean through his brain fog. Did she mean to call him someone she cared about? Ant’s chest tightened painfully as he turned his head toward her, studying the fierce line of her jaw, the fear she was trying so damn hard to hide.
