“You shouldn’t be here,” she said, voice steady despite the tremor racing through her body.
“And yet,” he replied, tightening his hold, “here I am.” Her eyes flicked toward the hallway, hoping that Bolt, Banshee, or anyone would come looking for her. But the hallway was empty, as was the back room.
She thought about grabbing her phone, but it was still in her purse, which sat on the counter. She had left it in the dressing room with the gun that Ant insisted that she carry for the night. He saw her looking into the dressing room, and his grin widened.
“Do you really think that anyone is coming to save you this time? I know that your boyfriend is at home with a little boo-boo that I gave him,” he said smugly.
Ruby’s breath slowed. As a doctor, she had learned to slow her breathing to calm down in stressful situations. “You blew up my club’s building,” she said quietly.
“I did,” he admitted. “I was hoping to get your attention, and I guess that it worked, because here you are.” He seemed pretty proud of himself for destroying everything that the Harlots hadworked so hard for. It was gone now, and she was going to make sure that her stalker asshole paid for everything that he did to not only her but the people she loved.
“You tried to kill Ant,” she whispered.
“Ahh, the boyfriend,” he drawled. His eyes darkened. “I tried to remove an obstacle.” Her stomach twisted. To him, Ant was just an obstacle. “He was never the target,” the man continued. “You were.”
He lunged at her, and Ruby moved on instinct as she tried to avoid him. She quickly ran into the back room, where the women got dressed, and grabbed the gun from her purse. She turned to face her stalker, pointing the gun at his chest, just like Ant had taught her. She barely remembered grabbing the gun or aiming it at him. But she remembered the sound the gun made as it went off. It was deafening.
Her stalker froze as shock flashed across his face, just before he collapsed. Ruby stood there shaking, the gun trembling violently in her hands, her ears ringing, and her heart hammering as if it might burst through her chest.
The room spun, and time felt as though it stood still. She stared at the body on the floor, not sure what to do next. He wasn’t a threat anymore, and that made her stomach lurch. “Oh my God,” she breathed as the gun slipped from her fingers, clattering against the hardwood as her knees hit the floor.
She had taken an oath to save lives, not take them. But now, she had killed a man. Her hands began to shake uncontrollably. Banshee and Bolt ran into the room to find her. “I took an oath,” she whispered more to herself than to them.
Do no harm—that was what she had promised. The words echoed like a scream inside her skull, and tears blurred her vision as reality crashed down. Yes, he’d tried to kill Ant. Yes, he’d stalked her for months. Yes, he’d kidnapped other women.But Ruby Monroe, MD, had just ended a life, and she wasn’t sure how she was going to live with that.
The police were called, and the FBI showed up in force. They had decided that she acted in self-defense. That’s what they called it anyway, but justification didn’t quiet the storm inside of her chest. By the time she got home later that night, she was dog tired. Finding Ant waiting for her on the couch, as though he expected her to keep her promise to come back to him, nearly broke her.
She sat down next to him, and he didn’t try to touch her. She knew that he was giving her space, but she worried that the line that she had crossed would be the end of them. “I killed him,” she whispered, covering her face with her hands.
He reached over and pulled her onto his lap. “I know, honey,” he breathed. “Bolt called to fill me in. I’m so sorry that you had to do that. But you know that he would have killed you if you hadn’t beaten him to it, right?”
She did know that—deep down, but it didn’t make things any easier. “I’m not sure how to process the fact that I took a life. I swore to save them, not take them.” Saying those words out loud made the whole night feel even more real than it had previously.
“When I first started with the Texas Rangers, I was working a case a lot like yours. A young woman was being stalked by her ex-boyfriend. She had filed all the correct paperwork and had gone into hiding, but he still found her. She had a gun and knew how to use it, but she hesitated, and her ex killed her. He took her gun from her and shot her with it. You didn’t hesitate, honey. You lived, and I’m so thankful for that.”
“That’s awful,” she breathed. “Did you ever catch the guy?” she asked.
His smile was mean as he nodded. “I did, and I had no problem putting a bullet in him. I ended him, the way he ended his ex-girlfriend.”
“But you didn’t take an oath to do no harm,” she insisted.
“No, but I did take one to protect and serve. I didn’t even try to protect that asshole. I could have talked him down and arrested him, but he didn’t deserve that. I shot him as soon as he pulled his knife, and I have no regrets about what happened. You shouldn’t have any either, honey. You did what you had to do, and I’m so fucking proud of you.”
She cuddled into his hold, allowing him to comfort her. For the first time in a long time, Ruby felt as though she had found her home. Ant had become that for her. When she first met him, he was a thorn in her side. He was a threat to her privacy and secrets that she had tried so hard to keep. But now, he was the man she wanted forever with. The question was, would he want that with her?
“What happens now?” she asked.
“Well, my bossy doctor has given me strict orders to stay off my feet. So, I say you take me up to bed and have your way with me. We can play doctor, if you want to, but I’ve been told that I’m not a very good patient,” he teased.
“I have heard that you’re difficult,” she joked. “And after I have my way with you?” she asked, kissing her way up his neck.
“I was thinking that you might consider marrying me,” he whispered in her ear. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a black velvet ring box, and handed it to her.
“You want to marry me?” she squeaked.
“I do, more than I’ve ever wanted anything in my life, honey,” he said. “So, how about it? Will you marry me?”
“I think that marrying you would only be fair,” she said. “I mean, I did get you blown up, and everything.”
