Page 53 of Keeping Knight

Liam. Ruby’s ex. I’ve seen photos while investigating him. Good-looking in an artsy sort of way, with floppy hair and intentional stubble and glasses I’d put money on being fake. But he doesn’t appear harmless, like Ruby insisted he was. He looks dangerous.

Well, at least to Ruby. But he’s no match for me.

“Get away from her,” I order. I let him see the promise of violence in my eyes. “Right now. Before I do it for you.”

He stares at me for a second, debating. Then he drops Ruby’s arm and shoves her away from him. She stumbles, but I catch her and pull her close to my side. “Whatever,” he snips. “You’re the one who opened the door and pushed her into me, anyway.”

Guilt stabs at me. He’s right. Judging from their positions, that’s likely what happened.

But what about her arm? And her frightened expression?

“You were grabbing her,” I retort. Taking Ruby’s forearm in my hand, I inspect the five faint pink marks across it. My voice dips dangerously. “Hurting her.”

“I was talking to her,” he replies defensively. “She tripped, and I was just steadying her.”

“Is that what happened?” I ask Ruby. I don’t think he’s telling the truth for a second. But I want to hear it from her.

From behind Liam, a uniformed officer approaches. “Everything okay here?”

Ruby presses close to my side. “It’s fine,” she says. “We were just talking.” Then she glances back at me. “Can we go?” Her voice quivers. “Please?”

The officer casts a sweeping glance at all five of us. Then he pins Liam with a hard look and says, “I think you and I are going to have a talk. Whether she presses charges or not.”

“It was nothing,” Ruby repeats. “I just want to go home.”

I study Ruby’s face. She’s on the verge of tears. “Fine,” I tell her, “we’ll go home.”

“Thank you,” she whispers.

As we head past Liam and the officer and into the lobby, I ask her quietly, “What really happened, Rue? I need to know.”

“I just ran into him,” she says. “I think he’s here because he’s a suspect. He’s mad that I gave his name as one.”

“He just happened to be where you were? And he grabbed you, Rue. I saw it. He can’t get away with it.”

Ruby hesitates. She glances over my shoulder at Liam, who’s still talking to the police officer. Fear flickers in her eyes.

And that’s what draws me to a stop. Tugging her off to the side, I take her hands in mine. “I know this has been hard. Listening to Sylvia, and then seeing your ex… I want to get you home, too. But if he touched you this time, right in the middle of a police station…”

She stares at me for a long moment. Then she sags. “Okay. I’ll press charges.”

Fortunately, the officer still talking to Liam is more than happy to help. He has the look of someone who doesn’t like seeing men put their hands on women any more than me. So he takes Ruby’s statement and sends us on our way much more quickly than I expected.

As we wait at the entrance for Kurt and Beau to escort us to the Fox & Falcon SUV to the car—I have my own car, but given the danger threatening Ruby, we thought it would be better to bring her here in something more secure—she buries her face into my neck, dampening my skin with her tears.

Once we’re in the backseat and Kurt and Beau are positioned on guard outside, I wrap my arm around Ruby and hug her against me. Wishing I’d listened to my dad when he insisted that it was always a good idea to carry a handkerchief, I use my thumb to wipe the tears from her cheeks instead. “Are you okay?” I ask. Which is a pretty stupid question, really. Of course she’s not. “I mean⁠—”

“I should have stood up for myself,” Ruby says. “But I didn’t. I just froze.”

“You’d just heard some pretty awful things. Of course you were shaken up. And you weren’t expecting to see your ex here, of all people.”

After a second, Ruby shakes her head. “I shouldn’t have run off like that. I know it was stupid. And I feel so stupid. I said I could handle it, and then—” Breaking off, she covers her mouth to stifle a sob. Fresh tears spill down her cheeks. “I’m sorry…”

“Rue.” My heart aches for her. And I feel so damn guilty for letting her come here. “Don’t be sorry. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I just…” Another small sob slips out. “I can’t stop thinking about it.”

I stroke her hair. “What can I do?”