Resisting Ruby Rose (The Ruby Rose Series) (23 page)

“I knew you were going to say ‘in bed.’ Yeah, you’re quite the gentleman,” I said, throwing the cookie and fortune away. “Well, I’m going to bed
alone
.”

“Oh, come now, sweetheart, you’ll be so lonely,” he argued, his words not quite as crisply enunciated as they were pre-whisky. More booze apparently equaled less formality.

It wasn’t that I didn’t want the distraction of his embrace or his attention to my needs. It was that on a night like this, when the lives of so many people I cared about were on the line, I needed a clear head. And maybe even a few stolen moments with the father I might lose just as I was getting to know him.

CHAPTER 31

I must have stayed up longer than I should have, tossing and turning, waiting for the car in the driveway or the opening of the front door, because I was still exhausted when I woke up. I turned over and checked my watch: 6:20 a.m. The morning light sliced through the blinds in a disturbing way, filling the vast, empty room with a sense of dread. It felt like the room represented my life—full of dead space and dark corners. I wanted out of here.

Heading straight for the bathroom, I overheard the voices in the kitchen. They’d have to wait. Jane Rose didn’t raise a Medusa-haired vagabond. As I was scrubbing the terrible night’s sleep off my face, a knock came at the door.

“It’s Quinn,” he said softly from the other side.

“One sec.” I grabbed a hand towel and dried myself off. I wasn’t in the habit of letting hot boys see me first thing in the morning with creases on my face.

“What?” I opened the door halfway.

He pushed in past me without attempting a polite request. So we were already at that point? “Have any toothpaste?” he asked as he scanned the counter and drawers.

“It’s in that brown sack.” I gave in. We had a long enough day ahead of us without starting off bickering.

“Cheers!” He smiled with a cute little raise of the eyebrows, then put his toothbrush in his mouth while he rummaged through the basics Silver was so kind as to buy for me. “You have any Tylenol in here?”

“Nope.” I grabbed my own toothbrush. “Hangover, eh? Nice one. It’s not like today’s an important day or anything.”

“Hey, what did you expect
I’d
do when you so selfishly deprived me the pleasure of your body pressed up against mine all night?”

“Quinn.” I stopped him, took the toothpaste away, and set about getting this couples bathroom morning moment over with. While his white undershirt revealed more curves in his body than I was comfortable seeing, my tank top revealed more of my curves than I was comfortable with him seeing. At least without any foreplay.

“I suppose it’s all my fault,” Quinn said, almost to himself. “I’m the one who essentially told you to wait up for Silver, when you could have been staying up with me. Turns out I am a gentleman after all,
n’est-ce pas
?”

I stared at him in the mirror as he began vigorously scrubbing his dirty mouth. “Is that French?”

“Yeah, and I’m pretty good with French things, if you know what I mean,” he said. With his mouth still full of toothpaste, he tried to kiss me.

“Dude!” I backed away, unable to suppress a smile. My nerves were basically in tatters, yet he made me giggle like a schoolgirl. “I’m glad you’re so pleased with yourself.”

We both got to brushing our teeth and our hair, and we shared a stick of cherry ChapStick. After cleaning ourselves up with very limited means, we rushed out to the full morning light and right into what felt like a trap.

Liam and Eva sat at the kitchen table, apparently being briefed about our mission. At least it looked a lot like Liam—his hair had nearly been all buzzed off, making him look like more of a stranger than ever before. His trademark sun-kissed strands were gone, revealing the disfiguring scar on his ear in all its awful glory. I followed his pale-eyed gaze as he took a quick calculation of our clothing, physical proximity, and playful attitude toward each other. I wanted to scurry back to one of the dark corners of my room and regroup. Go chain myself to the bed with Rosie and punish myself for hurting him again.

Instead, I stopped in the hallway and opened my big mouth. “What are they doing here?” I heard the words leave my mouth and hated the way they came out—like an accusation. Like I was claiming that Liam and Eva didn’t have a right to be with us.

“We’re here to help,” Eva said, shooting me a how-dare-you look.

Silver turned to face us, shifting his eyes from Liam to me, from Quinn to Eva, assessing the probability of a full-on brawl. Or catfight. Or morning shootout. He came over to me and whispered, “Can I talk to you in the back room for a minute?”

Without answering, I turned and walked back to where I came from, happy not to be under Liam’s microscope or at the top of Eva’s hit list for being an ungrateful brat.

“Seriously, Silver,” I said. “Liam has a concussion! What the hell is he doing here?”

“It’s not up to me, and it’s not up to you,” Silver said calmly as he sat down on the edge of my bed.

“Who is it up to, then? Please don’t tell me you’ve granted Skryker complete authority over all of this?” I was challenging him again. Quinn was right—I was always picking fights with him and punishing him for the past.

“It’s more complicated than that, Ru—”

“I know you gave in to him. You’re officially under his command, aren’t you?”

“Quinn told you?”

“Yeah, but I just don’t get it,” I said. “I can vividly recall a rather heartfelt conversation you had with me at the hospital where you warned me to stay away from Skryker. So I guess this is one of those
do as I say, not as I do
parental lessons?”

“Look, Ruby, you have to understand that I’ll do anything to keep you safe, even if it means doing things I don’t want to do, hurting those I don’t want to hurt, being someone I don’t like being. But I don’t want that for you. I don’t want it for Liam either, and you have to believe that I’ll do my best to protect the both of you.”

His words seeped through me, past my barricades, over my walls. I didn’t doubt his sincerity now. “Where were you born?” I asked.

“What?” He looked confused, his gray eyes weary.

“If one of us dies today,” I said, sitting on the bed, “it would be a shame not to know a few things.”

He bowed his head and brought his interlocked fingers up to his mouth in a prayer position. “I figured one day you’d start asking questions, I just didn’t see it happening this morning. But you’re right.” He paused and then turned to face me. “Kansas.”

It seemed appropriate. Like somewhere deep down, it made sense that h
e’d
come from the same place as Dorothy in
The Wizard of Oz
. “Are your parents alive?”

He closed his eyes. “No.”

“Why did you choose thi
s . . .
career?” I asked, trying to be delicate.

He shook his head, perhaps in disbelief at my boldness or confusion over how to answer. “Wow. Well, that question requires more than a one-word answer. And I’m afraid we don’t have much time for it today. But I promise, one day I’ll tell you everything. OK?” He checked his watch, and I checked mine.

“Wait,” I said, stopping him from getting up. “One more question?”

He nodded.

“If the situation allows, would you mind if I be the one to take out Martinez?”

His shoulders sagged.

“Ruby, even if it worked like that, I don’t want you to have to worry about—”

“He’s taken everything from me,” I explained. “My family, my friends, my dream
s . . .
my soul.”

“Don’t say that.” Silver grabbed my hands. I tried to pull away out of instinct, but he didn’t let me. “You have me. You have a bright future. And above all, you have a good soul.”

Aware that dismissing his words practically meant dismissing him, I didn’t argue. But my future looked anything but bright. It looked dark and full of bloodshed.

“I know it’s difficult for you to trust me after all you’ve been through, and after I’ve made so many mistakes,” Silver said, looking straight at me. So close, so intense, but I didn’t look away. “But I need you to know that I’ve loved you since the day I found out you existed. And I can only pray that one day, you will find space in your heart for me.”

A small, locked space inside me cracked open. He used the L-word.

“I couldn’t be more proud of the young woman you’ve become. I know you’ve had to do things you hate and lost people you love, but you’ve endured it all with grace.” A glimmer of pride and moisture came to his eyes. “That’s why you’ll understand when I say I don’t want you to have to endure any more.”

“So that’s a nice way of saying no to letting me kill Martinez?”

Silver dipped his head with an exasperated laugh. “Oh, Ruby Rose, you’re one of a kind. I should know by now that saying no will only make you want to do it even more.”

I smiled as he called me out. “But this is beyond rebellion. He lives to hurt people, and he deserves to die.”

“So there’s no place for him in your mother’s justice system?” Silver asked with a tempered calm that reminded me of Dr. T.

“I used to think there was,” I said, measuring my thoughts. “But even from prison, a man like Martinez is dangerous.”

“You may be right, but it’s a slippery slope, and I don’t want you to slide too far.”

I understood his point, and I might have actually agreed. This might have been the most meaningful conversation
I’d
had with a parent in a long time.

“Come on,” he said. “Liam will be gone soon. Get ready to go.”

As he opened the door, I suddenly saw the room in a different light.
I’d
lost so much, but maybe the space left behind could be filled again. Filled with people and experiences that would make life bright. Neither the emptiness nor the shadows had to last forever.

CHAPTER 32

The entire day passed at breakneck speed, but instead of feeling overwhelmed, I thrived under the pressure of the mission. As if my brain were created for situations like these, I followed Silver with energy and focus. We walked the grounds of the Getty, acquainting ourselves with every weakness and strength of the space. More than once, Silver gave me that gray-eyed glance full of pride when I got something without his having to explain it.

Even Quinn noticed it, teasing me with a whisper when we met up for lunch that I wasn’t as “tough a nut to crack” as h
e’d
thought. I whispered back that I knew of a perfect set of nuts
I’d
like to crack—with my knee.

Liam and Eva were off with Mathews being briefed for outside support. Which was a relief. The less I saw of Liam, the better for all involved. Too many raw emotions clouded the focus I needed for the mission.

Rosie had been sedated again and left inside the museum director’s office on a cot. At least she wasn’t conscious. Though I’m sure being drugged wasn’t her favorite way to spend a Sunday.

The halls of the Getty adjoining the new construction where our main event would take place had been emptied of art for the renovation. They had a strange vibe when walked alone, as if they were haunted by the figures in the old paintings and sculptures that usually inhabited the space.

I caught my reflection in one of the empty glass cases. In all black and a tactical vest, with a gun strapped across my chest and another at my side, I looked ready to play my part. But feeling ready was a totally different matter.

You can do this, Ruby,
I told myself silently until I believed it.

“Ruby, report to home base,” Silver said through my ear comm.

I took one last look at the gray-eyed girl in front of me, absorbing her resolve. Then I stretched my legs and took off in a sprint down the dark corridor to the security quarters—our designated home base.

The director would be pissed if he saw the state of the areas w
e’d
commandeered: equipment, weapons, and wires crisscrossed the pristine space. But if there was one thing I knew for certain about Silver, he was good at cleanup detail. After all, h
e’d
cleaned up at least six of the deaths I had a hand in. To this day, there’s never been a scrap of evidence accumulated against me for any of them.

“Eva just confirmed the bird has flown,” Quinn said from the doorway of the security room, his arms across his chest.

My heart leapt when I wondered if he meant Rosie had somehow gotten away. I ran into the control center to join Silver and Mathews.

“He means that we’ve sent the instructions to Martinez as to how he can come recover his daughter,” Silver explained.

“It also means,” Mathews added, “that this place is now open for business. While I’m sure it will take Martinez a few hours to respond and attempt a counterattack, we need to be ready.”

My heart sped up at the prospect that Martinez would be within my reach soon. I imagined how he must have felt every time he set plans in motion to bait me so he could kill me. Did the adrenaline pump through his body? Did the taste of bile come to his mouth? Did he ever worry things would go terribly wrong?

“It’s two hours until sundown,” Silver said, sitting in front of the wall with two dozen security screens showing eight locations, each in several small frames. Talk about information overload. How anyone could watch all those screens for a living was beyond me. A small image popped up of Rosie in the fetal position, chained to a cot. It made my stomach turn. “I imagine that he’ll wait until night, anyway—do whatever recon he can.”

“OK,” Silver said. “I’ve received word from Skryker. He and his team are in position on the outside, which means we should take ours. Mathews stays here to man the screens; Ruby and Quinn, take your positions, and I’ll take Rosie to the nest.”

I hated that she had to be moved again, and to a very uncomfortable spot. I wouldn’t want to wake to find myself on the cold floor of some creepy museum.

We all agreed to assume our positions for however long it took, which could be all night. I grabbed my satchel full of water and supplies, including my tactical helmet, and had started to follow Quinn out the door when Mathews grabbed my arm.

I flinched and almost twisted to break his grip. “Dude, Mathews, when are you ever going to learn not to do that?”

“Please be careful, Ruby,” Mathews said, his eyes full of angst and fear for me. “Remember everything we’ve taught you.”

I almost asked which “we” he was referring to, and what exactly they had “taught” me, until I realized he meant Jack again. I looked into his penetrating gaze and promised, “I’ll remember.”

I followed Quinn out of the security offices, through the narrow underground corridors, and into the new exhibition gallery, trying to shake off the weird exchange with Mathews.

“Is this one of the coolest places you’ve ever pulled off a mission, or what?” Quinn’s voice echoed off the walls as he spread his arms at the center of the tall, cylindrical building with more windows than walls. “Oh, wait, this is your first one. I forgot.”

“That’s not exactly true,” I argued. “I’ve done plenty of insane things with a purpose. I just didn’t call them ‘missions,’ like some posers I know.”

“Do posers carry weapons like these?” he asked, pushing the wall open with the tip of his rifle, revealing the secret access point to a spiral stairwell leading to the eaves near the ceiling.

As I passed him, he tapped me on the butt in a way that was both offensive and borderline sexy. “Do you want a gun in your face?” I asked.

“Actually, I prefer candles and chocolate, but whatever you’re into,” Quinn said, entering the dark passageway and shutting the door behind him. It clicked and locked ominously. Ahead of us stood a steep metal spiral staircase that rose at least three stories high to the cathedral-like framed glass dome.

“Well, I prefer focusing on the
mission
at hand,” I said, my breath getting more labored as I climbed. “And sticking to our strategy.”

“That’s why you’re the perfect partner,” he said, using that P-word again. “You don’t need much training.”

The setting sun provided a dull light, but not enough that I didn’t trip over a rung of the stairs.

“Whoa there, tiger,” Quinn said, grabbing me by the waist. “I spoke too soon. Maybe you actually do need lessons—how to put one foot in front of the other.”

“You’ll find any reason at all to put your hands on me, won’t you?” I asked, trying to pry his fingers off my body.

“Can you blame me?” He took an extra step so he was directly on the rung below me, and our eyes were level. “I think you know by now that I care about you much more than you want to admit.”

“Quinn, I think you care much
less
about me than you want to admit,” I countered. “Girls come and go in your life, and I don’t want to be one of them. I sort of have some other things going on right now.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Quinn said, defeat in his voice. “A few girls have come and gone. My mother, my sister, Sofi
a . . .
so can you blame me if I want to keep one of them?”

My heart sank. “Oh no, I didn’t mean it like that.” As his hands fell from my waist, my hands found his cheeks. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—”

“The thing is,” Quinn cut me off, “I don’t want to lose you. To Martinez, to Liam, to anyone or anything. I know I can be a right git from time to time, but you can be a right brat from time to time, too.”

Smiles spread across both our faces. “So I’m a brat, and you’re a
gi
t
. . .
whatever that means.”

“See, we’re perfect for each other,” Quinn said, moving his face closer to mine. “And I’m not just saying that because that gun looks hot on you.”

My smile grew wider just before it disappeared altogether as his lips met mine. Soft and gentle, warm and tender, his kisses felt like he meant them. Not because he was playing games with me or running a con, but because he was vulnerable and he cared about me. I felt it with every shift of his lips, every stroke of his hand, and every second that passed with his body pressed up against mine.

“I happen to adore you, Ruby Rose,” he said without pulling away or using the L-word, two things I appreciated at that moment.

“You taste like chocolate” was all I could muster. “You knew you were going to kiss me in here, so you came prepared and threw down some M&M’s, didn’t you?”

“They don’t call me clever for nothin’,” he said, giving me one last kiss before prodding me up another two flights to our perch. “C’mon, better get in place and check in before Silver gets his beard in a twist.”

I gasped. My comm! “It wasn’t on for all of that, was it?”

“During some of that
clever
stuff, I muted it.” Quinn winked and prodded me again. “Only one more flight.”

Grateful for Quinn’s devious mind, I breathed a sigh of relief and climbed my way to the top. As I dropped my supply bag on the landing, a thunderous echo boomed around the ceiling. “Those kind of acoustics aren’t exactly ideal for remaining unseen.”

“Martinez isn’t stupid, Ruby,” Quinn said, joining me to take in the view. “As soon as he enters the room, he’ll know there are sharpshooters up here. He’ll also know that we’re not as reckless and destructive as he was in setting up explosives everywhere, so he’ll try to take cover behind the bare scaffolding.”

When he realized he was telling me information I already knew, Quinn added, “So what I’m trying to say is that we can make as much noise as we want up here, do whatever we want, and it won’t jeopardize the mission. I’m not much of a talker during times like this, anyway. You look like you might be, though.”

“Let’s get set up, then you can get back to making me gag,” I said. Martinez could show up at any minute.

I unmuted my comm. “Quinn and I are in position.”

Pulling our rifle stands out of bags, we both went to work on getting all the pieces together. Without even saying “Go,” we both worked as fast as we could, knowing the race was on. Furious clicking of metal and snapping of parts went on for a few minutes until one of my pieces didn’t slide into place like it was supposed to. I jammed and pounded it into submission, but it was too late. Quinn held up his hands in victory.

“It’s OK,” he said. “You’ll get better at it.”

“Oh, ha ha.”

“Actually, I’m surprised you know how to do it at all. I know your dad taught you a ton about guns, but this kind of rifle tripod is military-issued. Not exactly what you’d find at Sportsman’s Warehouse.”

“My dad was in the military,” I said. “And SWAT uses military-issue when they want to. So h
e’d
bring his work equipment on hunting trips.”

“Only in America.” Quinn laughed. “Back home, the only girls who hunt live in the Scottish Highlands, and it’s because they’re hungry. And it’s not with semiautomatic weapons.”

“Well, in America,” I explained, “girls can order their guns in pink if they want.”

“God bless America.” Quinn saluted.

“Damn straight,” I said in my best version of a southern accent.

“Y’all could pull off a southern gal on an undercover mission any day,” Quinn said in
his
best version. And it was damn good.

“There you go again, proving what an amazing fraud you are.” I grabbed a banana out of the supply bag. This was going to be a much harder wait than I was expecting.

“There you go again, proving how incredibly sexy you are,” he said, watching me peel it. Instead of telling him what a pervert he was, I took an angry shark bite out of the banana and watched him grimace.

“That was totally uncalled for!” His voice echoed across the space just as another noise grabbed our attention. Looking over the railing, I saw Silver carrying a limp body in his arms. Playtime was over. Seeing Rosie unconscious and completely vulnerable made any laughter drain out of my body.

Silver laid her in the center of a colorful travertine floor that, from my bird’s-eye view, I could now see was in the design of a sun. He looked up at us and spoke into his comm. “Vision clear?”

“Clear,” Quinn and I said at the same time.

“Ten-four.” Silver hustled out of the room, and a hush fell over the space.

“I have a visual,” Mathews said from the control room.

“I can’t believe it’s happening like this,” I said to Quinn.

“Steel yourself, Miss Rose,” Quinn put his hand on mine, for once in a nonsexual way. “It’s about to get real.”