Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Miguel

Suddenly, Ruby’s door opens, and a nurse steps out. The young blonde woman singles me out. “Are you Miguel?” she asks, holding the door open.

I nod. “I am.”

“Ruby’s been asking for you. You can go on in.”

I walk past Foster and enter Ruby’s hospital room. At first I don’t see her because the privacy curtain is drawn around the bed. I sweep past it, and there she is, sitting up in bed, leaning on a stack of pillows propped against the headboard. She smiles the instant she sees me.

I walk over to her and, unable to help myself, I cup her face in my hands and look her over. She’s paler than usual, and there are faint shadows under her eyes, but otherwise she looks good. She looks amazing. “Ruby.” I need a second to rein in my emotions. “Are you okay?”

She nods. “I’m fine. I’m tired, but otherwise I’m okay.” She reaches up and covers my hands with hers, gripping them hard. Not pushing them away. Not pushing me away. Her gaze searches mine almost frantically.

There are so many things I want to say.

I’m sorry I let you down.

I’ll never let it happen again.

But none of those words come out. Instead, I lose myself in her beautiful blue eyes. Time stands still. My heart slams into my ribs, and my chest constricts as I realize how close I came to losing her.

She’s not even mine, but I realize right then, in that moment and with absolute clarity, that I want her to be mine.

“Miguel.” Her voice is a breathy sigh, and she tightens her grip on my hands, as if she’s afraid I’ll release her.

She’s not pushing me away.

I lean forward and kiss her forehead. “Ruby.”

And still, she’s not pushing me away. In fact, her hands slide off mine and she reaches for me.

I pull back and stare into her eyes, which are glittering now with unshed tears. “I was so scared,” I admit.

“Please don’t quit,” she says, her voice shaky. “Don’t leave me. I can’t do this without you.”

“Quit? I’d never quit on you. Your father told me you didn’t want to see me.”

She shakes her head adamantly. “I never said that! He lied to you.”

Fury surges inside me. “He played us against each other.” My fingers slip into her hair. “I’ve been fighting to see you since you arrived at the hospital. Your father wouldn’t let them tell me anything about your condition, and he barred anyone else from seeing you. He wouldn’t even let Edward see you.”

She leans forward and rests her forehead on my shoulder. “Please take me home.” Her body shudders. “I can’t be here, Miguel. It’s not safe. And Pumpkin—”

I kiss the top of her head. “Don’t worry, honey. Pumpkin’s fine. I made sure of it.”

She smiles gratefully. “You did?”

“Of course I did.” I lean forward and kiss her lightly. “I’m already making plans to take you somewhere safe as soon as you’re released.”

“Where? What are you talking about?”

“Your apartment building isn’t secure, sweetheart. It’s not safe. At least not until we know who tried to poison you.”

“But I have to go back to my apartment. It’s the only place—”

I cup her face. “Ruby, do you trust me?”

Her eyes lock onto mine. “Yes,” she says without hesitation.

“Then trust that I have somewhere safe to take you.”

“Where?”

“Shane has offered us the use of a three-bedroom apartment in his building in the Gold Coast. That’s my building, too.”

She shakes her head. “The Gold Coast? I can’t afford that.”

“It’s free of charge, as long as we need it. This is a well-secured building. Layla and Jason live there, plus many more of my friends. You’ll be safe there.”

Her eyes widen again, filled with apprehension. “What about my things? What about Pumpkin? And my art supplies? I need to work.”

“I’ll have all of your belongings moved to the new apartment. It’ll feel just like home, I promise. It’ll be just like what you have now, only more space and a lot more secure.”

She’s shaking now, so I sit on the side of the bed and pull her into my arms. “You’ll be safe there,” I whisper against her forehead. “I promise.”

“You’ll be with me?”

“Of course. I’m not leaving you.”

She nods. “Okay.”

“Before I forget—” I reach into my pocket and pull out her ring. “—I’ve been keeping this safe for you.” I slip her mother’s ring onto her finger.

The hospital room door opens and Allen strides in. When he throws the privacy curtain wide open, Ruby flinches. I realize she’s using the curtain as a barrier between herself and the rest of the world. It’s her shield right now, her safety net. The only one she has.

Foster doesn’t even spare me a glance. “Ruby, this is getting ridiculous. You’re coming home with me. Your apartment is hardly safe, is it?” Foster glares at me. “You could have died, no thanks to this idiot.”

“It wasn’t Miguel’s fault!” Ruby tightens her hold on my hand. “He saved my life. If he hadn’t called 911 when he did, I probably wouldn’t be alive right now.”

“That’s so convenient, don’t you think?” Foster asks. He nods to me. “Miguel gets to play the big hero and ingratiate himself with you in the process. Who do you think drugged your coffee in the first place, Ruby?” He stares at her expectantly, as if he assumes she’ll agree with him.

Ruby looks away, gazing out the large picture window. “I don’t know, but it wasn’t Miguel.”

“You are so damn gullible,” Foster says. “He’s already under investigation by the Chicago PD. He’s their number one suspect.”

Ruby looks at me in shock. “Is that true? Are they investigating you?”

“I’ve been questioned by a detective, yes. But I’m not a suspect.”

She brushes her thumb over the back of my hand. “That’s ridiculous,” she says to her father. “Miguel had nothing to do with it.”

Foster crosses his arms over his chest. “Tell that to Detective Cartwright.”

I’ve heard enough. Foster’s just going to continue aggravating Ruby, and she’s going to continue defending me, and the two of them will keep running circles around each other.

“That’s enough,” I say to Foster. “You need to leave. You’re upsetting Ruby.” He scowls at the both of us before he turns and stalks out the door.

Ruby covers her face with her hands. “Oh, god, Miguel, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay.” I put my arm around her and draw her close. When she melts into me, I smile. “Everything’s going to be fine.”

“Were you really interviewed by the police?”

“Yeah, but it was fine. I met with one of the detectives at your apartment. He searched the place, with my permission. I hope you don’t mind. I knew he wouldn’t find anything incriminating because there’s nothing to find. He’s working on getting a warrant so he can search Darren’s apartment.”

“You still think Darren’s behind this?”

“I do.”

Ruby shakes her head in disbelief. “I can’t believe he’d do this. It doesn’t make any sense. Why in the world would he want to hurt me?”

“I don’t know, but I’m going to find out. In the meanwhile, we need to make plans to move you to the new apartment.”

She squeezes my hand. “My doctor said I might be able to go home later today.”

“I’ll let Shane know. He’s going to get your belongings packed and moved to the new apartment before you’re released.”

She doesn’t look happy about the idea of moving.

“You trust me, right?” I ask.

She nods.

“Then trust me when I say this is the right thing to do.”

“Okay.”

She smiles, and I find myself mesmerized once more, unable to look away. Her eyes search mine, and I feel a surge of electricity sparking between us. This has got to be my imagination. There’s no way she’s feeling a tenth of what I’m feeling. Unable to help myself, I reach out with my free hand and brush her silky hair back from her face. When her eyes drift closed on a sigh and she leans into my touch, my chest tightens. I suddenly feel hot, flushed, and my pulse starts racing.

I pull my hand back. “It’s late, and you need to sleep.”

“You’re not leaving, are you?”

“No.” I gesture to the sofa. “I’m going to park myself right there all night long. I’ll be here in the morning when you wake up. Now get some sleep, cariño.” I reach over to switch off the lights before I lean down to kiss her forehead.. “Goodnight, Ruby. Sleep well.”

* * *

At eight AM, I slip out of Ruby’s room to call Shane to get the wheels in motion. I also get his okay to ask Charlotte Mercer to come sit with Ruby while I go supervise the move. Charlotte—Charlie—is a good friend of mine, and she lives in my building. I figure it’s a good idea to introduce her to Ruby.

When I call Charlie, she jumps at the chance. “Anything to get me off this boring surveillance job I’m doing,” she says with a laugh. “I’ll call Jake to get a replacement.”

I slip back into Ruby’s room just as she’s waking. “Good morning, cariño. How’d you sleep?”

“Not bad.”

When I tell her all about Charlie coming to spend the day with her, she looks apprehensive.

“But she’s a stranger,” she says.

“I know, but I trust her with my life.” I reach out for Ruby’s hand and give it a gentle squeeze. “You’ll like her, I promise.”

I help Ruby walk to the bathroom, where she takes a shower and puts on her hospital gown. When she comes out, her breakfast has arrived. She sits up in bed to eats an omelet, toast, and some fresh fruit, and she drinks a cup of coffee.

About an hour later, there’s a knock on Ruby’s door. I get up from the sofa to answer the door. “Hey, Charlie. Come on in.”

Charlie follows me into the room and peers around the privacy curtain. She smiles at Ruby. “Hello, Ruby. I’m Charlie, your company for the day.”

Charlie is in her early thirties. She was born and raised in Atlanta, and despite having moved away when she graduated high school and joined the Army, she still has a hint of a southern accent and the manners to boot. Everyone likes Charlie. She has a beautiful smile that puts everyone at ease right off the bat.

She’s dressed casually in jeans and a pink T-shirt. Her curly black hair is up in a bun, with a few corkscrew curls hanging down. She’s about Ruby’s height, but that’s where the physical similarities end. While Ruby’s fair and blue-eyed, Charlie’s skin is a warm brown and her big eyes are dark pools of obsidian.

“Call me Ruby, please,” Ruby says. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Her gaze flickers over to me.

I give Charlie a rundown on the players at hand—namely, Allen Foster and Edward McCall. Those are the only ones who might visit Ruby while I’m gone. “Call me if there are any issues,” I tell her. “And don’t let Ruby’s father—Allen—browbeat you. He’s a bit of a jerk.”

Charlie nods. “Got it. Not a problem. Ruby and I will do just fine.”

I give Ruby a light kiss. “I almost forgot!” I reach into the bag I brought from the apartment and retrieve her phone and charger, handing them to her. “I thought you’d want these. Call me if you need me. I’ll be back just as soon as I can.”

She gazes up at me and nods. “Thank you! I feel naked without my phone.”

Once I’m sure Ruby is handling this okay, I leave her in Charlie’s very capable hands.

As I’m heading for the parking garage, I spot a familiar face at the end of the hallway near the door to the stairwell. Not just one familiar face, but two—Allen Foster and Darren Ingles, in a heated argument.

What the hell?

What are the two of them arguing about? And more importantly, how do they even know each other?

I change direction before either one of them spots me and hitch a ride downstairs in an elevator.

It looks like Darren and I need to have another talk.