Chapter Twenty-seven

HICKS

" F or fuck's sake, man, snap out of it." I'm seconds away from punching the psycho, but I'm afraid it might set him off worse. Most days, James can be controlled…unless something happens and he snaps.

I should be helping Rue, and I'm frustrated that I'm left babysitting James.

Unfortunately, the last thing anyone needs is both of them getting arrested.

Seeing Rue dragged away in handcuffs flipped his switch. If he hadn't been surrounded by kids and firmly in protective mode, I have no doubt that he would have torn the cops apart to get to her. Thankfully, the kids weren't collected until after she was hauled off.

"I don't understand." I glance at Ellis, hoping for some clarification. "What the hell just happened?"

One minute, we were having a good time, the next, Rue launched herself at another woman. Normally, I would sit back and enjoy a good cat fight, but the bitch cracked Rue in the head with a fucking oar. My heart lurched in my chest when she disappeared beneath the surface.

I shot to my feet, absently tossing my phone in the boat, ready to dive in after her when she went under, but the cunt of a woman threw her baby over the side of the boat, wearing a fucking smile on her face.

Teeth gritted in determination, I dove in after the kid, thankfully finding him in seconds. I shot to my feet, holding the baby to my chest and freaking the fuck out the whole time. I don't think I breathed until the baby let out an ear-shattering wail.

Ellis helped James gather the kids into our boat and rowed them to shore a safe distance away.

Just in time for the fucking police to pull up.

What seemed like seconds later, both women were placed in the back of the squad cars and hauled away.

"They are taking her downtown," Ellis says, dragging his hands through his hair, his glasses askew and spotted with water. "I called our lawyer to sort things out. He'll meet us there."

"She's wounded." James slowly unthaws, peering at us with a confused expression. "Why aren't they taking her to the hospital?"

Oh fuck.

I carefully step back from James, motioning for Ellis to do the same.

James isn't pissed, he's triggered, which is infinitely worse.

The man already has questionable morals, but seeing a woman hurt makes them vanish completely. Unfortunately, when triggered, he usually comes out swinging. We have to tread carefully. The last thing we need is for him to disappear for days on end, stirring up chaos.

Having one of our team in jail at a time is plenty.

I glance at Ellis, and he nods his head. "I'll stay with him. Go."

I don't need to be told twice.

I jog back toward my car, climb behind the wheel, and gun the engine. I thought Rue's calming presence would be a good influence on the others.

Apparently not.

She's just as much trouble as them.

Images of her staring at us from the back of the squad car hit me hard, and I grit my teeth, still able to see the blood dripping off her pale face. She didn't say a word when they pulled her from the water or cuffed her.

She didn't even ask for help, which pissed me off.

What the hell had she been thinking?

As I weave in and out of traffic, not caring that I'm going fifteen miles over the speed limit, I race toward the station. I'm not sure if I'm more pissed at her for risking her life for those kids or getting hurt.

If she told us…

We would be in jail next to her.

I tighten my grip on the steering wheel until the plastic groans in complaint.

The misguided fool was trying to protect us.

While I am furious at her for putting herself in danger, I can't fault her reasoning.

She doesn't know the rules yet, so she will get a pass, but if she pulls a stunt like that again, throwing herself into danger without backup, then I'm going to toss her over my knee and tan her curvy little backside.

A single question niggles in the back of my mind.

How did she know what was going to happen?

I'm also shocked by the dirty way she fought. Though untrained, she was utterly brutal. She didn't even flinch when she was hit, didn't show any pain or weakness. She just popped back up and went after the woman again and again like the pain didn't register.

It took harsh conditioning to be able to ignore pain that way and didn't happen unless a person was trained in the most brutal way…through blood, sweat, and tears.

More and more questions about her past rise like a specter to haunt me. It's past time that I do some digging. I'm done waiting for answers. I pull into the police station with a screech of tires. Instead of heading inside, I pull up the information Ellis collected for the business I wanted to invest in—the one Rue said her father owned.

What better way to gain information about her than by interrogating her very own father?

It doesn't take long for me to schedule an investor meeting for later this afternoon.

With a plan in place, I shove the door open and head inside, grimacing when my shoes squelch with every step—another thing that I place at Rue's feet. I don't regret my actions, but if she had told us, we could have come up with a better plan that didn't include me taking a dunk in scummy pond water or a baby being tossed in the fucking water like trash.

As I open the door, my phone beeps.

Once.

Twice.

Then half a dozen more times in rapid succession, sounding like an arcade game going wild.

Ignoring the group chat, I focus on Ellis' messages.

The lawyer has arrived.

Before I can tuck my phone away, an attachment pops up on my screen. I click the link as I walk inside the building and watch the shaky footage of the women fighting. It looks bad. The video missed the footage of how the fight started. It just looks like Rue went crazy and tried to drown a mother of four.

Turning the screen off, I head toward the front desk, only to detour when I spot my lawyer waiting to be admitted into the back. He winces when he catches sight of my disheveled appearance. "Which one of them was it this time? And what happened?"

In his late fifties, Hugo is the epitome of the perfect lawyer—form-fitting suit, stylish gray hair, and an intimidating as fuck appearance. The man never loses his cool. He runs his own firm with five other partners and only comes out of the office for his important clients.

"Fight at the park, and it's a…friend. Tallulah Rue Killaghan. She came in injured." I clench and unclench my fists, fighting against the need to hit things.

I hate feeling fucking helpless.

She was hurt on my watch.

It's unforgivable.

"I'll take care of it." Hugo turns away, the door to the station buzzing to admit him, then he's gone. That's why we pay Hugo his big retainer—he gets shit done without asking stupid questions.

I lean against the wall, ignoring my phone as it continues to buzz. The guys are demanding updates, but fuck if I have anything to report yet. I note the time on the wall, and I stand as still as a statue as I watch the clock tick down.

I have two hours before my appointment, but I refuse to leave until I know Rue is safe and I can look at her injuries and judge for myself how badly she's hurt. Imagining my delicate Rue behind bars has rage flooding my system, and it's all I can do to contain my fury.

Time slows to a crawl when, in reality, it's only forty minutes before Hugo emerges again. I don't move from my post until he steps aside and Rue appears behind him.

My breath leaves me in a rush at her rough shape.

Half of her face is caked with dried blood, and her hair is a matted tangled mess. A knot the size of an egg is near her hairline, and she has a nasty, two-inch cut near the edge of her scalp that's still bleeding sluggishly. Dark bruises cover the whole side of her head from her temple to her jaw. She's also sporting a vicious black eye, but thankfully, it's not swollen shut. Burst blood vessels make her teal eyes look like a bloody mess.

I curl my hands into fists, fighting against the need to march over there and take care of her.

I scowl at Hugo, my voice harsh as I snap at him. "Why the fuck didn't they treat her?"

I shake with rage as I march toward her, then I slow when she doesn't even look at me. In fact, there is no flicker of recognition in her gaze when I stop before her. It's only when I reach for her face that she hastily steps back, breaking eye contact with me.

"Ms. Killaghan has refused treatment," Hugo says, his gray eyes murderous as he peers down at Rue. As a grandfather of six girls, he has a soft spot for females. "Neither woman wants to press charges. After reviewing the incident, I was able to convince the police it was in their best interest not to file disorderly conduct charges." He pauses, finally tearing his attention away from Rue. "Take her home. If you need any further assistance, call me."

I don't turn away from Rue as he walks off, afraid if I blink she might disappear. She radiates tension, a don't touch me vibe, and I keep my distance, not sure how she'll react if I try to help her.

"Come." I head toward the door and open it for her, bile rising in my throat when I watch her shuffle toward me with small steps, obviously in pain, yet she doesn't say a fucking word, doesn't react at all besides reaching up to cradle her ribs.

Following her carefully, worried she might drop at any second, I lead her to my car, but she stops on the curb instead.

"My car is over here." I motion to my vehicle just two spots away, but she doesn't react. Concerned that she might have a concussion, I take a step toward her, when a car service pulls up in front of her.

"Ms. Killaghan?" A man jumps out, walks around the vehicle, and opens the door for her. Before I can gather my wits, she slips inside, and the door closes.

A muscle ticks in my jaw.

Just what the fuck is happening?

I storm over toward her and wrench on the door.

Only to find it locked.

I slam my hand against the window, a silent demand that she look at me, but she doesn't even flinch. Before I can do anything else, the car pulls away from the curb, and I'm left standing on the sidewalk, looking after her as it disappears from view.

A single thought repeats in my head.

What the absolute fuck just happened?