Chapter 48
ALEX
When Ruby’s tears finally dried, he reached over and plucked some additional kleenex for her. She blew her nose carefully, and seeing that made him want to both hold her tight and break her brother’s nose at the same time.
She gave him a wan smile. “Thanks”
Her face was blotchy, her nose was red and her previously impeccable makeup was smeared with tears, the mascara was smudged around her bloodshot eyes. The butterfly pins she had picked out at the store hung limply in her messed
hair. up The sight of them made his blood boil all over again. Death was too good for Cole. Ruby had been nervous, but somewhat optimistic about the party. And she had eventually relaxed. It was her birthday and she should’ve shone at her party, she should’ve enjoyed herself. Instead, she couldn’t even go back to it. He didn’t even think she could go anywhere for a while. It looked like her cheek was definitely going to bruise. Her lip was busted and he didn’t know how long it would take to heal. If it were him, he could claim that Scott had hit him too hard by mistake when they were playing a game or something. But Ruby didn’t have such a convenient excuse. He knew people were going to stare and wonder, and she would hate that, Although she acted like the whispers didn’t bother her, the slight tension of her jaw and shoulders said otherwise.
“I guess the party’s over,” she said quietly.
“We’ll throw another one. We can make every day your birthday if that’s what you want.” He kept his tone light, but he meant every single word he said.
“Yeah,” she answered half heartedly.
“And I’ll make sure Cole never attends.” He still didn’t know how that asshole and his father crashed the party, but he was
going
find out and fire the security team that was hired for the event. Actually, that wasn’t enough, he was going to sue them into oblivion.
“Thanks,” Ruby gave him another smile, a better one this time. “Can you help me get up? I want to change, but my legs are asleep.
He adjusted his hold on her and helped her stand up. She teetered slightly. He crouched down, untied the stiletto straps around her ankles and pulled the heels off her feet. “Better?”
“Much. Thank you.”
He found himself hovering, Maybe he should give her some space, but everything inside him rebelled at the idea of leaving her alone when she was vulnerable. She was safe in their home- or she should be- but damn it, he had thought she was safe earlier too. She grabbed a nightshirt out of the closet and went into the bathroom. He parked himself on the bench and watched the door, fantasizing about inventive ways he could destroy Cole. Something clattered inside, followed by a sharp inhale. “Are you okay?” He moved toward the door. She might’ve tripped. Shit. He should’ve been-
“I’m fine!” She didn’t sound like she was in pain. “I’m just a mess
He guessed she had seen her reflection in the mirror. He wanted to soothe her, but he wasn’t sure if more tenderness was what she needed right now, especially after all that crying.
“You should see the other guy,” he said, overly casual.
There was a beat of silence, then a small giggle. “What happened to Cole?”
“He, uh, fell down some stairs. And then ran into a couple of doorknobs.” he answered with a small smile, a bit relieved that she had finally laughed.
“Gosh, that’s too bad”
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Chapter 48
“Hey, shit happens when you don’t exercise good judgement.”
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She made a little go on noise, but he didn’t think she needed to know the details. Hell, he probably didn’t remember everything himself. He had been too furious to care about anything except kicking Cole’s ass. She came out of the bathroom, still fully dressed. Her hair was down completely, the pins gone. “Um. I need your help. I can’t reach the top of my zipper. My back’s a little too sore.” Then she turned around, pulling her hair to one side.
The top half of her outfit was made of sheer white material. As he tugged at the zipper and pulled it down, the dress parted. What he saw put a red haze over his vision again. Purplish bars marred her otherwise smooth and flawless skin. She must’ve really slammed hard into the shelves when Cole hit her. The damage he had dealt him wasn’t even close to evening the scales. But they would be even–and more–by the time he was done with Cole Smith.
She slipped back into the bathroom when the zipper was undone. He paced the length of the room as rage roiled through him. His phone buzzed in his pocket, and he pulled it out. It was the groupchat of him, Scott and Elliot. Scott must have filled Elliot in.
Scott: All good and taken care of. If anybody noticed you weren’t around, they didn’t say. They probably assumed you were doing husband and wife things.
Good. Even if anybody wanted to probe, Scott would make sure they kept their curiosity to themselves. He was affable and friendly because he knew people wanted him to be a good guy, but he unleashed his inner asshole when necessary.
Alex: Thanks.
Elliot: How’s Ruby holding up?
Alex: Better than expected, considering. But I still feel like I haven’t done enough.
Scott and Elliot would know exactly what he meant.
Scott: I just want you to know that after you left, I kind of tripped over him. I’ve never heard a man hit a note that high,
He smiled at the text. One more thing about Scott? He was an excellent kickboxer.
Elliot: Take photos of her bruises. Just in case Mister ‘Shoulda–been–worm–food‘ tries to do something. Like sue, or get the police involved.
Elliot was probably right, but he wasn’t going to ask Ruby to do that. She had been traumatized enough. So he would let Cole try to do something. He wasn’t kidding about destroying him if he didn’t stay away. Actually, he was going to go ahead and do that anyway, since it was the least he deserved. He should have every bone in his body pulverized. When he recalled how Ruby had blamed herself, he wished he could grab that asshole now and throw him from the roof of a skyscraper. He didn’t think Cole had actually hit her before. She wouldn’t have been in shock for so long if it was a common occurrence. But that didn’t mean he treated her with dignity and respect, either. He could remember reading somewhere that victims sometimes blamed themselves because they wanted to believe the world was logical and they needed to cling to the belief that bad situations could be avoided if they themselves did better. But he loathed the way she had taken that whole weight on to her shoulders. Her tears had ripped at his heart. It was all he could do to maintain control–she needed him to be her rock, not some raving maniac.
Alex: Thanks. That won’t be necessary. I’ll do it my way. She’s my wife.
Elliot: Need help avenging your wife? I can come up with something creative.
AlexrThanks, but I’ve got this one. Believe me.
Elliot: FYI, Mr Wormy has a dirty little secret. He gambles a lot. And loses. He owes a ton of money to one of the casinos he frequents, and unless I’m mistaken, the place is connected to the mob. If he doesn’t cough up the cash, it won’t end well for
him.
That was quite a lot of information Elliot had gathered about Cole. Alex was intrigued. So the dirty Smith had such a dirty
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Chapter 48
guilty pleasure after all-
Scott: How do you know so
know so much already?
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Elliot. Research God created social media for a reason. And come on, it’s me.
Scott: God most definitely did NOT create social media.
Elliot: You could win the Nobel Prize if you spent more time on social media for research, Scott. Anyway, what I’m saying is that even if we do nothing, he might disappear all on his own.
Alex: They collect their debts, and I’ll collect mine.
Ruby came out of the bathroom. She was in a night T–shirt that ended a few inches above her knees. Her hair was a little damp, but the makeup was gone, and she didn’t look as blotchy as before, although her eyes were still bloodshot. He put his phone away, Was she the type to lick her wounds alone? Should he give her some time alone and sleep somewhere else? He didn’t want to leave her side. “Do you need anything?” he asked, unsure.
She hesitated. Then she finally nodded, wrapping her hand over her other elbow awkwardly. “Can you just hold me tonight?”
“Of course, he said, the tension easing off of him. “Let me change. I’ll be right back.”
SEND GIFT
