His Risk to Take

They reached the top of the stairs. She forced herself to stand and limp into the apartment, but her legs gave out, and she ended up crawling over the door frame on her bloody knees, past a smiling Lenny.

Humiliation burned her from the inside, followed by outrage when she saw two of her custom pool cues had been snapped in half. She grabbed the back of a chair and pulled herself into it, holding in a whimper of relief.

As the men disappeared back down the stairs, she looked up at Lenny defiantly, refusing to waver in her cool appraisal of him. “Make yourself at home,” she said with an indifferent shrug.

Lenny laughed, but she could sense his underlying irritation. “I wonder what it would take to get you off your high horse.” His smile widened. “I shouldn’t have to wonder much longer.”

The two men reappeared in her doorway, tossing a half-unconscious Bowen at her feet. Lenny watched her closely, waiting for a reaction, but she managed to keep the disgust and horror off her face. If he’d do this to his own son, what would he do to her? When Lenny turned to close her apartment door, she glimpsed the gun at the small of his back. With a nervous swallow, she risked a look down at Bowen and couldn’t stop herself from flinching. Another person she’d hurt with her thoughtless behavior. Perhaps she deserved whatever she got.

“You must think I’m pretty stupid, Ruby,” Lenny said, circling her chair. “You decide to go straight, drop off the radar for a year, and then reappear, looking for a game.” He stopped in front of her, leaned down near her face. “And if that didn’t tip me off that you were trying to screw me, the unmarked car that dropped you off outside would have. The second you left the warehouse, I got the hell out of there because I knew a raid was coming. I was right.” He shrugged. “I should thank you and my son for tipping me off. You were barely out the door before he slipped away to warn you I was coming.”

“Dammit, Bowie,” she whispered shakily, then glared in Lenny’s direction. Humiliation mixed with grief. She’d likely blown the arrest and gotten Bowen hurt in the process. If she’d stayed out of it, none of this would be happening. Instead, she’d gone and jeopardized Troy, Bowen, and herself when she’d

intended on the exact opposite. Her throat tightened, emotions threatening to give way. “I guess monsters are born, not made. Thank God Bowen is nothing like you.”

Lenny’s eyes glittered dangerously. He stepped away from her, rubbing the back of his neck with jerky movements. Then he took a giant step forward and slapped her across the face, hard enough to knock her off the chair. Stinging pain radiated from her cheek; a surprised cry tore from her lips. Bowen stirred on the floor beside her, attempting to shield her, but she put a hand on his cheek and told him to stay down.

She didn’t think she could endure watching him be punished any more for her mistake.

A hand circled her neck and yanked her off the floor. She was thrown back into the chair, choking and dragging in deep gulps of air. Helplessly, she watched as Lenny reached into the back of his jeans for his gun.

This is it. This is it, her mind repeated continuously until she started saying it out loud as well. Ruby squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting the final image she ever saw to be Lenny’s face.

Her apartment door crashed open, followed by the unmistakable cocking of a gun and a voice that sent relief racing through her body.

“I wouldn’t reach for that gun, Mr. Driscol.” Troy’s voice vibrated with intensity. Both of Lenny’s men reach into their jackets. “You two, either. My backup just arrived. You won’t make it out of the building.”

Several other police officers entered the apartment behind Troy, guns drawn. With rapid efficiency, they divested Lenny’s men of their weapons and handcuffed them. Troy didn’t take his gun off Lenny until the other threats had been removed, but then he confiscated the gun from Lenny’s waistband and pushed him down to handcuff him. For the first time since he’d entered the apartment, Ruby could see Troy.

As he placed the handcuffs on a resigned Lenny, Troy’s gaze ran over her anxiously, teeth clenching when he saw her ruined knees. Two officers she recognized from O’Hanlon’s stepped in to take over handcuffing Lenny, as if anticipating what he might do. Remorse, apology, anger, and need warred on his face as he watched her. But so many emotions warred inside her that she couldn’t stand the weight of his, too. It reminded her of what she’d done. How she’d risked him. Risked what they might have had together.

And she hated seeing his remorse because she didn’t deserve it.

“Tell me you’re okay,” he demanded when he’d gotten himself under control.

With a shaky nod, Ruby tore her gaze away from him and focused on something she could do to help repair the damage. She dropped off the chair onto the floor, ignoring the pain it caused her knees, and used the edge of her coat to wipe blood from Bowen’s face. He shrugged her off, moving with difficulty into a sitting position. She looked up at the room in general.

“Can someone please call an ambulance?”

She felt Troy behind her. “It’s already on the way.” He knelt down next to her, but she ignored him, couldn’t stand to see sympathy in his eyes. She felt him slide an arm around her waist, and barely resisted the urge to lean into his warmth. “Sit back up on the chair, baby. Your knees…” He cleared his throat. “You need the ambulance, too.”

“No. I’m fine.”

“You’re not fine,” he grated. “Neither of us are fine.”

As if on cue, three paramedics filed into the apartment and went straight for Bowen, who finally spoke up. “I’m good here, Rube,” he said, expression thoughtful as he watched Troy. “Go get yourself patched up.”

Troy stood over her while the paramedic cut her jeans to the knee so he could clean and bandage her wounds. She could practically feel the tension rolling off Troy, but her own mental strain easily matched his.

More than anything, she wanted everyone out of her apartment so she could bury her face in a pillow and cry. She hadn’t cried since her father left to go back out on the road a year prior. Now it felt like tiny cracks were forming in her exterior, ready to burst.

Lenny and his men were escorted down the stairs and placed in the backs of separate patrol cars. All three of them complained over their rough treatment and yelled for lawyers as they went. Bowen’s injuries required further medical treatment, and although he protested vehemently, they finally convinced him if he didn’t get stitches, his face might not heal correctly.

That got him moving.

Finally, she and Troy were left alone in the apartment. He closed the door behind the final officer and turned to face her. When he started to speak, she cut him off.

“I already know what you’re going to say, so please… Save your breath.”

“You have no clue what I’m going to say.”

Ruby raised her head to find his gaze riveted on her, drawing her in. She quickly looked away. “Sure, I do. I put myself and others in danger, including you.

I acted foolishly. I need to stay away from you for my own good, as well as yours.” She gave a single, shaky nod. “Finally, we agree on something. You were right to leave. You should get as far away from me as possible.”