“Why is the girl who shot Benzo here at the compound?”
His voice is calm and even, but I know right away if he doesn’t hear what he wants to hear it isn’t going to end pretty for little Ruby. Luckily for her, I know what I have to say will be justifiable in his eyes.
“Her friend is the reason why we came. Benzo shot her and Ruby took his gun,” I relay, leaving out the part of me actually being the one to shoot him. If I try to tell Elijah something different now, he’ll never trust Ruby, no matter the reasoning behind her deceit.
“What does all of this have to do with you?”
“I was the reason the girl got shot. Apparently, Benzo didn’t like the fact I was talking to who I assume was his girl’s friend,” I tell him truthfully.
His eyes slowly trailed back to Ruby and his eyes narrow even more. “Your friend got shot? Who I’m going to assume is a woman?”
Ruby nods, her eyes narrowing as well and there was something like sarcasm on her face. This tiny little five foot firecracker is holding her ground with one of the most ruthless criminals I know and isn’t even batting an eyelash.
Elijah likes it because something rare happens. He smiles.
“Who is she to you?” He chuckles before looking over at me.
“Just someone who doesn’t seem to be afraid of the big bad wolf.”
He tutted her, shaming her mockingly. “You afraid of the big bad wolf … Ruby, was it?”
She looks at me and in all seriousness I can’t imagine being as small as she is and standing between Elijah and me. In this moment, Ruby shows me something no one has ever shown me in my life. She doesn’t have the upper hand, but the confidence pouring from her says the complete opposite. It intrigues the fuck out of me, and I know as soon as she answers him this girl will be something to me, I just haven’t quite figured out what yet.
“Yeah, It’s Ruby … and no, I’m not afraid of the big bad wolf.”
Chapter Five
RUBY—PRESENT
“You plan on staying out this way too?” The handsome guy, Elijah, asks Hollis and I feel odd when his eyes meet mine before he answers.
“I figured I would, since I’m already out here. I don’t feel like driving back into the city tonight,” he explains, which I don’t think is the full truth.
“Yeah, me too. I’m gonna head over to the house, I’ll see you in the morning. Night,” Elijah replies before tipping a nod in my direction, his almond eyes dragging over me painfully slow as he backs up towards his car.
I hear Hollis reply as I stand and turn around to look up at the building we are in front of. It’s a plain building no one would ever know is a fully equipped clinic with doctors who just saved my friend and I still am not entirely sure it is fully equipped, but they helped Tasha. I am just glad she is going to be okay.
I walk closer to the doors and they slide open to welcome me into the building. I’m met with the clinic’s dim seating area. It looks just like a regular hospital waiting room except it’s empty.
It’s oddly homey but I am glad for the change because I don’t like hospitals. I hesitated to come in at first because hospitals give me the creeps and while I know this isn’t a real hospital, I didn’ think it would smell like anything but wrinkly old man hands. I don’t smell old man hands at all, but I can’t tell if it’s because of the cologne Hollis is wearing is overpowering all of the others smells in the best way possible, or if this place is just more like a big house instead of an actual hospital.
I can’t lie. I am attracted to Hollis and I know he is bad news. Bad news radiates off him and I remember the stories I’ve heard about him over the years. I know I’ll get hurt helping him but I still can’t stop the curiosity of figuring him out. I want so badly to know what makes him tick and why he chooses the lifestyle he lives. I don't live the best, I know I have questionable ways of getting what I need to survive and my track record with people isn’t the greatest. But Hollis makes money by killing people and with no judgement to him. I bet it fucks him up inside. Killing someone changes a person, at least it changed me.
I know I’m on a slippery slope with him but there’s not one part of me afraid of the slide.
“The guest house may have more food than the vending machine over there if you want to raid it,” Hollis suggests quietly, his deep voice causing a shiver to rack over my body as I’m reminded I’m not alone.
“Not hungry.”
“Understandably so, but you should eat.”
I scrunch my face up and look over at the confusing guy next to me. “Hollis, why do you even care?”
Eating is a touchy subject for me and while I don't like to tell many people, I prefer for them to not say shit to me about eating anything, I know it isn't Hollis’ fault. He has no idea.
He frowns at me. “I don't fucking know,” he tells me before walking back out of the sliding doors.
I chuckle a little but decide to go find Lucky. I know I won't be able to see Tasha for awhile, but Lucky is probably only sleeping.
I go to the only hallway with rooms on it and she’s in the second room. I push the door open slowly and do my best to not make too much noise. As I sit down in the recliner next to the twin bed she’s sleeping in it squeaks and she stirs right away like I scared her by sitting down.
Understandable.
Her eyes peek open slowly, showing just how groggy she is from whatever medication she was given earlier.
“You good,” she asks lazily as her eyes roll back into her head.
“Yeah, go back to sleep.”
“Tash?”
“She’s good, Luck. Go back to sleep,” I tell her, and she nods, her eyes already closed.
“Okay.”
I watch as she snuggles into her pillow and I lay my head back onto the headrest. Closing my eyes, I think about how crazy the last twenty-four hours have been. I am having trouble even thinking I’m living my actual life. There are so many things racing through my mind and I don’t think anything aside from a nice fat blunt or at least a run will help me at this point.
I take a deep breath in and open my eyes, deciding I might be a little more hungry than I thought before. I could try to eat.
I stand and make the decision to not let my lack of knowledge for the world Hollis thrives in to stop me from digging further into his temperamental mind. There are plenty of things I won’t take the chance for but this nagging feeling in my gut won’t let me ignore him at all. It pisses me off a little, but my body still moves from the safety next to Lucky’s bed out back into the hallway of the clinic.
I make my way back to the lobby and when I see Hollis pacing in the front of the hospital, I’m not sure what to think. Was he coming back for me?
“Hollis,” I say softly once I’m a little closer.
He looks up at me with his brows pulled together slightly and slows his steps until he’s completely stopped. He doesn’t answer me, he just stares at me which should be a bit unnerving, but I hold my ground anyway.
“You still going to the guest house?” I ask.
Still silent, he begins walking towards the doors again. I stand there looking at him, unsure if I am supposed to follow. When he stops and turns his head in my direction I realize he’s waiting on me to come with him.