“What does he want?” Jade demanded under her breath.
Ruby shrugged. “Jade and I are taking a little vacation,” she said, forcing lightness into her voice. “Why?”
“Someone broke into your shop last night,” Mark said. “I’m afraid there is quite a bit of damage.”
“Oh, no,” she said, feigning shock.
“It doesn’t look as if anything was taken, but there is stuff everywhere.”
“All right. Thanks, Mark, for letting me know.”
“When will you be back?”
Ruby looked at Jade. “Oh, I don’t know. We’re taking a much-needed break.”
“I think you should come back now. You need to file a report. Where are you?”
“Honestly, Mark, we’re in Vegas. Just for a few days. We’ll be back as soon as we can. Can you lock up for me and keep an eye on the place?”
He hesitated. “Sure.”
“Thanks, Mark. I really appreciate it. Thanks for calling.” She disconnected the line.
“Vegas?” Jade asked.
“A girl can dream, can’t she? Besides, that should keep him from calling me for at least a day or two.”
“You are way too nice to that guy,” Jade said. “You should have given him the old heave-ho a long time ago.”
“I’ve tried. You know that. He just doesn’t take a hint.”
“Perhaps a two-by-four?”
Ruby smiled. “I would, but he’s a cop. He can and does invent any reason to come by and see me. All the time.”
“I’m just worried about you. That guy is freaky.”
“I know,” Ruby admitted as anxiety skittered along her nerves. “But no matter how distant I am, even rude sometimes, he just won’t go away. I’ve turned down his past three dinner invitations, and yet he still keeps coming around.”
“All right. Once we get back we’ll have to work on that. No more being nice.”
Ruby nodded. “I know, and you’re right. Sometimes guys like that do need a two-by-four.”
* * *
One of the best investments Mark Goodwin had made was the GPS tracker he’d installed under the dash of Ruby’s car. For the past three months, he had known everywhere she had gone, and how long she’d stayed there. And right now, by accessing the web through his phone, he’d tracked their location all the way into California.
He smiled as he pulled up behind the sisters on the freeway. He watched Ruby as she talked to him on the phone, as she lied to him. Rage lit a fuse inside him. What, did she think he was stupid? A lovesick puppy panting at her feet? Vegas! She was up to something, and it looked as though he was finally going to be able to prove what he’d always suspected about her.
Last night when the call had come in about the wolves behind the complex her shop was in, he’d known this was the chance he’d been waiting for. But by the time he’d got to the shop, he only caught a glimpse of the wolves high up on the hill with the Wildlife and Animal Control officers pursuing them through the canyons.
The back door of Ruby’s shop had been wide-open. The place had been trashed, but the cash register hadn’t been touched. Obviously someone had been after something. More secrets. He’d finished his shift and gone after her. He had done everything he could to insinuate himself into her life, knowing Ruby wouldn’t be able to keep her mouth shut for long, and here she was lying to him. Anger tightened his knuckles around the steering wheel. But he knew it wasn’t her fault, knew Ruby would be so much more manageable if it wasn’t for that overbearing and controlling sister of hers. He had to do something about that.
For hours Celia drove down the long freeway, trying to pretend she was alone. That she wasn’t going home to bury her mother. That her life hadn’t got so terribly off course. Every now and then her gaze would move to the rearview mirror and she’d catch a glimpse of Malcolm sleeping. Was he truly sorry? Maybe he had changed. He seemed to be different somehow. Not so on edge and more relaxed and comfortable with himself. Was it possible that no longer being Pack leader had freed him?
He’d always taken his responsibilities too seriously. People thought he was an egomaniac, but the truth was, he cared too much. He had grandiose ideas for the Colony and moved heaven and earth to implement them, no matter who he hurt. But now that he was no longer in charge, perhaps he could use his ambitions to contribute instead of letting them destroy his life.
She shook her head and focused back on the road. There was a rest stop a mile ahead. She would stop. Get a soda. Stretch her legs and take a break. She had to stop thinking this way. She was on a slippery slope and falling fast. He was the enemy. He’d turned his back on her and threw away their life together for a woman he’d never met. For his zealous need to be in control. The moment she started excusing what he’d done would be the second she let him back into her heart and the instant when she’d be lost. Once more, she’d be living for Malcolm and what Malcolm wanted, putting her own dreams for a family on a back burner. Losing what she wanted and who she was in her desire to make him happy. She wouldn’t fall into that trap again.
She parked the truck and walked into the bathrooms. She was stiff and sore, and they still had a long way to go. When she came back out, a car was parked next to them. Two men were circling Malcolm’s truck, peering into the windows at Malcolm sleeping in the backseat. She froze.
Abatus.
“Blazes,” she whispered under her breath. She looked around the parking lot. There was a large semitruck, the driver nowhere in sight. A station wagon filled with kids, and a couple of young girls sitting on the grass playing with a puppy. All of them oblivious of the men pulling on the truck’s door handles and knocking on the windows.
Malcolm sat up in the backseat rubbing his eyes, shock filling his face as he realized where he was and what was happening. He climbed into the front seat and got behind the wheel, fumbling for the keys in the ignition. But they weren’t there. They were in her pocket. His troubled gaze met hers through the windshield.
He was worried. He might try to hide it, but she could read it as plain as day. She walked purposefully toward the men. “Excuse me,” she said loudly, hoping to draw as much attention as she could. “Can I help you?”
Surprised, the men turned to her, gave her the once-over and then dismissed her, turning back to the truck. They tried once more to get in, pulling on the doors, pushing on the cracked windows. “Like a dog with a bone,” she called out. “Would you mind stepping away from my truck?”
After being ignored once more, she bolted forward, knowing with her bracelet they would not see her as a threat or a target. She used that to her advantage as she scooted right up to the first guy, the smallest guy, with an unkempt beard and long unruly gray hair, and kicked him hard in his oversize gut.
He doubled over with a loud grunt. Celia kicked him again, using all her force to knock him to the ground, hoping the truck blocked what she was doing to him from the eyes of the young girls on the grass. The second man came running around the front of the truck toward her. Malcolm opened the door, jumped out and joined the fight.
He took a swing at the much-bigger second man, but suddenly the first man was up and back in the game. He was strong, and even though she got in the first kick, the Abatu soon had the upper hand. Malcolm was doing his best, but soon they were both taking a beating. Celia hit the ground, landing hard on her butt, when out of nowhere Ruby was there, baseball bat in her hand and Jade right behind her.
Ruby swung the bat, hitting the Abatu hard