Riskier Business (Crossing the Line 0.5)(30)

“It shouldn’t even be a choice, really. What did your mother ever do for you? It’s your boyfriend or your mother, Ruby. Make the right choice. We’ll be here waiting. You’ve got an hour.” She thought he’d hung up, but he delivered one final parting shot before the line went dead. “And if you call the cops, or alert the one sitting outside guarding your building, Troy will be dead long before they take me.”

Her entire body shook as the phone dropped from her lifeless fingers onto the counter. Only then did she remember her mother was standing beside her.

“He wants me,” Pamela guessed. “He wants the money back.”

Ruby nodded dumbly. “I won’t do it. How can he ask me to—” She flinched when the text message signal went off on her phone. With the address etched permanently on her brain, Ruby turned and tripped her way to the bedroom, shedding her robe and sleep T-shirt as she went. She didn’t think, couldn’t think, as she dragged on a pair of jeans and yanked a hoodie over her head. Until she saw Troy’s Chicago Cubs ball cap perched on their dresser, she managed to hold it together, but now she couldn’t help the scream that ripped from her throat.

Your fault. This is all your fault. If she’d listened to Troy and refused her father’s offer the first night in Quincy’s, his life wouldn’t be in danger. She’d done this to him. To them.

She had to fix her mistake at all costs.

Ruby shoved her feet into an old pair of Converse and sprinted from the bedroom. “All right, here’s what we’re going to do.” An empty room greeted her. “Pamela?”

The silence was deafening. Her gaze shot to the counter where her cell phone had been, her father’s text message lighting up the screen. It was gone. In its place sat a note:

This is my chance to make things right. Be happy.

- Mom





Chapter Ten


Through his swollen right eye, Troy stared at the door of the motel room, begging Ruby not to walk through it. Part of him knew it was useless to hope. He could already see her storming in like an avenging angel, demanding to take his place. Her mother’s place. She’d always been stubborn enough to believe she could fix the world. It was only one of the thousand or so reasons he loved her.

When they’d driven just past JFK airport and arrived at the motel room, he’d been at once relieved and unsurprised to find it empty. He’d suspected Jim of lying about Ruby and Pamela’s being taken, but he’d refused to stake Ruby’s life on a gut feeling. Now he sat on the floor with his back up against the wall, hands secured behind his back with his own cuffs. Jim had waited until Troy was without the use of his hands before clocking him over the head with the butt of his gun. Payment for warning Ruby over the phone. God, she’d sounded so damn scared. He’d never heard her sound like that, and the memory ricocheted though his brain, making him even dizzier.

Troy absently registered the feel of blood running down the side of his face as he glanced at the bedside clock. It had been forty minutes since Jim made the call. Within the space of twenty minutes, he could be dead, leaving Ruby to the mercy of her father.

The possibility of leaving her to fend for herself made him crazed.

When the knock sounded on the door, Troy braced himself against the wall, ready to move. He didn’t know what would happen when Ruby walked in, but he needed to be prepared for anything.

Jim rose from the desk chair in which he’d been sitting, making notes on a horse racing form. Just before he pulled the door open, he turned and winked at Troy.

“Showtime.”

The restraints around his wrists became unbearable. “You’re a bastard.”

Jim shrugged. “I’ve been called much worse.”

He opened the door with a flourish to reveal Pamela. Troy strained to see past her, looking for Ruby, but he didn’t see her. His mind raced, coming up with two possibilities. Either Ruby and Pamela were merely pretending to go along with Jim’s wishes, or Pamela had ditched Ruby to sacrifice herself. Jesus, please let her be safe somewhere, a million miles from this.

“Pamela. It’s been an age.”

Ruby’s mother pushed past Jim and strode into the motel room, holding up a leather knapsack. Seeing the arrogant walk so identical to Ruby’s, Troy wondered how he’d missed their obvious relation for so long. It was right there in their demeanors, the way they stood as if ready to take on the world.

“Why don’t we skip the small talk, Jimbo?”

A muscle ticked in his jaw. “Don’t call me that.”

“Fine.” She tossed the knapsack onto the bed. “‘Asshole’ has a better ring to it anyway.”

Jim smiled tightly. “Let’s not forget who is holding the gun.”

“You always were a one-upper.” Her gaze connected with Troy, but he couldn’t interpret anything from her expression. “Now, is this any way to treat your future son-in-law?”

“He’s only a means to an end to me.” Jim glanced back at the still partially open door. “Where’s our daughter?”

“She’s not coming,” she said quickly. Too quickly. It told Troy she’d ditched Ruby in an attempt to do the right thing. A small part of him ached for her, knowing any sacrifice on her behalf would devastate Ruby, but his relief eclipsed the ache. “You were right. I’ve never done a damn thing for her. Figured this was the least I could do.” She pointed at the bag on the bed. “Half of your money is in there. Let Troy go home to Ruby and I’ll take you to the other half.”