Riskier Business (Crossing the Line 0.5)(9)

“Put it on our tab,” Troy instructed the server when she took his order. Bourbon, neat.

“Oh, a generous cop. What a catch, Ru.”

Her smile faltered at his use of her childhood nickname. She slipped her hand into Troy’s strong grip. “He is a catch, thank you. If you came here just to insult us, we’ve got much better things to do.”

Jim’s fingers flexed on the table as he considered them. “What the hell is Driscol doing here?”

That gave Ruby a start. Until now, her father had shown no sign that he’d spotted Bowen lurking in the corner. Furthermore, she didn’t understand Jim’s hostility toward her friend. He had no reason to dislike him so intensely. “He’s been looking out for me ever since you took off.” She shrugged. “I guess old habits die hard.”

“Looking out for you, huh?” Jim winked at Troy. “I bet you f*cking love that.”

Troy showed zero reaction. “Say what you came to say, Elliott. I’m getting impatient.”

“You young people are all in such a rush nowadays.” He smiled at the waitress as she dropped off his drink, blatantly checking out her ass when she turned around. “You know nothing about the art of anticipation.”

Ruby almost laughed at the irony of that comment, but held her tongue. “If you need me to hustle for you, forget it. I’ve moved on.”

He eyed her over his drink and her confidence dipped. “You haven’t heard the stakes yet.”

“No amount of money is worth getting tangled back up in your bullshit.”

She couldn’t tell if the flash of hurt on his face was manufactured or authentic, but the words had already been said and couldn’t be taken back.

“You have your mother’s uncanny ability to cut a man off at the knees.” Jim nodded at Troy. “I bet she makes your life a balance of heaven and hell. Just like her mother did to me. Am I right?”

“Enough.” Ruby jumped in before Troy could respond, her father’s earlier comment ringing in her head. “My mother? You never talk about my mother.”

“An oversight, perhaps.” He lifted his shoulder and let it drop. “Tonight might be a good time to start talking about the elusive Pamela.”

She felt Troy tense beside her, matching her own rigid posture. “What the hell is this?”

Jim pulled a notepad out of his jacket pocket and consulted it. Ruby knew he was just buying time. Heightening the anticipation, as he’d said. All an act. He never forgot a single detail. Which meant the mention of Pamela, her mother, hadn’t been accidental. Dread welled in her gut. She’d been a mere child when her mother walked out, leaving her with her father, a man completely ill-equipped to raise her. For years, they’d traveled while Jim hustled and she slept in the backseat of their car or a dingy motel room. Until she’d learned to pull her own weight on the pool table. Never once, during all those years, did they speak about her mother.

Ruby looked over at Troy, silent communication passing between them. He anticipated something big on the horizon, too. She could see the anxiety on his face, though he tried valiantly to hide it.

Abruptly, Jim tossed the notepad on the table, apparently still trying to keep her off balance. Dammit, he would always be better at the game than she was. It was working. “The match will take place Tuesday night. Between you, should you agree, and a man named Robert Bell. We’re still deciding on a location.”

She frowned at the unfamiliar name. “Doesn’t matter. I won’t be there.”

“I think you will.” He tossed back his bourbon. “Robert Bell is your mother’s brother. We’re playing for information on her whereabouts. He has it. You win, and he hands her location over. I’d play the match myself, but…” He held up his injured right wrist.

Time froze. Nothing could have prepared her for this. Her father’s words hit her like a roaring subway train, mowing her down in its path. She’d never allowed herself to wonder about the woman who’d abandoned them. There had never been a point. People didn’t stick around in her world. Her old world, anyway. Yet now, the opportunity to find her mother glittered like gold in front of her eyes. Had it always been a subconscious desire she’d managed to smother?

Troy squeezed her hand hard enough to snap her back to the present. She sensed he wanted to drag her into his lap and rock her back and forth, but wouldn’t allow her to lose face in front of her father. When he spoke, his voice was deadly silent. “What is Robert Bell’s interest in this? What does he get if he wins?”

Jim chuckled as if the question had been absurd. “What else? Cash. Not to mention, his dislike of his sister rivals mine.”

Troy obviously didn’t buy it. “What’s the catch, Elliott?”

“Catch?”

“Good question.” Ruby finally cleared the rust from her throat. “Why now? What do you care where she is?”

Jim suddenly wouldn’t meet her eyes, his fingers tracing moisture patterns on the table. “Look, I know I haven’t been the best father to you, Ru. You’re out of the game. I get it.” His Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat. “I was wrong. Not telling you anything about her. You deserve to know. Let me give you this. You can consider it a parting gift if you want.”

She sensed Bowen standing behind her, but didn’t turn. Her attention was fixated solely on her father. He looked…contrite. Sincere. A rarity for Jim Elliott. God help her, she was affected by it. This was her father, after all. They’d been through good times and terrible times together. Sharing french fries on the hood of their car at a drive-in outside Pittsburgh. Sneaking into a Red Sox game in Boston, Jim sweet-talking them into seats along the first base line. Running through the rain to escape an angry bar owner for hustling his customers. They’d survived it all together. Could she believe him on this? She desperately wanted to, dammit. Finding out who her mother was, possibly having her questions answered, could finally be the closure stamp on her past.