With remote in hand, she looked up at him, hesitant at first, and then took the wine.
Noticing how she put all her attention into finding something to watch, he sensed her tension.
She settled on a history channel program about antiques. He liked her choice.
“I felt the same today,” he said.
She scooted more toward the edge of the couch, sitting ramrod straight, and put the remote down.
“Being with you and Maya,” he said. “It was so good.”
Still, she looked straight ahead at the TV, without seeing it, he knew.
“It felt right, Ruby. Like being a family,” he said. “I’ve never felt that way before.”
Her foot bobbed up and down, an obvious sign of her discontent. Damon didn’t relent. This was too important. They needed to talk about this, whether either of them wanted to or not.
“Can you deny it?” he asked.
Her foot stilled, and after several seconds, she looked at him, met his eyes. “No. But neither can I deny what a professional you are at your job. Undercover man.”
He sighed and put down his glass. So much for trying to relax.
“I’m not sure I’m ready for this, either, Ruby, but we need to face what’s happening,” he said.
“What is happening, Damon? You’re still in an active investigation. You’re still playing a role. What am I to you? A vital part of solving your case? Of making your arrests?”
“You’re more than part of my investigation. You weren’t when this whole thing started, but you are now. You have to know that.”
“That’s the problem, Damon. This whole thing started with a great big giant lie. When I think about the possibility of being with you long-term, I wonder if I can ever trust you. Ten, twenty years from now, how will I ever know you’re being honest with me? You could get tired of me and seek out something new, and I would never know because you are an expert liar.”
“I’m not an expert. I play a role undercover because if I don’t it could cost me my life. I am not an expert liar when it comes to real relationships. I didn’t lie to you unless it would have put my life in danger. And I will never lie to you ever again. Now that you know about the investigation, there’s no need for me to be secretive. I can tell you everything. You have no idea how much of a relief that is to me. I hated having to deceive you. I never felt good about that, especially when I became attracted to you on a personal level.”
He watched her absorb his words and waver over trusting him, believing him.
“You could be lying to me right now. Your investigation isn’t over. You need me to keep acting like I’m your doting girlfriend,” she said. “You want us to have a fake relationship. I suppose that would be nothing new.”
Damon scowled at that. There was no convincing her.
“We had sex, and today felt real to me,” she went on. “I can’t keep doing this, Damon. I think I should go stay with January and Sean for a while. This isn’t good for me.”
“No, Ruby. You need to stay here.” Not only could he not protect her, her leaving would send the wrong message to Santiago. He didn’t dare say that, though. She would assume he was putting the investigation ahead of her.
“Sean can protect me and Maya,” she said.
“He has to work. He can’t be around you all the time.” He hoped she would see that reasoning.
She averted her head, clearly considering the consequences. Surely she wouldn’t put Maya in that kind of danger. January, too.
At last, Ruby turned to him again. “I at least need a break. I’m getting worried about Maya’s attachment to you more than to me.”
“What kind of a break?” he asked. “Do you want to take a day to think things over? I’m not comfortable with you taking more time than that.” He’d be worried sick about her and Maya.
“Maybe a couple of days. A weekend.”
“Ruby, I really would rather you didn’t.”
“Why, so we can keep playing these roles? It’s gone too far, Damon. I can’t keep Maya in this situation.”
Damon could see there would be no reasoning with her tonight. Their glorious day was too fresh, and their sex too amazing.
“Hopefully, it won’t be for much longer,” he said. “But even after this case is closed, I still want to keep seeing you.”
“I don’t know about that. Maya is getting way too attached to you. And... I am, too.” She averted her eyes.
“Okay,” he said. “Let’s get this straight.” When she looked at him, he said, “We both didn’t mean for us to have sex.”
“I agree,” she said.
“I wanted to take things much slower, and I am pretty sure you did, too.”
“I did.”
“So let’s get back to that. Let’s be friends.”
She half cocked her head, disbelieving. He didn’t think they could be just friends, either. But he needed to reassure her.
“Okay, we’ll cool things off for now,” he said. “And I’ll be careful with Maya. I don’t want to rush into anything anymore than you do. I get you don’t trust me, but if I’m being honest, I’d have to say I don’t trust you, either. I don’t trust any woman. It’s part of my baggage from past experience.”
She nodded. “I can go with that.”
Damon caught sight of Maya tugging her mother’s shirt. She signed, Are you fighting?
No.
It looks like you are.
We’re having an adult talk, Ruby signed.
I like Damon. Don’t take him away.
Ruby looked at Damon, clearly upset. He crouched before Maya. Your mother and I are friends. We just have some grown-up issues we need to resolve. Everything is all right. Okay?
Maya looked him directly in his eyes for a while and then gave a nod. Okay.
Damn, she was a smart kid. She was advanced well beyond her five years. And not only with intelligence. She had strong self-esteem and Damon would not be surprised if she went far in life. He didn’t think that would be possible, however, without strong family bonds. Love.
Damon looked up at Ruby and saw her worrying frown. Maya liked him, and she wasn’t comfortable with that. He needed to convince her that leaving was not an option, even temporarily. But how would he do that?
Chapter 11
Ruby understood leaving was a risk, but she absolutely needed some time away from Damon. Moreover, she had to get Maya away from him. He had too much of an influence on her. She packed a duffel bag with everything she and her daughter would need for two nights at January and Sean’s house. Sean was off duty, and they’d all be together. It felt safe. She hadn’t told Damon. She had awakened Maya early and planned to leave before he woke. He’d only try to talk her out of this.
I don’t want to leave, Mommy, Maya signed.
It’s only for two nights. Don’t you want to see January and Sean?
After her young mind contemplated that, she looked up and signed, Yes.
Ruby took her hand and glanced back to ensure Damon hadn’t awakened. She didn’t hear anything. Opening the upper door as quietly as she could, she took Maya into the stairway and, with equal quietness, closed the door. Going down the steps, she left the apartment and then the dark back room of the pub. The sun had yet to rise, so the outdoor lights were still on.
She kept looking back as she made her way to her car. There, she hurriedly unlocked it and opened the back door for Maya. After getting Maya buckled in the back seat, she put their duffel on the passenger side in the front and walked around to the driver’s side. She stopped short when a man emerged into the reach of exterior lighting. She didn’t recognize him. Average in height, he had dark sandy-brown hair and hazel eyes that held dominating confidence.
Before she could open the car door, he asked, “Where are you going?”
Fear ra
ced through her, putting her on high alert. She glanced toward the back door of the pub. Had Damon awakened after all?
She faced the stranger, dredging up an outward appearance of courage. “Who are you?” He wasn’t any of the men she had seen in the Foxhole.
“I’m someone Santiago calls when he needs to get his point across.”
In other words, he was a hit man. Ruby grew frightened. She looked at Maya in the back seat. She was busy with a game on her tablet.
“Where are you going?” he asked again.
“None of your business. If you want to know, then follow me.” She hated saying that, but she was so sick of being bullied.
He became displeased, judging by the frown. “Santiago will be patient only for so long.”
“I can’t help you. I’m sorry.” She faced her car door.
He took her arm and turned her back toward him.
Ruby yanked free, growing more alarmed. This was a man who knew Kid, a man no different than him.
“I’m not your enemy,” he said. Then his eyes took a creepy tour down her body and back up to her face. “In fact, I’d like to be something of a champion to you.”
“What?” What did he mean? How could anyone like him be a champion, much less think of himself as one?
“You are a remarkable woman, Ruby. You are stunning.”
Ruby turned and opened her car door. “I can’t help you.”
“We aren’t talking about that now,” he said. “I’m trying to tell you I can make this situation easier on you.”
Ruby felt like throwing up. Did he actually mean if she welcomed his attention he’d protect her?
“How do you propose to do that?” she asked.
“We haven’t been properly introduced. I’m Carl Whitmore. It’s a great pleasure to meet you, Ruby. Kid didn’t know how lucky he was. But now that he’s gone, maybe you and I could go out for dinner sometime, and I could tell you how I can help you. I’m close with Santiago.”
So, he thought he could persuade Santiago to leave her alone—if she went out on dates with him.
“I’m not interested in dinner with you.” Was he crazy? She’d just been freed of Kid. What made him think she’d sign up for another horror show like that again?
“I’m hoping you’ll change your mind. See, I can tell things aren’t going well between you and Damon.”
How could he tell? Just by her leaving in the wee hours of morning? “That’s none of your business,” Ruby said.
Movement at the back door of the pub drew her eyes there. Damon appeared and relief rushed through her.
The stranger looked there, and his expression changed from intimidating to angst-ridden. Clearly he didn’t want this interruption. He must be one of the men Santiago assigned to watch her and Damon, except he had eyes for Ruby. Yuck.
Damon appeared beside her. “Carl. What brings you by?”
“I was just having a conversation with your girlfriend,” he said. “If she’s still your girlfriend. Looks like she’s planning on being away awhile.” He gestured toward the car behind her and Damon. “I saw her put in a bag.”
“So what if she is?” Damon said. “What’s it to you?”
“Santiago wants to know where she is at all times. You owe him something.”
“It’s time for you to leave,” Damon said, stepping forward and towering over Carl, putting his body between him and Ruby.
No longer possessing that aura of dominating confidence, Carl looked up at him with a creepy but ego-challenged grin. “You can’t escape Santiago.”
“Santiago will get what he’s looking for,” Damon said. “I better not see you near Ruby again.”
Carl sized Damon up and appeared to relent. He must be alone on his watch tonight and would be no match for Damon, who was much bigger and not afraid. Lifting his hands, he stepped back. As he did so, he looked past Damon, sending Ruby a chilling gaze, as if to say, This isn’t the last time you’ll see me.
With goose bumps spreading over her arms, Ruby watched him go.
“I guess we can expect to see him some more,” Ruby said, voicing her thoughts aloud.
“Yeah. All the more reason to keep up appearances and stay close to the pub.”
Damon wore a worried face, and Ruby had no doubt about the gravity of her situation. She had thought she should be afraid before, but to now have that confirmed gave her a sick feeling.
“Get Maya and come back inside, Ruby.”
His commanding tone had a strange effect on her. Kid had been controlling, but Damon was not doing that. He was being protective. He was being a dad. A husband. A family man. And he was absolutely right. She could not leave.
* * *
Damon hadn’t slept much the previous night. He was grateful Ruby had decided to stay with him, but she was a loose cannon. Her lack of trust sprinkled danger into his investigation and also for herself and Maya. No, he couldn’t control her and didn’t want to. He admired her spirit, her strength. He related to her reticence because he had experienced challenges in his life, too. He wished he could tell her this. If only she would believe him.
Yesterday they had spent the day avoiding each other. She played with Maya in the child’s room for hours, until Damon had to go to work. He had thought of nothing else but her and Maya. Santiago and his men had not shown up last night. It had been quiet. Damon had been happy to be surrounded by normal people.
This morning, he made Maya strawberry French toast. Ruby hadn’t awakened yet, and Maya had told him she was hungry. She sat at the table with her drawing book. He brought her a plate and put a cup of coffee down for himself, sitting across from her.
She looked up at him. Why was Mommy going to take me to January and Sean’s?
They’re her friends.
Maya picked up her fork and tried to pry apart a piece of French toast with her fork. Damon took her knife and fork and cut it into bites for her.
She stuffed a big bite into her mouth and happily chewed. Then after a while, putting down her fork, she eyed him. Who was that man?
Damon had to do some quick thinking. He comes to the restaurant a lot.
Mommy didn’t like him, she signed.
“No,” he said, signing as well.
Is he friends with my daddy?
He might have been.
Maya contemplated that before digging into her French toast again.
Just then, Ruby came out of her bedroom. She didn’t look pleased with his early commandeering of her daughter’s morning routine. He would not tell her it was Maya who had come into his bedroom and woken him. He had not gone to her mother.
He also wouldn’t tell her about the earlier conversation he’d had with her daughter while he was making her breakfast.
Do you like kids?
“I love kids.”
I can tell. Maya had smiled big, helping him mix the egg wash for the French toast. He had let her crack the eggs, picking out the broken shell pieces when she finished. He found the entire exercise beyond charming. He simply adored this kid.
Why don’t you have any?
“I haven’t been that lucky yet,” he said, making sure she could see his mouth and ever impressed by her ability to understand him.
You have one now.
Damon had no idea how to respond to her declaration. He could vividly imagine living with her as a father figure. Ruby was the only question mark. Never in his life had he thought a child would touch him this way, a child that wasn’t biologically his. Life sure was funny like that. Nobody could predict what lay ahead.
Ruby entered the kitchen, taking in Damon at the table with Maya.
“Strawberry French toast?” Ruby said sarcastically, eyebrow raised.
“With whipped cream,” Damon said grinning at her expression.
I’m done. Can
I go watch TV? Maya asked.
Sure, Ruby signed.
Maya went into the living room where she had dolls spread out on the coffee table and the television tuned to a cartoon.
Ruby got a cup of coffee and some orange juice and came to sit where Maya had vacated.
After sipping some coffee, she picked up Maya’s fork and took a bite of strawberries and French toast.
Damon watched her. He was good at making that because it was one of his favorites.
She looked at him after she swallowed. “This is good.” She stabbed her fork in the air above the plate.
“Thank you.”
“I love strawberries,” she said.
“Me, too.”
When she looked at him again, he felt that now-familiar and fiery chemistry ignite. Just because they both liked strawberries. No, it went deeper than that. It was her body language that told him before she spoke that she liked what he had made, and it was their eyes meeting.
He reminded himself of his plan to keep his distance for a while. Not just for her comfort but for his as well. They were volatile together. Man and woman with live wires ready to spark.
Ruby turned on her tablet and read something. It looked like the news. Damon watched her do that and eat the rest of Maya’s breakfast. Every movement captivated him. Her lips. The lashes of her eyes. The slope of her nose. Her soft, smooth and clear skin. She had on a sleeveless blue-and-white knit top that emphasized her breasts and light blue jeans that fit her butt perfectly.
“There’s a kite festival this weekend,” she said. “They have face painting.”
Something fun for Maya while they searched for the cache of weapons. “All right.” That reminded him of a time when his mother by choice, Nicole, had taken him and his brothers to a kite festival that had also had face painting and balloon decorating, among several sweet food trucks.
“I went to a kite festival when I was a kid,” he said, wanting to share the memory. “They gave you kite kits where you could design your own. I made a really bad depiction of Captain America.” He chuckled.
Colton 911: Temptation Undercover Page 15
