Page 173 of Show Me

Chapter Ninety-One

Xavier

Ruby barely says a word during the drive as Squirt snorts in the back seat. I didn’t blink when she snatched him up and stood outside the passenger door. There was no way she was leaving him behind. Not after everything had happened.

The heater blasts warm air into the cab, fighting the cold that slips through the plastic I'd hastily taped over the shattered back window before we left. Every few seconds it snaps against the frame, another reminder that I didn’t have time to do more than keep the worst of the wind out.

It'll do for tonight. It has to.

She’s turned toward the window, arms wrapped tightly around herself, watching the darkness slide by. Not crying, not shaking, and not saying a damn word. I’d almost rather she yell at me.

Less than eight hours ago she was laughing with Bella and Emily over Thanksgiving dinner. Now all she’s doing is staring out the window.

I grip the steering wheel harder. Every set of headlights that passes throws enough light across her face for me to catch the tension locked in her jaw before she’s swallowed by darkness again.

She’s still replaying it. The shattered glass. The notes. The words.

Stay away from her.

She doesn’t want you.

The plastic behind us rattles again as a larger piece of it breaks free. Worthless. The plastic. The tape. The cameras. The locks. None of it stopped somebody from getting close enough to throw rocks through her window. Close enough to make her afraid to stay in her own home.

My jaw clenches. Whoever’s doing this wanted a reaction. Congratulations. They got one. By the time I turn into my driveway, lights glow through the front windows. Ben’s truck sits crooked near the garage. Sam’s beside it.

For the first time since the first rock came through Ruby’s window, I let myself breathe. There are people here. People I trust. People who’ll help keep her safe while I figure out who’s responsible.

I kill the engine. The truck settles into silence. Neither of us moves right away. “Come on.” My voice comes out quieter than I intended.

She nods like she’s been waiting for me to say it.

The cold rushes into the cab the second I open my door, the plastic over the back window snapping once more in the wind. I don’t care about the truck. I need to get her inside. “Come on.”

The front door barely opens before Sam looks up from the couch. “Dude, you’re back alrea–”

He stops cold when he sees Ruby behind me with Squirt in her arms. His expression changes instantly. “What happened?”

Ben appears from the kitchen a second later, dish towel in his hand. The second he takes in Ruby’s face, his shoulders tense. “Everything okay?”

“No.” The word lands flat in the room. “Someone put a rock through Ruby’s front window.”

Silence.

Sam’s sock-covered feet hit the carpet. “You serious?”

“And my truck,” I add. “They hit the cameras too. I checked the feeds. There’s nothing there.”

Sam mutters a curse under his breath.

Ben’s gaze flicks toward Ruby again, softer this time. “Hey,” he says. “Come sit down.” Ruby hesitates like she doesn’t want to inconvenience anyone. “That wasn’t optional.”

A faint breath of a laugh leaves her as he guides her and Squirt toward the couch.

Sam disappears into the kitchen without saying another word.

Ben snatches his phone off the coffee table. “You call it in?”

“No, didn’t take the time.” Getting Ruby here safely was the only thing I was worried about.