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I opened my mouth to blurt out that he couldn’t take anything his mother said seriously, but stopped myself. If what I suspected about Wendy was true, we needed to start considering everything she said more critically. We needed to figure out how to separate the lies from the truth and the reasons behind all of them.
Right now, though, we both needed a break.
“Look,” I said. “I’m exhausted, and I have work tomorrow. Let’s sleep on this.”
He smiled. “Is that an invitation?”
No, it hadn’t been. What was I supposed to say? Before I could think of something appropriate, my cell phone buzzed.
It was a text.
Don’t go home tonight.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Ryan
Ruby’s rosy cheeks went white as she looked at her phone.
“What is it, babe?”
She cleared her throat. “Nothing.”
“Bullshit. Who texted you?”
“I don’t know, actually.”
I grabbed the phone out of her hands, not caring whether she liked it or not. The text was still on the screen.
Don’t go home tonight.
What the fuck?
I motioned to our waiter to get the check. “You’re coming home with me,” I said.
“Look, I’m sure—”
“Don’t even try to tell me this is nothing. Can you get into your office system from anywhere?”
She nodded.
“We’re going to trace this number, figure out who sent this and what it means.”
“I can do that right now,” she said, “if you’ll give me my phone.”
I handed it back to her. The waiter came by with the check, and I handed him a credit card while Ruby tapped away at her phone.
“Anything yet?” I asked.
“Nothing in the regular phone database. Which means it isn’t Wendy stealing an orderly’s phone again, unless someone at psych lockup has a privatized number, which isn’t likely. I’ll have to do a more in-depth search.”
“Which you can do from my office at my place.” I scribbled out a tip and my signature on the credit card receipt the waiter had set in front of me. “Let’s go.”
* * *
I poured two glasses of wine for Ruby and me and then looked outside. It was a nice night. Early November. Thanksgiving would be here soon. We’d celebrate at Talon’s like we always did, his being the biggest house on the ranch, and this year, we’d have two new family members to include.
Thinking of such a nice family time should have made me happy, but my nerves were jumpy. Ruby was in danger, and that didn’t sit well with me at all.
