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But this was different. Roman was going on the offense.
Going to kill Igor.
Ruby knew that, but watching him pack weapons for the purpose of killing other human beings would be a new kind of complicity in the violence of his world.
“No,” Ruby said. She wanted him to know she was with him.
No matter what.
He held her gaze, then walked to the bedroom door and locked it.
Ruby glanced at the baby monitor where Olivia was helping Vera make M&M cookies in the kitchen.
“Come with me,” Roman said, picking up the duffel and heading for the walk-in closet.
She followed him inside, past rows of expensive suits and designer jeans, tailored shirts and Italian shoes, all of it steeped in the heady scent of Roman’s cologne.
He walked to the back of the closet and pushed aside a row of coats and jackets.
Ruby lifted her eyebrows at the sight of the metal door built into the wall, a keypad glowing next to it.
“The code is 112823,” he said, punching it into the keypad. “Just so you know.”
She didn’t need to know, but that didn’t mean she didn’t make the connection. “That’s the day we went to dinner at Noodletown, our first date.”
A flush crept up his neck. “A day I’ll never forget.”
She glowed with love for him.
The door to the wall safe popped open and Ruby stepped forward to see what was inside and was shocked to discover it wasn’t a safe so much as a mini-room.
And it was filled with weapons.
Not just guns, although there were plenty of those in every size and variety, but also a wall of knives, a couple tasers, and several flack jackets.
She wasn’t intimidated by the sight of them. She wasn’t a gun lover but she’d been married to a law enforcement officer, had gotten used to being around properly secured weapons.
Adam had even taken her to the shooting range, back when they’d first started dating and being with someone who knew how to handle weapons made her feel safe in a world gone mad.
“Are those… grenades?” Ruby asked, spotting the row of oval cylinders on one of the shelves.
He followed her gaze. “Yes. The other ones release tear gas.”
She looked at the row of rectangular cylinders under the grenades. “Why do you have all of this here, in the loft?”
“It’s an insurance policy,” he said. “In case I can’t get to off-site weapons.”
He started loading some of everything into the duffel: a couple handguns and two larger weapons that looked like semiautomatic assault rifles, tasers, some of the grenades and tear gas canisters.
“I hope you’re planning to take some of that body armor too,” Ruby said.
Please come back, she thought.Please come back.
“Wouldn’t go without it,” he said, picking up four vests and tossing them into the duffel. “Max will bring supplies too.”
He opened a drawer built into the wall and Ruby saw that it was filled with ammo. He chose several different kinds, setting them in the bag next to everything he’d already packed.
Then he zipped it up and turned to face her. “I’m sorry.”
