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Once she’s outside, the hairs begin to prickle on the back of her neck. An uneasy feeling washes over her. Nervously she scans her surroundings but doesn’t notice anything out of place. Deciding she’s being paranoid, she ventures on out into the parking lot. She tries unsuccessfully to convince herself it’s just her imagination making her feel like she’s being watched. She looks over the area once more and notices a black sedan parked across the street. The windows are tinted making it difficult see the occupants, but she’s almost certain she saw the flash of a lens when she first saw the car. Is someone watching her from that car? Do they have some kind of binoculars or telephoto lens? Ruby walks backward toward the safety of the shelter, keeping her eyes on the car. She’s about to turn and make a run for it when she hears the car’s motor flare to life. Just at that moment, Tucker’s big truck rounds the corner and pulls into the parking lot. Ruby lets out a huge sigh of relief at the sight. She watches as the sedan pulls away from the curb. It drives by slowly. For a brief moment, Ruby fears she’ll see a gun come out the passenger side window as it passes, but the car gradually makes its way on down the street. Tucker exits his truck coming toward her. Ruby hurries toward him and throws herself into his arms. When they wrap around her, all she can feel is incredible relief.
35
TANK
Tank had felt great when he dropped Ruby off this morning at the shelter. He’d called Grammy and Pa as he made his way to base, and they were thrilled to know he is planning to bring a woman to visit. He’s never done that before, even when he was in high school. He never had girls over to their home. Just a few hours later when he got the call from Tex, his mood took a drastic turn.
“Tank, I matched the picture of Ruby to a missing woman from New York’s Staten Island,” Tex began the call. “She’s been missing for six years, but the hair color and style are different.” Tank pinches his lips together, dread curling in his belly at Tex’s next words. “I looked into her family. There were several news articles about them in the weeks before she went missing. Her family has ties to the mob. Her mother was murdered in a mob hit.”
“Damn!” Tank exclaims. “She told me about her mother dying, but I didn’t know there was a mob connection.”
“There’s more,” Tex says ominously. Tank dreads the next words, not knowing how bad they’re going to be. “There is an engagement announcement of her to a Giovanni Russo, Jr. His family is well known in the Colombo crime family in Brooklyn. I’ll keep digging, see what else I can turn up.”
“Thanks, Tex,” Tank replies. “I appreciate it so much.”
Now Tank is on his way to pick Ruby up from the shelter before they visit Abigail and Straw at the hospital. He is going to need to have a talk with her, but he isn’t going to push just yet. He needs her to want him, trust him more. He pulls into the parking lot of the shelter.
Tank is shocked when Ruby throws herself at him when he arrives to pick her up. He wraps her up in his arms, holding her close. Her body is trembling so hard. His senses go on high alert. Ruby is frightened, and he wants to know why.
“What’s wrong, beautiful?” Tank pulls back from her a little so he can look at her. Ruby is instantly shaking her head. He’s expecting her to deny anything is wrong but is pleasantly surprised when she admits her fear.
“I…I saw a car a-across the street,” Ruby stammers, her eyes rimmed in moisture. Her are breaths are coming short and fast. “I thought I saw a flash in the window, but maybe it’s just my imagination. I don’t know, but I just had this really bad feeling, and I got so scared.” Ruby buries her face in his chest once more. Tank’s chest tightens, thinking about her out here alone and afraid.
“Shh,” he coos. “You’re safe. I’m here.” Ruby squeezes him tighter for a moment. He holds her, feeling her begin to calm. Her body no longer shaking violently.
“I’m sorry, Tucker.” Ruby lifts her head to peer up at him. “I’m over reacting; I’m sure. It’s just…I thought for a moment…no, I’m being ridiculous.” Ruby puffs out her cheeks as she blows out a deep breath.
“You’re not being ridiculous,” Tank says firmly. “Now tell me what you thought you saw. I can’t help you if I don’t know what the problem is. You know that, right?” Ruby nods her head. She bites her lower lip. Her breaths are still a little short and shallow. He can see she’s thinking over her next words. He waits patiently letting her work through everything. Eventually she takes a deep breath, then lets it out slowly. She looks up at him. He’s struck with the trust he sees in her eyes.
“The night my mom died” –Ruby swallows hard– “we were leaving my concert out the back door of the opera house where it had been held. Mom and I were some of the last to leave. When we went out the door, the parking lot was so dark, which was odd. We’d been there plenty of nights rehearsing. The parking lot was always well lit, but that night, every light was out. I had looked over my shoulder at mom as I went out. When I turned to the parking lot, a car started up on the other side of the lot. The lights from the car came on so bright. I couldn’t see anything. I tripped and fell. As I went down, I heard…I heard a popping sound, then the car speed away. As I was trying to get up, I saw the car pulling out of the lot. It was a dark sedan with tinted windows. Once I got up, I saw mom. She’d been sh-shot in the chest.” A sob leaves Ruby, tears streaming down her face. Tank pulls her to him, his heart breaking for her. He’s angry at whoever shot her mother in cold blood, leaving Ruby all alone in the nameless parking lot with her mother’s body. He can’t do anything about it at the moment. He needs to focus on comforting Ruby, but someday, he hopes he’ll get the opportunity to find the son of a bitch and put him behind bars if possible, and if not, then a bullet between his eyes will be even better.
“I’m sure it’s not possible, but when I saw that car sitting across the street…” Ruby looks up at him. “I thought it was the same car. I was so afraid they were going to shoot me, and then you arrived. I was relieved to see you, knowing you’d take care of me, but I was also afraid they’d try to shoot you.”
“Oh, baby.” Tank leans down to kiss her forehead before holding her tightly again. “I’m so, so sorry you had to go through that all alone. I’m here now, and I’ll take care of you.” Ruby lifts her head and says something he’s been wanting to hear.
“I know you will, Tucker.” Ruby’s voice is thick with emotion. “I trust you to take care of me. I just hope you aren’t hurt in the process. If thatwasthe same car, it’s really bad news, Tucker. The people who killed my mom are very, very bad people. They’re ruthless and don’t care who they hurt as long as they are getting what they want.”
“Don’t you worry about me, beautiful.” Tank takes her face in his hands, getting her to look him in the eyes. “I promise you I won’t let anything happen to you and I’ll keep myself safe, too. You can count on it. Now dry those tears.” He wipes her tear-stained cheeks with his thumbs. “That’s better. Come on, let’s get in my truck.” Tank leads Ruby over to his truck helping her inside. Once she’s settled, he walks around the tailgate to the driver’s side. Keeping his head on a swivel, he checks their surroundings, looking for the dark sedan, but it’s nowhere to be seen. He climbs into the truck and makes quick work of getting them out of the area. Once they are out and away from the shelter, he reaches over to take Ruby’s hand and gives it a squeeze. “Feeling better now?”
“Yes,” Ruby replies. “I’m sorry I freaked out on you.” Tank frowns at her.
“Nothing to be sorry for, beautiful,” Tank explains, glancing at her from time to time but keeping his eyes on the road as he speaks. “I told you the first day we met you are mine. I meant it, Ruby. You are mine to care for and to protect. I just knew the moment we crashed into each other we are meant to be, and I take very good care of what’s mine. I’ll be here for you no matter what you need. A shoulder to cry on, a knight to slay your demons, someone to hold you when you’re scared, and someone to make you laugh. Whatever you need, I’ll do my very best to provide it.” He can feel Ruby’s gaze on him. She’s staring him down as if she can’t believe the words he’s just spoken, but she needs to believe them because he means every word.
“God, Tucker,” Ruby breaths out the words. “You’re a better man than I could have ever imagined finding. I want to be here for you, too. When you need someone, I want to be here for you, to take care of you. After what happened to Abigail, I know life can be short, taken from you before you’ve had time to live. I’m still afraid for you, but I don’t want to live in fear the rest of my life, however long that might be. I want more than living on the run, Tucker. I’m so very tired of being afraid and alone.”
“You aren’t alone anymore, beautiful,” Tank tells her. “I’ll always be here for you, and I know the men on my team and their women feel the same. We may not have known you long, but we know you’re a good person, Ruby. You mean a lot to me, and my team takes care of its own. You belong to me, so you belong to all of them. Never forget it. If you ever need something and I’m not here to provide it, one of them will, just as I would for their women.” Tank can see acceptance dawning in Ruby’s eyes as she takes in his words. Tank is beginning to feel very proud of himself. He is breaking Ruby down. He has chipped away at the wall of iron she has erected around herself. The walls are collapsing and soon he’ll be able to make her his in ever sense of the word.All mine!
Tank keeps an eye out for the dark sedan as they make their way through traffic to the hospital where Abigail is recovering from her surgery. Ruby remains quiet and thoughtful on the trip. Tank decides now isn’t the time to push her for more details. Being patient seems to be the best policy with her, and he doesn’t want to derail the progress they’ve made. She’s really beginning to open up to him. He’s still reeling from learning her mother was murdered right in front of her. He still doesn’t know why or who did it, but Ruby does, and that’s why she’s afraid.
They make it to the hospital and visit for a while. There’s no sign of the dark sedan or anyone following them. Tank takes Ruby back home with him, knowing they’ll have the house to themselves. They work together cooking a simple meal of hamburgers and fries. Once they’ve eaten, they settle onto the couch to watch television. Neither of them watches T. V. much, so it takes them a little while to find something.
“You really don’t watch television?” Ruby asks as Tank is flipping through the channels. She assumes most people have T. V. shows they like to watch on a regular basis. She hadn’t gotten to watch a lot when she was growing up, but even with her busy schedule she still had a couple of programs she liked to watch every week. Even if she couldn’t watch when they aired, she recorded them.
“No,” Tucker answers. “I used to watch a couple of shows, but since Ellie’s moved in, we mostly watch kid’s shows. Besides, I never know when we are going to be sent off somewhere or how long we might be gone. It’s kind of hard to keep up with a series when you miss several weeks of episodes. However, with all the streaming apps now, when I do find something interesting, I can watch whenever I have time.”
“What do you like to watch?” Ruby asks, suddenly very curious about what interests Tucker.
“Mostly I’ve watched documentaries on the military, events in history, sporting events, or classic cars,” Tank grins at her rather boyishly. “I’m a typical guy.” He shrugs his shoulders. “Since Abigail and Ellie have moved in though, I’ve widened my horizons.”
