Page 43 of Ruin Me

“I’ll take that as my cue to leave you two.”

I swung my feet over the bed. “I could have joined you. The doctor didn’t say I needed bedrest.”

“He didn’t, but I do.” Kent settled the tray on the nightstand, then kissed my forehead. As if he didn’t believe his eyes, his gaze roamed over me until it landed on the bruise on my neck.

I raised my hand to cover the evidence of my attack that Carol left behind.

He grabbed me before I could hide it. “I promise you I’ll make her pay.” He slid behind me and settled me in his arms. “Until then, let me take care of you.” He speared a piece of fried chicken and held the fork to my lips.

I rolled my eyes at his recent clinginess, but inside I loved the attention he lavished on me. After lunch, we remained in each other’s arms, soaking in the reality that we’d both survived something horrific.

As I was about to drift off, my father knocked on the door. “Maddy, there are two detectives here to see you.”

Detective Salinas walked in before Kent or I consented. My new bodyguard blocked him from getting too far into the room.

“Elijah, escort him to the den, please. We’ll be right behind you.” Kent rose and held his hand out to assist me out of bed.

Everyone, including my mother, was inside the den by the time Kent and I entered. The detective was trying to remove everyone, but Nikita Montgomery wasn’t having it.

“As Madison’s legal representation, I’m staying. And don’t for once think I don’t know about your reputation. I’ve worked with Douglas PD long enough to know how you operate with live victims. You waste time trying to blame them before you get to the job of doing your job.”

“Ma’am, I’m here to follow up on your daughter’s statement. I promise, we at the department are doing everything we can to catch Carol. The mayor has also expressed his interest in the progress of this case.” A flush suffused Salinas’ neck. He cleared his throat. “But there is one thing that makes no sense.”

“And what would that be?” I asked, taking a seat beside my mother. Kent sat on my other side and held my hand, much to my father’s chagrin. I sent my dad a conciliatory wink.

“In your statement, you said the car Mr. Luxe found you in didn’t belong to you, and it wasn’t the vehicle you used when you left the office.”

“That’s correct.”

“Why are you asking her this? You found her car abandoned at a salvage yard about to be compacted.” Kent’s fingers tightened around mine until I rubbed soothing circles around his knuckles.

“The issue is Carol’s weight. From her license, we know she’s 110 pounds. Do you see our dilemma?” Salinas eyed me as if not coming out and saying the difference between her weight and mine was more respectful than his innuendo-laden voice.

“How shitty can you be at your job?” Kent’s outburst brought everyone’s attention to him. “Carol obviously has an accomplice. If you recall, Omar saw a man standing over Elsie. Whoever he is must have helped her transfer Madison to the other car.”

“Have you tried reaching out to her boyfriend?” I asked.

“The problem is, no one who knows her has ever heard of a boyfriend. Right now, she’s in hiding and we have no clues about who was working with her. So far, we’ve sent her photo to all the local and national news stations, but no one has called in with information.”

“You should talk to the head of my human resources department. Deke was her date for a charity ball I attended,” Kent said.

“I’ll have my partner check him out. In the meantime, Carol’s partner remains a mystery. With Ms. Montgomery being the only witness to identify her, you’re in more danger than you were before.”

Kent folded me into his arms. “Don’t fear, little bunny. I won’t let anyone get close enough to hurt you ever again.”

Although the threat of Carol and her mysterious accomplice loomed above us, I took comfort in Kent’s conviction. He’drisked his life to save me. He wasn’t going anywhere, and I was damn sure going to stay by his side.

The name on my caller ID an hour later put my vow to the test.

Kent glanced at me, a question in his gaze.

I waved him off and took my phone to the study before the person at the other end disconnected. I sat on the floor, hugging my legs to my chest before taking a deep breath and pushing the green phone icon.

“Hey, Ife,” I injected as much enthusiasm in my voice to cover the guilt eating me alive.

“Don’t ‘Hey, Ife,’ me. How could you not tell me someone attacked you? Instead of hearing from you, I read about the danger you were in from an online Douglas Times article. I thought we were friends.”

The hurt in Ife’s voice doubled the weight of my guilt.

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