Page 41 of Be Courageous

“Hmm.” Considering her options, Ruby proceeded to pull into the street, headed in the direction of Macy’s. The drooping corners of Corinna’s lips made her recall how desperately she had longed to spend time with Tony back when they were dating. “Well, what if Tony never found out?” She glanced over at Corinna as they neared an intersection.

Her cherry-brown eyes had widened hopefully. “What do you have in mind?”

Slowing down only slightly, Ruby looked both ways before gunning through the four-way stop.Shoot.She really needed to improve her driving habits for the baby’s sake. But the rusty Volvo behind her also ran the stop sign, lessening her remorse.

She glanced back at Corinna. “How about I drop you off somewhere close to Macy’s? Robert can meet you there, and you two can hang out while I shop. Then I’ll pick you up again on my way home, and Tony will assume we spent the morning together.” With an impulse to browse the maternity section, she had good reason for wanting to shop alone. “We won’t even have to lie to him.”

Corinna bit her lower lip, thinking. “Well, there’s a Starbucks right around the corner from Macy’s. Maybe Robert and I could hang out there.”

“Perfect.” Ruby sent the car riding her bumper a dirty look. “I turn right here, don’t I?” she asked as she neared a stoplight.

“No, not yet. Two more blocks. Are you sure about this? I don’t want you to feel neglected or anything.”

“Sure, I’m sure. I remember what it’s like to be inlove.” She waggled her eyebrows at her sister-in-law.

Corinna smirked back at her. “That’s because you and Tony are still in love.”

Ruby hummed her agreement. “True.” But then doubt nagged at her. How might a baby change Tony’s and her relationship? They hardly had any time together as it was.

Seeing the next light about to turn red, she slowed down instead of speeding up, and the Volvo nearly plowed into her back end. She started to whip her head around to glare at the driver, but then she remembered how she’d met Tony—by crashing into the back ofhisHonda. It wasn’t that long ago that she’d ridden people’s bumpers.

Should I have told him about the baby last night?

The question tormented her as she waited for the light to turn green. She’d been too distracted by how Staskiewicz’s murder tied in so neatly with her exposé on Katz. Even though Tony kept turning down the volume, she’d overheard enough of James’s words to fire her imagination. What were the odds that Staskiewicz was part of the firing squad, along with Monty and Ben Harmony?

Corinna looked up from her iPhone, flushed with anticipation. “Robert says great. He can meet me at Starbucks in five minutes. Just turn right at the next light and it’s on the right side.”

Ruby followed her directions, and soon they were nearing the familiar green Starbuck’s sign. The long line at the drive-through was blocking the entrance.

“You want to just drop me off?”

“Sure, but you’ll have to give me directions to Macy’s.” Ruby flipped on her turn signal, hoping the Volvo that still dogged her would finally pass. Instead, it stopped right behind her as she pulled up next to the cars parked along the curb.

Corinna pointed. “Okay, so turn left right there at the corner. That’s the Wanamaker Building where Macy’s is. Go past the main entrance and look for the Wanamaker garage that’s underneath the building. There should still be parking this early in the morning.” Pushing her door open, Corinna hesitated. “You sure you won’t get lost?”

“I’m sure. Out you go. Say hi to Robert for me.”

“Okay. Call me when you’re almost finished, and I’ll come to you, so you don’t have to circle back. You have my number, right?”

“Of course.” Frustrated with the Volvo, Ruby stuck her hand out of her window and waved for the driver to go around her. Instead, he beeped his horn at her. “What a jerk!”

The instant Corinna shut her passenger door, Ruby punched the accelerator, determined to shake the annoying driver off her tail.

Ten minutes later, she had yet to find a parking spot. Nor had she managed to distance herself from the Volvo that pursued her as she circled the parking garage, going down, down, down into the very bowels of the Wanamaker Building. The Volvo finally vanished from her rearview mirror.Good riddance!

At last Ruby spotted an empty space that had been shunned by other drivers since it butted up against a cinder-block wall, making it hard to turn into. Confident of her parking abilities, she swung wide and eased her SUV between the wall and a white Cadillac.

“Hah. I win.” She killed her engine, unlatched her seat belt, and lifted her purse off the floor. Before slipping out of her SUV, intent on some serious shopping, she verified that her phone was turned on, her ringer set on high.

She locked her SUV and started up the sloped garage ramp, headed for the elevator that would take her up to Macy’s. As her gaze alighted on the prominent forehead of the driver of the Volvo locking up his own vehicle, her steps slowed.

When he glanced over, she summoned an uncomfortable smile. “Oh, good. You found a spot. That one’s even better than mine.”

He acknowledged her words with a nod and nothing else.

A cagey feeling danced over Ruby’s skin as she noted the man’s tense jaw, his rigid stance. This was not your normal, easygoing holiday shopper. Unwilling to get into an elevator alone with him, she pretended to have forgotten something, threw her hands up, and started back toward her Range Rover.

She hadn’t taken three steps when the sound of running feet had her looking back in alarm. The man crashed into her, banding an arm around her from behind. Ruby shrieked as he lifted her against his broad chest and jabbed something sharp into her upper arm, straight through the material of her swing coat.

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