Page 41 of Crush (Deadly Hearts 1)

ChapterTwenty-Two

Layton

The three of us silently watch Ruby leave the casino, heading up the stairs to the main floor.

I turn to Declan as soon as the door shuts behind her. “Do you know where he is?”

“Yes,” Declan says straight away.

“What?” David snaps. “You know she is going to kill you.”

“She can try,” he says, completely unconcerned.

“How did you find out so quickly?” David asks.

“I have eyes in this city. Ruby lives here. I’m not leaving a corner of it unwatched,” Declan says. “Ramsey is…new…I hadn’t gotten around to informing my men that they needed to keep an eye on him. On any of you, really.”

I scowl at him. “I don’t need protection.”

“I bet Ramsey thought that as well,” he points out reasonably.

It’s hard to argue with that. Ramsey is not an easy man to take down.

“Fair enough,” I concede, knowing which battle to pick. “But what about Ruby? We can’t let her go into the storm.”

“She is the storm,” David says with more than a slice of admiration.

“You love her,” I say, surprised why I didn’t see it before now.

He shrugs, avoiding my gaze. It’s hard not to notice Declan’s interest in his non-answer.

“Speaking of which,” Declan says, clearing his throat. “I’m aware that you and Ruby have entered into an arrangement. I also have an interest in her and while we have been in each other’s lives for a while now, I feel it is my responsibility to seek out your consent to be with her on a more basic level.”

“Excuse me?” I practically splutter. “Why are you involving me in this? You should be asking Ramsey for his permission, not mine.”

“Oh, I’m not asking for permission,” he mutters darkly. “I’m interested in a confirmation of your acceptance. If you don’t like it, tough fucking luck.”

“Humph,” I mutter. “You have my blessing.”

“Erm,” David interjects. “You can’t be seriously talking about her like she is a possession.”

“Who was?” Declan replies before I can.

But we have massively gotten off topic.

“Where is he?”

“In an abandoned warehouse outside of the city. He is alive and will stay that way. The aim isn’t to kill him or even hurt him, despite the evidence to the contrary. He is bait. Nothing more.”

I give him a suspicious look. “How do you know that?”

He purses his lips and hesitates to speak. When he does, it comes as a bit of a surprise. “I have someone working for Jake. A double-cross, exactly for situations like this.”

“You need to tell her where he is,” David says.

“I will, after the rest of my team have converged on the warehouse and she has more back up than she will know what to do with.”

“You mean we’re going to let her go in there?” I snarl. “Not a chance.”

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