Page 6 of Destroy (Deadly Hearts 2)

ChapterThree

David

Staring out of the window from Ruby’s sitting room, I can barely breathe. She is in a bad way. Stabbed and bleeding heavily, practically naked and shivering. Probably in shock and God knows what else.

I had to call Michelle, the off-the-records doctor. Before Ruby passed out in the car on the way home, she explicitly said no hospitals. I get it from a business perspective but from a personal one, I’m terrified.

“She’ll be fine,” Layton mutters, coming to stand next to me.

“We don’t know that,” I mutter back.

“How is she?” Ramsey’s voice rings out and we both turn to see Michelle walking into the sitting room from the hallway.

“Not good,” Michelle says bluntly. “She needs to go to the hospital. She needs a blood transfusion amongst other things. I’ve patched her up as best I can but…”

“No hospitals,” I croak out. “You know she can’t.”

Michelle sighs. “I get it, but…”

“What blood type is she?” Ramsey asks, interrupting her.

“A Positive,” Michelle replies.

“I’m A Positive. Do the transfusion here,” he states. “Can you?”

“I can,” she says slowly, “but it will have to be live. I will have to feed your blood straight into her.”

“Then do it,” he growls and marches down the hallway to Ruby’s room.

“I need the tubes from the car,” she mutters.

I’m about to follow Ramsey when Michelle’s progress out of the front door is halted by Declan.

He skirts around her and strides across to me. “How is she?” he asks quietly.

“Bad,” I say. “Really bad. She’s lost too much blood.”

He closes his eyes for a second. “It gets worse,” he says quietly.

“What do you mean?” I ask. “What did you find in that room?”

“Apart from a dead Boomer, a lot of stuff I wish I hadn’t,” he replies grimly.

“She killed him?” I ask.

“She more than killed him. I think he was dead long before she stopped stabbing him,” he replies.

The tinge of pride and lust in his eyes is hard to ignore. I get that. Death is his business. For me, it’s slightly more gross. I’m glad I wasn’t the one who found him.

“What else did you find?” Layton asks as Michelle returns with another bag and goes straight to Ruby and Ramsey.

“Boomer wasn’t the only one involved in this,” he mutters. “D.I. Smith also played a part.” The air of menace that drops over him sends a shiver down my spine.

“Smith?” I ask with a frown. “What does he have to do with it?”

“Did,” Declan corrects me, making it clear the Detective Inspector is no longer with us. He inhales deeply and shakes his head. “He violated her.”

I stumble backwards as if he has punched me in the gut and then ripped my heart out. “No,” I say firmly. “No, that didn’t happen.”

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