didn’t have. In all that six feet seven of muscle, tattoos, and scars beats a heart of pure gold. Kader was successful because for years Mason lived without that heart. When it returned, it beats with one purpose.”
Again, I felt tears threaten the backs of my eyes as I listened to my sister-in-law. “Protect.”
Laurel nodded. “Reid, please, do what you can. I want Ruby back, and at the same time, I can’t lose my husband again.”
Reid nodded as his Adam’s apple bobbed. “I’ll do everything within my power, Laurel. I promise.” He sucked in a breath and addressed all three of us. “I know this goes without saying” —he moved his gaze from one of us to the other— “but lockdown is in full swing.”
He turned to head back to the elevator. As he did, I watched the way his shoulders sagged before straightening. The change in posture wasn’t obvious and maybe the other women didn’t see it. They didn’t know my husband the way I did. The weight of this incident was sitting heavily on him. I could only imagine the way the other men were reacting.
Was it out of the question to think they might risk themselves to save her?
The answer was a resounding no.
“Reid,” Laurel called out, “Ruby is smart.”
Araneae and I nodded as he stepped into the elevator and turning, nodded our direction.
Once the elevator doors closed, Araneae slapped the sides of her thighs, the way she did when she was exasperated. “I want to do something.” She paced in a circle in the common area. “I’m sick of being trapped and protected like a precious jewel hidden away in a fucking velvet-lined box.”
I understood her emotion. It was impossible not to feel the same way. It was one thing to be trapped in this glass castle and be productive. It was another to feel totally helpless. Nevertheless, the influx of memories from our kidnapping gnawed at me. I didn’t want to have Ruby experience anything close to what we had, and if I were honest, part of me feared being taken again.
“We couldn’t leave if we wanted to,” Laurel said. Looking to Araneae, she added, “You’re the one who told me years ago that what keeps you here when everything inside of you wants to leave and wants to defy Sterling is...Sterling.”
Araneae sighed as she plopped down on one of the sofas. “It is. I love him and the other men. But when it comes to us, including Ruby, I’m so scared they’ll be reckless.” Her gaze met Laurel’s. “What made you say it’s a trap?”
“Because Ruby wouldn’t leave the hospital.” Laurel stood taller. “She may be eighteen, but she’s had more life experience than the majority of thirty-year-old women. And you know how excited she is about the baby.”
“And she and Madeline are close,” I added. “Their relationship is...” I searched for the right words.
“What I would strive to have if this baby” —Araneae laid her hand on her baby bump— “is a girl.” She grinned. “No, no matter the gender. I admire all Madeline has done for Ruby. You’re right, Ruby wouldn’t have left, not willingly, and there are too many Sparrows for her to have been taken unwillingly.”
“It’s a hospital,” Laurel said. “What about ambulances?”
Neither Araneae or I spoke.
“If somehow Ruby was unconscious, she could have been removed without suspicion in an ambulance.”
I began texting the theory to Reid.
“People arrive in an ambulance; they don’t leave in them,” Araneae said.
Laurel shook her head. “They do leave. Transfers happen between hospitals all the time. It has to do with bed availability, staff, and required specialty. It wouldn’t even raise an eyebrow.”
I looked up. “I just sent that to Reid. He’ll check the surveillance. He’ll find her.”
“They have to,” Araneae said. “She has a little brother to meet.”
Reid
As the elevator doors closed and the women disappeared, my fist hit the silver wall. Curses and accusations spewed from my mouth and more rang in my head. The impact echoed within the small chamber as nerve endings connected, reminding me of the wound still healing further up my arm.
I didn’t give a fuck about my hand or the wound. If I’d been watching the hospital security footage instead of searching the financials of Nancy Pierce, I would have seen what happened. I could have stopped it.
This was my fault.
I would take the blame.
Other questions came to mind.
Where were the Sparrows Mason had scattered about?
What had they seen?
Closing my eyes, instead of thinking about them or Ruby,