Page 26 of Keeping Knight

Is that motive to kill her, though? I’m not sure.

“It’s possible,” I reply. Sidestepping an oblivious jogger headed straight at me, I wait until he’s gone before continuing, “Revenge is a powerful motivator. The only thing I’m getting stuck on is the money part of it. Which is more important? Revenge or money?”

“True,” Houdini allows.

As we continue down the sidewalk towards Ruby’s apartment building, a young woman notices Houdini approaching and clutches her bag to her chest. Fear flickers across her face, and she ducks her head as she hurries past us.

Houdini frowns at her retreating back. It’s not the first time a woman’s been intimidated by his size, but I know it still bothers him. They see this six-foot-seven guy with tattoos and a watchful gaze, and they assume that means he’s dangerous. Which, to get technical about it, he is. All of us can be, if we have to. But I’ve known Houdini for close to ten years, and in all of that time, he’s never treated a woman with anything but respect. And, like me, he’d never hurt someone without a damn good reason.

“Anyway,” Houdini says. “You have a good point. If Ruby’s ex still thinks there’s a chance of getting money from her, it eliminates the motive. Unless…”

I know what he’s thinking, because I’ve thought it myself. “Unless he never planned to kill her. And the attack was meant to be a ploy to get her back. He breaks in, or he convinces a friend to do it, roughs her up, and then, when she’s scared and hurt, he swoops in as the hero and offers to let her stay with him.”

The only flaw in that plan is how close Ruby came to dying. As she said, she was on the verge of unconsciousness before I scared her attacker away. What if I hadn’t shown up? Would he have stopped in time?

“Hopefully, the piece of shit will show up again,” Houdini replies. “We set the trap, bait it with the promise of Ruby being back at her apartment, and then, when he comes back, we can ID him.”

“More than ID him.” My jaw tightens again. “When we find this guy, I’ll be having a word with him before we turn him over to the police. A private word.”

And if my fist happens to accompany that? All the better.

Houdini jerks his chin. “Sounds good to me. What he did to her…” Anger hardens his features. “It makes me sick.”

I puff out a breath to relieve some of the fury boiling up inside me. “Same.” As her apartment building comes into sight, I add, “Even if this doesn’t work, we’ve still got options. Rogue has his team searching the security cameras in the close vicinity. Businesses nearby, traffic cameras… if we can find a pattern, or maybe her ex pops up right around the time of the attack…”

“Or we discover someone else was behind it,” he adds. “I didn’t like how Ruby said she and her stepmom weren’t close. It could be nothing⁠—”

“Or it could be something,” I finish. “But for Ruby’s sake, I hope it isn’t. Not when her stepmom is the closest family she has left.”

Which sucks. I might not always agree with everything my parents say or do, and we’ve definitely had our conflicts over the years, but they’re my family. If they ever need something, I’d be there in a second. And I know they’d do the same for me.

But poor Ruby… When she said she didn’t have anyone to be strong for her, it hurt my heart. And it kicked all my protective instincts into overdrive. I don’t want Ruby to have to handle everything on her own. Rational or not, I want to swoop in and take care of everything for her.

When we reach the door to Ruby’s apartment building, I pull out her access card and swipe it past the security keypad. Once the little access light turns green, I pull the door open and walk inside, with Houdini close behind.

It feels odd being here without Ruby. As we head into the lobby, I’m hit with a jolt of nostalgia. I liked walking Ruby home, lingering in the lobby to chat, and on one occasion, walking up to her apartment with her to help carry the library books she’d borrowed before class. As the weeks passed, Tuesday nights turned into my favorite part of the week.

Will things go back to the way they used to, I wonder, once things with Ruby’s attacker are resolved? Will she want to go back to class? Will she want to stay in the city at all? Or will Ruby decide to move somewhere quieter? Safer?

I know I don’t want her to leave. As for things going back to the way they used to be? That, I’m not as sure about. Maybe I don’t want to go back to just friends. Maybe I want more.

As Houdini heads towards the elevator, a tall man with shaggy blonde hair emerges from the stairwell across from it. I recognize him as the neighbor who called 911 the night of Ruby’s attack. He glances at Houdini and says, “I wouldn’t use the elevator. Not unless you want to risk getting stuck in there.”

Houdini gives the man a quick nod in acknowledgement. “Lovely,” Houdini comments dryly once the man passes by. “Nice place, here.”

But the building isn’t bad. Not really. It’s on the older side, and some of the finishes are a little worn, but it’s got good bones, as my dad likes to say. The lobby is clean and well-lit. When I first saw Ruby’s apartment, with the original wood accents and floors, I could understand why it appealed to her. Unlike my modern condo, there’s history here.

At least I could see the appeal. Now, I’d be happy if Ruby never lives here again.

As we enter the stairwell, I say, “When we get inside, I’ll start out by packing up her things. Can you work on the interior cameras?”

“Of course.” Houdini pauses. “Probably better if you handle the ones on the fire escape and the hallway. You’ll attract less attention than me.”

He’s right. I’ll have to be careful enough myself to avoid attracting undue attention. But if Houdini goes out there… “No problem. Whoever finishes with the cameras first can work on setting up the audio and automatic lights.”

“That’s smart,” he says. “Having all the normal day-to-day sounds coming from her apartment. And with the lights, it’ll really look like she’s in there.”

With my hand on the handle of the fourth-floor door, I glance back at him. “You ready?”