Ruby Ink (Clairmont Series Novel Book 1) (29 page)

Ideally, he wanted to warn her. But there was no time, no opportunity. A phone call to Ruby went to voicemail. As Aaron left Stefan’s office, he saw that security was covering stairways and elevators. He felt confident, but not certain as he made his way down to the edge of Butterfield Lake. Aaron didn’t take a seat among the guests, but stood off to the side, waiting… breathing. Music started. A moment later, Honor was at his side.

“Here you are,” she whispered. “We’ve been looking all over for you.”

He glanced down at her blonde head, her chin motioning across the rows of guests. Alec stood on the other side. “Is he here to tackle me if I do anything crazy?”

“Something like that,” she murmured. “Aaron, I don’t get it. Why are you putting yourself through this? Why are you here?”

Aaron’s broad shoulders shrugged. “I have faith,” he said, more to himself than her.

“I don’t understand. But I was also looking for you because of Troy. He won’t tell me what happened, but he’s very upset. Like throwing frying pans across my kitchen upset. What do you know about that?”

“What makes you think I know anything?”

“Because the only rational words we’ve managed to get out of him are ‘Aaron was right… he was so right.’”

He nodded, never taking his eyes off the altar. “Good. In a day or two, when he calms down, I’ll talk to him.” The chime of a traditional wedding march cut in. “Shh… I don’t want to miss this.”

“You don’t want to miss…? Aaron—” she said, as if he’d gone mad, as if masochism were his new hobby.

At the altar, Stefan appeared, looking defiant but as white as the shirt he wore. The farce continued with Tandy, whose main effort seemed to be walking in a straight line down the aisle. Aaron turned toward the back. The guests stood. Everyone had to be thinking the same thing—they’d never seen a less happy bride. Ruby’s face was ashen, like the doomed walking to the gallows. Her short off-white dress was wrinkled, and she held flowers in her hand, a death-grip of white knuckles showing. There was an unwilling gait to her stride, as if the slow sway might avoid her destination. Halfway along the white runner, Ruby’s downward gaze tipped. She saw Aaron. Ruby’s body halted and forward motion ceased. A last glance at him was sad and resigned. Then she faced the altar, almost rushing to her groom.

Aaron tensed. Maybe he’d overplayed his hand. Maybe Stefan would do time if he had the pleasure of sticking that steely sharp knife through Aaron first. Maybe he was that insane. Aaron shook his head slightly.
The prick won’t go through with it… Be patient… Give it a chance to play out before publically killing the son of a bitch…
Aaron Clairmont knew this much—the sun would set. The moon would rise on that beachy stretch of Butterfield Lake. When it did, Aaron’s moments with Ruby would be the only memories that sand held. Whatever it took, Ruby would
not
end this day married to Stefan Gerard.

The music stopped. There was reasonable silence. Someone coughed. A cell phone rang and was quickly silenced. The clergyman began to speak. From the distance, Aaron saw Ruby’s body tremble. He took half a step forward. Honor’s hand gripped his arm. Unlike the crazy scene in the dining room, this time his sister didn’t have a prayer of stopping him. He took another step. From the corner of his eye, Aaron saw Alec mirror the movement. The clergy said the first words, words that would make Ruby Stefan’s wife.

Then tradition stopped. Stefan leaned in, saying something. The clergyman’s face grew confused, then solemn. He nodded, his arm rising to pat Stefan’s shoulder.

Ruby’s gaze cut fast to Stefan. She glanced back, and a stunned expression met with Aaron.

Stefan turned, facing his guests. “Friends…” He cleared his throat. “My apologies. It, um… it seems you’ve been invited to a wedding that isn’t going to take place.”

The small knot of flowers that Ruby held fell to the ground. From her wobbly stance, Tandy looked on in a muddled haze. Aaron saw Ruby shake harder, a hand covering her mouth. It was the clergyman who took her other hand, helping to steady her. Clearly, he viewed her as the jilted bride.

“Please accept…” Stefan’s gaze wandered between Ruby and Aaron. “Please accept my regrets for any inconvenience. Stay if you like, enjoy the evening. Honor’s Guests has provided a fabulous meal… As it will for Abstract Enchantment for years to come.”

Aaron was still cautious, skeptical. He wanted the son of a bitch more than gone from Abstract Enchantment. He wanted to make certain he was out of their lives. Stefan leaned toward Ruby. He said something small and then smiled. The back of his fingertips gently stroked her cheek, Ruby jerking away. Stefan’s gaze veered past the rows of whispering confounded guests. Then Stefan was gone, vanishing into the dimmer knoll that led to the inn.

Alec was at his brother’s side. “Do you want to tell me how you pulled that off?”

Aaron’s head shook. “No. That was the deal. But I need you to do something else for me.” He took his cell phone from his pocket. “Hang onto this, and whatever you do, don’t erase the record app.” Guests began to disband, heading toward Abstract Enchantment’s dining room. Honor said something about having to speed up the schedule and dialed her cell phone.

Alec slapped his brother on the shoulder. “So this is for real, man?”

“I… I’ll let you know in a second.” Aaron pushed his way through the crowd. For a moment, he lost sight of Ruby through the scatter of people and the buzz of confusion. Then she was there, in her wrinkled off-white dress. Everything else about her had changed. A moment later, she was in his arms, and Aaron was kissing her. She kissed him back as stunned guests looked on. Then abruptly, Ruby pushed him away.

“Aaron, stop. Tell me what happened. Tell me that you’re safe.”

“We’re safe, baby. We’re all safe. In the end, the asshole beat himself. He crumbled his own house of cards.”

Alec had made his way to the two of them. “Are you sure about that, Aaron? I don’t know what went down with Gerard, but I’m guessing he had us all fooled. Unless he went out of here in a body bag, I don’t know that I’d turn my back for long.”

“I’d agree if I only had one shovel to bury the fucker with. Turns out I have two.” He pointed to his cell phone. “Stefan and I had a come to Jesus meeting earlier. I believe he was so concerned I might be armed he never considered a recording device. It’s all on my cell. Alec, do you have a trustworthy contact in law enforcement? Somebody high up?”

“A few,” he said.

“Good. They’ll want to give a conversation between me and Nickel Springs’ former drug kingpin a listen.”

Two Days Later

The courtroom setting ripped through Aaron. His jaw clenched. For a moment, the past surfaced and Aaron almost bolted—because it was too reminiscent, because he could. His fingers ran fast over a bead of sweat on his lip, and the collar of his shirt choked him—worse than last time. Standing inside the judicial system tended to have that effect. But the current state of affairs jerked Aaron into the present as a man slipped into his row. He wore a dark suit and a confident expression—the stench of “fed” wafted off him.

“Aaron, right? Jack Preacher,” he said, extending a hand. “We spoke on the phone.”

“Right. So you’re the new arm of the local DEA.” Aaron retracted his hand. He was younger than Aaron’s former handlers, inky hair, concrete jaw, serious vibe. Even so, life lessons said to be wary of the double-edge sword of federal law enforcement.

“I’ve been running regional ops for about a year. In fact,
corporate
,” he said, internal lingo for government, “has restructured the entire system. Local DEA factions had too much power. In some instances, it led to a mafioso mentality.” He paused, his stare examining. “The group before me, they were as corrupt as our mutual acquaintance, Mr. Gerard.”

“Amazing. Somebody finally got a clue.” Aaron shook his head.

“I have more than that, Aaron. I’ve been looking into your case. I have a good idea of what happened to you and why. I’d like to look further into it if you’ll work with me. Between my gut and my predecessors’ track record, I doubt you’re guilty of anything but getting caught in the cross hairs of two unyielding enemies. Frankly, I’m amazed we didn’t find you in pieces, littered along the highway.”

Aaron wasn’t quick to answer. Trusting anyone in Jack Preacher’s position wouldn’t come easy.

He seemed to get that and held up a hand. “Listen, it’s not why we’re here today. But I wanted to put it out there. I want you know that
I am
one of the good guys. If the system, along with Stefan Gerard, fucked you over, you have my word, I’m going to make it right.”

“You’re going to erase my past? Erase years in prison—give me back my dignity and a right to vote? Sorry if I’m cynical, but I gave up buying into friendly handshakes and promises a long time ago.”

“Understood. How about you give me some time, a chance to prove to you that I’m on your side? At least think about it. Wouldn’t the prospect of complete exoneration be worth that?”

Aaron didn’t commit, but he did offer a slight nod as their attention was drawn to the front of the courtroom. From a side entrance, a shackled, orange jumpsuit-clad Stefan Gerard was led to the defendant’s table.
Rumpled… defeated…
Those were the words that rolled through Aaron’s head.

The sight was satisfying, even more so as the charges were read. The district attorney went on, applying sterile procedure to the hard fought and emotional evidence that came to them courtesy of Aaron. He held his breath as the judge replied to the defendant’s request for bail—
denied
.

Jack Preacher started to say something, but Aaron wasn’t listening. He’d come for two reasons. The first was a done deal with Stefan waiting to be led away. “Excuse me,” he said, brushing by Jack. “I have to take care of something.”

He approached Stefan, leaning against the rail. The bailiff wasn’t paying attention, gathering paperwork. “So we’re clear,” Aaron said, speaking softly but firmly to the back of Stefan’s head. “Come near Ruby… make a move toward my family… acknowledge that I exist in any way, and you will die in that hole.”

Chains jangled as Stefan turned slightly, a steely shark-like look passing over Aaron.

“Seven years,
Jerry
—you made your mark out here. I made mine in there. I’m owed endless favors where you’re going. Never lose sight of the misery I can bring your way.”

Three days later

They stood in front of the mirror, both naked, Aaron’s arms wrapped around Ruby. He could tell she was trying not to smile too big. “You think we should have waited?” he said.

She leaned back, his early-morning hardness pressing into her. “No. It’s just that after everything… I don’t want to tempt fate.”

“We’re not. I swear.” Aaron’s arms moved tighter, admiring everything. He wasn’t talking about sex. There’d been nearly enough sex in recent days to make up for the last seven years. Well, almost. Even again, last night—twice—after they returned to the Clairmont homestead. Aaron’s hand moved to her thigh, brushing over their mirrored focus. “If anybody’s earned the right to some peace, Ruby, it’s us.”

She nodded.

Aaron’s body shifted right, just enough to show their complete matching set of Ruby ink: love, happiness, and finally, peace.

An hour later—because Aaron could not pass on a naked Ruby—the two stood in the Clairmont kitchen. At her insistence, Honor made breakfast while Aaron served up a little crow. Troy sat glumly at the bar, nibbling away at his poor choices.

Aaron and his youngest brother had just come in from the lakefront deck. In the breezy morning air, an almost man-to-man conversation had taken place. The kid had a ways to go. But as a family, Aaron was confident they’d get Troy on the right path.

While they’d talked outside, Aaron snuck a glance toward the kitchen. Relaxed and happy, Ruby had chatted with Honor. Except for Stefan’s hearing, it was the farthest she’d been from him since that night at Abstract Enchantment. Aaron meant what he’d said in the bedroom. He was hell-bent on providing everything the tattoos symbolized.

Back in the kitchen, Aaron looked at his brother, who focused on a cup of coffee and his mistakes. It was going to take time. Troy had admitted to getting into some nasty shit, courtesy of Stefan Gerard. Aaron’s bad-boy past hadn’t helped. He felt awful about that, and while they were outside, he’d come clean with Troy.

Now that the danger had passed, the kid needed to know Aaron’s whole story. After Troy shook off the shock, trading the image of his drug-dealing brother for a more heroic one, he also admitted to taking more bad advice. That had come from his ex-girlfriend, Chloe Pike.

Before they’d headed back inside, Aaron offered words about every guy getting pussy-whipped at least once in his life. Aaron was hopeful, going forward, that Troy would make better choices. It didn’t take long for him to make his first one.

At the bar, Troy finally broke eye contact with his coffee cup. “I’ll do it,” he said to Honor and Aaron. “I’ll go stay with Jake for a while.”

“If you’re sure,” Honor said, glancing cagily at Aaron.

The famous Clairmont sibling had called late the night before, catching up on everything he’d missed. “Listen, you guys don’t know how bad I feel not being there,” he’d said on speaker phone to Alec, Aaron, and Honor. “Let Troy come stay with me for a while. He can lick his wounds, figure out some stuff. I swear, he won’t get into any Tinseltown trouble, not while he’s in my care.”

“And how’s that?” his twin sister had asked.

“Because I’m filming on location in Salt Lake City for the next six weeks.”

“Mormons?” Aaron said.

“Exactly. If Troy manages to get his hands on a can of Coke, never mind any other kind, it’ll be a miracle of epic proportion. So really, send him my way.”

They’d all agreed and now, so had Troy. There was even talk of Jake coming home for Christmas.

That morning the kitchen filled with the lures of bacon, berry-filled crepes, and family—mimosas all around. When Alec came through the kitchen door, the scene seemed complete. “Just in time,” Aaron said. “Pull up a chair. Honor made enough to feed all of Nickel Springs.”

“I’ll get you a plate,” Ruby said, her voice light and happy.

“No time. We… there’s a problem.”

He stood in the doorway, and Aaron’s memories wound back. He could picture Alec in that spot his whole life—coming in from football practice, coming home on leave, coming in covered in mud, having beaten the snot out of Aaron in the backyard. But there was something dark in the memory, Aaron also recalling how normal had ended so tragically.

“What’s up?” Aaron said, his voice calm but his arm going tight around Ruby.

“I, um… I got the strangest message from Jess.” He sounded so not like Alec, his voice oddly tense. “Remember that assignment, the one in Colombia?”

“Colombia?” Honor said. It was the first time she was hearing about a place that meant something other than an exotic location to every Clairmont.

“Yeah, the cell connection, it’s not good—or she wasn’t. I’m not sure which. Listen,” he said, putting Jess’s message on speaker.

“Alec, I don’t know what I’m into here, but this is really freaking me out. They sent me on one story—but I’m onto something else. Something that has to do with your family.”

Her voice broke up, the static of a bad connection cutting in. It sounded like she was talking to another person, a man. Jess said something about going back to a wreckage. “There’s an island here, off the coast. I found it, Alec… I found the plane your parents were on, the crash site.” More crackle interrupted.

“What?” Honor said. “How… how does she know it’s their plane?”

Alec shook his head and gestured toward the phone as Jess’s voice broke back in. “Finding it was eerie, but the rest will blow your mind. The wreckage, it’s in decent shape—no fire, no explosion on impact.” They were all leaning into the phone now, hanging on to Jess’s garbled words. “But Alec. Inside the plane—there were no bodies, no remains. And it gets even stranger. You’ll see. I sent you—”

Jess’s message stopped as the connection went dead.

“What did she send?” Honor demanded.

“That’s all I have,” Alec said. “She hasn’t called back, and my calls go right to voicemail.”

“Look,” Troy said, who’d squeezed into the vigil around the phone. They watched as a slow line of incoming information inched along the screen. “It’s a picture.”

“Holy Mother of…” Aaron said, his hands clinging to Ruby’s shoulders.

Honor gasped as the wreckage of a white charter plane was revealed. “The call numbers on the tail, CXJ9…” she said, pointing. “I’ll never forget them. It’s… it’s their plane!”

“And Jess was right,” Alec said. “It’s not in bad shape, like there could have been survivors.”

Ruby was in the middle, the phone ending up in her hands. “What is that?” she said, glancing up at Aaron. “There’s something written on the side of the plane.” She brushed her fingers across the screen, the picture zeroing in on a red heart. Legible, in the center, were two sets of initials: SC & EN.

“Sebastian Clairmont and Evie Neal,” Honor said in a reverent voice.

“Oh gosh,” Ruby said. “I’d nearly forgotten, your parents, they were never married.”

“No,” Aaron said, glancing sheepishly at her. “They never were. They never really told us why—not a solid explanation anyway. But there’s something there, beneath their initials.”

Alec took the phone back as Honor rushed to a kitchen drawer. She returned with a magnifying glass. “It’s our names,” he said. Alec peered closer. “Arrows or something—next to Jake and Honor. I can’t make out what it says after that. Looks like more initials… An E, maybe a K.”

“E.K?” Honor said. “Who’s E.K?”

Alec looked at his brothers and sister. “A better question is what’s it all drawn in?”

Aaron’s jaw slacked and he held a little tighter to Ruby. “I’m guessing it’s not red paint from the corner jungle store. Do you think…”

“It’s blood?” Honor said, swallowing hard. “No remains. Our names, their initials… maybe someone else’s, and a bizarre phone message from your roommate.” Honor looked at Alec. “What do you think it means?”

All the Clairmonts, Ruby included, passed a round of anxious, curious gazes.

“I don’t know,” Alec said. “But you can sure as hell bet I’m on my way to find Jess and figure it out.”

A few moments later, Alec was gone, on his way to Jess and the mystery that had haunted all the Clairmonts for more than a decade. Breakfast and the light mood were forgotten as Ruby, Aaron, and Honor stood out on the deck. “I should have gone with him…” He took Ruby’s hands in his. “You know I don’t want to leave you, but…”

She stared at their clasped hands, a slight shrug to her shoulders. “I’ll take you to the airport if you want. But Aaron… wouldn’t it violate your parole?”

“It would. Maybe Jack Preacher can help me find a way around—”

“No,” Honor said firmly. “Just no. You heard Alec. He wants you to stay here, catch your breath—both of you. The bodyguard doesn’t need a bodyguard. Alec will be fine alone—for now.” Giving Aaron’s arm a fast squeeze, she went inside.

Ruby didn’t seem as convinced. “I know you, Aaron. It’s not that I want you to… But if you need to go… I understand. It’s up to you.”

The half-smile that was his full smile flashed at her. “No. It’s up to us… Everything, Ruby, for the rest of our lives is up to us.”