Page 35 of Cursed by Death (Ruby Jane #1)

A ll of the lights in my house were still off when I pulled into the garage. And there weren’t any extra cars in the driveway. I was taking that as a good sign.

I wasn't expecting to find Ginger standing next to the garage with her arms crossed over her chest, waiting for me.

“Fox knocked on my door, freaked out. Apparently, he went to check on you and you had disappeared. He thought maybe you were with me. He got a phone call from Rally while I was telling him I hadn’t seen you. Apparently, people were blowing up Rally and his guards’ phones because his mate had walked into the underground with two hunters. Just a heads up, they’re both pissed.”

I winced.

None of that sounded good for me at all. This was the problem with having people in your life. Now I was going to have to face the consequences of my actions.

“I’m sorry Fox bothered you and woke you up, Ginger. It’s late, you should get back to bed. Thanks for letting me know what’s going on again. I’m really sorry you got woken up.”

She sighed heavily and I felt really bad about her sleep having been disturbed. It was her first night in her new place and she should be sleeping peacefully in her bed.

“I’m not mad about Fox waking me up. I don’t care about that.”

This wasn’t a good start.

“Okay,” I said slowly. “Then what are you mad about?”

“I’m not mad about anything, Ruby. I just wanted to give you the heads up so you know what you’re walking into.”

“Well, thank you,” I told her sincerely. “I really appreciate it.” I started to walk away towards the house when she called out my name, stopping me. I looked back at her questioningly over my shoulder.

“We’re your family now. That means you don’t have to go it alone anymore. Ever. You don’t get to show us that you care without allowing us to give that back to you. That’s not how it works because it’s not fair. You need to remember that.”

I walked away but I did it feeling like complete shit and with her words on repeat running through my mind. Hadn’t I said something very similar to her? The last thing I wanted to be was a hypocrite. Especially where Ginger was concerned.

I was failing at being a safe space for her and the baby and they had literally just moved in.

The lights were all off on the main floor and the house was completely silent. This would have brought me comfort just the day before but now it made me slightly uncomfortable.

Which pissed me off because really, I had done nothing wrong. I was a grown ass adult and the only person responsible for my safety and wellbeing was me.

Fox was waiting for me in the hallway outside my bedroom. He looked like a disappointed parent and that made me the naughty child here. I almost rolled my eyes at him but managed to refrain from doing so.

He opened his mouth but I got there first. “Don’t start with me, I don’t need nor do I want a lecture from you or anyone else. I’m safe and nothing bad happened to me, as you can clearly see.”

He shook his head as he sighed heavily. “You don’t get it. You’re my Prince’s mate and now I’m pretty sure everyone knows you’re also Maredo’s daughter. Even if you were only Rally’s mate and not Maredo’s daughter you would still have guards because it wouldn’t be safe for you to go off on your own. Rally has enemies just like any other higher up in the supernatural community does. That makes you a target whether you like it or not.”

After my conversation with Ginger I didn’t want to hear this. “I can take care of myself. Besides, I wasn’t alone. The hunters met me there.”

If possible, he looked even more disapproving and a whole lot more pissed off. Note to self, don’t bring up Roan and Bane around Fox.

“That’s even worse,” he growled at me as he rubbed at his eyes tiredly. “It’s like you went down there with a neon sign on your forehead just asking for trouble.

It wasn’t like I could argue with that so I didn’t even attempt to try. “Listen, Fox. It’s late and I’m tired. Can we maybe talk about this tomorrow?”

Or never, I thought but didn’t say.

He shook his head angrily. “Why? It’s not like you’re going to listen to what I have to say tomorrow either. I have to be out of my fucking mind to have signed myself up for that shit.”

He was absolutely right.

Wait, what? Fox had actually signed up to guard me and wasn’t just here because Rally had picked him out for the job?”

Didn’t that just make me feel even worse.

“Goodnight, Foxy,” I called out after him as he stormed off down the hall and back to his room.

Great.

I’d disappointed Ginger and now Fox was pissed at me.

This night had really been an epic failure after all. Still, there was a part of me that was relieved I had gone to the underground.

Spending time with Rally and the shifters put me in my father’s world and I would have crossed paths with him eventually. At least this way I wouldn’t be caught off guard by it.

It had been like the band aid had been ripped clean off. I just hoped that didn’t mean I wanted to run into him all the time because I didn’t think I could stand that.

I almost locked my bedroom door but I decided against it. I would never lock it if I were here alone and I knew I had nothing to fear from Fox. He probably had more to fear from me than I did him.

I laid my weapons out on the dresser and went to plug my phone in. I had taken it with me but kept it on silent. I hadn’t wanted a distraction but I felt a false sense of safety with having my phone on me at all times. I had brought it with me tonight just in case I had needed to call someone for help.

Which was actually laughable. Who would I even call for help when in the underground? 911 was who you were supposed to call but the police didn’t go to the underground. I only knew of Detective Rowans being the only cop who was brave enough to go down there. And that was because of his dead sister.

Detective Rowans was definitely special and different from all the rest. I wasn’t sure exactly what it was about him though that made him so special to me but I didn’t want to question it for fear of it disappearing on me.

I had found that the more you questioned things the more complicated they got. And I had enough complications in my life as it already was. Any more and I might lose my damn mind for once and for all.

My phone lit up when I plugged it in and I wasn’t surprised to see that I had missed calls and text messages.

I opened the text string I had going with the Detective, choosing him because he was currently occupying my mind and taking up my thoughts.

Admittedly, I was concerned about my friendship with the Detective. The case he’d been working on, Thomas’s death, had brought him to me and gave him a reason to be in my life. Now that the case had been solved he didn’t really have a reason to spend time with me or come around here anymore.

And that thought made me incredibly sad. I had allowed him into my life and gotten attached to him in a very short period of time. I wasn’t quite ready to lose that, to lose him.

Are you okay? Rally called. He said you’ve run off to the underground again. Let me know when you’re home safe or if you need me to come rescue you.

A small laugh escaped me. And wasn’t that just typical of him. He had a serious savior complex that I continued to unintentionally feed into. Not that I ever really needed saving. I was quite capable of saving myself, thank you very much.

It still felt nice that he wanted to try though.

No one had tried since the twins at Harmond House.

I texted him back a quick reply.

I’m home and safe. The hunters were with me so there was nothing to worry about.

Get some sleep. We can talk tomorrow.

But I didn’t actually want to talk to him tomorrow. Not if it meant he was going to say goodbye to me and good riddance. I’d never be ready for that conversation.

I made sure my phone was on silent and left it there on top of the dresser.

It never occurred to me that maybe I should text Rally, too, to let him know that I had made it home safe. I assumed Fox would have told him the moment I returned home. Or, maybe even Ginger would have let him know that.

I thought about taking a shower to wash the night off of my skin but I was too tired and I didn’t want to sleep with wet hair. It was always harder for me to actually fall asleep with my hair wet and I was too tired and lacking the patience for all of that at the moment.

I stripped out of my clothes and changed into a silky white nightie that was probably too sexy for just Fox and I being alone here. Though, I didn’t really have any unsexy things to actually sleep in. I didn’t think I even had an oversized t-shirt to wear to bed.

I climbed in between the sheets and under the covers. An overwhelming sense of exhaustion hit me the moment my head touched the pillow.

I’d sat down with my father and we’d both been able to have a mostly civilized conversation without killing each other. And I’d walked away having said what I’d needed to say to him. It hadn’t done me any good but I’d gotten to say what I needed to say to his face, no less.

I should have felt good about that, maybe even a little relieved.

So, why was I now filled with a sense of dread and foreboding?

Probably because I wasn’t stupid. Even though he’d let me walk away from him I knew I’d only been given a short reprieve.

He might have been my father but he was still a demon first and foremost. He never took no for an answer.

And he’d make a deal with the devil if it meant he’d get what he wanted.

He didn’t know me well, or, at all really. But he’d learn. And what he’d learn was that I, too, would make a deal with the devil as well if it meant I could live the rest of my life without him being in it.

But he would learn. Probably the hard way. Just like he’d forced me to learn.

After all, I was his daughter. Maybe we had more in common than I would have thought.