Page 111 of Lovely Venom

Bile rises in my throat. “What did they do to your client?”

She shakes her head, eyes shining with unshed tears. “They murdered him, Ray.”

“Oh God.” I pull my hand in front of my face.

“You were with a guy who was murdered in a lot. Near the river?” Connor chimes in, going rigid. “Lastnight?”

I hold her arms to stay focused. “It’s okay, Ruby. You can tell us anything.”

Connor hikes into the kitchen, phone in hand.Us. I guess we’reusnow.

“I’ve seen guys beat up before. Dragged away.” She gulps a breath. “It’s what they did to me that has me—”

“No,” I whimper.

“Yeah, they took turns with me.” She hugs herself.

My blood runs cold.

“Did you call the police?” I ask, cringing at how that sounds, knowing the cops don’t care about sex workers. “Did you go to the hospital?”

She shakes her head. As someone who didn’t go to the hospital hours ago when I was near death, I can’t be a hypocrite.

“Did you go to anyone else?” I demand.

Me. She would have come to me, but I wasn’t here.

“I was scared.” Her eyes dart away from mine. “They told me to keep my mouth shut. And then they left me on the ground.”

“I’m so sorry. But they let you go!” I hug her. “They didn’t kill you, too.”

Her lips tremble. “They warned me that I could never identify them. That I shouldn’t bother trying.”

“Wehaveto find them. Do you remember anything?” My voice is sharp, accusing.

She furiously wipes at her eyes. “I didn’t know what to do. And now—” She shakes her head. “There’s no evidence. No way to prove anything.”

My jaw clenches, and I sit back on the sofa. “There has to be something.”

Ruby nods, tears slipping down her cheeks. “There’s something else. They had accents like Valdrin.”

My stomach knots. Albanians. “Did you recognizehisvoice?”

She shakes her head no.

I can’t imagine Valdrin hurting Ruby like that. Even to get revenge on me.

Connor walks back over and holds out his phone. “Is this the man you were with?”

Ruby gawks at his phone and backs away sharply. “How do you know him? Don’t hurt me!”

I put myself in front of Connor. “Of course, he won’t hurt you.”

God, I hope that’s true.

Ruby suddenly looks like she’s ready to drop, and I need to figure out what the hell Connor knows about this.

Gently, tugging her arm, I say, “Ruby, come on. Why don’t you get some sleep?” I walk her into my bedroom so she can take a nap. “I’m sure you’re exhausted. You’ll feel a little better after some rest.”