Page 3 of Slavic (The Brigands of Ruk #1)

Chapter Three

RUBY

The hours and the miles seem to go by in a daze. Several times I’ve tried to get Rowan to talk to me, but it’s like she’s only a shell of who she was. The little sister I remember who was quick to smile, with a huge heart, has been replaced by this quiet, withdrawn woman beside me.

I don’t know who to be mad at. Myself , for not getting her out of there sooner, those bastards for doing this to her, or even Rowan for staying as long as she did? The girl I grew up with wouldn’t have let anyone mistreat or abuse her. Especially to the point where she felt like she had no other options. What the hell was he holding over her head? The one thing I’ve learned is that looking back never pushes you forward. Me hounding her won’t fix the problems we’re facing now.

My mind and body are tired, mainly because I’d driven all night to get to Rowan’s , and it’s been nonstop since. I rub my eyes as the headlights from the other cars coming our way are giving me a headache. Their lights are beginning to blur together the further we drive. When I know I can’t go any further without a break, I drive through a McDonald’s grabbing some fries and a frappe, hoping the cold drink and the caffeine will keep me going just a little longer. Passing a road sign, I glance over at the map. We should be coming up on the hotel Janet was telling us about.

Rowan is sound asleep and has been for the past couple of hours. If she hadn’t been, I swear I would’ve screamed for victory when I saw the exit coming up next. Hesitantly , I pull off the interstate, following the signs showing all the hotels at this exit. JJ’s is off the main drag; it’s older, but it looks clean. Thankfully , it doesn’t seem to be very busy. It’s late, but there is still a light on in the front office. Reaching over, I gently shake Rowan . “ Hey , wake up, we’re at the hotel. I’ll be right back.” She just nods her head.

A bell rings when I open the door, and an older woman gets up from an easy chair behind the counter. Before I can say a word, she says, “ Are you Ruby ?”

“ Depends .”

“ My name is Edith . You can relax child, Janet told me you were coming, and that you were driving in from Ohio . You made good time; I didn’t expect you for another hour.”

“ We … I drove straight through.”

“ I’m sure you are all tuckered out, so let’s get you settled in for the night and hopefully things will look better in the morning. Here’s your key, and the room is around back, in the corner. It’s the only one without a number on the door. Make sure to back your car into the parking space. If anyone is tracking you, they will hesitate getting those tag numbers, if they have to get out of their vehicle to see them. The room has two separate beds. I’ve also left some extra clothes and you’re welcome to anything that fits. There are sandwiches and drinks stocked in the fridge as well. The bathroom has a bunch of complimentary toiletries, so use what you need.”

“ How much for the night?”

“ We’ll discuss that it in the morning when I bring you breakfast at eight. No need to worry about all that nonsense tonight, you have enough on your plate already.”

“ Thank you for your kindness, Ma’am .”

“ We all need a helping hand now and then, youngin.”

She shoos me out the door and I head straight for the SUV . When I get in, Rowan looks up at me like she’s expecting trouble. “ Looks like we have a room in the back.” Once again, she just nods, and this kinda aggravates me. I think I’d feel better if she showed some kind of emotion.

Pulling around, I find a spot in the corner between two other cars. Hopping out, I pop the hatch to get one of my smaller bags. Rowan opens her door but just stands there like she doesn’t know what to do. “ Here Sis , take this room key and find the door with no number on it while I get a few things out of the car.” I see her hesitate to walk away from me. “ Hold up, I’ll come with you.” The relief on her face is instantaneous.

Dragging my bag behind me, the wheels squeak lightly. We walk down the sidewalk in front of the rooms, quickly finding one with no number tucked away in the corner. Rowan looks up at me and I motion for her to swipe the card. The moment she does, the light turns green, and I push my way through the doorway, thankful for what I see inside.

The room is spacious and decorated in calming colors of light blue and yellow. Two full size beds with matching comforters take up the majority of the space, but there are other doorways on each side of them. I throw my bag down on one of the beds as Rowan locks the door behind us. I start exploring the rest of the space and the doorway to the right has a small kitchenette and a sitting room with a TV on the wall. The opening to the left, has me gasping.

In the middle of the oversized bathroom sits a huge, claw-foot tub. Two vanities line the far wall, and the other holds a walk-in shower. Rowan walks in behind me and I see her eyeing the bathtub. “ Hey , I’m going to take a quick shower and when I get done, you can go ahead and take a nice long bath. Edith said we’re welcome to use anything in these rooms, like the clothes or any of the personal care stuff. But I have some extra things in my bag that should fit you if you’d rather use them instead. I’m gonna grab something out of the fridge to eat and then watch TV for a little bit until my mind calms down while you’re taking a bath. She also said that she was going to bring us breakfast around eight. I’ll need to get to bed soon if I’m going to finish the drive tomorrow, because we still have quite a ways to go.”

I swear I have to bite my lip to keep from stomping my foot when Rowan nods her head again, but the last thing she needs is me showing my ass. She has experienced enough of that. After being with her these last few hours, I’m glad we’re headed somewhere she can get some help, because I’m not qualified.

My temper is short and I have little to no patience for the “poor me syndrome”. I feel a little guilty at my harsh thoughts toward my sister. She’s my sister, so I love her, but her downtrodden demeanor is really starting to get on my nerves. Why won’t she react to something? Anything ! Thankfully , I have never been in her shoes, so I can’t say how I would be acting if this situation had been reversed.

Sighing heavily, I watch as she silently leaves the bathroom, closing the door softly behind her as she goes, leaving me to have some much-needed time alone. The guilt presses down on me harder. I shouldn’t be looking for an escape from Rowan , but then again, she chose to marry Robert . She’s the one who put herself in this position, despite the fact that no woman deserves to be treated like she’s been.

If only she had listened to me when I warned her about him!

But .

There’s no use crying over spilled milk. Not at this stage of the game.

Roughly , I jerk my clothes off, leaving them in a heap on the floor, and step over to the walk-in shower. The knobs are simple and in no time, steaming hot water is shooting out of the showerhead.

A sigh of relief escapes me as I ease under the spray, letting the hot water wash away some of the tension from my body the last several days has caused. Knowing that Rowan is waiting on me, I don’t stand there idle for long. There are a variety of products in the shower caddy hanging from the showerhead, so I choose a shampoo and body wash at random. I don’t care what I smell like, as long as I’m clean.

Finishing up, I step out and dry off with one of the towels on the rack next to the shower door and hurriedly dress. Grabbing my dirty clothes, I exit the bathroom only to find Rowan still sitting on the edge of the bed, staring into space.

It’s as if she’s lost in a world all her own. Pity and anger war within me. I try to clear both from my voice and speak as softly as I can to get her attention.

“ Rowan , I’m done in the bathroom. It’s all yours, Sis .”

This time she doesn’t even nod, she just gets up, slides past me into the bathroom, and closes the door behind her. The click of the lock is a bit of a slap in the face, but I do my best to not let it get to me. This isn’t about me; this is about her.

I must have fallen asleep on the couch because her opening the bathroom door has me jerking up. Her eyes are red and it’s easy to tell she’s been crying even through all those bruises. Her face is so swollen right now that I can’t tell if her nose is broken or not. Turning off the TV , I head into the bedroom, watching her out the corner of my eye as she turns the bed down. Flipping the light off, I crawl into the same bed as her, pulling her close like I did when we were kids. Rowan’s body is tense, and even with me humming the song mom used to sing to us when we were little, it takes her forever to drift off to sleep.

Quiet tears flow down my cheeks. I don’t know how to protect her or take this pain away. The night is passing quickly, and I need to get some rest, but my mind won’t shut off. When I finally drift to sleep, my dreams are haunted by Rowan’s voice calling for me in the distance, and no matter where I turn, I can’t find her.

A knock on the door has both of us jerking out of our tortured dreams. My heart’s beating fast in my chest when I hear a voice on the other side of the door.

“ Girls , it’s just me, Edith . I have your breakfast.”

“ Damn , I must have overslept,” I whisper to myself. “ Hell , I don’t even remember the alarm going off … Sorry , Edith ! Give me a second and I’ll get the door.” Glancing over at Rowan , I can tell that she’s awake, but her eyes are huge and unfocused. “ Hey , look at me. It’s ok. I’ll check the door before I let her in.”

Stumbling over the blankets I must have thrown on the floor throughout the night, I look out the peephole. Only to find the same older woman that had talked to me last night, standing there patiently.

“ Ruby , I can leave this here if it’s a bad time.”

Sliding all the locks off, I ease the door open.

“ It’s fine girls. There’s no one here right now, and the few that were here last night have already checked out. I have some instructions from Janet that I need to give you two before you take off.”

“ Please , forgive my manners, Edith , I promise I was raised better than this. It’s my first time being on the run, so I’m still trying to figure out how to think like a criminal. I should have watched a few more documentaries.”

She smiles, “ You do need to be cautious, dear. You should know that I’ve been watching all the local news channels, and they haven’t reported either of you missing yet. That’s a good thing because it gives us more time to get you to safety. Let’s settle in the kitchen and talk for a bit.” I wave her in, taking the heavy tray from her the second she’s through the door. Edith turns once I have the tray in hand and locks the door herself.

I can hear the sink running in the bathroom, so Rowan must have gotten up while we were talking. “ Ruby , we’ll wait until your sister joins us, that way I’m not telling you guys this twice.” Rowan must have heard us because moments later she comes walking in, once again wearing that same oversized sweatshirt. She is hiding more than those bruises on her face from me, and I know it.

My first thought is that she might be pregnant, but until she opens up to me, I’m not going to force the issue. Hopefully , once we get settled somewhere, she’ll tell me what’s happened to her while I’ve been galivanting all over the country.

Edith glances over at Rowan and then back to me. I shake my head when Rowan doesn’t make eye contact as she sits down at the table. She walks over, standing next to Rowan . “ May I have a look, dear?”

Rowan’s eyes meet mine before she glances up at Edith .

“ I won’t touch anything but your face. We need to see if anything is broken, honey.”

Rowan pulls her hood back down and closes her eyes as she tilts her head up toward Edith . I watch her flinch when Edith first touches her jaw. Gently she runs her fingers along the yellow and black bruises covering her small cheekbones. Now that the swelling is going down, I can see that her lip is split in multiple places, and there is a cut above her eyebrow.

“ Honey , your nose is broken, but that can be fixed. I think the rest is just muscle and flesh damage, but some places are still too swollen for me to tell.”

I’ve never wanted to hurt anyone as badly as I do that bastard right this minute.

Edith pats Rowan on the shoulder, then starts passing out the plates, motioning for us to eat. “ Go ahead girls, eat up before your eggs get cold. Your ears still work while your fingers feed the body. Janet wanted me to give you the directions to where she’s going to meet up with you. I’ve already spoken to her on the phone, so she knows what you’re driving, and is preparing a room for both of you now.

“ The truck stop is on a main road, so it’s not hard to find, but I’ve written detailed instructions down on this piece of paper for you to make it easier. I understand more than you realize what you’ve been through and what you’ll be facing in the future.” She reaches over, patting Rowan’s arm softly, but she doesn’t even react, just plays with the food on her plate.

“ Dear , right now you feel like a failure, worthless, and not worth putting your sister in danger, or anyone else for that matter. Let me tell you, all of that is in your mind. You are worth something, too! Every time you doubt yourself say those words over and over in your head. It takes a huge amount of faith, trust, and strength to escape the world you’re running from, but one day that single step will have been worth all of this. You see it’s the hardest, that first step of anything in life is always the most trying. You’re already over the worst of it, doll. Now it’s time to heal and find your new path forward.”

At first, Rowan is just picking at her food, but after those words, she straightens up and to my happiness finishes her plate of scrambled eggs and bacon. She still hasn’t looked up, but I’ll take anything I can get right now.

“ Edith , you have been so kind to us, and we’ll be forever grateful for all your help. What do we owe you for the room and this wonderful breakfast?”

“ Nothing . All I ask is that one day you pay it forward to another. Whether it be a kind word or picking someone up out of a ditch. Maybe it will be as simple as saving a stray animal. You’ll learn that nothing is more fulfilling than kindness to another.”

Edith suddenly gets up. “ Leave your dishes in the sink. I have a girl who works here part time to clean the rooms, and it will give her something to do. You two need to get on the road sooner rather than later. Men are dangerous when their toys are taken away, so get as much distance as you can from those who seek to hurt you. One last piece of advice for you both is never stop looking over your shoulder. You might be able to run, even separate yourself from your past, but nevertheless, it is still yours to follow along behind you. I wish you both God’s speed.”