CHAPTER 9
Rain hammered the roof relentlessly as they drove. Ruby lay motionless in the backseat, her breathing faint but steady.
Blake kept checking her vitals. "She's burning up with fever, but her skin is cold. Probably overexhaustion, malnutrition… and definitely untreated illness. Whoever sent her out in this weather—"
Leo tightened his grip on the wheel. "We'll figure that out later. Right now we save her."
But inside, something twisted sharply in him. Who had allowed her to walk alone at night in such a storm? Who had let her become this weak?
He glanced through the rearview mirror.
She looked fragile.
Broken.
But there was something about her—something he couldn't explain—that tugged at him. A face he had seen before, the one that made something in him stir.
"Just hold on," he murmured under his breath. "You're going to be okay."
They burst through the emergency doors moments later.
"Nurse!" Blake called. "Prep a bed and saline. Fever panel, vitals, blood sugar—everything."
The nurses rushed toward them.
Leo carried her inside himself, refusing to let anyone else touch her.
He lay her gently on the hospital bed as nurses hurried around, attaching monitors, IV lines, checking her temperature.
"She's severely dehydrated," a nurse said. "The temperature is 103.8°F."
Leo's jaw tightened. "How long before she wakes up?"
Blake approached him, wiping raindrops from his hair. "It depends on her body. She's been pushed beyond her limits."
Leo nodded but never looked away from Ruby.
He didn't care how long it would take.
He would wait.
Leo sat by her bedside, silent and still, hands clasped together. Blake returned after running tests.
"She'll be stable soon," Blake said gently. "She needs rest, fluids, and proper care. But the question is—who sent her out like that in the storm?"
Leo's eyes hardened. "Whoever it was… I'll find out."
Blake sighed. "For now, she's safe."
Leo nodded.
But he stayed.
Watching her.
Waiting.
Thinking.
__
Soft beeping. Warm sheets. A scent she didn't recognize.
Ruby woke slowly, forcing her heavy eyelids open. The ceiling above her wasn't the same one her eyes see every morning. It was smooth, white, and lit by a gentle overhead lamp.
Her brows furrowed.
Her throat felt dry. Her head throbbed lightly. She shifted on the hospital bed, wincing when the IV tugged gently at her wrist.
Hospital…? Why am I—
And then the memories hit her like a wave.
The heavy rain.
Her dizziness.
The cold pavement.
Falling.
Her breath caught as she pressed her hand to her forehead.
A deep voice cut through the silence.
Low. Calm. Familiar.
"You're awake."
Ruby's head snapped to the side.
Leo sat on a chair next to her bed, arms resting on his knees. His hair was slightly damp from earlier, his shirt sleeves rolled to his elbows, revealing strong forearms. His expression was unreadable—sharp, composed, but with something softer beneath the surface.
Ruby's heart thumped.
"You…" she whispered. "You're the man from the road."
Leo nodded slowly. "You collapsed in the rain. Blake—my friend, he's a doctor—helped stabilize you."
Ruby swallowed hard. She felt small under his gaze.
"You carried me," she said quietly.
"Yes," he replied simply. "You were freezing."
A beat of silence passed before Ruby gathered enough courage to ask:
"Why… Why did you bring me here? You don't even know me."
Leo leaned back slightly. "You were dying on the street. I wasn't going to drive past you."
His tone was flat, almost cold, but his eyes betrayed him—they were gentler than his voice allowed.
Ruby lowered her gaze. "I'm sorry for being in trouble."
Leo frowned. "It wasn't trouble."
"But—"
"You don't have to apologize for being saved," he said firmly.
Ruby still.
No one had ever said something like that to her before.
Ruby tried again, voice trembling: "What exactly happened to me?"
Leo folded his arms. "Overexhaustion. Fever. Dehydration. And…" He hesitated. "You haven't been eating properly."
Her cheeks burned in shame.
"I'm fine," she whispered.
"No," he said calmly, "you're not."
Ruby's eyes lifted to his. "Why do you care so much?"
He inhaled deeply. "Because—"
A knock cut him off.
Blake entered, smiling softly when he saw Ruby awake.
"Well, look who decided to join us," he said warmly. "How do you feel?"
"Tired," Ruby murmured.
"That's expected. Your body was barely functioning when Leo brought you. You should have collapsed hours earlier, but you pushed past your limit."
Ruby sighed. "I didn't have a choice."
Blake exchanged a look with Leo. The unspoken conversation between the two men worried her.
"Ruby," Blake said gently, "you're safe here. But we need to ask—why were you out alone, in that weather?"
Her hands clenched in the blanket.
She hesitated, her voice barely audible. "My stepmom… sent me."
"Send you?" Leo repeated, his tone dropping.
Ruby nodded. "She asked me to buy something urgently."
"In that storm?" Blake muttered.
Ruby lowered her eyes again. "She… she gets angry when I refuse."
Leo's jaw tightened visibly. "So you went out sick."
"I didn't want trouble," Ruby whispered.
Leo stood abruptly, the chair scraping lightly against the floor. His sudden movement made Ruby flinch.
He noticed.
His expression softened, but his voice remained controlled.
"Ruby, what you call 'trouble' is abuse."
Her breath caught. She didn't speak.
"You could have died," he added quietly.
Ruby blinked quickly to hide the tears welling up.
She'd heard those words before—but always in a different tone.
Weakling.
Useless.
You'll die before anyone cares.
But Leo's voice wasn't cruel. It was angry… on her behalf.
Blake cleared his throat. "Ruby, you need more rest. But tomorrow, we have to discuss where you're going after discharge."
Ruby tensed.
She knew exactly where she'd be forced to go.
Back to Vivian…..punnishment…..silence.
Leo watched her face closely. "Do you want to go home?"
She didn't answer.
And the silence told him everything.
He exhaled sharply, jaw flexing. "No. You're not going back there."
Ruby's head snapped up. "What? I… I have to. I live there."
Leo shook his head once. "Not anymore."
"Leo—" Blake began.
"She nearly died because of them," Leo said, voice icy. "I'm not sending her back."
Ruby swallowed. "But I don't have anywhere else…"
"You do now," Leo said.
Her eyes widened. "Where?"
Leo looked her dead in the eyes.
"With me."