Free Resisting Ruby Rose (The Ruby Rose Series) by Jessie Humphries Page A

off the tracks.
    It was my turn to tell him I loved him, too. It was simple etiquette, and neatly within the rules of Serious Dating 101. So why couldn’t I muster the stupid syllables? He had to know that I had very little practice at this kind of thing. With my background, years of therapy, and fear-of-abandonment issues, it was easier for me to land a sweet roundhouse in a pair of stilettos than say the words “I love you.” Even when I felt it.
    “Time to go.” Another voice broke into our private moment. We both jumped at the intrusion. “Bring your guns.” It was Sofia, whose hair and getup were so black that we couldn’t see exactly where she was.
    “Why? What’s going on?” Liam asked, pulling away from me.
    “No time to explain,” Sofia said as she moved out. “If you want to live, follow me.”
    I grabbed my gun and headed out of the room, Liam right behind. Downstairs, everyone was on high alert. Even Alana had a gun in her hand. Despite knowing it was my dad and me who taught her how to handle one, I felt a pang of guilt for her now having to use it. Sh e’d never so much as killed a ladybug, and she might have to shoot a human being.
    “Dude!” Chase whisper-shouted at Liam. “This guy thinks we’re going to go out there guns blazin’, like some suicidal cowboys.” Chase nodded his head toward Quinn, who was at the window scanning the outside again.
    “No one’s ‘blazin’ any guns, ’   ” Quinn responded, imitating Chase’s surfer boy accent. “Now listen, we have two choices. We stay here and let them come in after us, riddle the place with bullets, or set the place on fire— or we make a run for it while it’s still dark and there’s cover.”
    Still dark? I looked down at my watch. 4:40 a.m. Where had the whole day and night gone? Too much hesitation and sitting around arguing amongst ourselves seemed like a major mistake at this point. I rolled my neck with fatigue, trying to find the adrenaline to get my mind operating at capacity.
    “Time is no longer on our side,” Quinn said. He felt them coming, and I felt it, too. “They have to figure help is probably on the way—phones have been down for almost twenty hours, and none of you have checked in with your keepers. They’re about to make their last play. I say we run.”
    “How are we going to run? And where to? Back to L.A.?” Liam asked Quinn directly, with undisguised hostility.
    “Sofia and Liam will act as decoys and make a run for it in the vehicle you brought.” Quinn pointed toward the front door. “Sofia will put on one of Ruby’s hooded sweatshirts so no hair is showing, and with any luck, they’ll think she’s Ruby. Most of the men will go after them, considering Ruby is their priority target. I’ll lead the rest of you, including the real Ruby, out the back to my vehicle, approximately a hundred yards south of here.”
    “No,” Liam cut in. “I’m not leaving Ruby.”
    “Yeah, precisely,” Quinn said, calmly and logically. “That’s exactly why they’ll follow you. They’ll assume Ruby is with you. If you want to protect Ruby, you’ll do this.”
    “Of course I want to protect Ruby,” Liam argued back. “But your way is not the only way. Why don’t you dress up like me and go with Sofia?”
    Quinn only had time to give him a quick look of disdain before he gave Sofia a nod and she brought over his black pack he originally came in with. He reached in and pulled out several ultrathin bulletproof vests. My eyes widened at the sight of them. I’d always had a thing for gear.
    “Everyone put these on.” He handed them to the four of us. I gave Quinn and Sofia another once-over and realized they’d been wearing theirs all along. Alana just stared slack-jawed at the reality in front of us.
    She hadn’t said one word to me or to anyone else, as far as I knew, since Sofia and Quinn came in several hours ago. I took a vest and crossed over to the other couch to sit next to her. “Here,