Page 102 of Rules

My stomach tightened. "Thanks for letting me know."

I ended the call and looked up to find Law watching me with that perceptive gaze of his.

"Going to see her?" he asked.

"Need to pick up Joey from the vet first."

Law nodded. "Smart move. Hard to stay mad at a man who brings your injured dog home."

"I hope so." I began, "Tell me straight, you interested in Ruth?"

Law looked at me, "No, I'm not. For what it's worth, I think you two are good together. And anyone who has a problem with it can deal with me."

The unexpected support caught me off guard. "Thanks."

"Tobias, you deserve to be happy. It's hard for men like us to trust and open up when someone finally comes along that you can be the real you with. If Ruth makes you happy then don't wait."

"Wow, that's deep. Who knew there was a mind behind that pretty face." I side stepped avoiding the pen that came hurling across the room. Picking it up I tossed it back. "Thanks Law."

My phone rang just as I was approaching the front door. Evelyn Whitaker's name flashed on the screen.

"Evelyn? Everything okay?"

"Yes, I just spoke with Cameron." Her voice was tense. "About that woman you asked about, the one you found at the funeral home."

I turned and headed back to Law’s office putting my phone on speaker. "I’m with Law, you’re on speakerphone. Did Cameron recognize her?"

A confused Law caught on quickly. He moved around his desk and came to stand a few feet from me.

"He did. He said she was Michael's girlfriend. Or at least that's what he called her, but he said he never heard Michael refer to her like that. Even when Cameron asked about her, he was waved off with a sarcastic comment of some kind. He said he wasn’t ever introduced, so he doesn’t know her name. Cameron said every time he went to Michael’s office she was there or would show up. He thinks she might have lived in Micahel’s apartment on site." Evelyn paused. “None of us knew anything about her either.”

"Thank you, Evelyn. This helps." Law told her.

"Do you think..." she hesitated, "do you think he's coming back for us too?"

"No," I said with more confidence than I felt. "Don’t worry, you have round-the-clock protection. But stay vigilant."

After hanging up, I eyed Law. “Why would he all of a sudden kill her?”

“Tobias, if we’re going to try and understand why Michael does things we’re going to be spinning our wheels for a long, long time.”

“True.”

“I’ll see what the ladies can do with this new information. I’ll call you if they come up with anything.”

I nodded, leaving. I got in my truck. I felt like I was trying to put together the world's hardest puzzle, blindfolded. Michael's girlfriend, the break-ins, the attack on Ruth. It didn’t seem random. It felt like it was calculated, each move designed to either cover his tracks or hurt me personally.

I headed to the animal hospital. Joey looked even smaller than usual, bandages wrapped around his midsection, his normally bright eyes dulled by medication. But his tail gave a weak wag when he saw me, and something in my chest tightened.

"Hey, buddy," I murmured, gently taking him from the tech. He whimpered slightly but settled against my chest. "Let's get you home to mom." Another tail wag.

"Aww, he likes you." She said handing me a bag with his medications and instructions for his care.

"He and I have a long history, don't we?" Joey gave a small nuzzle.

"I can see that, now make sure he stays calm for at least a week. That rib is cracked, we don't want it breaking. I put his follow up appointment card in the bag."

"Got it," I assured her, cradling Joey gently as I carried him to my truck. Not wanting to pull him out of a carrier, I'd brought a soft blanket from home and arranged it in a box on the passenger seat. As I drove toward Ruth's house, anxiety gnawed at my gut. What would I say to her? How could I possibly explain or apologize for what had happened? Would she even want to see me? Joey watched me from his box, his dark eyes somehow knowing. I reached over and gently scratched behind his ears.

---