Ruby and the Beast: A Beauty and the Beast Novel

by Ditter Kellen

  Lincoln staggered back, stunned that he’d revealed so much to her.

  Ruby moved closer to the edge of the bed, her face growing paler by the second. “Was the baby…you?”

  Unable to bear her pity, Lincoln stormed from the room and stumbled into his study, slamming the door closed behind him.

  He jerked up a glass and poured himself a shot of bourbon. What the hell had gotten into him? He’d spilled his guts to the one person he couldn’t handle pity from. Why had he lost control in such a way?

  A timid knock sounded, yanking the Beast out of his self-loathing party. “Go away.”

  Stunned to see the door crack open, Lincoln downed his drink and stormed around his desk. “I said go away!”

  Ruby’s pale, drawn face appeared through the opening. “May I come in?”

  Lincoln spun toward the window, giving her his back. “What do you want?”

  “I want to see my brother.”

  Another growl rumbled in his chest. “You are not to leave this house.”

  The creaking of the floor let him know she’d entered his study. “What happened to you to make you so cruel?”

  The Beast’s shoulder’s stiffened. “Leave it alone, Ruby.”

  She stopped directly behind him. “I want to know.”

  He slowly turned to face her, rage simmering in his gut. “I am the thing of nightmares, a beast, cursed before birth to walk this earth in shadows. A curse placed upon me by your grandmother, Agatha Atwood.”

  Ruby’s already pale face turned a shade whiter if that were possible. “What are you talking about? What curse?”

  “This!” he roared, snatching the hood back from his face.

  Ruby gasped, staggering back a step. Her eyes were huge and horror filled.

  She took another step back, her hand blindly reaching behind her. She bumped into the chair in front of the desk, nearly falling in her haste to skirt around it.

  “Is this what you wanted so badly to see?” he snarled, stalking her toward the door. “Well, now you’ve seen it, and now you know why you’re here!”

  Shaking her head in denial, Ruby stopped at the door. “It’s not possible.”

  “Get out.”

  “I can’t,” Ruby whispered, more tears filling her eyes.

  The Beast closed the gap between them, leaned down until his nose nearly touched hers, and roared in her face. “Get out, and don’t ever come back!”

  With a cry of terror, Ruby turned and ran. She hit the stairs wide open and didn’t stop until the front door shut behind her.

  Lincoln stood where he was, his breath punching in and out of his chest. He’d lost control, done the unthinkable and scared Ruby away.

  “Son of a bitch.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Ruby ran from the Barone mansion as fast as her legs would carry her. She bypassed the ferry for the bridge. She had no money on her, and her cell phone was back in Lincoln’s bedroom along with her wallet.

  But there was no way she was going back after them.

  Visions of Lincoln’s monstrous face flashed through her mind like a mantra. He’d accused her grandmother of being responsible.

  He’s insane, Ruby realized, running along the bike path of the bridge that would take her home. There was no such thing as curses. Especially ones that took the humanity in a person and left a beast in its place.

  And Ruby knew him to be a beast. He wasn’t some deformed man with a few disfigured facial features. He reminded her of a werewolf she’d watched in a movie as a child.

  Except for his eyes. He had the most beautiful eyes she’d ever seen. Big electric blue eyes fringed in long, dark lashes.

  She slowed her step. Ruby had seen pain in those giant blue eyes.

  Glancing behind her, Ruby realized she’d run at least two miles. She came to a stop, rested her hands on her knees, and attempted to catch her breath.

  A truck pulled over next to her and rolled down the passenger side window. “Do you need a ride?”

  Ruby squinted against the bright light of the sun and studied the man’s face. He looked to be in his early sixties. “I’m going to Royal Street.”

  “Hop in,” he offered, opening the door for her. “That’s not far.”

  Ruby climbed into the air-conditioned cab of the man’s truck and closed the door. “Thank you so much. It was getting pretty warm out there.”

  “It sure is. Did your car break down somewhere? You look like you’ve been walking for miles.”

  Shaking her head, Ruby sent him a small smile. “I was actually running. Really dumb, I know. Especially on a hot day like today.”

  The man’s gaze softened. He reached up and turned up the air conditioning. “Let’s get you cooled off. We’ll be on Royal Street shortly.”

  “Thank you. I really do appreciate this.”

  Ten minutes later, the truck rolled to a stop in front of Ruby’s house. The driver touched her on the arm, concern swimming in his soft brown eyes. “A word of advice from the grandfather of a girl about your age?”

  At Ruby’s nod, he continued, “Don’t ever accept rides from strangers, man or woman.”

  “I’ll remember that,” Ruby assured him, thanking him one last time.

  After the truck rolled away, Ruby jogged next door to Mrs. Fleming’s since she had no key to get into her own house.

  “Ruby.” Mrs. Fleming opened the door to allow her inside. “Where have you been? I’ve been worried sick.”

  “It’s a long story, Mrs. Fleming. One that’ll have to wait for another time.”

  The elderly neighbor frowned. “I think you need to make time, else you’re going to put me in an early grave.”

  Ruby sighed and ushered Mrs. Fleming into the kitchen. “Okay, but then I need to hurry to the hospital and check on Cameron.”

  The next twenty minutes consisted of Ruby drinking iced tea and filling Mrs. Fleming in on everything that had happened over the last twenty-four hours. She left out the part about signing a contract with Lincoln Barone in exchange for helping her and her brother.

  “Lincoln Barone, you say?” Mrs. Fleming had paled significantly. “Stanford Barone’s child?”

  Ruby set her glass of tea on the bar and studied her neighbor’s face. “Yes. Do you know him?”

  Mrs. Fleming climbed down from her stool and moved to open the refrigerator. “No, but I knew his father. As did your grandmother.”

  An odd feeling settled in Ruby’s gut as Lincoln’s words echoed inside her heart. “I am the thing of nightmares, a beast, cursed before birth to walk this earth in shadows. A curse placed upon me by your grandmother, Agatha Atwood.”

  “What are you not telling me, Ruby?”

  “Nothing, Mrs. Fleming. Just some rumor I heard recently. What can you tell me about my grandmother and Stanford Barone?”

  Mrs. Fleming shrugged a bony shoulder. “Not a lot. I know there was some bad blood between them.”

  Ruby picked up her tea and pretended to be interested in the ice swirling in the glass. “Bad blood?”

  “It’s really not my place to say, Ruby. It’s not right for me to speak behind Agatha’s back.”

  Taking a deep breath for patience, Ruby looked up from her tea swirling and met her neighbor’s uncomfortable gaze. “Grandmother is dead, Mrs. Fleming. As is my dad. There’s no one left to be concerned about.”

  Mrs. Fleming returned to her seat on the barstool and laid her hand over the top of Ruby’s. “Your father was a twin…”

  Twenty minutes later, Ruby slid from her barstool and rounded the bar. “Thank you for being honest with me. I’d already heard the short version of that story, but I had no idea about Aunt Charlotte or that she even existed, for that matter.”

  “Yes, well, your grandmother never mentioned her again after she disappeared, and your father was forbidden to speak her name. But Stanford Barone was behind Charlotte’s disappearance. Of that, I have no doubt.”

  “So, the curse against Stanford
’s unborn child is true then?” Ruby asked in a small voice, needing conformation again.

  Mr. Fleming shrugged. “If you believe in that sort of thing. Which, your grandmother did. Voodoo was in Agatha’s blood, Ruby. But she began dabbling in other things after her husband passed away.”

  “Such as?” Ruby prompted, hanging on the elder woman’s every word.

  “Black magic, for one.”

  A knock sounded on the door, nearly scaring Ruby out of her skin.

  She followed Mrs. Fleming to the foyer as the feeble woman checked the peephole. “Oh, it’s Spencer Wright.”

  Mrs. Fleming opened the door before Ruby could protest.

  “Ruby!” Spencer breathed, looking over the top of Mrs. Fleming’s head. “I’ve been searching everywhere for you.”

  Thanking Mrs. Fleming for the tea, Ruby stepped around her and darted out onto the porch. “I have nothing to say to you, Spencer. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get to the hospital and see Cam.”

  “He’s not there,” Spencer informed her, rushing to catch up with her as she bolted across the street.

  Ruby put the brakes on. “What do you mean, he’s not there?”

  Spencer caught up with her in a few quick steps. “I just left there looking for you. The hospital staff told me that he’s been moved to a private location.”

  The Barone mansion, Ruby guessed, unsure of what to do next. She glanced back at Mrs. Fleming’s house and turned to step back into the street.

  A sleek black car pulled up beside her with dark, tinted windows. The passenger side window eased down. “Ruby Atwood?”

  “Yes?” Ruby answered, leaning down to see inside.

  “Get in.”

  Spencer grabbed on to Ruby’s arm as she went to open the back door. “What are you doing?”

  She yanked free of his hold. “What needs to be done.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  The Beast paced the halls of his mansion as the nurses and staff worked furiously to settle Ruby’s brother into a downstairs room.

  Templeton had managed to have the boy moved faster than Lincoln would have thought possible, citing, “Anything can be done with enough money.”

  Lincoln hated that Charles Atwood’s spawn was now resting under his roof, but he would hate it even more if Ruby never came back.

  Damn her for running off the way she had. Not that Lincoln could blame her. He supposed he would have done the same in her shoes. Especially after he’d shown her his beastly face.

  “He is all settled in,” Templeton informed Lincoln, slipping up behind him.

  Lincoln turned to face his attorney. “Any news of Ruby?”

  Templeton nodded. “I sent a car to retrieve her. She will be here shortly.”

  Relieved that she would be returning, Lincoln felt his shoulders slightly relax. “Thank you.”

  “Of course, sir. Will there be anything else?”

  Lincoln thought about that for a second. “I now have temporary custody of the brother?”

  “In a manner of speaking,” Templeton murmured. “I managed to obtain you temporary guardianship over the boy until the sister can acquire custody. If she cannot prove to be a fit guardian, the boy will be a ward of the state.”

  The Beast absently nodded. “Thank you, Templeton. Once again, you have proven yourself invaluable to me.”

  “Just doing my job, sir.” He turned and left by way of the front door.

  Lincoln stood there for long moments after the attorney’s departure. Cameron Atwood was now Lincoln’s responsibility.

  Moving silently through the halls, Lincoln stopped outside Cameron’s temporary quarters. He watched through the door as two nurses bustled about while the doctor Lincoln hired stood over the child, checking his vitals.

  The sound of the front door crashing open echoed off the walls of the mansion, signaling Ruby’s arrival.

  “Hello?” she called, the clicking of her heels growing louder by the second. “Mr. Barone?”

  “Ruby.” Mrs. Tuff intervened. “The master is expecting you.”

  “Where is he?”

  There was a brief hesitation. “Down the hall and to the left.”

  Lincoln blocked the entrance to Cameron’s door as Ruby came rushing around the corner.

  “Is Cameron here?”

  Waving a hand toward the bedroom he stood in front of, Lincoln answered in a low tone. “The boy is sleeping. You may go in as soon as the doctor is finished checking him over.”

  Concern flashed in her eyes. “Is he all right?”

  “He is going to be fine. I had him sedated for the transfer.”

  Ruby sagged against the wall behind her. Her eyes briefly slid shut before opening and pinning Lincoln with a grateful gaze. “Not to sound ungrateful after what you just did for Cam, but I would like terms of the contract amended.”

  Fury sliced through him. How dare she come storming into his home, making demands after running off as she did. He opened his mouth to tell her as much, but something held him back.

  Tilting his cloak-covered head to the side, the Beast fought hard to keep the anger from his voice. “Amended? How so?”

  She pushed away from the wall and hesitantly approached him. “I want custody of my brother.”

  “That is not up to me, Ruby. The judge will make that decision.”

  “Bullshit. You add it into the contract that you will do everything in your power to help me obtain sole custody of my brother once the month is up, and I promise you that I will not argue or resist you for the remainder of my stay here.”

  Though Lincoln wanted nothing more than to laugh at her attempt to bargain with him, he refrained. “Visit with your brother, and then meet me at the boathouse in an hour.”

  “Does that mean that you’ll do it?”

  Lincoln moved to step around her. “I’ll think about it.”

  * * * *

  Lincoln watched as Ruby trailed down the slight incline to the boathouse. Although she wore the same clothes she’d had on when she ran off that morning, the color was back in her face, and her dark hair was twisted up into some kind of bun on the back of her head.

  “Did you see your brother?” Lincoln inquired, stepping over into the boat and holding out a hand to her.

  Ruby hesitated before laying her palm in his, allowing him to assist her into the boat and onto a seat. “I did, thank you. He was only awake for a few minutes, but the doctor said his vitals are strong.”

  Cranking the boat, the Beast took his seat behind the windshield and motioned for Ruby to stand in front of him.

  Her lips stiffened, but she didn’t argue. She stood and made her way to the space between him and the boat’s wheel.

  Lincoln reached around her, pressed his chest against her back, and gripped the wheel.

  Her intoxicating scent drifted up his nose, robbing him off breath.

  It took enormous effort for him to engage the gear and back the boat out of the boathouse.

  Her small back caressed his chest with every move the boat made. Damn her.

  His arms tightened around her instinctively as he turned east and maneuvered the boat through the rolling waters of the Mississippi.

  “Where are you taking me?” she asked over her shoulder.

  Lincoln ignored her, tucking his chin down to keep the hood on his head in place.

  The rest of the trip was spent in silence with Lincoln basking in the essence of Ruby.

  He pulled up along the bank, grabbed the basket he’d had Mrs. Tuff prepare before he left, and tethered the boat to an old dock that had seen better days.

  “We get out here.” He extended a hand toward Ruby.

  Ruby laid her palm against his and allowed him to help her onto the dock. “What is this place?”

  Lincoln wasn’t sure why he’d brought Ruby to his quiet place. He often came here when he needed to be alone, to escape from the realities of his life. For some reason, he wanted her to see it.

  He w
anted her to himself, an inner voice whispered. Away from the staff, from her brother…from everyone but him.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Ruby walked along the dock, nervous and more than a little frightened. Lincoln had taken her quite a distance up the river to a place that looked to be deserted.

  She gazed ahead at the small log cabin situated on the bank of the river, and anxiety quickly took hold.

  Was he taking her there to hurt her, torture her, possibly kill her?

  Glancing at his cloak-covered back, Ruby said the first thing that came to mind. “Why did you bring me here? If you’re going to hurt me, I wish you would tell me. The not knowing is killing me.”

  Lincoln merely slowed his step and took hold of her hand, forcing her to walk faster. “I didn’t bring you here to hurt you, Ruby.”

  “Then why did you bring me here?”

  “To get to know you.”

  Relief was swift, but short lived. A massive alligator slid from the bank into the water not ten feet from the dock they were on.

  Scrambling forward, Ruby all but climbed up Lincoln’s back.

  He stopped, half turned, and swept her up into his arms. “It’s just a gator.”

  A deep growling sound came from the gator as it swam beneath the dock.

  Ruby bit back a scream, buried her face against Lincoln’s neck, and drew her knees up as high as she could get them. There were three things in the world that terrified her: spiders, sharks, and alligators.

  Lincoln lifted her higher against his chest and tightened his arms around her. “You’re safe now.”

  She wasn’t about to look, not until they were safely inside the cabin.

  Ruby snuggled closer. It didn’t matter that she was in the arms of the beastlike creature she knew lurked beneath that hood. As long as he kept her from being gator food.

  His scent suddenly penetrated her fear, seeping into her senses like a warm summer wind. He smelled incredible, she realized, taking another hesitant breath.

  Memories of him caressing her thigh in her sleep drifted through her mind. She took another deep breath. How could this beastly creature possess such a gentle touch?