by Mia Gold
“Yeah.”
Barrett was the lead investigator into her case. He had visited Dad several times.
“He got in touch. He saw the video. I wasn’t the only one to make a YouTube alert for you. He’s been searching for videos of fighters all across the Caribbean and found your fight at that strip bar. He downloaded it and showed it to me. I said it didn’t look like you. I don’t think I convinced him. He’s probably going to check with everybody else you know.”
Oh crap. Dad.
Ruby’s mind went blank. She had no idea what to do.
“I’ll try to do damage control,” Tim went on. “I’ll call everyone he might talk to and warn them. Hold tight. I’ll see what I can do.”
“I don’t want people to know where I am,” Ruby croaked.
“I think the time for that is coming to an end, Ruby. I got to go. I’ll call as soon as I can. Hold tight.”
He hung up. Ruby groaned. For several blocks she simply drove, the grating of the engine growing louder and the smoke growing thicker and blacker.
Tim’s words haunted her.
It’s coming to an end.
Maybe that was a good thing. Maybe she could take this fearsome opponent attacking her and flip him. Turn a threat into a victory.
She didn’t see how to do that, though.
Ruby Wayne, a.k.a. Ruby Steele, squared her shoulders. Whatever the future held, this latest case had taught her to appreciate the here and now.
Ruby picked up her phone again and called Helen. The way the car was smoking, it would make a fine sight coming into the resort parking lot. She wanted to see Helen’s face.
You have to get what small pleasures you can from this life, Ruby thought.
As requested, Helen Pierce was standing in front of the resort when Ruby arrived. She did not disappoint.
As Ruby pulled up, with two windows smashed, the hubcaps all missing, a bullet hole in one door, and smoke billowing out of the engine, Helen put her hands to her face and shrieked.
“What did you do?” Helen wailed.
“Got shot at, robbed, and nearly killed on several occasions. Want to see my bruises? Oh, and there’s a big bloodstain on the seat.”
“This is going to cost a fortune!” Helen did not appear to have heard anything Ruby had said.
Ruby got out of the car, leaving it idling, the grating of the unlubricated parts growing louder by the second. “Not my problem. It’s in your name. You’re liable.”
“B-but …”
Ruby stepped forward. “And you’re liable for a whole lot more than that. You ran out on your friend when she needed you most.”
Helen’s eyes widened. “But I could have been killed.”
“Yes, you could have been. Or you could have saved her life. The least you could have done was keep your head together long enough to call the police, but you didn’t even do that. You just fled back to your comfy little hotel room and hoped it would all go away. You hired me to make everything better. Clean up your mess.”
Helen frowned. “Now wait just a minute. I cared about Bridget.”
“No, you didn’t. You liked having her around as a cheerleader, but you weren’t a real friend. You know who’s a real friend? My ex-lover back in the States who is risking his career for me. You know who else? My coworker and my boss. An overgrown teddy bear who probably has never been in a fight in his life and a pot-bellied man-child who thinks he’s a pirate. They risked their lives for me against far greater odds. I knew they were friends, but until last night I didn’t realize just how good of friends they were. So thank you. I’m going to appreciate them a lot more than I did before. Now go back where you came from. I never want to see you again.”
Ruby walked out of the parking lot. The engine, having used up the last drop of oil, burst into flames.
Ruby smiled. She may still have a whole heap of trouble in her life, but she knew she wouldn’t have to face it alone.
NOW AVAILABLE!
FULL BODIED
(A Ruby Steele Cozy Mystery—Book #3)
FULL BODIED is book #3 in the Ruby Steele Cozy Mystery, which begins with ON THE ROCKS (Book #1).
Ruby Steele, 30, beautiful, fit, seems just like any other ex-pat hiding out in the Bahamas and playing local bartender. But unruly patrons find out the hard way: Ruby is a mixed-martial-arts pro, and not one you’d want to cross.
Ruby’s known for making friend in bad places. And her newest friend, a bouncer at the brothel next door, is no exception. When he comes to her with a sob story, she can’t turn away.
When that story turns to a body he found this morning, Ruby sits up straighter.
When it turns out that body belonged to a trafficked teenaged girl, Ruby’s sense of justice is lit.
Ruby’s gotta solve this one, for her own need to set wrongs right.
Problem is, the cops don’t care, and this case will surely take her to some bad places, and up against some bad people. That may just include a billionaire with his own private yacht—and his own private army.
It’s not like Ruby doesn’t have an army of her own coming after her.
The last thing Ruby needs right now is a two-front war.
But it looks like that’s exactly what she’s going to get.
No one said Ruby’s judgement was good.
Then again, if it was, she wouldn’t be hiding out in the Bahamas, tending bar, with a monkey on her shoulder and an enemy list a mile long.
Welcome to the Bahamian world of Ruby Steele, replete with her local dive bar, her wily pet monkey, her major drinking problem, her (way) too many fights, her inability to get herself out of trouble, and her fists made of stone. Ruby’s life is a complete wreck. But there’s one thing she’s good at: capturing your heart.
FULL BODIED (A RUBY STEELE COZY MYSTERY) is book #3 in a page-turning cozy mystery/thriller series, one that will linger with you long after the last page is read.
Future books in the series will be available soon!
FULL BODIED
(A Ruby Steele Cozy Mystery—Book #3)
ALSO AVAILABLE!
KNOCKOUT
(A Holly Hands Cozy Mystery—Book 1)
Fans of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum and Jana DeLeon's Miss Fortune will find a new character to love in Holly Hands!
Holly Hands. 29. Single mom. Disgraced, former boxing pro. Repo woman.
Repossessing Lamborghinis and other exotic toys from criminals is second-hat for Holly.
But finding a dead body—and solving a murder—is not.
Luckily, Holly has Lucky by her side—a neglected pit bull she found on the wrong side of a job, who refuses to leave her side—and who, like her, has nowhere to go but up.
Together, maybe they can crawl their way out of the urban hell of their bad slice of Baltimore, where coming home at night is even more dangerous than going to work. Maybe Holly can manage to get her young daughter the medical treatment she desperately needs, and manage to get her out of her dangerous public school and into the private school of her dreams. Just maybe, she can fall in love with that private school Dad from the other side of town and start a whole new life.
Or maybe not.
Life has never been easy for Holly. And if the past few days—and the dead body in her trunk—are any indication—it’s about to get a whole lot worse.
KNOCKOUT (A HOLLY HANDS COZY MYSTERY) is book #1 in a riveting new cozy mystery series, a page-turning thriller that grabs you from page one and does not let go. Get ready to find yourself reading all night, bleary-eyed, and falling madly in love with a new character who will fight her way into your heart.
Book #2 (SUCKER PUNCH) and Book #3 (BELOW THE BELT) in the series are also available.
KNOCKOUT
(A Holly Hands Cozy Mystery—Book 1)
Mia Gold
Debut author Mia Gold is author of the HOLLY HANDS COZY MYSTERY, comprising three books (and counting); and of the RUBY STEELE COZY MYSTERY series, comprising three books (a
nd counting).
Mia would love to hear from you, so please visit www.miagoldauthor.com to receive free ebooks, hear the latest news, and stay in touch.
BOOKS BY MIA GOLD
HOLLY HANDS COZY MYSTERY
KNOCKOUT (Book #1)
SUCKER PUNCH (Book #2)
BELOW THE BELT (Book #3)
RUBY STEELE COZY MYSTERY
ON THE ROCKS (Book #1)
EXTRA DIRTY (Book #2)
FULL BODIED (Book #3)