Page 112 of Ruthless Ambition
“Touch nothing.” His hand held my wrist loosely, but even though it was a form of control, it was still some comfort, and I would take it even when he didn’t know I needed it. “What else do you see? Tell me.”
“Blood, bits from . . .” I swallowed. “Well, you know, the card, my notes, pens, um, my receipts.”
“Look at the receipt.”
I looked at Onyx, who was staring at me. “Why? Which one?”
“You’ll know.”
Frowning at him, I did as he asked, looking back in the drawer. The top receipt was for gas from last year. That wasn’t right; I never filed them out of sync. “He took my receipts? I file them chronologically,” I said as I returned my attention to Onyx.
“Look at where you were and the date.”
“Fuck sake, Onyx, can’t you just tell me?” I muttered as I looked back. “Thirty-five dollars on gas, Murphy, July fourteenth.”
“You didn’t go to see the Carmichaels in Dallas in July, you went to see the kid who died.”
“Judd?” I looked between Onyx and the drawer. “Yes, to tell him I wasn’t going to represent him.”
“Ryan Carmichael’s car accident was the next day.”
“I didn’t hit his car, Onyx!”
“No, I know that, now.” He dropped my wrist, and I felt the loss. “I think Judd Christie did. I think he did, and then he killed himself.”
My mouth dropped, and I shook my head. “That’s . . .” I couldn’t think. “That’s a huge assumption.”
“You went to tell him he was not a, what do you call it, good fit?”
“Yes.”
“How did he take it?” Onyx was watching me like a hawk.
“He was upset, but he wasn’t abusive. He said he understood,” I told him. “I wished him the best for his future, and he thanked me for coming to tell him in person.” My hands were shaking as I twisted them together. “He died. This isn’t him.”
“No, unless he’s more talented than you thought,” he said with a quick grin. “I looked into his death last night, sent it to Cooper. He didn’t overdose; he committed suicide.” Onyx’s dark eyes stared at me intently. “Kids with problems who get told they don’t fit in a future they’re never quite believing in,” Onyx said quietly. “They act out. They drink, they do drugs, they believe their demons. I’m pretty sure I know who ran Ryan Carmichael off the road,” he said gruffly.
“Really? You think they’re connected? This is my fault?”
“No. It’s not your fault. But you reject a kid with prospects. Okay, he’s troubled, but still, you looked at him, so he was good, right?” he asked me.
“Yes, I mean, he had potential.”
“Okay, and then you go all the way to Murphy to tell him in person he isn’t good enough—”
“I never told him that!” I interrupted him angrily. “I told him that we didn’tfit, that he wasn’t right for how I worked; Inever told him he wasn’t good enough. I would never say that to someone.”
“Okay, you say these things, Angel, but as a kid who’s got issues, all I’m hearing is that she doesn’t want to work with me. Why? Why am I not good enough?”
“No.” I shook my head as I felt a lump in my throat. “No, I didn’t, Onyx, Ididn’t.”
“It’s not your fault,” he told me as he walked around to stand beside me. “Did he have a brother, father, uncle?”
“Brother. He was younger, he was quiet. Their dad wasn’t a present parental figure.”
“Was he there? The brother? When you told Judd?”
I thought back. “I think so. He was really quiet. I didn’t really notice him to be honest.” Onyx watched as I sank down onto my chair. “He’s just a kid; why would he do this?”
