Page 22 of Keeping Knight

Micah doesn’t look convinced. “Maybe we should take a break,” he says. “This has been a lot⁠—”

“No.” I shake my head. “Let’s keep going. It’ll be harder to start up again once I stop.”

“In that case, how about we shift gears?” Rogue asks. “Talk about something a little different.”

“Like what?” I ask.

Rogue hesitates. “Like people you can think of with motive to hurt you. Someone with a grudge. Someone who might have something to gain”—he grimaces—“from your death.”

For a second, I can’t breathe. Until now, I’ve been stubbornly clinging to the hope that the attack was random. Deep down, I know there’s a greater chance I was targeted. I just haven’t wanted to think about it, because then it’ll really feel real.

“I don’t know,” I start. “I mean… I work from home. So I don’t have conflicts with people in the office. We have meetings once a week, but I just sit in the back and take notes. I say hi to some people, but…”

“What about ex-boyfriends?” Wraith interrupts. “Friends you may have had a falling out with. A family disagreement.”

Tears spring to my eyes.

Liam couldn’t. He wouldn’t.

Just because we didn’t work out, just because he was bitter at the end… he wouldn’t try to kill me. Would he?

“Ruby?” Micah asks. He sounds worried. “Do you need⁠—”

“My ex,” I blurt. “I don’t think he would. But I can’t think of anyone else. I haven’t had any falling-outs with friends. My stepmom and I aren’t close, but to try to hurt me? Kill me? She wouldn’t. Liam is the only one⁠—”

“Liam?” Rogue presses. He scribbles something on his phone with the little stylus he’s been taking notes with. “Tell us about Liam.”

Micah’s hand tightens around mine; not painfully, but securely. And that contact gives me the courage to continue. “Liam and I broke up about eight months ago. But things weren’t great before that.”

“How so?” he asks. “How long did you date? Why did you break up?”

I release a shaky sigh. “Six months, give or take. I met him through a friend of a friend. At first, things were good. He seemed nice.”

Pausing, I steal a quick look at Micah. This isn’t how I ever imagined telling him about my last relationship, surrounded by four of his closest friends. “I guess, in hindsight, dating right after my dad died wasn’t the best idea.” Glancing around the table, I add, “My dad died in August of last year. I wasn’t thinking about dating after that, you know? When I met Liam in October, it was fun at first. A distraction. But the more time we spent together, the less I realized we had in common. Then I found out about the will.”

“What about the will?” Rogue asks.

“My dad was a neurosurgeon,” I explain, “so he did pretty well for himself. And my mom... She passed away twenty years ago. When I was twelve. She had family money. And when she was gone, it went to my dad. Then, when he passed, he left me… well, it was a lot of money.”

“Then what?”

“As soon as Liam found out, he started bringing up all the things I could spend my money on. Trips. A nicer apartment that he could move into. Collectibles. Fancy watches. He wanted me to spend my parents’ money on him. And I didn’t want to.”

“Greedy asshole,” Micah mutters.

“Yeah,” I agree. “He was. I probably let it go longer than I should have. But I finally ended it with him after I caught him with my credit card. Not that he would have gotten much. I never upped the limit since I got it in college. But that was the final straw. I broke up with him. And Liam… he wasn’t happy that his prospective cash cow was gone.”

“Did he make threats?” Micah asks. His eyes narrow. “Did he hurt you?”

“No. Unless you count you’ll be sorry as a threat. But people say that all the time when they break up. It doesn’t mean anything.”

“Maybe.” But Micah’s expression says he’s not convinced. He glances at Rogue. “I want to look into him. As soon as possible.”

Rogue nods. “Absolutely.” He flashes me a sympathetic smile. “I know this is hard, Ruby. Talking about all of this. Are you sure you don’t want to take a break?”

I swallow hard against the lump in my throat. But rather than keeping the tears at bay, it brings them rushing to my eyes. “I can keep going. It’s okay.”

“It’s not okay,” Micah announces. Then he pushes up from his chair and tugs me to my feet. “We’re taking a break.”