Page 123 of Rebel (Renegades 2)
Rubi touched the Recent Calls button and saw: Desiree.
“My Realtor. ” And the thought brought back all the problems she still had to face at home. Brought back the decades of anger and pain and frustration surrounding her father.
“Why aren’t you calling her back?” Wes asked.
Rubi blew out a long breath. “I’m…not in a good place to hear bad news. ”
In fact, her insides shook just thinking about it. The same weights she’d been dealing with just days ago seemed twice as heavy now. What would she do with Rodie? How far would she need to move from Wes? How long would she have to live somewhere temporary?
Minor problems, considering what Wes’s family dealt with every day—but still big problems to her. Upsetting problems.
“Maybe it’s good news,” Wes said.
Maybe she was just pessimistic, but she didn’t have a good feeling. Nothing involving her father ever turned out well.
She sat on the edge of the bed and dialed. Her stress ratcheted up as the phone rang. And by the time Desiree answered, Rubi knew she was far too brittle to talk about this now.
“Hey, Rubi. ” The cautiously disappointed tone in Desiree’s two words confirmed Rubi’s greatest fears.
“Hey. If it’s bad news, I’m not sure I can handle it now. ”
“Oh. ” Desiree hesitated. “Um, okay. ” Another hesitation. “Do you want me to call you later?”
Rubi’s stomach free fell to her feet. She dropped her head into her hand and rubbed at stinging eyes. “He didn’t take my offer. ”
“No, I’m sorry, Rubi. ” Her sympathy was sincere, but Rubi didn’t want sympathy. She just wanted a normal father.
“Why?” she demanded rather than asked. “Was it too low?”
“No, actually, it was higher than any of the others. Honestly, I don’t know why. The buyer is paying cash, but Dolph’s not in a hurry to sell, so I don’t know what difference that would make. I can call him and—”
“No,” Rubi said from behind clenched teeth. “No point. Thank you for calling. ”
“Rubi?” she said before Rubi pulled the phone from her ear. “There’s something else. ”
She closed her eyes. “What?”
“It’s a quick turnaround. They’re closing in a week. The new owner wants to move in immediately. ”
Rubi’s vision hazed red. “You’re telling me I have to be out in a week?”
“I just got this information fifteen minutes ago. Give me a few to get to the bottom—”
“Don’t waste your time,” Rubi said. “I’ll get to the bottom of it right now. Thanks. ”
She hung up and stared at her phone—seething mad. That fucking bastard. She dialed his office number.
“What is it?” Wes asked, his voice guarded.
“I may take a play from Emma’s book here in a minute,” she said without looking at him. “You might want to cover your ears. ”
“Russo Industries,” the chipper secretary answered. “Dolph Russo’s office. ”
Rubi closed her eyes, took a breath, and held her temper. “This is Rubi Russo. I don’t care what my father is doing or who he’s with. Put him on the phone. Now. ”
“Please hold, Ms. Russo. ”
Rubi’s eyes opened into narrow suspicion.
