A Bullet (Ruby Rose fanfic)

TWENTY (RUBY POV)

"This is not the right moment, Uncle Owen."

"How's Iselen doing?" I take a deep breath and lean my back on the wall behind me in resignation while holding the phone: my boss will keep pestering me till I give him a full report about what has happened here this afternoon, judging by his tone of voice. Moina keeps watching the infirmary door and Pilar is still inside with my girlfriend but the rest of the Irish car is waiting in the corridor and my friends stare at me worried.

"She's okay, the doc said she's going to be fine but the wound is deep and she'll need stitches, painkillers and antibiotics just in case."

"I'm going to get you out of there." I frown and my muscles get tensed involuntarily when I hear the urgency in his tone of voice.

"We're supposed to leave in two months," I whisper confused.

"No, Bayview is not a safe place for you anymore. I want you all back home as soon as possible so I'll call the governor and let's see what we can do to release you earlier on bond for good conduct or something like that, he'll say that you've worked lot of community service hours, it'll take a couple of weeks maybe to get the paperwork ready and in the meantime I need you to remain on alert..."

"Uncle, tell me what's happening." Glenna moves closer and leans her shoulder on the wall next to me, frowning, the girls follow her and I decide to put it on speaker so we all can listen to Owen although I keep the volume low because I don't want the doctor to hear the conversation.

"We've made a mistake, niece, and I was about calling you to tell you... Adara had her baby this morning, by the way." I blink puzzled by the sudden change of subject and my mind goes blank for a second, Jasmine holds her breath and Erin looks at me scared.

"What...? But... she had three weeks left... Are they all right?"

"Yes, they're okay, everything went perfectly and they're both resting now. Nessa Mary Rose has good lungs and was crying a little but she's beautiful... I was about calling you to the governor's office to tell you the good news when I got an unexpected report and took my time to check that the information was right. It was my fault, Ruby, I should've called you right away..."

"I don't understand."

"You told me to keep an eye on Corona's post mail and her phone calls, you know nothing gets in or leaves Bayview without me getting a report, but I don't have the same influential friends in other penitentiaries. That bitch was sent to the high security ward after trying to smuggle some drugs in your cell but she was sent to MAX later for a few weeks because she got involved in a fight, I mean, she was in a different prison in another state and we don't know what she did there, who called her or visited her..."

"Do you mean she planned this attack while she was in MAX? Was it there where she contacted that Nathan guy who came with the supplies truck?"

"No, Nathan was bribed by another person, the same one who tried to kill your girlfriend hiring Corona... Listen, Ruby, you know I'd do anything for Adara and my granddaughter, and also for you, and if someone hurt you I'd take revenge, no one would stop me from ruining the lives of the people responsible for it, even if those people were already in prison..."

"Uncle, I don't know what you're talking about..."

"I ordered some guys to keep an eye on Robert Jordan's family: parents, siblings, cousins, uncles... I know they weren't happy with Iselen's sentence, even if the reputation of the family was damaged due to the information about that old rape they tried to hide and even if they're trying to keep a low profile to avoid the harassment of the press... I knew they'd want to kill your girlfriend, no father would let that go, I wouldn't do it and besides, the Jordans are an influential family in Boston, used to get their way. I got a report about their banking transactions, trips, business deals, etc. once a month and, this morning, one of our guys called me to tell me that Chantal Jordan, Robert's sister, visited someone in a maximum security prison. It took me a couple of hours to learn she was Corona... I should've called you immediately, I'm sorry."