18. Ash #2
But worse than all of that is that I trusted Callum with my grief, my body, and my fucking heart.
And he didn’t do the same.
That’s why I need to go.
“Goodbye, Cal,” I whisper, unable to stop the lone tear that escapes.
His shoulders drop in defeat, sadness etched in every part of him. “You know where I’ll be if you need me.”
I do.
And selfishly I’m glad he’ll be watching out for me, because who the fuck knows what’s out there gunning for me now. But that’s all it can be. “I’d like my keys back.” The ones he took at the start of all this. The ones that let him come and go whenever he likes.
I watch him break a little more as he reaches into his pocket and hands them over.
His gaze drops to my wrist and I can tell it costs him to keep quiet about it. “Be careful,” he says instead.
I give the barest of nods, then turn and get in my car.
Not gonna lie, driving isn’t the most pleasant experience with a healing wrist, but pride forces the pain to take a back seat. It’s more or less a straight road from here to my house. I just need to last the thirty minutes or so it takes to get there.
The roar of motorbikes follows me, but I don’t look back as I drive up to the gates and through them. I leave the compound behind and part of myself with it.
It’s when I’m on the open road that it truly sinks in and the shaking starts.
Shifters are real.
Shifters are real.
SHIFTERS ARE FUCKING REAL.
I grip the steering wheel hard, pain a distant ache as I fight the panic welling inside me.
With Callum and Morgan in front of me, reminding me how they’re human too, it was easy to focus on that.
But now I’m alone, and my imagination is running wild with all the things I’d chosen to ignore until this moment.
I don’t know how many of the books I’ve read about shifters hold truth, but if they’ve got enhanced hearing, then it’s not a huge leap to believe that all their other senses are enhanced too.
I remember the way Callum picked me up like I weighed nothing, and a shiver runs through me that’s only partly from fear.
Fuck’s sake, Ash.
Add freakishly strong to that list too.
I’m only half paying attention to the road, still racking my memory for all the other things I’ve read, when I catch movement out of the corner of my eye.
My gaze snaps forward as something—no, someone—bursts from the trees and straight in front of my fucking car.
“Shit.” I stamp on the brakes hard, bracing myself against the steering wheel, but it’s too late and the impact rattles my jaw.
I watch in horror as the man in the middle of the road hits my bonnet and gets tossed in the air, landing over the other side near the trees.
Oh my god.
I’ve killed someone.
My heart pounds as I fumble to open the car door. My hands tremble as I force myself to look down the road where the man landed . . . but there’s nothing there.
What the fuck?
There’s blood on my car and on the road, so I know I didn’t imagine it all, but as I turn in a circle, there’s no body in sight.
The roar of engines sounds behind me and I know who’s coming, and I’m too in shock to be anything other than grateful. But then it’s joined by the faint sound of sirens from the opposite direction and my whole body freezes.
Oh fuck.
Morgan and Callum reach me first.
Callum glides to a stop beside me, but Morgan stashes his bike deep in the trees, then rushes to join us.
I’m still too stunned to think clearly.
I hit someone with my car.
There’s blood . . .
I swallow, my mouth dry and my heart still galloping out of control.
Callum snarls as he gets near my damaged car, and I swear his teeth look sharper and longer than they should. Morgan runs over to him. I can’t hear whatever they say, but Morgan’s rage-filled growl raises the hairs on the back of my neck.
I flinch when he jogs back over to me and he raises his hands. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“I killed someone, Mor.” I feel physically sick as I say the words. “I hit them with my car, but I can’t find the bo—”
“Listen to me.” Morgan grips my shoulders, ignoring it when I flinch again. “Sorry. But there’s no time to respect your boundaries. You didn’t kill anyone. You hit a shifter and they ran off into the trees. They’re not dead.”
“But—”
The sirens are getting closer. They’ll be here any second.
“I need you to trust me, please. I know I have no right to ask, but I need you to do it one more time. Can you do that?”
I don’t know what the fuck is going on, but I trusted Morgan for years before today. It’s muscle memory to nod my head and whisper, “yes.”
“Good.”
The police car comes into view and Morgan curses. “Listen,” he hisses. “Let me do the talking, okay? I was driving. Not you. Do you understand?” He gives me a gentle shake, dragging my attention away from where the police have come to a stop. “Ash? Do. You. Understand?”
It takes a second for his words to register, but then I nod. “You were driving. Not me.”
“Good.” He steps back, letting me go. “It’ll be okay, just let us handle it.”
The driver’s door opens and a familiar face steps out. I breathe a sigh of relief until Morgan snarls again beside me.
“Fucking hell.”
“What?” I glance at him, but his face reveals nothing. I’ve never seen him look so void of emotion. “Morgan?”
“I’ll explain later.”
“You mean there’s more?” I hiss.
“Later,” he grits out, and there’s no more time because Officer Ray Wilson is walking towards us, gaze flicking between my damaged car, me, and Morgan. His eyes narrow as they land and remain on Morgan. “Mr Webb, I heard you were back in town.”
Morgan stiffens. “I wasn’t aware it was police business.”
He ignores that and turns to me. “What happened to your car, Ash? Looks like you hit something.” He gets closer, sucking in a breath as he finally sees all the blood. “And killed it by the looks of things.”
“I was driving,” Morgan cuts in. “Ash can’t.” He gestures to my arm, and I have to bite back a gasp because I finally get why he was so insistent. It’s probably illegal to drive with my arm in a fucking brace. At the very least, my insurance would be invalid.
Wilson raises an eyebrow, and I swear he looks almost gleeful. “So you hit and killed something?”
“It was a deer.” He points off to the side of the road where the blood trail leads. We all look where he’s pointing, and once again, I’m hiding shock because neither Callum nor his bike are anywhere in sight. “We didn’t kill it, but it was pretty injured. Ran off in there, I think.”
“A deer?”
He doesn’t believe a single fucking word. I can see it in his eyes.
Morgan shrugs. “Yep.”
Wilson eyes the blood again. “I’d better go check it out. I don’t want the poor animal to be suffering.” Something in his tone sets me on edge, and when Wilson stalks away towards the trees, I glance at Morgan, but he gives a quick shake of his head.
I’m silent for now, but I’m so fucking tired of being kept in the dark.
And I’m also avoiding thinking about the fact that the person I hit was a shifter and they can apparently heal from a would-be-fatal accident. That meltdown can come later.
And where the hell did Callum go? Did he just leave us?
I know I told him I didn’t want to see him, but—fuck.
Can’t have it both ways, Ash. He’s just doing as you asked.
Morgan and I stand in silence as Wilson emerges from the trees. I fully expect him to find nothing in there, but his scowl tells me he found something he didn’t like.
“Well?” Morgan prompts. I’ve known him long enough to detect the hint of smugness in his tone.
Wilson’s eyes narrow. “There’s a dead deer about twenty feet into the trees. Looks fresh.”
My heart stops. That can’t be a coincidence.
“Told you.” Morgan gestures to my car. “Just an unfortunate accident.”
Wilson glares at Morgan, and I get the feeling there’s more to this interaction than just this accident, that I’m missing some vital piece of information.
Again.
“You been at the Wolves compound?” he says to me. “Heard Webb was a member now.”
What’s that got to do with him?
“Does it matter?” Morgan cuts in before I can answer.
Wilson grins, but it’s cold and distinctly unfriendly. “You might have made a fucking bad decision, but I didn’t think you’d want to drag your friend into it.”
Morgan stiffens beside me, but Wilson turns his gaze on me.
“How’s the arm?” He reaches out like he’s going to touch me, and I take a hasty step back. No thank you.
“Getting better.”
He acts like nothing happened. “Good, glad to hear it.” Then he smirks as he looks between us, and it’s the creepiest thing. “Wouldn’t want you getting back behind the wheel before you’re fully healed. Don’t want any more accidents, or you might get hurt next time.”
My eyes widen.
Did he . . . did he just threaten me?
He steps forward before I can react and pats my shoulder. “Be careful, Ash.” Then he turns and saunters back to his car before getting in and driving off.
Only when he’s halfway down the road do I finally let out a shaky exhale. “Am I imagining things, or did he threaten me?”
“He threatened you.”
“Fucking hell.” My legs feel like jelly and are in danger of giving out. “The police are involved in this?” Whatever this is. I’m still not clear on that.
“Only him and Stokes.”
“Not sure that makes me feel any better.” I stop in the middle of the road. “He didn’t take any details or ask if my car was drivable.”
Morgan sighs, but it’s another voice that answers.
“Because he doesn’t care and he’s not going to report it.” Callum materialises out of the trees like a ghost. “A better question would be how he got here so quickly.”
I focus on Morgan. “Why?”
“You didn’t tell him?” Callum snaps.
“Not yet,” Morgan fires back. “He’d had enough to deal with for one day, don’t you think?”
“Right fucking here,” I hiss, glaring at both of them in turn. “Tell. Me. What?”
Morgan sighs. “Not here. Let’s check if your car is drivable and I’ll tell you on the way home.”