Chapter 15 Ash
ASH
Standing in the middle of the garage, I gassed up my bike and gave it one last check.
Rafe hadn’t said anything about fixing the power.
’Course, he’d been a little occupied teaching Noelle a lesson.
I’d like to have seen that, but without Rafe’s express invitation, I knew better than to interfere.
I checked my map again, making sure I knew the route to the generating station.
I’d passed it a few times over the years but never stopped, and I didn’t want my phone on and the light obscuring my vision as I drove in the dark.
Ricky and a few others who’d drifted back through after delivering the soup waved at me from the driveway.
“See you, man.” Ricky threw out a two-finger salute and revved his bike’s engine.
He peeled out, the others close on his heels.
I put the gas can back on the bottom shelf and shrugged into my leather jacket.
“Where are you going?” Noelle’s surprise lingered in her tone.
She stood in the open doorway between the garage and the kitchen, arms crossed over her red sweater.
God, I loved the way she looked at me, all surprise and concern and hope.
No one ever looked at me that way.
I was always a nuisance.
Even my mom struggled to see any good qualities in me. “What’s it to you?”
I asked it playfully, waggling my brows while scanning the shelves to check my supply of bike parts.
I needed to order a new set of handlebars for Jack, but that wasn’t a priority.
Fixing the power was my priority.
Rafe was too damned stubborn to let it go after the confrontation with the townspeople.
Maybe I could talk to him.
He might be more apt to listen after taking out his frustrations on Noelle.
I gave her a quick side glance to check her over.
Flushed cheeks and a relaxed posture meant she’d had a good time.
Good for them.
I retrieved my keys and jingled them in my hand.
My tongue flicked across the edges of my teeth, and I unwrapped a candy, popping it into my mouth.
The soft butterscotch flavor helped ease the need to chew on something.
“You look like you’re up to no good.” Arms still crossed, Noelle entered the garage.
Her hair was mussed, the usual curls framing her face and drifting over her shoulders.
I shrugged.
I could tell her that I was on my way to fix the power because I’d rather we didn’t wake up to a bunch of elderly popsicles in the morning.
I could, but I wasn’t going to.
I settled my bag of tools in the saddlebags and strapped them down. “I’m going out. If you want to know what I’m doing, you’ll have to come with me.”
I fully expected her to turn around and go back inside.
She’d enjoyed her time on the bike earlier, but that didn’t mean she was ready to go again.
Her eyes lit up at the challenge, and she arched an eyebrow. “You’d really let me go?”
“Sure.” I shrugged and leaned toward her. “I’m not much of a control freak. Unlike Rafe.”
Her cheeks flushed crimson. She covered them with both hands. “How much did you hear?”
“Not much.”
Lie.
We’d heard everything.
Bishop had been forced to leave the kitchen and seek solace alone in his room.
I’d taken refuge in the garage to plan for my break-in at the power plant.
I ached to get my hands on Noelle, to make her come again, this time for me and just me.
No time.
Elderly people in need trumped my desire for Noelle.
Fix the power, then fun times.
I rolled the candy across my tongue. “I’m heading out. You coming?”
I rolled the bike out of the garage and swung a leg over the seat.
Noelle gathered her hair into a bun and shoved her arms into a heavy coat before she ran over and jumped on behind me, wrapping her arms around my waist.
I couldn’t help grinning as I started the bike and sent us flying down the road at a reasonably fast clip.
The route to the power station played in my head, and I took the stops and turns slow enough for Noelle to feel safe.
Her cheek pressed into my shoulder.
I’d taken a couple of women out for rides before, but none of them gave me the sense of comfort that I felt every time Noelle held on to me.
I pulled off the main road leading to the generating station and turned off the bike. “We walk from here.”
Patting her leg, I helped her swing off the bike before I rolled it into a bit of scrub brush amid a tangle of trees.
It would be hidden enough way out here.
My tools clanged together when I slung the bag over one shoulder.
The weight of it pulled, and I relished the feel of the upcoming job.
I took her hand and checked our position. “No lights.”
“What are we doing?” Her hand trembled in mine.
I shook my head and led the way from the trees to the gravel drive.
The low building was tucked way off the main road, but the bright light of a full moon put it in perfect view when we rounded a curve.
Noelle stopped with a gasp. “Ash, what the hell?”
She resisted when I kept going, and I released her hand. “You can stay by the bike if you’d rather not be involved.” I walked all the way to the gate and picked the padlock in a matter of seconds.
It fell to the ground with a clang, followed by the thick chain wrapped around the metal gate.
I pushed one side open far enough to slip through.
Noelle hesitated. “This is highly illegal.” She shifted from foot to foot.
A cloud of white erupted from her mouth as she agonized. “What if we get caught?”
“We won’t. But if you’re that worried, stay on that side of the gate. Worst they can get you for is accessory or whatever.” I pushed the gate closed.
Noelle thrust her hand into the gap. “Wait. I’ll come with you.”
I leaned on the gate and helped her through, grinning when she straightened and combed her fingers through her wind-torn hair.
“You know you could be arrested for breaking and entering. This is a government building.” Her wide eyes trapped the moonlight. She turned away, breaking eye contact.
I snorted and shrugged, taking her hand and leading her toward the side door.
The blueprints I’d snagged online showed that door led to a small side room, connected to a hallway that fed into the main control room.
Right where I needed to be.
I knelt on one knee when we reached the door and worked my way around the lock. “They’re begging to be broken into. These locks wouldn’t stop a kindergartener.”
I glanced up at Noelle, my growing sense that she was hiding something burning brighter with every word out of her mouth. “You know an awful lot about the law for a reporter.”
Her mouth clamped tight, and a different kind of flush swept across her face.
She buffed her arms through the thick coat.
She couldn’t be cold, so she must be uncomfortable at the turn in conversation.
“I know the law because I’m a reporter. I have to know what I am and am not allowed to do.” Tossing her hair, she glared down at me. “I’ve never broken the law before.”
I pushed open the door, revealing the dark interior. “Welcome to the club, sweetheart.”
I winked and stood. “Sounds like I’m getting to be all your firsts.”
Except for her adventure with Rafe.
I might not be able to give her that, but I had other options.
I popped another candy into my mouth and led her across the room, down the hallway, and into the control room.
I checked every corner before turning on my flashlight.
The beam lit up the long gray panel where a series of switches and buttons would normally light up or blink.
Nothing appeared out of the ordinary, which led me to the wall.
“Ash?” Noelle stayed close enough behind me that her breath stirred the hair around my neck. “What are we doing here?”
“Looking for the reason the electricity is out.” I could keep drawing out the tension, but I needed to concentrate.
I dug into my tools, found the wire cutters I needed, and held them in one hand while I handed Noelle the flashlight. “Hold that.”
Without waiting for her answer, I jimmied open the slate gray control panel door.
Noelle slid the light along the interior. “Where?”
I wrapped a hand around her wrist and repeated the motion of scanning the wires, only slower. “I’ll know when I see it.”
Rafe hired me for more than my mechanical prowess with bikes.
I trailed a finger down the line of wires. “Found you.”
To anyone else, the wires looked fine.
To me, they were a hot mess of trouble. “Keep the light right there.”
Noelle nodded and wrapped both hands around the flashlight handle.
I could have done this by myself.
Usually, I preferred to work alone.
But I liked having Noelle around.
Rafe made that whole speech about our reputation bullshit, and I had no choice but to go along with his orders, even if I thought he was wrong.
He wasn’t, but that didn’t mean I agreed with keeping Noelle in the dark.
Rafe would shit himself if he found out I’d brought Noelle.
He might even have a few strong words for me because I’d come out here in the first place.
But I knew Rafe.
He’d calm down once he realized the truth.
We had an obligation to the people in our town regardless of what they thought about us.
I cut away the casing around one of the wires and held it up to the light.
The way the wires had been cut and stripped was shoddy, hurried.
In other words, it looked like something our rivals would do.
They never cared about anyone but themselves, and if they could make us look bad, they would.
They probably started the rumor that the blackout was our fault.
They wanted our territory and were willing to do anything to obtain it.
I crunched into the candy I’d been holding in my cheek. Noelle jolted at the sound, and I chuckled.
“Don’t scare me like that. I thought you’d electrocuted yourself.”
I rolled my eyes.
“I’m smarter than that.” I checked the wires, stripped another that I needed, and nudged the flashlight into another area of the control panel.
“We’ll be done soon. And look…” I waved my arms around. “No cops. They’re all too busy huddling around in their conference room eating donuts and drinking stale coffee.”
“You don’t care for cops, do you?”
The question was so quiet, I might have missed it if we weren’t alone in a room in almost complete darkness.
I concentrated on my work.
“I’m not a fan of cops who ignore procedure, refuse to help people, and blame us for everything because we’re easy targets.”
The wire strippers protested when I twisted them in my hands.
“Last month, they arrested Ricky for a B&E that happened while he was out of town. He had receipts and photo evidence of his location, but they arrested him anyway. All because he ‘matched the description’ of a white guy walking away from the house in the middle of the night. Turns out, the guy who broke in was the owner’s brother.
He didn’t want to rat him out, so he made up a bogus description. ”
Noelle shook her head so hard, her hair fell from its bun and cascaded over her shoulders.
“Not all cops are like that.”
“Yeah, well…” I twisted another wire into place. “I’ll have to take your word for that because all the ones I’ve met are lying assholes.”