Chapter Thirty-Five
Ashen
The SUV’s headlights cut across the long gravel drive, sliding over manicured hedges and empty fountains.
Gravel crunched under the tires like brittle bones, each sound a note of dissonance in the otherwise perfect night.
I sat in the back beside Sara, my fingers curled in hers, our silence a taut wire of anticipation.
Thane was driving, his jaw a hard line. In the passenger seat, Zachary’s tension was palpable and did nothing to calm us.
Calm and steady, Scott sat behind him, occasionally speaking to him in a tone one might use to soothe a feral animal.
The others had stayed behind to ensure whatever support we needed was a text away.
I wasn’t sure what that meant, but something told me these men could summon an army—human or robot—if necessary. I took a moment to appreciate how, against all odds, they had forged a family on a foundation of trust rather than just biology.
Beside us was the cottage I’d hoped to never see again. A cold dread, familiar as my own shadow, tried to coil in my gut. I squeezed Sara’s hand, reminding myself that everything they’d used to control me was a lie.
Except my name.
Not mine.
Thank God, that much was true.
“We go in as a united force,” Sara murmured, her voice professional. “Alone each of us is vulnerable, but faced with all of us and what each of us brings to this fight, they’ll crumble.”
Thane bit out, “Taking a man’s dog tells me everything I need to know about them.” Then he smiled. “Zero sympathy for them makes this easier.”
In a tight voice, Scott said, “Before we accumulate bodies to dispose of, remember I only have one pig.”
His joke fell flat, but I understood his attempt at humor. The tension level was nearly unbearable. Without missing a beat, I said, “I know where the gardener keeps the shovels.”
Sara shook her head. “Never leave them where they can be found. Separate the body parts, drive them to different locations, dump them in wells or swamps. Never dumpsters or rivers. That’s novice work.”
Zachary coughed on what was likely a laugh, then asked her, “Are you armed?”
“Always,” she confirmed.
I wrapped an arm around her. “All joking aside, if anything happens in there, anything one of us has to take the fall for, I’ll shoulder it. No one else should have to—”
Scott interrupted, “Ashen, you’re family. We do this together.”
A part of my soul that had been hurting for as long as I’d been breathing healed with his words. Okay, Simmons had fucked with my life and put me where I wasn’t wanted, but his control over who I was or who cared for me was over.
Zachary snarled, “If we walk in there and Sparkles looks anything but pampered, I’ll gladly spend some years in prison.”
“There’ll be no need,” Thane assured him. “I’ll handle the cover-up and the legal fees.” His voice lowered. “Plus, I wouldn’t let you have all the fun.”
Sara’s eyes met mine. “I don’t think they would have hurt Sparkles yet. They want to use her as collateral.”
I tensed, not wanting to imagine anything happening to Sparkles, but having to admit, “The Gravestones are rich, but they’re not smart and they’re often cruel for no reason.”
She shivered against me. “Your lawyers had better be good, Thane, because I might need one as well.”
We parked and stepped out of the vehicle. Sara pulled me closer. “I don’t like how dark the house is. If they’re expecting you, why wouldn’t they have some lights on?”
“Intimidation?” Zachary offered.
“Whatever the reason, it’s not enough. Let’s do this,” Ashen growled.
We walked up the steps. The night was too quiet. No one in sight. No movement behind the windows. The air smelled faintly of the sickly sweet lilacs drifting from the hedges, familiar in a way that made my stomach turn.
I pressed in the old code to the lock. It worked. One thing the Gravestones were was arrogant. They hadn’t changed it because they wouldn’t anticipate I’d ever be brave enough to use it.
The click was quiet. We entered silently, but I turned on lights as we went.
The house was spotless. Gleaming parquet floors shone under the dim hall light.
The grandfather clock ticked, a mocking heartbeat in the void.
A glimpse of the grand staircase sent a phantom sting across my cheek—the broken vase, my father’s rage—a ghost I swatted away with a force of will I hadn’t possessed then.
“Where are they?” Sara whispered, her agent-mind cataloging details.
I let out a loud whistle that always brought Sparkles to my side. If they were holding her somewhere, she’d let out a bark.
Nothing.
We walked from room to room, moving together like a well-trained SWAT team. No one downstairs. No one in any of the rooms upstairs.
“There’s no one here,” Zachary said flatly. “The house is empty.”
“Not quite,” I said, my voice firm, controlled. “Agnes will be here.” I led them to the rear of the house to the sleeping quarters of the only live-in staff the Gravestones hadn’t succeeded in driving off.
Just outside her door, I raised my hand to knock. Sara motioned for me to wait, then pulled out her gun. At her sign, I banged on the door.
A moment later, Agnes’s head peered out. When she realized that it was me, her face twisted. Her gaze swept over the others before returning to me, cold and dismissive.
“These are my private quarters, Enimton,” she said, the name a deliberate, sharpened barb. “Whatever your issue is, take it up with your parents.” With that, she went to close the door.
Sara’s hand shot out, stopping it gently. She didn’t push, just held it in place. Her voice, when she spoke, was calm and disarming, all professional empathy. “Agnes, right? We’re so sorry to disturb you. We know it’s late.”
“It is,” Agnes said abruptly.
Sara scanned the room behind her. “Enimton told me you’re the only reason this household functions at all. He’s spoken highly of you so many times I feel like I know you.”
It was disconcerting to see how easily Sara lied, but her tone was working magic on Agnes. “It’s not an easy job, that’s for sure.”
I held my tongue and let Sara take the lead.
“I can only imagine. I’ve known the Gravestones for a long time and I’m sure they didn’t handle Enimton moving out well.”
“They sure didn’t.” Agnes seemed to relax a little. “Who are you?”
“Kim. One of Roland’s friends.”
Eyes narrowing, Agnes said, “I don’t remember you.”
Sara smiled, “I’m sure you had plenty more important things going on in your life than to memorize all of Roland’s friends, but I remember you. Roland said you scared him a little.”
Agnes cackled. “I’m glad to hear that because he was a brat.
” She sighed. “I was impressed with him today, though. I called him up, told him I’m done if he doesn’t get up here and handle this situation, and he flew up.
Was here practically before the call ended.
Must be nice to have your own private plane. ”
“Roland was here?” I demanded.
Agnes stiffened.
Sara shot me a look and I backed off. I wanted to pick Agnes up and shake her until she told me where the Gravestones had taken Sparkles, but Sara’s method was lowering Agnes’s guard.
Continuing on in a friendly tone, Sara said, “Looks like you are a force to be reckoned with.”
“I am,” Agnes said proudly. “I like this job. It’s good money and housing is included, but like I told Roland, I’m getting older.
There’s a reason I didn’t have children; I don’t have the patience for bullshit.
And ever since Enimton left, the Gravestones have been spiraling .
. . acting all kinds of crazy . . . trying to take out their issues on me. ”
“Sounds like they’ve been taking advantage of you.”
“They have!” Agnes said, her hand bunching on the doorframe. “But today was the last straw. They brought home Enimton’s dog. And then asked me to clean up the mess it made on the rug. Me. I don’t like dogs. Never have. And I don’t pick up their shit.”
“Agnes,” Sara said softly. “I have a confession. I’m a federal agent, here on official business. The Gravestones are being investigated for some serious crimes.”
Agnes rolled her eyes. “Well, isn’t that my luck? Both of them? Do you know how tough the job market is right now?”
Sara pressed, “So I need to know everything that happened this evening as well as where the Gravestones are now.”
Agnes paused. “I think I should have a lawyer before I answer more questions.”
I tensed and flexed my hands at my side. She was going to need a coroner if she didn’t start talking.
Unfazed, Sara continued, “I can get you a lawyer, but that’ll make you look guilty, then you’ll be under investigation as well. That won’t be a problem unless you have something to hide.”
Agnes blinked a few times quickly. “Don’t call a lawyer, but I don’t know anything about anything.”
Sara shook her head. “That’s a real shame, because my supervisor is going to ask me for a report as soon as I leave here.
I want to write that you were cooperative and completely uninvolved in anything beyond fulfilling your work duties here.
Unfortunately, I don’t know what to think.
You’re not giving me enough to know if you’re involved or not. ”
Agnes frowned. “I kept my nose out of the Gravestones’ business.”
“How about you just tell me tonight. You called Roland. He came here. Then what?”
Grudgingly, Agnes said, “They had a ridiculous fight about the dog. Something about how having it here would bring Enimton home. It all sounded crazy enough to me that I came back here and put on some music to block out their voices.”
“So, you don’t know where they went?” Sara pressed.
Agnes shrugged. “If they’re not here, I have no idea.”
Sara smiled and handed Agnes a card. “Call me if they return. I’m always willing to help those who help me.”
Agnes took the card and pocketed it, then closed her door.
I pulled Sara into my arms and hugged her. “You’re amazing.”
She shook her head. “I didn’t get the answers we needed.”
Against her forehead I murmured, “Maybe not, but I know we’ll find Sparkles because Team Ryse-Linde is unstoppable.”
Behind us, Scott joked. “I would have said Team Twins, but you do you.”
It was a joke that would have lightened the mood if I wasn’t sick to my stomach with worry for Sparkles. I motioned for everyone to follow me back to the main area of the house. “I’ll call Roland. He might know where they are.”
Sara nodded in agreement.
Roland answered on the second ring. “Enimton, thank God. I have a golden retriever in the backseat of my car that I think is yours.”
Relief that I didn’t yet trust nipped at me. “Why is she with you?”
“I’ll explain when I see you. Can you meet me?”
I tensed. “Absolutely. Where?”
Thane put a hand on my shoulder.
Roland continued, “I would have brought her to you, but I don’t know where you live now and I’ve been driving around trying to figure out what to say to you.”
My hand clenched on the phone. “I appreciate that, but where are you? I’ll meet you right now.” Sara gave me a pointed look, so I added, “Make it a public space like a parking lot.”
Roland made a sound. “Things have been bad up here, haven’t they?”
I gave him the address of a local superstore. “Can you meet me there?”
“Yeah. It’ll take me about twenty minutes.”
“See you there.”