Chapter 10
Ashley
Iwatch them until they disappear behind the club door. All of them.
One of them, the quietest one, radiates the energy of a hurt boy. There’s a darkness in him that screams danger. I have no idea who he is.
The other one is an energetic playboy, just as I’d read him the other night. Even his money back request was sort of a joke. He’s not really after the cash. He wants to mess with me.
Despite all this surface charm, I feel that there’s much more to him than what he shows the world.
And there’s also him, Ryker Elliot. A man of mystery, the leader of the pack, the alpha male.
The first thing I noticed is his face, which is impossible to forget.
I’m sure of that. Maybe it’s just me who finds it so distinctive, maybe not.
His black hair is cropped shorter on the sides and longer on top.
It looks like frequent brushing with his fingers has messed it up, or just a hell of a night out.
His square jaw is covered with trimmed and well-groomed stubble.
Sun-kissed brown skin contrasts with his steely eyes. Looking at his full lips, I want to sink my teeth into them, to see how much he can take. How far his limits of tolerance extend.
He has vertical Roman numerals tattooed on his neck, and it's intriguing.
There were more, many more, I was sure. When he reached out his hand to greet me, I noticed graphics extending to his palm, which was adorned with a skull entwined with ivy. Roses and thorns formed a crown on his other hand.
What’s underneath his clothes? What is he not showing the world?
As I crossed the pub and approached Alex, I felt a strange energy around me, a current running through my body. I was sure it had nothing to do with him. On the contrary. I think it was Ryker. It was his doing.
I’ve felt it before...
Ryker has something magnetic about him that attracts more than just women’s attention. It calls to my soul. Like his friends, he sends out signals saying, I’m dangerous, so don’t piss me off. Except he’s on a whole other level of dangerous.
“Ash!” Alex’s voice reaches me, and I snap out of my daze.
I turn to him, my gaze inquisitive.
He's not thrilled. Does he suspect what’s on my mind? Can he see something on my face?
“I’ve called you three times. Where did you go?”
I shake my head and clear my throat. Back to the game. I need to focus.
“I was lost in thought. What was that about?” I point my thumb over my shoulder. “I know... I should have checked my surroundings first, and I shouldn’t have interrupted you, but—”
“You should have. You let your emotions get the better of you, and that makes you vulnerable. It’s not like you to make this kind of mistake. You’re not a rookie, for God’s sake.”
“I know.” I groan and cover my face with hands, and try to control myself. Only it’s not that easy. The Zoe situation is throwing me off balance, and meeting these guys is the nail in the coffin. “I lost my cool for a moment. You’re right, it was reckless.”
Alex sighs, and after a moment, his hands move mine away from my face. “Come on, Princess, no harm done. It’ll be fine.”
“Called you several times. You didn’t answer, and I panicked.”
“What’s going on?”
“It’s about Zoe,” I admit, my voice trembling. I’m always so calm, but when it comes to my little sister, everything can fall apart in a second. “She did something really stupid, and now we’re all screwed.”
“What did she do?” Alex’s eyes shine with concern.
“Zoe got interested in something she found online. You know how inquisitive she can be, so it shouldn’t surprise you she started digging. Damn it, she didn’t say a word about it until it was too late. She dug until she found a skeleton in the closet.”
Out the corner of my eye, I see Alex raise his hand and snap his fingers. Confused, I frown, but a moment later, the bartender places a glass of my favorite gin and lime in front of me.
With gratitude I turn to Alex and take a small sip.
“She hacked into James Elliot’s computer,” I continue in a hushed voice.
“What the fuck?” Alex loses composure. The glass clatters against the counter, gin sloshing. “How the hell—”
“I have no idea, Alex.”
“Does she know who he is? What he is?”
I just shake my head in response. “But that’s not all. She stole some files about drug smuggling and sent them directly to the FBI.”
“Jesus. Ash—”
“Now you understand why I’m freaking out?” I ask, feeling a sting behind my eyes, and Alex runs his hands over his face.
We sit in silence. I know Alex well enough to know that he needs a moment to gather his thoughts. So I take another sip of gin, and the pleasant warmth spreads through my body, slowly soothing my nerves.
Except it changes nothing. It just complicates things more than I’m willing to let on.
“What do we expect, Ash?” he asks.
I shrug because I don’t really know what to expect. All I know is that it’s not good and there’s a very high possibility that I won’t be able to deal with this problem on my own.
“When was it?”
“Zoe told me about it today. She sent the documents two days ago.”
“There’s silence in the news, so either they’re gathering info or...”
“Or the case has fallen into the hands of someone corrupt,” I finish for him. “And then to the person in question.”
Alex nods. “If that’s the case, it means he’ll be looking for someone to blame. Jesus Christ. What a mess!”
Now that my emotions have calmed down a bit, I think I made a mistake coming here. For many years, I’ve tried to keep Alex within arm’s reach for a reason. Meanwhile, I acted instinctively in coming here looking for help. I’ve just entangled us in an even bigger and more complicated web.
How else can I protect Zoe from this world?
“I’m sorry I came here.” Slowly, I get up with an apologetic look. “I shouldn’t have bothered you.”
“Sit down, Princess,” he replies, almost angry, and waits for me to plop back down. “You did the right thing coming here. You know I owe you my life, and you know I’ll repay that debt until the day I die. Besides, I love Zoe like my sister. Nothing bad is going to happen to her.”
“Why?”
A soft look crosses his face. “It’s simple. If she gets hurt, it will hurt you. And I don’t want that.”
Oh God.
If our lives were different, if we were different—
In another life and under different circumstances, I could love him the way he wants me to. The way he needs and deserves.
But I’ve felt nothing more for him than... I don’t know what it is. Not friendship, not infatuation, not indifference. We’ve been stuck on this dead end forever.
And I’ve never been able to fully trust him even though in his own messed-up way, he has taken care of us all these years.
Without waiting for my answer, he adds, “I have to think about how to play this. Either way, keep a low profile and don’t stick your neck out too far.
Eventually, he’ll catch on and demand blood.
If Elliot sets his dogs on her, they’ll start sniffing around her ISP, logs, and transfers. What did you tell her?”
“For now, I just yelled at her; she doesn’t know what she’s done. These aren’t people who play in the sandbox.”
“You’ll have to explain it to her somehow.”
“I know that, Alex. And ironically, I come to you and meet Ryker Elliot here. I didn’t know you knew each other. Are you friends now? What are you playing at—”
“Whoa, whoa, Princess,” he interrupts me.
“I understand your emotions are all over the place right now, but slow down a little. First of all, we’re not friends.
Also, I don’t even know him. He was here looking for Shadow, and by some fucking miracle, he got his hands on information that I’m the one who commissions the work. ”
There’s silence between us, but before that happens, with each word he says, my eyes grow wider and wider.
That’s impossible.
Ryker found out about Alex’s role, which meant he was closer than I thought. How did that happen? Fuck. “I’m sorry. I got carried away.”
“Yes. I always have your back, and I know you have trust issues—” He pauses again, running his hands over his face again. “I used to think that would change with time, but now I doubt it. Either way, Ryker is looking for you, so just be careful.”
I can see in his eyes that I’m hurting his feelings. I won’t admit it out loud, but after knowing him for so many years, I can read the fragments of his feelings in the mirror of his soul.
I don’t disagree with his opinion on trust. Also, like him, I doubt that will ever change. Not because I don’t want to one day. I genuinely fear that I simply can’t.
“I was waiting for you to show up here one day. Here’s something I have for you, Ash: that fell into my hands a few days ago.”
As he reaches into his pants pocket and retrieves a folded piece of paper, I look at him with a questioning expression. He places it on the table and covers it with his hand.
“What is it?” I whisper.
“This is me expressing my emotions for you, just in case you have any lingering reservations.”
Alex’s hand pushes the piece of paper toward me and moves away.
I immediately sense that this is something really important to me. I reach for the center of the table and unfold the piece of paper. Except it’s not a piece of paper at all, but a photo.
A couple is standing in front of a lake and wooden cottages lined up along the shore. A wooden sign cut in half reads “Autumn.” But there’s something more important.
The first thing that strikes me is that the feeling between them is obvious to me. They’re in love; they’re lovers, but they’ve certainly never been married.
The woman with short, dark hair is wearing a summer dress with flowers. She’s smiling and happy. One of her hands rests casually on her belly, which shows that she’s about to give birth.
The man with light blond hair, wearing shorts and a T-shirt, with no less happiness painted on his face, also has his hand on her belly.
I blink several times, but their happiness doesn’t disappear from the photo, although I cannot believe that it’s real between them. It’s just impossible. Mom never said she loved him. She never mentioned how happy she was with him.
Is this him?
My father. She never mentioned his name, even though I begged her many times when she was still alive. I begged her, but she never said a word. She was like an enchanted rock, immovable.
“Is it even true? Is this my father?” I ask, unable to take my eyes off the couple in the photo.
“It looks that way, Princess. However, there’s no confirmation from my informant. Only he can confirm it,” he replies sadly.
“Alex, why—why are you giving me this now?”
“Because you deserve to know the truth. You recognize him, don’t you? You know what’s going on now. The hunt is on. If you want to know anything more, you’ll have to get to him first. It will entail a lot of complications that you have to be ready for. But it’s still your decision, Princess.”
I try to fight back the emotion as the first tear rolls down my cheek. Shocked, I don’t know how to react when I realize this. I haven’t cried in at least a dozen years. I hate it.
Alex’s thumb lands on my cheek and wipes away the wet evidence of my weakness. “If you need anything from me, I’m here for you.”
“Thank you, Alex,” I whisper, looking into his eyes. In this one moment, I regret that I’m not the person who could give him the entire world. “It really means a lot to me. Even if it complicates everything. And even if I can’t believe he’s my father.”