Chapter Twelve
Angel
“Ineed you to step back,” the police officer said to everyone in the small crowd, but his eyes were on mine. “This is a crime scene! Back up!”
Today was Wednesday. My hiking day. It had been raining all night, and my usual trail was flooded in certain areas.
So I’d stuck to my backup plan and moved to Sunset Beach, ready to walk in the sand until my legs were sore.
When I was about ten minutes in and the glimpse of sunlight disappeared behind a wall of storm clouds, I noticed a cluster of people up ahead.
As my curiosity piqued, a shrill scream echoed through the early gray morning, and my stomach dropped.
My feet practically took flight as I ran over to them, thinking someone was hurt.
I had some training in first aid, and I was willing to help.
As I was running toward them, two police trucks drove onto the sand, sirens wailing.
It took me two seconds to decide that I wanted to see what was happening.
And when I pushed myself to the front of the crowd, something telling me I had to look, my knees nearly gave out at the sight of a body.
My hand was in front of my throat, my heart pounding so wildly that I was afraid I’d vomit it up. “Officer, please,” I begged, my voice small.
“I can’t have you here.” Then he lifted his head and shouted, “Everyone go home!”
“I know him.”
The police officer’s eyes snapped down to mine again, a deep crease in his brow. “What?”
I lifted a trembling finger, pointing at the body which was now halfway covered by a white sheet.
“I-I kn-know him,” I pushed out, my body shaking.
Tears hit my eyes then. “That’s—he’s—” I tried swallowing the painful lump in my throat and worked to suppress my voice. “He’s…fuck,” I gasped, doubling over.
“Whoa. Easy,” he said, holding me up gently. “Put your arm around my neck. Can you do that for me?”
Giving him a rapid nod as I turned my head away from the dead man, I hooked my arm around the officer’s neck. “Was this man from Astoria?”
“Yes,” I whispered, my eyes on the sand as we walked away from the body and the crowd. Two more police officers stepped up to control the crowd.
“Okay. I’m Officer Massy. I’m going to take you to Sheriff Humbly, and he’s going to ask you a few questions. Yeah?”
All I could do was nod. There was heavy pressure in my ears, and I could no longer hear the waves. Or smell the salt in the air. My tongue went numb and my limbs were seconds from following suit.
“Take her to the ambulance.”
Sheriff Humbly’s voice, usually warm and soft, was cold and full of authority.
“The woman knows the victim. Says he was from Astoria,” Massy told him.
Slowly, I lifted my head to find Michael staring at me. His jaw was tight, his lips in a thin line under his mustache. He looked over at the man holding me up and then jerked his chin to the truck behind him. “Put her in the back.”
“What?” My eyes widened, the hair at the base of my neck standing on end. “No.”
“Ms. Howell,” Michael said, all business, as if I were a stranger. “To question you properly, I need to take you back to the station.” He looked over my shoulder to the body. “Is your car parked on the beach? I can have one of my guys drive it back into town for you.”
I pulled away from Officer Massy and planted my feet in the sand, ignoring the endless waves of dizziness slamming into me. “I don’t want to go back to the station. I want to go back and get a good look—”
“I can’t have you looming over the body—”
“Felix!” I shouted. His mouth shut and both of the men were staring at me now. I could feel more eyes on my back as my hands started to shake. “His name is Felix Kolby, and he is my friend!”
Michael held up his hands and took a small step toward me. “All right, Angel,” he said softly. More cars were coming onto the sand. More spectators.
I staggered back, pointing at him. “Don’t you dare touch me!”
His hands immediately fell to his sides. “I need to take you back to Astoria,” he urged.
My face crumpled, tears spilling onto my cheeks as a sound I couldn’t describe left my lips.
“I can’t! I can’t leave him here!” I cried, throwing my arm out to my dead friend.
I turned and tried running to him, not caring about the people gawking at me in horror, but a strong arm hooked around my waist.
“Breathe, Angel.”
Hayes.
“Let me go to him,” I begged, sobbing. I tried pushing Hayes’ arm out of the way, but it didn’t budge. “I need to be with him.”
“Can’t do that. The investigators need to do their jobs, sweetheart.”
“No, you don’t understand. He wasn’t supposed—he hasn’t been at work and we—I thought he just needed some space. Marg too,” I pushed out, my heart racing.
Grayson appeared, coming around to my front. “Shh, shh. Don’t say anything else, yeah?” He looked furious, but when his eyes left Felix and came to me, his fury morphed into sorrow. “Let me take you home,” he offered.
“I need her at the station,” Sheriff Humbly said, coming to my side.
I tried pushing on Hayes’ forearm again, but it was no use.
“She’s not going to the station,” Hayes clipped.
“Don’t try to fucking play this off,” Humbly shot back. “I heard what she just said. I need her to come with me.”
The men started arguing as if I weren’t here, but all I could focus on was Felix.
His face was swollen, deep cuts on both of his cheeks, bruising around his eyes.
He was still in his chef’s uniform, but the left sleeve was nearly shredded.
My eyes lingered on the orange stain from the tomato sauce.
It was the result of rushing to plate the food for the mayor’s birthday party.
I remember him barking out a cuss as he rushed over to the sink, rinsing the sauce off.
That was two nights ago.
Felix Kolby never went home after that shift. He never had the chance.
A breeze came through, shifting my ponytail and the sheet covering him. It flipped down, revealing the rest of him. No one noticed as the sheet danced in the wind, heading toward the water. I looked back and forth between the sheet and Felix.
He’ll get cold.
He’s too wet to be outside right now.
“He’s going to get cold,” I barked, glaring at Grayson and the sheriff. Both of their heads snapped to me. “The sheet flew away! He’s going to get cold! Please! Please cover him back up! I don’t want him getting sick!”
“Fuck, Angel,” Hayes muttered, sadness thick in his voice. “Honey, he’s—”
“Don’t,” I whispered, shaking my head. “Don’t say it.”
In the distance, just behind the crowd, a large black SUV rolled over the curb and came onto the sand.
I felt Hayes stiffen behind me, his arm loosening.
The hair on the back of my neck stood up, and a second later, Hayes released me.
The world around me, all the pain, all the fear, all the chaos, blurred.
My vision was a tunnel, and at the end of it, a tall, broad, mountain of a man emerged from the driver’s seat.
My savior.
My hero.
My Ash.
My breath caught as my heart recognized him, and something hidden deep within my soul tightened.
It was as if the cord between us was no longer loose.
It was pulling us closer to each other. The gray sky above cracked open with a clap of thunder, and in the blur, dozens of people were scrambling to get the crime scene covered, screaming out orders as the waves crashed against the sand.
It was an all-out panic as the rain pounded down from the heavens, cold and unrelenting.
My chest, heaving with a heavy ache, nearly deflated as Ash’s dark eyes landed on mine.
Someone beside me called my name, but I didn’t care to acknowledge it.
Once again, my body was moving, my sore leg muscles carrying me across the wet sand.
Ash, a dark knight in a sea of despair, started to move.
My breaths were ragged. I tried to call out his name, but my voice was too weak to carry it over the thunder.
The pelting rain was soaking him, his dark hair hanging on his forehead, his gray T-shirt now dark, rain streaming down the sides of his face, tracing the length of his long arms.
“Angel!” he called out.
When I was close, I jumped, not thinking about the outcome.
One breath, I was in the air, my eyes locked on his as I sobbed, “Ash,” and the next, I was in his arms, my front pressed against his, my legs around his waist. He took my weight with a soft grunt, his arms banding around me, caging me against his warmth.
I buried my face in the curve of his neck, my cries too far gone.
I felt his hand on the back of my head, his fingers gripping my ponytail, holding me in place.
“He’s gone!” I cried. “Ash! Please!” I didn’t know what I was begging for, but anything Ash gave me would be enough. It would always be enough for me, for my heart, and my soul.
“I got you, baby,” he promised gruffly, his hand at the back of my neck. “I got you. You’re safe now.”
My arms tightened around his neck in response. It was all I could give. My tears were endless and the sobs just kept coming.
“You’re okay,” he cooed. “I got you.”
Grayson’s sharp command cut through the air like a bullet. “Take her home, Doss!”
Ash turned around, and I burrowed farther into him, needing to hide in his heat, in his darkness. I was safe there. I’d always been safe there, but I had been too stubborn to see it. “Don’t let me go,” I croaked.
“Never,” he replied, opening a car door. I felt him shift, getting in the car with me in his lap. “Murphy! I need you to drive.”
Heat was all around me now, and the salt in the air vanished, replaced by a fresh hibiscus scent.
“Gotta put you in your seat,” Ash murmured in my ear, his hand dropping to my waist.
I shook my head and held on tighter. “Please, no.”
“Baby—”
“Please.”
A car door slammed and Jake asked, “We good?”
Ash sighed softly, his thumb rubbing the back of my head. “Yeah. Drive.”
“Michael is going to be over here in a bit,” Ash said behind me as we stepped into my foyer. “He needs to ask you some questions about Felix.”
I did my best not to flinch at the sound of his name.
I failed. As I scanned my surroundings as if I were a stranger in this place, the painful lump in my throat burst into millions of shards of glass.
My eyes were still leaking, but I’d grown used to the sensation.
My house was just as I’d left it this morning.
Clean, peaceful, and dead silent. The rain had let up, now gently hitting my windows in a rhythm that, on a normal day, would be perfect for a quick nap.
I said nothing as I took off my workout jacket and hung it on the coat rack in the corner.
“My team tried convincing him to give you a bit, but he needs to know what you know. The sooner the better,” he continued.
My feet carried me to my entry table, my eyes lingering on the wilting flowers in the center. I’d put off watering them this morning because I was so eager to go on my hike, to disappear in nature for a while and let my mind go quiet.
How selfish of me, leaving my flowers parched. I reached up and gently stroked a petal. It fell onto the table, a punishment for me. I felt Ash’s gaze on my back, burning into me, branding me as something I didn’t have the strength to accept yet.
“Angel?”
“Yes, that will be fine,” I muttered, wrapping my arms around myself as I turned to face him. Jake was on the phone with Dominic, pacing back and forth on the front porch. Through the screen, I could hear the frustration in his tone. “Is everything all right?” I asked Ash, watching Jake.
“We’ve got some things to figure out,” Ash said, finally coming to me. He put his hands on my shoulders, and I tipped my head back to meet his gaze. “I need you to go take a hot shower, get into comfy clothes, and then come back down here. You following me?”
I nodded. There wasn’t any other option.
“When you do, I’ll make you some tea,” he promised, giving me a weak smile. It was devastating.
“You know how to make tea?” I whispered, chewing on the inside of my cheek.
“No, but I want you to teach me so I can make it for you in the future,” he explained as my cell phone started ringing. I knew who it was, but we both ignored the pleasant jingle, not breaking our gaze.
My bottom lip began to wobble. “You’d do that for me?”
He cupped my face in his hands, his touch searing through me. “Starlight, I’d do anything for you.”
“Can you find who murdered my friend?” I rasped quietly, my lip trembling.
His warm eyes took me in, a peaceful silence lingering between us.
His eyes focused on mine, then followed my tears as they slid down my face, then stopped at my trembling mouth.
I should apologize for not having it all together.
If Ash were anyone else, I might have. But this man had saved me from the darkest nightmare of my life.
He’d seen me at my worst, and still, he looked at me like I was his everything.
And for a long time, I’d denied it—the idea of him and me.
Now? Now, he was the only person I wanted close to me.
When his eyes lifted back up to meet mine, there was a dark glimmer of violence swirling within them. “I’ll find them, baby.” Then he pressed a firm kiss to my forehead and told me to go shower.
It was supposed to be a quick shower.
In and out.
Wash off the sweat and trauma. Move on.
Pull myself together with a low bun and a practiced smile.
That didn’t happen.
The second the water hit my body, I melted to the floor of the bathtub and curled into a ball, letting the water surround me, consume me. Just as it had Felix.