29. …Must Come Down
My life after Ash came into it was already good. But in the weeks since I’d found out about the other side of him, and the last bit of his restraint disappeared?
It was a dream. Better than anything I could’ve imagined.
Ash loved me. Actually, loved may have been too weak of a word, but it was the best one I had.
Not only was my love life perfect, but I also had friends. Actual friends.
Okay, I had Juliet. But she had to count as like ten friends in one because she was so good.
And beyond all of that, I had big plans for the future. Exciting plans. I’d never really allowed myself to make those before, even in a pipe dream kinda way. In some part of my mind, I’d relegated myself to a lifetime of working at The Roulette or similar places. Imagining anything better had seemed pointless.
Not anymore, though.
With so much good, only one person could mess it up.
And, unfortunately, she was headed right for me.
My eyes scanned the hallway near Moonlight’s food court, looking for familiar faces. Other than Elliot, there were none.
After all the years of Veronica trying to hide that she was old enough to have a daughter, something was karmic in the fact I didn’t want anyone there to know she was my mother.
For a couple of weeks, she’d texted daily, but when I never responded, she’d given up. I’d assumed she’d moved on. But as she hustled over like the IRS was on her tail, I saw my luck hadn’t completely changed.
Elliot clocked her as a threat and stepped to block me before she got near.
“Get out of the way,” Veronica said, her voice pitched high with panic.
Elliot never had to act as more than a precautionary sentry.
Until then.
“You need to leave.” His hand went to his taser. “Now.”
Her pinched face twisted, and I just knew she was building up to a loud fit. Like a tea kettle about to scream.
“It’s okay, Elliot,” I said, hoping to get whatever drama over with quickly so I could go get my cheeseburger. “She’s my mom.”
He looked between us disbelievingly, and I could’ve kissed his cheek for that compliment.
Except for the fact Ash would’ve undoubtedly sliced the skin right off his face.
“I promise she’s not a threat,” I tacked on when he still hesitated.
Not one to my physical well-being, at least.
He didn’t grab his taser, but he did pull his phone out, likely to check in with Ash.
Since that was fine by me, I turned my focus to my mother. “What’s?—”
Before I could finish, she gripped my upper arm in the tight way she used to when I did something wrong as a kid.
If she leaves bruises, Elliot’s taser will be the least of her worries.
She tried to pull me down the hall, but I dug my heels in and dislodged my arm before she could.
Her frantic gaze darted around, and she kept her voice low. Like she was trying to hide from someone. “I need money.”
Oh. Wow. I am shocked. Someone alert Ripley’s Believe It or Not to this groundbreaking revelation.
“Try your luck at Keno,” I said coldly.
“Camila, I’m serious.”
When Ash called me by my name, it usually meant he was saying something extra important. Since that almost always meant he was being sexy, bossy, or sexily bossy, I loved hearing it in his gravelly voice.
Hearing it from Veronica was wrong. She may have given me the name, but it wasn’t hers to use anymore.
“And I’m just as serious,” I said. “I’m not giving you money.”
Elliot came closer, but I held a hand out to stop him. The sooner she spewed whatever vitriol she needed, the sooner she’d leave.
In that moment, as I looked at the woman I barely knew, I finally felt ready to sever that connection. I was no longer desperate enough to cling to family just because we shared some blood. I no longer feared I’d be alone. It wasn’t a possibility.
I had Ash.
“Fine.” Veronica sighed like I’d done something egregious. “Buy me a plane ticket. I don’t care where, I just need to get away. Vegas isn’t safe for me.”
My eyes narrowed. “What did you get into?”
She looked over her shoulder again. “I don’t need much. Enough to get by for a while. Maybe a buffer.”
Oh my God, she’s begging for money and still trying to negotiate for more.
“I don’t have any,” I said honestly. I’d reordered my debit card and ID. Though I hadn’t noticed until it’d come in the mail that Ash had switched my address to his.
It was just as well. He, Cole, and Marco had already cleared my old apartment out.
Even though I had my own card and one of Ash’s, I never carried them. I never had to.
Just like I never had to stress about money, budgeting, or whether I had enough food to last me the week.
Not that I spent Ash’s money—much to his chagrin—but it was reassuring to know it was there if I needed it.
Somehow Veronica seemed to know that because she ordered, “Get it from your man.”
“He’s not here, so I can’t ask,” I lied. All I had to do was call, and he’d come. All I had to do was mention it, and he’d give it to me.
I just didn’t want to.
“No one said to ask. Take it.” Her words spilled out in a distracted ramble as she stayed alert and scanned around us. “He won’t even care. You must’ve gotten something from your mama ’cause he said your man wired over fifty-K like he was paying for a cup of coffee. That’s why he wanted me to try to reconnect with you.”
I might’ve been done with her, but at the confirmation that her messages were just another manipulative act, sharp pain sliced through me.
I did something I rarely had to do anymore—suppressed it. “Who are you talking about? What money?”
Veronica’s gaze landed on me. “From the… misunderstanding. Your man paid it off. He’s not going to care if you give me more. He won’t even notice.”
“Ash paid…” My jaw dropped. “You owed fifty thousand dollars to someone?”
My brain couldn’t fathom how that was possible. Hell, a couple of months ago, my brain wouldn’t have been able to fathom the life someone could live with fifty thousand dollars. Yet my mother must’ve blown through it like she always did on her quest for the easy life with more, more, more.
It wasn’t a surprise Ash had paid it. If he thought he was protecting me, I wasn’t sure there was a limit to what he’d do. That didn’t mean I was happy about it. Especially since he hadn’t told me himself.
Not giving her the chance to come up with some bullshit lie about how she’d donated the money to kittens and firefighters and kittens who were training to be firefighters, I stepped away. “I don’t care if he wouldn’t notice. I don’t steal from my man. I’m not like you.”
A sharp thwack cut through the air as Veronica’s palm struck my cheek.
Well, I was wrong…
She is a threat to my physical well-being, too.
I wanted to say it was her pain at the thought of losing me that overwhelmed her to the point of lashing out, but I knew better. It was about the money.
It was always about the money.
Veronica’s realization that I wasn’t going to help her showed she couldn’t manipulate me. That meant I no longer served a purpose. She didn’t have to watch her temper.
Elliot moved in to grab her, but the behemoth at my back got there first.
Wrapping an arm around my stomach, Ash shifted me behind his big body. His voice was low and calm but so fucking terrifying as he spoke to Veronica. “You’re done. I tried to give Mila the chance to come to the decision herself, but that time has run out. And so has yours. You’re out of her life.”
Desperate to see how she reacted to being put in her place, I peeked around Ash to see Veronica stupidly argue with him. “Who the fuck are you to tell my daughter what to do?”
“I’m her Daddy.”
Simple as that.
Her lip curled in disgust. “That’s disgusting, you abusive?—”
“Shut up,” I snapped, dodging from behind Ash. His arm wrapped around me again, but that time it wasn’t to protect me. It was to stop me from lunging at the bitch in front of me. When she opened her mouth, I held up a finger—and not the one I wanted to give her. “Don’t say another word. I don’t want to hear or give a fuck what you think of my relationship. I’m not even going to waste my time and breath bragging about all the ways it’s better than anything you could hope to have. I just want you gone. Forever. You’re banned from all Black Resorts properties and whatever other ones my Daddy has connections at. Now get out. You’re dead to me.”
Ash’s voice stayed low so only Veronica and I could hear. “I don’t care if you’re walking down the street and coincidentally see Mila. You better turn your ass around and run. Because if either of us sees you again, you’ll regret it. Understood?”
With hate in her blue eyes that she aimed at both of us, she didn’t have the chance to say anything before Ash shuffled us backward. Uniformed guards moved in to grab Veronica’s arms.
I’d kind of accepted that making scenes at Moonlight was my thing, but it was nothing compared to the one she created when she was physically removed from the property.
Ash turned his angry eyes to Elliot.
Standing close, he just raised his chin and waited for his reprimand.
But I wasn’t done playing the protective hero. Twisting to look at Ash, I explained, “Veronica showed up to ask for money, and I told Elliot I had it handled because I thought I did. I didn’t think she’d hit me. Which hurt less than your spanks, so it’s not even a big deal.” I glanced toward Elliot quickly before returning my focus to Ash. “Anyway, what I’m saying is it’s not Elliot’s fault.”
“He didn’t guard you. It’s his literal job. Right in the title and everything.” His words may have been light and flippant, but the way he glared at Elliot was far from playful.
I put my hands on his chest so he would look down at me. “But I needed to do that. Now I have closure.”
Ash jerked his head, and Elliot hightailed it away, leaving the two of us alone.
Well, as alone as we could be in a crowded hall.
His hand cupped my warm cheek gently, and his expression turned so thunderous, I thought he would change his mind and have Veronica hauled back so he could yell at her some more. “Tell me what happened.”
I quickly filled him in on the little she’d said that I could remember.
“Did she say what the trouble was?” he asked.
“No, just that Vegas wasn’t safe for her.” I glared up at him. “You paid fifty thousand dollars for her?”
He shook his head, and I was about to call him out for lying to me again until he said, “I paid fifty thousand dollars for you.”
“That’s so much… I can’t… Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Swear to God, I wasn’t trying to keep it a secret all this time. I was going to tell you, but then Veronica was quiet, we’ve been busy, and it slipped my mind.”
“You forgot you paid fifty… You know what. Never mind.”
His bunched muscles relaxed, and his gaze softened as he studied me. “You okay?”
“Is Maximo going to be mad I banned someone from his resorts?”
“Fuck no. If the cameras picked that up and he sees it, there’s a good chance he’ll put you in charge of banning people from now on.” He lifted my chin and didn’t let me joke my way out of anything. “Are you okay?”
“I should’ve cut her off years ago, but a voice in my head always reminded me she was the only family I had. That if I didn’t have her, I didn’t have anyone. That’s not true anymore. I have you.”
“And you always will. I’m not going anywhere.”
“Even with a restraining order?” I teased.
“Even then.”
“And that’s why I’m not even slightly sad.” I inhaled deeply, looking at the spot where she’d been. “Drama’s done. She’s dead to me. Old news. It’s time for a cheeseburger.”
Who could that be?
I moved through the house toward the source of the loud banging with my cell in my hand. I wasn’t dialing 911 as a precaution.
I called Ash. Except the phone just rang. He didn’t answer. A ball of worry took root in my chest.
When I reached the front door, I peeked outside to see two cops.
That’s why he didn’t answer. He’s been hurt.
Or worse.
I was tempted to throw the door open, but I knew better. “What do you want?”
“Police, ma’am. We have some questions for you.”
“Let me see your badges.”
Two badges were pressed to the glass. They looked legit, but I wasn’t an expert. For all I knew, they’d bought them online.
“Business cards, too,” I said since it was less likely an impersonator would think to make those.
Two legit-looking business cards were presented, but only one of them was a cop.
I texted Ash, Marco, Cole, and Juliet.
Me: Cops are here.
Me: Or a cop and an FBI agent.
Disabling the alarm, I cracked the door and looked between the older male cop in a regular uniform and the younger female agent in a suit. “May I help you?”
After identifying themselves with names that didn’t register in my panic about why they were there and why Ash hadn’t answered my call, the older cop spoke. “Camila Price?”
“That’s right.”
“What’s your relation to Veronica Rogers?”
Since it was the technical truth, I said, “She’s my mother.”
“When’s the last time you saw her?”
“Yesterday afternoon.”
Oh my God, if this bitch is trying to lie and press charges, I’m going to hunt her down and kill her myself.
“We’re sorry to have to tell you this, but your mother was found dead this morning.”
Never mind, someone beat me to it.
The agent tilted her head. “Could you tell us where your boyfriend was last night?”