Chapter Seventeen #2
It was just after ten. The crescent moon hovered over Portland, disappearing behind a string of clouds every few minutes or so.
The air was damp and cooler than it had been in Astoria.
I was still in my funeral dress. Margo had managed to change out of her funeral attire into her regular black attire, which featured ripped black jeans and a band T-shirt from the ’90s.
She’d swooped her pin-straight hair into a high ponytail and hooked a stun gun to her hip.
And her feet were covered by a pair of black Docs that looked extremely uncomfortable.
Carrie had also changed out of her funeral outfit into a pair of light-washed jeans and a yellow sweatshirt that said It’s time to dilly dally.
During the meal, while I went table to table beside Margie, I managed to ask the girls if they would help me with something.
I still didn’t know what the hell I was doing here.
It wasn’t like he was going to tell me anything.
I just needed to know what efforts he’d put into finding me. My conscience needed to know how much time he wasted. And money, and Red Snake’s resources. Perhaps, when I had the guts to make that damn phone call, I could negotiate a reimbursement of some kind.
“Yeah, Hayes clocked my lie the second it left my lips, babe,” Margo deadpanned, cocking her head at me. “We’ve never hung out before, Angel. Do you think that all of a sudden, he’s going to believe that you wanted me to come over for wine and a movie night?”
I wish he did.
But my life was a never-ending nightmare, it seemed.
My lips thinned as Carrie added, “Grayson knows where I am.” Margo and I looked back at her. Carrie gave us a look. “This man is going to be my husband in a few months. Do you honestly think he doesn’t know where I am at all times?”
“Please don’t tell me he put a tracker on you,” Margo groaned.
“It is quite invasive,” I muttered, picking my cuticle, trying not to freak the hell out.
“No, no. It’s not that. I mean, yes. It is that, but if Grayson did it to Carrie, then it’s only a matter of time before Superman tries to put that shit on me.”
I let out a heavy sigh and leaned back in my seat, staring up at the building, the home of Red Snake Investigations.
“To be honest, I don’t even know what the hell I’m doing.
” The women fell quiet as I chewed on my lip for a moment.
“I don’t—there’s something happening between Ash and me. Something monumental.”
And I owe him more than my life.
“Well, look at everything you’ve been through,” Carrie reminded me softly.
Shaking my head, I said, “No. It’s more than that.
I’ve thought about it for so long, wondering whether the feelings I’ve tried to bury for years were solely formed out of adrenaline, out of trauma.
” I paused, swallowing the lump in my throat.
“But over the last few weeks, since Ash came back into my life, I’ve realized these feelings didn’t manifest because he saved my life.
” I paused, my heart singing, beckoning him. “They exist because he does.”
Carrie made a sound. I looked up just in time to see her covering her mouth, stifling a whimper.
“Have you told him this?” Margo asked. “Is that why we’re here?”
“No, I haven’t. And no, that’s not why we’re here.”
They looked confused. I took off my seat belt and twisted in my seat, running a hand through my hair. “I’m going to assume Hayes and Grayson don’t tell you anything about their cases.”
“They’re bound by law not to,” Carrie answered.
“Well, I know Red Snake took over Felix’s homicide case or they’re partnering with the sheriff’s office,” I explained.
I knew it was wrong to make this about Felix, but I needed a good cover-up.
At least until things straightened themselves out.
“When…the day Felix’s body was found, Sheriff Humbly and Red Snake were at my house.
Michael needed to take my statement as well as ask me a few questions.
I wasn’t in my right mind, and Ash knew this.
” In the dark, my cheeks grew warm, the memory of him pinning me against the door flashing before my eyes.
“He told me to take the time I needed, and Jake had called him. He went back downstairs, and I heard arguing…”
“Arguing?” Margo parroted. “Over what?”
“It’s because of you, Angel,” Carrie revealed.
My eyes met her blue ones. “What do you mean?”
“Red Snake is stepping in on this case because Felix was your friend.”
I blinked. “What does that have to do with anything? Am I a suspect?” My stomach tightened. “I’ve never hurt anyone before. How could I—”
Carrie reached over and grabbed my hand. “You’re not a suspect, but given how you came into Ash’s life, Red Snake isn’t willing to take any chances.”
It clicked then, and I could feel the blood draining from my face. “Do you think I’m in danger?”
That man’s horrid face, one I’d spent years trying to erase from my memory, was swimming up to the surface, and I could practically feel the silk sheets of the bed he’d shackled me to. There was no way Benson knew I was here. I’d covered my tracks. I’d done what I was told.
“No,” Margo pushed, shaking her head. “The boys are just cautious, that’s all.”
“Ash is keeping something from me,” I blurted.
Their eyes didn’t widen. Their brows didn’t move.
In fact, they remained still. “Jake called him this afternoon, and whatever Jake told him, it was serious. He said he needed to come to the offices and not much else. He was distant for the rest of the afternoon and barely talked to me at dinner.”
They shared a quick glance.
“What?” I pressed. “What is it?”
“We don’t know,” Margo answered.
“This is pretty typical behavior, actually.”
“It is?” I rubbed my chest, anxiety bubbling underneath my skin.
“Yes. These guys have tough jobs, babe,” Margo reassured. “They deal with a lot of bad shit and people. Usually, they are able to take care of the bad people.” She gives me a faint smile. “Sometimes it takes a little time for justice to be served, but in the end, it always is.”
“Is that why you brought us up here? To see what he was hiding?”
I nodded. “I figured one of you could get me into the office.”
“I don’t have the new passcode,” Carrie sighed. “They change it every week to stay on top of security.”
“I have it,” Margo said, pulling out her phone.
Carrie did a double take. “Y-you have it?”
“Yeah, Hayes texts it to me every Monday when it switches,” Margo replied, her eyes on her phone.
Her best friend gave her a look of bewilderment. “What the hell?”
Margo waved her off. “I wouldn’t worry about it. Hayes is a fucking control freak and has a reminder alarm set for it.”
“Those never work for me,” I muttered, thinking about my color-coded planner sitting on my kitchen counter.
“So your makeshift plan was to sneak into the super high-tech bounty hunter offices that my boyfriend and her fiancé own, snoop around in your man’s office, and then get donuts after?” Margo chirped, putting her phone into her back pocket.
“Well, I…wait, donuts?”
She winked at me. “I don’t work for free.” Carrie laughed, shaking her head. Margo shot her a look. “You need to put Grayson’s hoodie on if you’re tagging along, Cardinal.”
“What? Why? This shirt is cute.”
“Yes, but you’ll look like a damn highlighter running across the street in that yellow and blow this whole operation. Put it on.”
Carrie grumbled as she slipped into Grayson’s hoodie.
Margo put her hand on the door handle. “We doing this or not?”
I took a long breath. “Should we?”
She smirked, something devilish lingering in her green eyes. “Hell yeah.”
Seconds later, we were all out of the car, running across the street and into the underground parking garage with Margo in the lead.
She yanked us down to hide behind a hunter green SUV.
She peeked over the hood before ducking again.
“Okay, that camera is going to catch us, but if we just calmly walk in like we know what we’re doing, Jake will probably glaze over the footage. ”
Carrie rolled her eyes, huffing. “We should’ve gone through the front door.”
“So we could deal with hard-of-hearing Gary?” Margo shot back.
“Hard-of-hearing Gary?”
Carrie gave me an apologetic look. “He’s the doorman for the building. He’s sweet, but—”
“An atomic bomb could go off, and he wouldn’t fucking hear it,” Margo deadpanned, reaching under her shirt sleeves to pull down her fishnets.
She hooked them over her middle fingers and lifted her chin to me.
“You look like you work in an office right now, so all you’ll need to do is keep your steps even and head down, got me? ”
“You sound like Hayes,” Carrie teased.
Margo’s cheeks tinted pink. “Shut up, Cardinal.”
The words left my mouth before I could make sense of them. “You’re so in love with him.”
Her eyes flashed, softening. “Yeah, I am.”
I smiled. “I think it’s sweet. I’m glad you have that. Both of you.”
A smooth, deep voice slithered into our hiding spot then. “And I’m glad I have the absolute pleasure of finding you three.”
Slowly, we looked up to find Dominic leaning against the tailgate, hands in his pockets, ankles crossed.
He gave us a beautiful, calculated smile, chuckling.
The sound washed over me like rain. I’d only interacted with him a handful of times since moving to Astoria.
I've talked to him more in the last two weeks than in the nearly two years before that, but I’d never seen him smile or laugh.
It was quite a sight. Dominic was almost ethereal.
He reached up, loosening his tie and unbuttoning the top button of his shirt.
Then I held my breath as he pushed his black hair out of his face.
“Would you ladies care to tell me why you’re crouched on the floor of Red Snake’s parking garage? ” he asked, his voice like wine.
“Hi, Dominic,” Carrie squeaked.
His lips twitched, finding her eyes. “Hello, Carrie.” He looked at Margo. “You doing okay this evening, Margo?”