Chapter Eighteen
Ash
It’s your call.
My eyes lingered on the text Grayson had sent to the group chat as I rubbed my chin.
Jake and I had been going over what he’d found for the last two hours, going through every detail of the Benson/Howell file with a fine-tooth comb.
Years of tips that had led to hopeful leads and eventually dead ends.
For nearly three years, it had been a constant, torturous cycle that I’d endured, forcing my heart and soul to go through, because I couldn’t give up. Not on her.
Jake stood at the head of the table, hands braced on the surface, his head bent.
After the funeral, he’d come straight back here, continuing the search he started over eight days ago.
He’d been eating, showering, and even sleeping here.
At one point, Hayes threatened to kick down his office door because the fucker hadn’t come up for air in over forty-two hours.
Angel Howell was, in fact, not Angel Howell.
She didn’t exist in any trafficking survivor databases.
“What if she escaped Devil’s Den and found help locally?” Jake asked, pushing his hair back.
I threw my hand out, gesturing to the mess on the table. “Then we would’ve gotten a fucking tip long ago. Seattle PD has their pulse on the ring. They knew Red Snake was looking for her.”
Jake looked solemn. “Ash, you were down for over six months. That’s a long time for traffic victims to be shuffled around.” He adjusted his glasses. “What if she was transferred somewhere else, outside of Seattle, and escaped there? Has she told you anything?”
I shook my head. “I don’t—I didn’t want to push her.”
“She’s out of danger.”
“We don’t know that. Her friend was just murdered,” I said through my teeth.
He walked around the table. “Not to sound like a dick, but it’s estimated that globally, over three hundred people are murdered daily. Felix Kolby could just be another statistic.”
Both of our phones chimed again, more texts rolling in.
Hayes: If you’re worried about the law, don’t. We’ll back you up.
Grayson: I can call in a favor with my buddy in the CIA.
“Are you not going to reply?” Murphy asked, picking up some phone call logs.
“Waiting on Edwards to put in his two cents.”
Jake huffed a laugh. “You know what he’ll say.”
“Don’t take any chances,” I muttered, practically visualizing his text popping up on my screen. “I know.” I scrubbed my hand down my face, exhaustion weighing heavy. “I don’t know, man. What if we—what if this puts her in danger?”
His eyes met mine over the paper.
I let my fist fall onto the table, letting out a sigh through my nostrils. “What if she isn’t in any danger? What if this is just my fucking paranoia trying to call the shots?”
Jake said nothing, bringing the logs down, watching me like a hawk.
I leaned forward, my forearms on the edge of the table, and let my head fall. “She’s too precious to me,” I murmured.
He sighed. “Which is why you have to move forward with this.”
My head snapped up. “What?”
“You heard me, Ash,” he replied, taking his seat. He tipped his head to the evidence scattered across the table. “You lost years of your life over this.”
“I didn’t lose anything,” I said. “I did what I had to do for her.”
His eyes narrowed. “You didn’t lose anything?” he repeated slowly. “Are you fucking kidding? You lost your life!”
I fell back in my chair. “I’m right here, Jake.”
“No, the shell of my friend is right here.” He pointed to the door. “But my friend, the Ash I knew? He’s gone. He died when he followed her shadow into Devil’s Den.”
My jaw tightened, a painful lump filled with glass climbing up my throat. “That’s not fair,” I whispered.
“Life isn’t fucking fair, Doss,” he shot back, standing up again. He walked around the table, stopping across from me, and lifted his finger at me. “But Angel is your chance.”
“A chance for what?” I held out my arms. “A chance for me to have happiness? Then yes, I agree with you, but—”
“A chance for you to find yourself again. To fill the void inside yourself. She can’t do that, but maybe, with her in your life, you can find the strength to face what you’ve been too scared to confront.”
“You sound like fucking Dominic.”
“That’s because I fucking listen to him,” he clipped. “And I need you to listen to me right now. The shit I’ve found…it’s nothing like I expected. This is a deep, strong web of transactions, deals, contracts, and sales pathways we’ve never seen.”
“We’ve dealt with traffickers before, Murphy.”
“Not like this,” he said. “In fact, I don’t want to touch this.”
“So we don’t fucking touch it. Give what you found to the trafficking unit in Houston and move on,” I pushed.
“Buddy, we have to touch this,” he whispered, his eyes hard. “We don’t have a choice.”
“You’re absolutely certain this will touch her if we don’t?”
He nodded slowly, his shoulders falling. “I know you don’t want to—”
“Of course I don’t fucking want to,” I growled. “I just got her. I finally have her, Jake. You don’t get it. Fuck. I can’t lose her, not again. I won’t survive it.”
From somewhere down the hall, a door opened and closed. Both of our heads snapped to the door just in time to see Dominic lean against the frame. He gave us a small nod, the bags under his eyes darker than before.
“What are you doing back?”
He held up his phone. “I’m here to convince Ash to do the right thing,” he answered.
“I don’t want her in danger.”
“Then she won’t be,” he replied. “You can take her somewhere. Anywhere. And we’ll contact you when the threat has been neutralized.”
“We don’t know who the threat is.”
“We’ll find him. Whoever killed Kolby is not only a threat to her, but to our family. To Astoria. That town is too small to have a murderer.”
“I can’t sit this one out. I can’t ask the four of you to fight this for me.”
“Good thing you don’t have to,” Jake jumped in. “We’d do it either way.”
“And if one of you gets hurt because of this? Because of my desire for her?”
Dominic smiled. It was gentle and patient. “What’s between you and Angel is more than just lust, and you know it. We all know it. There’s a deeper connection there, and you two should have the right and freedom to explore that.”
“You can’t do that if someone from Benson’s old circle is still hunting her because he didn’t get the memo that you killed his boss,” Jake deadpanned.
A flicker of surprise passed over Dominic’s face. “You told him?”
“I told everyone,” I confessed, shrugging a shoulder. I pointed at Jake. “Also, not possible. I took care of everyone Benson was involved with.”
“How?” he challenged me, bracing his hands on the table. “By stealing my laptop? After years of searching, you expect me to believe that you just magically found Benson on your own?”
Dominic’s eyes cut to me and then back to Jake.
Jake, being fucking Jake, clocked that shit. His head tilted to the side, eyes narrowed on our friend. “You know something, don’t you?”
“I know things because I have to,” he replied. “Patient-doctor confidentiality.”
Jake’s warm eyes turned cold, his gaze locked on me. “What am I missing?”
“It’s none of your concern,” I told him, biting my jaw.
“The fuck it isn’t! I want the truth. How did you find him?”
I shook my head. “I’m not dragging you into this.”
Jake pointed at Dominic. “But you can drag him? Spare me the fucking bullshit, Doss.”
“I called in a fucking favor, all right?” I shot back.
He blinked, his anger fading into something much more dangerous. “With who?”
My upper lip curled. “Tucker.”
“You called Tucker?” he barked.
Dominic looked at his shoes, muttering something under his breath. Our phones chimed again.
Hayes: Head’s up. You have company.
“The fuck?” Jake whispered, texting back.
Murphy: Dominic is back. That’s the company.
Grayson: The three of you have five seconds to find my woman and tell her to get her ass back home to me before I set the city on fire.
“Carrie is here?” I looked up, finding Dominic’s dark blue eyes staring me down. “Dominic?”
He pursed his lips. “I haven’t seen her.”
Hayes: Tell Margo to grab my workout bag from my office before they leave.
Me: Margo and Carrie aren’t here, fucknuts.
Grayson: Well, they aren’t over at Angel’s or anywhere else in town.
My fingers tightened on the phone. “Angel isn’t at her house?” I snatched the land line phone from the center of the table and dialed her number. It rang in my ear as I scanned over the chat, feeling Dominic’s presence disappear. Jake was pulling up the camera feeds, cussing under his breath.
Jake: I didn’t see anything on the cameras.
Hayes: Margo has the door code.
Grayson: The new one?
Hayes: Of course. I give it to her every week.
Grayson: Fuck me.
Dominic: Perhaps now would be the best time to say good night.
Angel didn’t answer. My blood started to boil, and my airway suddenly felt tight.
Me: Where the fuck did you go, Dominic?
Dominic: I’m going to bed. Have fun.
Jake: What the hell is happening?
Grayson: Dominic, remind me to fire you tomorrow.
Dominic: I’ll pencil it before my nine a.m.
Hayes: Also, tell Margo to grab some more of my red pens. I have some paperwork to go over tonight.
Grayson: Our women are missing and you’re talking about pens? TF is wrong with you?
Hayes: Margo is strapped. I’m not worried about her. Is Carrie strapped?
Grayson: …no.
Hayes: Hmm. What did we learn?
Me: Where the fuck are they, Dominic?
His text bubbles came up and disappeared twice. Jake was pacing, and I was seconds away from finding a bomb to deliver to the fucker’s apartment.
Dominic: The girls had an adventure tonight. I was forced into it against my will. I’m innocent.
Me: I’m going to shave your head in your sleep and shred your suits.
Dominic: They’re in your office.
Jake: WHAT THE FUCK?
Dominic: Also, just an FYI…they know about the secret entrance. K. Good night.
Grayson: Yeah. I’m firing him.
Hayes: Don’t forget to tell Margo about my bag and pens.
My eyes met Jake’s. “We’re not done talking about this,” he said.
“Yes, we are.”
“Tucker is bad news, Ash,” he replied, his voice soft.
“What’s done is done,” I growled, prowling down the hall.