Page 52 of A Spark in the Ash

Aaron looks around him and turns in a circle as he takes in the scenery around us. "I mean, I need to get out of the city. Mom… Everything she has us doing, it isn't right. It's going to get us all killed. Jaxon, we need to get out of here."

My heart flutters. It worked. No longer is this a man trapped in his mother's clutches. No longer is this the man who is doing things because he was possessed.

He's thinking clearly. He's making his own decisions once again. Finally.

Jaxon takes a step forward and rests his hand on his brother’s shoulder. "I think it's great that you want to change, brother. You haven't been yourself in a long time. It's nice to have you back. But we can't just take off right now. You need a plan, a smart way to escape. And I will help you do that, but it isn't going to be today."

Aaron shakes his head again, looking back toward the city. "I have to get out of here soon. If I stay, mom is going to make me do stuff I don't want to do. I'm sick of it. I need out."

Jaxon nods. "I know. Mom is throwing me and Serena a wedding party tonight. But tomorrow, I will help you make a plan. We will get you out of here, Aaron."

Aaron looks up at his brother with confusion. His brain is fogged right now. "Did I know you were married?"

Aaron thinks he's on some kind of bender. He thinks he woke up in the desert, after having too many drinks and too many drugs. It's understandable he's confused.

"It happened fast," I say as I step forward. "It was just two days ago."

Aaron nods, but he still seems perplexed.

"We need to head back," Jaxon says as he looks back toward the city. "We all need to get ready for Mom's party. Let's get you a hotel room off the Strip. Someplace Mom won’t come looking for you. And then tomorrow I'll come find you, and we will make a plan. Okay?"

He still seems so lost. The look in his eyes is distant and contemplative. But he nods absentmindedly. "Okay."

Jaxon glances over at me just once before he opens the back passenger door for his brother. This just got complicated on a whole different level. Not only do we have to figure out a way to get our separation from his mother, now Jaxon has to figure out a way for his brother to permanently disappear from her radar.

This is his family. Jaxon loves them, despite everything. He'll do whatever it takes to help his brother.

Aaron climbs into the seat and Jaxon closes the door after him. It's not like we can have any kind of a private conversation right now. We can't make any plans, knowing the full truth of what has just happened. So, without saying a word, we both climb back into our seats, Jaxon turns the SUV around, and drives back toward the city.

Thirty minutes later, Jaxon has Aaron checked in to a cheap hotel. He leaves him with instructions to go get some clean clothes and make sure he shows up at the grand ballroom at six o'clock. Jaxon reminds him that if he doesn't show up on time, it will only make more trouble for him than it's worth.

Aaron agrees to it, still seeming a little lost.

Jaxon and I climb back into the SUV. I lean back into the seat with a heavy sigh, feeling tired and heavy, and it’s only eleven.

I look over at Jaxon. “I’m proud of you,” I say. I reach over and take his hand. “This was a heavy, complicated situation, but you handled it amazingly.”

Jaxon looks over at me and manages a small smile. “Thanks,” he offers. “I honestly didn’t expect the change to be so…immediate. It’s like he’s just been a prisoner trapped inside himself for years.”

I nod. Because that’s basically how it was.

“I never thought I felt much of anything for my family,” Jaxon says as he looks down at his hands in his lap. “We’re all so screwed up and always making bad decisions. But with everything going on, I…” He shakes his head as he looks up and stares off into the distance. “I guess I had more loyalty to them than I ever realized.”

“That’s not such a bad thing,” I say softly as I lace my fingers into his hair.

He looks over at me, and I’m not sure he agrees from the expression in his eyes.

“Let’s get out of here,” I say, changing the subject. “I need something to eat or I’m going to die. And we need to get ready for your mother’s party.”

“I think it’s supposed to beourparty,” Jaxon says, raising an eyebrow as he lifts my hands to his lips. He presses them to the ring he placed on my finger. “It’s supposed to be to celebrateus, Mrs. Gray.”

A wave of goosebumps flash over my entire body at the title. It snags in my lower stomach.

And I can’t hold myself back. I crawl over the center console, pushing him back as I straddle his lap, and take his lips as my own.

Serena Gray.

I can’t even remember my actual last name.

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