Page 71 of Ashes to Ashes

The orderly tried to help me stand, but I brushed him off. “I got it,” I said, planting one hand on the roof of the car and the other on the door frame. He took a step back to observe my progress, and when he was satisfied I wasn’t going to fall flat on my face, wheeled the chairaway.

After I eased my way into the set and pulled my feet in after me, Rae closed the door and jogged around to the other side of the car. Climbing into her own seat, she shoved the key in the ignition and started the engine. Driving slow out of the parking lot so the speed bumps wouldn’t jostle me, we were on the highway before either of us spoke again.

“You didn’t tell me you were buying a car.” She shrugged, and kept her eye on the road. “You’re not going to answer.”

Her eyes flicked quickly to mine. “No, because you’re itching for a fight. It’s better if I just sit here and keep quiet.”

“I’m not itching for a fight,” I said irritably. I wasn’t … and yet, we did need to have a discussion. One that had the potential to turn into a fight. Okay, it more than had potential. It was definitely going to lead to some yelling. No way was Rae going to leave Oregon without giving me a piece of her mind. But as soon as she was gone, I knew she’d see I was right about us. We might love each other, but we didn’t have a future.

“I lied,” she announced as she flipped on her blinker, exited the freeway, and merged onto the two-lane highway that led to the turnoff for my property. “I can’t sit here and not say anything.” She gripped the steering wheel in a white-knuckled grip, her eyes focused on the asphalt ahead of us. “You promised you weren’t mad atme.”

“Wait, what?”

She looked at me quickly before dragging her eyes back to the road. “About shooting you on accident. You promised you weren’tmad.”

“I’m not mad,” I said, turning as much as I was capable and looking at her. “I’m not,” I added when she cast me a skeptical glance. “That’s notit.”

“What is it then?” she asked, leaning forward in her seat to peer out the windshield. The turnoff to my driveway was hidden from the road, but if you knew what to look for, it was easy enough tofind.

“About another quarter mile,” I said, immediately recognizing where we were. “Slow down here, or you’ll missit.”

Rae brought the car to a crawl, and when she saw the break in the trees, made a careful right turn down the narrow opening. For the next hundred feet or so, the Subaru jostled over the uneven surface, and I had to force myself not to grip my side with each rock and roll of the car. Eventually, the driveway evened out and turned to gravel.

“I don’t believe you,” she eventuallysaid.

“Why’d you buy this car, Rae?”

She glanced at me out of the corner of her eye. “Because I need something to drive when I’mhere.”

“And how often is that going to be?” I asked, trying to keep my voiceeven.

“Well, you need to get better—”

“I’m fine,” I interrupted. No way was I going to let her guilt be the reason she stayed withme.

“And then we have to finish my album,” she said, navigating a bend in the road that brought my cabin into view. It also revealed two black SUVs and a smile white Porsche.

I groaned. “What are they doing here?” I asked, when Dermott, Gage, and Charlotte stepped out of the house to stand on the front porch.

Rae stopped the car in a spot they’d left open closest to the stairs leading up to my house. “Dermott came up to take care of the situation with Noones. You know that.” She flicked the ignition and twisted in her seat. “You do remember us discussing it, right?”

I unbuckled my seatbelt and pulled on the door handle. Throwing it open, I eased my way out and to my feet. Rae raced to catch up, and ran around the side of the car to grip my elbow. “I’m fine,” I snarled. “Would you stop treating me like a fucking invalid?”

She dropped my arm like I’d burned her and took a few steps backward as I moved toward my house. A few tense moments later, I walked through my front door and glanced around. I knew Dermott would have seen to the place and that it would be spotless, but I couldn’t help it when my eyes sought out the spot where I’d shot Noones. As soon as my first bullet had hit him, he’d fallen to his knees, gripping his chest. Then I’d shot him again, just to be certain he was dead. I’d no intention of letting him live. He’d just wind up in jail where he’d probably get out in a few years on appeal. I’d heard too many horror stories to want to take that chance. Even if I hadn’t been sure I’d get away with it, I still would have taken him out. Keeping Rae safe from that bastard would have been worth jail time. But I knew from Dermott that wasn’t going to be a problem. Not with my record and the work I’d done. Too many important people owned me too many favors.

Dermott saw where my eyes lingered. “It’s clean,” he said, coming up alongside me and dropping a hand to my shoulder.

I turned to him. “Yeah, I know. Your people do goodwork.”

He smiled, just a small quirk of his lips. “They do.” I couldn’t be sure, but from his tone, I thought he included me among that group.

“I booked flights out the day after tomorrow,” Charlotte was telling Rae as they entered with Gage on their heels.

Even now with Noones dead, my cousin’s eyes swept the room to assess his surroundings. He was no longer responsible for Charlotte’s well-being, but from the way his gaze lingered on her, I thought there might be some unfinished business between the two of them. Rae and I had fallen in love in the short time we’d been holed up here together; who was the say Gage and Charlotte hadn’t fallen into something themselves?

Rae hung her purse on a hook near the door. “I’m not leaving,” she said turning to her best friend. “I told you that already.”

Charlotte was looking down at her phone so she didn’t see the scowl on Rae’s face. “And I told you,” she said, finally glancing up, “that with news about what happened here leaking, we need to get you in front of Trombley again for an in-person in the studio. If we can get it filmed before Friday, they can edit both segments into a two-hour special.”

“No,” Rae ground out, crossing her arms over her chest. “I’m staying here. Ash needsme.”

Charlotte looked at me with a raised eyebrow. “Do you needRae?”

My eyes flicked between the two women and I took a deep breath. My eyes locked with Rae’s for a few heated moments and I saw when she realized what I was going to say. Before she could interrupt, I turned back to Charlotte. “No, I don’t needher.”

And then I left the room, the sounds of angry curses and disbelieving shouts growing quiet as I closed the door to my office and shut themout.

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