Page 94 of Ash Storm

Ash

The conference room door was already open when they arrived. The smell of fresh coffee and pastries wafted out.

Ash stepped aside to let Reka walk through. There’d been no question of leaving her behind. She’d already been dressed and ready, and standing by the door, by the time he came out of the shower.

Reka made a beeline for the table holding the refreshments. She hesitated between a croissant and a shiny horseshoe-shaped pastry, finally settling on the croissant. “Thank you,” she told Pascale.

The young man fairly puffed up in pride. “I drove over to a coffee shop. I figured we’d need some sustenance.”

“Okay, settle down, everyone,” Dark said. He turned to Rogue. “We know Afsan and Chloe were in the house yesterday, and we’re pretty sure they haven’t left.”

“Afsan’s jet is still in Bristol,” Carrie said.

“That means he could go somewhere on short notice,” Rogue said.

“It’s a risk we have to take. The jet is being readied as we speak. We leave tonight. Instead of flying to Bristol, we’ll land in Birmingham and drive up from there.”

“Reka,” Dark said. “You spent some time with him. Is there anything else you remember about Afsan that might help us when we find him?”

“I’ve told you everything I remember.” Reka scrunched her eyes. “He had … he had a copy of The Prince lying on his desk, in the library.”

Ash’s nails dug into his palms.

Pathetic asshole.

“That matches what we know of him. If you remember anything else—“

“I’ll be sure to let you know,” Reka said firmly. She looked at them each in turn, finally settling her gaze on Ash. “I’m coming with you tonight,” she said softly.

Because he’d been expecting it, Ash’s reply was instantaneous. “No, you’re not,” he said.

“I’m coming with you,” she repeated, ignoring Ash.

Let me count the ways you’re not coming with us.

“You’re not trained, Reka. Let us find Chloe. I swear we’ll—“

“He’ll want me,” she said quietly.

“What?”

“Afsan will want me. I’ve been thinking about him a lot. He was … proud of what he had going on in that horrible place. He won’t be happy he lost me. If you tell him you found me, he’ll want me back.”

Jesus.

That was a shit-for-brains idea if he’d ever heard one.

Ash barked out a mirthless laugh. “You’re crazy if you think we’re going to—“

Her finger poked him in the chest. “I like you, Ash, but you don’t tell me what to do,” she said fiercely, and damned if her snarl didn’t turn him on. “I am my own person.”

“Yes. You are,” he growled, doing his best not to get distracted by her words. “But I like you too. So I won’t let you hurt yourself.”

He wasn’t going to back down on this, no matter what. And it wasn’t because he didn’t respect her. It wasn’t because he didn’t trust her. It was because … because he couldn’t bear to lose her.

Across the table from them sat Griffin, looking for all the world like someone enjoying a professional tennis match.

Smug asshole.