Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 66515 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 333(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66515 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 333(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
I eye him over Ashley’s shoulder and give him a nod, impressed and satisfied that we’re safe for now. I catch Ashley’s hand again, my eyes meeting hers. “You’re learning,” I approve.
“I’m not sure you are though,” she rebuts. “You don’t get to leave again and have us be okay.”
And just that fast, we’re already back in the fight we were having in the stairwell. I start walking, and I don’t have to drag her along or throw her over my shoulder. She’s all in for this battle, quick to keep pace, ready to be alone with me, just as I am with her. Because we both know that some wars are better fought in private, and ours is one of them.
Chapter thirty-three
Aaron
The path to a battlefield is never simple
For Ashley and me, safety comes first. The lay of the land first.
I halt us at the steel door to our right, which I open to find a small shooting range. I motion for Ashley to wait on me as I walk to the rows of cabinets and open one. There’s an impressive stock of ammunition. Savage is clearly ready for his own war at all times. He’s growing on me. I reload my weapons and then grab a plastic bag, conveniently located in the cabinet as well. I fill it with more ammunition. I’ll come back for more of everything later. Once I’m done, I return to the door where Ashley waits.
If my urgency to load up on weaponry worries her, she doesn’t show it.
Wordlessly, I motion her back into the hallway, and we start our travels again, passing three doors, all of which I not only check but update Ashley on what I find: an office, a bedroom, another bedroom and then at the final door is one more bedroom. It’s large, a second master, with a king-size bed. “This one,” I say, “but stay here a moment.” Once again, I don’t wait for a reply.
I enter the room, and she steps to the door, watching me as I check the closet and a bathroom, before looking under the bed and chair. As much as I want to grab Ashley and pull her into the room where I strip her naked and take her to bed, I can’t. Not yet. That might calm the tension between us now, but it won’t end it and ending it is my goal.
I cross to stand in front of her, catching her arms and walking her into the room, kicking the door shut behind her. “I didn’t leave you. I always knew where you were. I knew the day you went to see the movie Little. I knew the day you rejoined a karate studio, and the day you went back to the shooting range. I knew the day you colored your hair, which, by the way, looks good brunette, but I love your natural red, and I’m going to make you feel safe being you again.”
“You were watching me?”
“Yes, baby, I was watching you.”
Anger burns in her stare, and she grabs my shirt. “And you didn’t tell me? You let me feel like I was alone? You let me question everything I thought I knew about us.”
I catch her wrists. “You shouldn’t have questioned me or us.”
“Because you told me so many truths?”
“I told you I loved you. I showed you I loved you because I do fucking love you.”
“You should have let me know you were watching.”
“I wanted to. Damn, woman, don’t you know I wanted to?”
“You’re a CIA agent—”
“Was. I was a CIA agent.”
“Whatever, Aaron. See? I got the name right. I know who you are. I’m not a slow damn learner. You could have gotten me a message.”
“You didn’t trust me, Ashley. Had you turned on me, we both could have ended up dead.”
“How were you watching me and solving this case?”
I release her and push off the door, scrubbing my jaw where a four-day beard sits that needs a damn razor taken to it. I hate every part of this backstory. I really fucking hate it. A part of me wishes I would have just taken her to another country and hidden her away months ago. I turn to face her. “Whoever did this is now ten feet below ground,” I say. “And that’s what I was trying to avoid. If you set off red flags, if I set off red flags—and you disappearing would do that—then Mick could get spooked. If he gets spooked and runs, he runs with any proof I might find to clear my name.”
“What happens if the proof is already gone? What happens if we can’t find proof to clear your name?”
“We will,” I say, my hands settling on my hips. “We will.”
She pushes off the door and crosses to stand in front of me. “What if we don’t?”