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Relieved, she headed for the door. “Pissed, I can handle. Now let’s go get some answers.”
Chapter Forty-One
Flagstaff, Arizona
Ash stood at Jules’s door and knocked. He still had questions, and yeah, he was still angry, but he needed to make sure she was okay. Whether she would let him in was anyone’s guess.
He had given a lot of thought to what she had done and why. He knew more than most about what John Leland Clark had done to her. He had read her file, seen the photos, read her testimony of the events. Clark had brutalized and tortured her for weeks. And when she’d finally been able to escape, she had returned home to face a new nightmare. The bastard had used social media like a master, keeping her in the limelight and making her look like an accomplice. It hadn’t been enough that he’d killed her parents and taken her innocence. He had almost taken her sanity.
Comparing the broken, defeated young woman she’d been then to the warrior woman Jules Stone was today was almost impossible. They were two different people. What she had been able to overcome and accomplish was nothing short of a miracle.
The doctor Ash had sent to her had reported that other than exhaustion, she was physically sound. And Jazz had said that though she seemed sad and sorry for how things had turned out, she appeared to be emotionally well.
But he needed to see for himself.
After he’d left Kate in Key West, he’d been set to fly back to Slovakia when he’d learned that Jules had taken a flight back to Arizona. Even though he’d told her to stay out of sight, he couldn’t blame her for wanting to go home.
The interview with Lawrence hadn’t been the major breakthrough they’d hoped for. The answers they were seeking hadn’t been there, at least nothing concrete that they could take to the Justice Department. But Lawrence had given them leads, and that was more than they’d had before.
While Lawrence claimed to be all sorts of sorry that he’d left men to die that day, Ash couldn’t help but believe that the man was just all sorts of sorry that he’d been found.
He raised his hand to knock again when the door opened, and Jules stood before him. Though her attire of jeans and sweatshirt were casual, there was nothing relaxed about her demeanor.
“Hello, Ash.”
“Can I come in?”
Still holding the door open, she took a step back. “Of course.”
She had once described the house as an old Victorian fixer-upper. The description was apt, but it was obvious she’d put a lot of time and money into making it into a home.
As the door closed behind him, he turned to face her. There were a lot of things he wanted to say, so many questions he still needed to ask. Instead of doing either, he held out his hand.
Tears pooling in her eyes, she took his hand, and Ash pulled her into his arms and held her. Yeah, it was a stupid-ass thing to do, but he couldn’t think of anything he wanted more. She felt perfect in his arms, and for the first time in days, Ash drew in an easy breath.
“I’m so sorry, Ash.”
“Don’t, Jules. Not yet. Let me just hold you. I haven’t slept in two days, and don’t take this the wrong way, but you look like hell.”
Burying her face against his chest, she gave a laughing sob.
“Where’s your bedroom?”
“Upstairs.”
Releasing her, he held out his hand to her again. When she took it, he knew she was giving him more than her hand. She was giving him her trust, telling him she knew he wouldn’t hurt her.
Letting her lead the way, he followed her up the stairs and into the bedroom. He paid no attention to décor. His only focus was Jules and the king-size bed in the middle of the room. He stripped off his clothes, and though she did nothing but just stand there and watch him, he knew it wasn’t because she was shy. She was waiting. Naked now, he moved to her and pulled the sweatshirt over her head. She unzipped her jeans. When she was nude, he led her to the bed and pulled back the covers. She got in, Ash followed. Wrapping his arms around her, he kissed her forehead and whispered, “Sleep.”
Ash waited until he felt her relax in his arms, and then he followed her into sleep. Their problems would still be there when they woke, but for now, he had everything he needed.
* * *
Waking in Ash’s arm was a surreal moment that she never wanted to end. Of all the things she’d thought he would do when he saw her again, this hadn’t been one of them. But she’d seen in his eyes that he was at his limit. Since she’d hit hers days ago, falling asleep in each other’s arms was exactly what they’d both needed.
The last couple of days had been an exhausting whirlwind of emotions. From devastation to grief and now to elation. Maybe she was reading too much into this, but a man didn’t fly halfway across the country, strip you naked, and let you fall asleep in his arms if anger was the only thing driving him.
Okay, yes, Ash was a sexual, sensual man, and lying naked in each other’s arms would likely lead to other things, but that wasn’t what she’d read in his eyes last night. Need had been there, but not in the usual way. He’d been hurting, and instead of staying away from her, he’d come to her. That had to mean something.
