Nine
Nova
Why won’t Ashton leave me the hell alone? It’s not bad enough Dante forced him yesterday to be my damn bodyguard, but I just can’t deal with him today.
My mind is on my father, but sitting around a hospital room all day, what good would that do?
Harper is still in trouble, and I can’t believe Dante didn’t send an actual team to help bring her back. He sent the fucking recruits instead of the cavalry.
Does he want Harper to stay missing?
Maybe he wants her dead.
Wouldn’t surprise me. The bastard never liked her anyhow.
Ashton reaches across the aisle, our seats facing each other, and while I do my best to look anywhere but at him, his eyes are locked on me.
“Are you going to ignore me forever?” Ashton asks, his hands folded together in his lap.
Sophia unbuckles her seatbelt.
“Where are you going?” My voice raises an octave when I see her stand.
Liam’s sister gives me an apologetic look before taking my seat next to Rhys.
“Wow,” I mutter, shocked that she’s siding with Ashton.
He doesn’t even miss a beat, switching seats from across from me, moving right into Sophia’s seat, sitting next to me.
“Happy?” I retort, seeing that he got exactly what he wanted.
“Am I happy that we’re broken up and you can barely look at me, let alone talk to me? No.” He doesn’t reach for me, doesn’t so much as touch me, but he does sit close enough that I can feel his presence like a raging heat that makes me sweat.
“What do you want?” I finally shift my body to face him. “We’re not getting back together.”
“Wasn’t asking, sweetheart.”
I snarl at his nickname. “Don’t sweetheart me. I’m not your anything.” My words are intended to cut him, but he doesn’t so much as flinch.
“Well, not yet,” he says and smiles with that boyish grin that used to make me weak at the knees. It probably landed all those other girls in his bed, too.
I force away all feelings and fold my arms across my chest. “What do you want to talk about? Other than us.”
He raises an eyebrow. “Us?”
“I’m not talking about us,” I reiterate.
“You’re the one who brought it up.” Ashton is all smiles, that dimple making its world-class debut, and I want to wipe it right off his face. He’s fucking playing with me and enjoying every second.
My eyes tighten and I inhale sharply. “Well, fuck. Why don’t we talk about you? If you want to talk, that is.” I can’t help the anger in my voice or the annoyance that he’s paying attention to me when he should be worried about Harper or even my father, Moreno.
Ashton seems to relax with that topic in mind. “I’m an open book.” He stretches his arms, casually putting one behind my headrest, and I pry his arm away and back to his side.
“You’re an ass.”
He doesn’t appear to be bothered by my insult. “Yell at me all you want, Nova. I know you’re hurting.”
“You hurt me!” How does he not see that he’s the reason I’m angry with him? Does he think it’s because my best friend was kidnapped and my father was shot and is in a coma? Ashton and I were fighting long before Harper was taken.
