Something was definitely wrong.
“Is he…is he okay?” I rasped.
“No one knows, Angel. Ash disappeared the day you came to Astoria.”
Chapter Four
Ash
“You son of a fucking bitch!”
That’s all I heard before I was slammed back against the wall, Hayes’ hands gripping my shirt, eyes burning with rage, his teeth bared. Pain shot through my shoulder, a parting giftfrom Benson’s bodyguard before he left this planet. I grunted, biting down. My eyes snapped shut. The pain was searing hot as it stretched through my damaged muscles.
“Before you beat him into the new carpet, perhaps it would be best if I conducted my debrief.”
Fucking hell.
Dominic.
He was the last person I wanted to see today.
I’d been back in Portland for less than six hours. After my flight landed, I thought about going back to my empty apartment. But though the mattress on the floor was no doubt much more comfortable than the shit holes I’d been sleeping in, I wasn’t in the mood to stare at blank walls until sleep finally decided to grace me. I should’ve been riding the high of justice, the high I’d been dreaming about for nearly three damn years. But when justice was finally served in the form of my reaping, I’d felt nothing. I was numb. I’d been chasing something for so long, and I hadn’t prepared for the numbness that would follow when I completed my mission.
I had been prepared for satisfaction.
I had been prepared for gratitude.
Hell, there was even a small part of me that had prepared myself for an ounce of joy.
As Benson bled out on the shiny marble floor of his penthouse condo, I didn’t feel a damn thing. The rage that had been fueling me for so long evaporated as the fucker took his last breath. I waited for something—anything. Even when I cleaned up most of the mess, there wasn’t a spark of fear or doubt that I might get caught in my chest.
No.
Nothing.
I was numb.
There was nothing left for me, not without her. I didn’t expect anything, but I’d hoped to at least…be friends? Have a conversation? I don’t know. Ever since she walked into the damn bookstore, my mind hasn’t been right. Actually, my mind hasn’t been right since I was trapped inside Devil’s Den.
“Let go of him, Hayes.”
“Where the fuck have you been?” Mitchell growled, his eyes scanning mine.
I raised my hands. “Either start swinging or drop your hands,” I clipped. “I don’t have time for this.”
He gave me a final shove, his chest heaving and shoulders tight with fury. Once he was a few feet from me, he raised his finger. “You have some fucking nerve coming back here as if you never fucking left.”
It was true. I’d come into the office like it was any other day, my body operating on autopilot. When I’d gotten here, they were gone. Maybe I was a coward for waiting until they left to go meet with a client across town before getting out of the rental car and heading inside. When I’d swiped my key card, I felt something for the first time in days—surprise. I fully expected the panel to turn red. To set off the alarm and alert the team.
Instead, it turned green.
The only thing different about the floor Red Snake Investigations occupied was the carpet. It had been a light gray the day I came in, packed all the shit I would need, and headed out. Now, it was a darker gray, almost blue. When I walked in, the sight of the change moved something inside me. It was a reminder that, though I’d paused my life to chase a ghost, everyone else’s moved on. The world had continued spinning.
I didn’t answer Hayes. Instead, I looked at Grayson. He was leaning back against my office door, arms over his chest, a shadow over his face. I couldn’t see his eyes, but I could feelthem on me, studying me, assessing me in a way that used to make my skin crawl. Now, it seemed, I was numb for that too.
“Need to know if I still have a job here or not,” I said, my voice monotone. “If not, I can pack up the rest of my shit and head out.”
I had no idea where I’d go, but I’d known the stakes when I left. I knew there was a strong chance I wouldn’t be welcomed back. Hayes’ reaction hadn’t been expected, but I was still anticipating a right hook from either Jake or Dominic.
