Page 86 of Wicked Heat

His shoulders drop a bit. “This project is important to me. Doing it on my own is important to me. And if Damien were to get involved, the media would jump all over that. It would become a Stark project, and while I love my father, the INX is my baby. Can you understand that?”

“Sure,” I say, because I do get it. But at the same time, he’s leveraging his personal assets to both fill the INX gap and to help me. I know he says he can afford it, but I also know that we’re talking huge amounts of money. And if Ash’s financial position flips, then that means that I’ll be the girl who bankrupted Ashton Stone.

I’m not sure I could handle that.

I’m also sure that I won’t survive if those videos get out, especially the one with Anne. So, I’m going to drop the subject and let Ash help me. Not just because I need the three million that he’s offering, but also because I know that at this point there’s no way he’d back out of helping me.

I just wish he’d let someone like Damien step in to help him.

Twenty-Six

By the time we’re back inside the Vegas city limits, our conversation has shifted to the mundane details of getting to the airport in the morning. “I’ll keep the McLaren garaged here,” Ash decides. “We’ll take a taxi to the airport, then take the Stark International Gulfstream to Austin.”

“It’s here?”

“I asked Grayson to fly her here in the morning. Damien’s always said the fleet’s at my disposal. Figure I’ve got to take my dad at his word.”

“Have you used it before?”

He shakes his head, and I hide a smile, glad to see this evidence that their relationship really is growing stronger.

“We’ll board about ten, we’ll land at Bergstrom and be in downtown Austin before two.”

“Is that where you live? One of the condos downtown?” I’ve been to Austin a couple of times for the South by Southwest festival, and it’s one of my favorite towns. Plus, I’ve fallen in love with Tex-Mex food, so even despite the circumstances, I’m glad to be seeing the city again. And I’m very curious to see where Ashton Stone lives. Considering he’s a young tech-oriented guy, I figure one of the high-rise condos in that city fits him perfectly, if not stereotypically.

He surprises me by shaking his head. “I’ve got a house on Hudson Bend. On Lake Travis,” he adds in response to my questioning look. “That’s where I live.”

“That sounds amazing.”

“It is. But it’s also in the middle of a major remodel, so, yes. We’ll be staying downtown. At my condo,” he adds with a grin.

“But you don’t live there?”

“I use it for guests,” he says. “And I crash there when I stay too late at the office.”

“Which is downtown,” I guess, and he nods.

“Home or office or just a hang-out, I’m looking forward to seeing it all.” I lace my voice with a tease, but it’s true. I want to know everything there is to know about Ash, and that includes how and where he lives.

“We probably won’t have time to see the house on this trip,” he tells me. “But we’ll come back once the remodel is finished.”

He says the words casually, but their impact on me is anything but. “Oh,” I say, hoping I sound just as cool and collected. “That sounds like a great plan.”

He catches my eye, then takes my hand. Slowly, he lifts it to his lips, his eyes never leaving mine. Then he kisses my fingers and releases my hand. And even though we’re not on the plane yet, in that moment, I feel like I’m flying.

“Hopefully Noah will have some information for us by the time we land,” he says, the words bringing me back down to earth.

“Noah Carter?” My head is spinning. “What information? Noah⁠—”

“Is not in law enforcement—not officially, anyway. And he won’t say a word to Damien.”

I don’t know Noah well, but he’s a friend of Damien’s, and I know enough to know that he’s consulted with law enforcement on a number of major crimes. “Ash, I can’t risk⁠—”

He reaches across the console and takes my hand. “He isn’t paid by or actively consulting with any law enforcement agency. But he is a whiz with tech. And he knows I need fast help with a blackmail attempt. He doesn’t know who or what. He has no other information. But I wanted him prepared for when you agreed to let me bring him in.”

“He’s not in yet?”

“Right now, he’s only meeting us for drinks as my friend.”