Page 56 of Lay It Bare

Ellisandre

“Always have a backup, even from your own security. Most cracks come from the inside. Trust who you choose to trust. Trust the ones it matters if you trust. The rest, backup plans on backup plans.” Ellisandre swept aside a massive pile of hanging clothes, showing the far wall of their closet. They slid a nail file into a seam, releasing a catch buried an inch into the wall and sliding open the camouflaged door.

“So does this mean you trust us?” Ash muttered, following Ellisandre into the hidden space behind the door.

Ellisandre held up a flashlight and looked back at him over their shoulder. “You have everything to lose if you stab me in the back.”

“Great. So as soon as I get powerful, you’ll take me out.”

“Oh, you already have power. That’s why the government arrested you and Richard plucked you out of prison.”

Ash scowled.

“Shut up,” Alice muttered, getting the door closed behind the three of them. “Ash, El is jerking your chain. They can’t get rid of you. Dana would have nightmares if her favorite monster disappeared. And if Elli gets rid of me, Collin will cry, which will make Richard upset, and then Linda will be depressed, and then Elli’s life will be a sack of shit. See, mutually assured destruction. Best kind of family.” Alice dusted off her hands and grinned.

Ellisandre narrowed her eyes at her favorite and least favorite protégé that existed inside the same teenager. “I was going to say that I’ve gotten accustomed to Ash’s sulks and the apartment would be lonely without him.”

“No, you were going to torture him for at least another five minutes when the truth is you’d take a bullet for him.” Alice smirked.

Ellisandre glared.

Alice grinned wider.

Ellisandre narrowed their eyes. “Not having you afraid of me is annoying.”

“No, you’re terrifying.” Alice waved them all forward. “I’m just not worried about it. You’re Daddy. But Linda is Mommy.”

Ash tried to smother a snort.

“What does that mean?” Ellisandre led them down the passageway and a narrow staircase.

“It means I trust you.” Alice’s voice softened, no longer joking. She slid past Ash in the narrow passage, taking the spot just behind Ellisandre. “But Ash isn’t as whole as you think he is. You have someone, Ellisandre. You filled in the holes. But he hasn’t yet. So don’t break my person.”

Ellisandre turned around, the flashlight illuminating both their faces. Alice’s face was both soft and hard. Grace and love wrapped above and below steel. This was the young woman who shot to kill one moment and swept a child off the ground the next, keeping her safe and sane for the next forty-eight hours with nothing but Ash in her ear helping her outrun the Merchari.

Ellisandre inclined their head. “I won’t break your friend. He is also my person. You are right, I didn’t see that.”

Alice smiled a little and nodded. She reached behind her and grabbed Ash’s hand. “Come on.”

Ellisandre ruminated on what Alice had said as they drove to the Midway airport. In plain, forgettable clothes and face masks appropriate to the weather, they navigated to the private charter area and took a plane. It was only the three of them in the cabin after take-off. Alice went to the bathroom to freshen up.

Ellisandre turned to Ash. “You’re important to me. There are no bombs under your bed. Some people you choose to trust because they are worth trusting. You’ve become one of those people.”

Ash shrugged uncomfortably. “Don’t know why.”

“You kept Dana and Alice alive. While the rest of us were dealing with Richard, Émeric, and Collin being down, you kept your head. You took care of us. And even before that, Richard told me that you would have never been caught if you hadn’t warned Reevesworth Industries about the bad actors that were in their networks.”

“It was stupid. I slipped up.”

“You slipped up doing a good thing. And it brought you here. Richard has good instincts for people. As does Damian. They both want you in Richard’s office. And Collin adopted you as well. Your roots go deeper than you think. If you fuck up, you’ll fuck up for the right reasons. We all fuck up.”

“You never fuck up.” Ash was almost smiling, though a bit of frightened aloneness lingered in his eyes and the hunch of his shoulders.

“I do. I did, recently. For the right reasons, but I did fuck up.”

“How?”

Ellisandre looked away. It was easy to still see Sevastyan lying under them, streaks of blood on his skin, all those strong muscles lying soft and defeated against the carpet. “I didn’t understand how much damage someone had taken. That’s twice now.”