Page 96 of Ash Storm

Reka

The interior of the plane was decorated in grays. It looked elegant and understated to her, not that she had much—or any—experience with private planes. This was her first time seeing one, outside of TV shows.

The men filed in like they did this every other day, and Reka wondered how they could afford this.

It suddenly occurred to her that she still didn’t know that much about them and what they did. And maybe it was a question she should have asked before—certainly before getting in bed with Ash.

Not that there was much risk of them doing the deed again. Ash had been avoiding her all day, except for an angry glare here and there.

The man could hold on to a grudge like there was no tomorrow. And it wasn’t that she didn’t understand his concern. She understood it. And it wasn’t that she didn’t trust him, because she did.

But she needed to be close to Chloe. Who knew what her friend had been through in the last days. If they got her back—when they got her back—Chloe was going to need a friend, and Reka would damned well be there, and not a thousand miles away as the bird flew.

It occurred to her, suddenly, that she hadn’t tried explaining this to Ash.

She undid her seatbelt and walked over to the back of the plane. There were two rows of seats available around Ash, since the other men were all studiously avoiding him.

Clever men.

“Uh. Ash?” she began tentatively. Suddenly, she had no idea what she was going to say.

He didn’t make her ask. He moved his jacket off the seat and onto his lap, and waved at the free space with his hand.

As she looked into his eyes, she realized it wasn’t anger shining in them. It was fear. That was the emotion he was working so hard to tamp down on.

“Listen,” she began quietly. “I … there’s something I need to tell you. And I need you to please listen to me.”

“I’m listening,” he said. “I’ll always listen to you, Reka.”

“I’m not trying to cause problems for you and the team.” Now that she’d begun speaking, she found the words came in a rush. “I trust you and the rest of the team. I trust you more than I’ve ever trusted anyone before.”

His eyes softened, his large hand looking for hers.

“But I need to be there for Chloe. When you find her,” she continued, careful to stress the word, “she’s going to need my support. And this is what I do, Ash. With my patients. This is the kind of support I can provide, until we find somebody else to help her. Please don’t be angry with me. Please try to understand why I couldn’t wait for you in Zurich.”

He sighed and squeezed her hand tighter.

“I’m not angry, Re. But the thought of you in danger makes me sick,” he admitted.

“I promise I will do whatever you tell me to, Ash. I trust you. I just need to be there for Chloe.”

“Okay, Re,” he said. “Okay.”

“Entente cordiale?” she asked, putting out her other hand for him to shake.

He picked her hand up and and brought it to his lips, instead, sending a shiver right through her. His face softened, as if he knew exactly what was going through her mind.

“Can I ask you something else, Ash?”

“Ask away,” he said.

“This plane … What is it that you guys do exactly? Rescue people?”

His jaw clenched as if he were in pain.

“No,” he said. “We don’t rescue people. We take bad people down.”

“But you rescued me …”