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“Who was?” Chase asked softly.
But I didn’t respond to Chase. Instead, my mind drifted back to the conversation I’d had with Ash on the beach the night I’d told him the truth about Danny’s death.
You did what you promised him you’d always do. You were there for him. You grabbed his hand and held on with everything you had. It was all you could do.
Danny had been the one to let go. There was just no way to save someone who didn’t want to be saved.
I hadn’t let go of Ash. I never would have. But he’d let go of me.
I hadn’t saved him.
But not because I’d failed.
“He let go,” I whispered, more to myself than anything else. I managed to hold the tears at bay as I looked up at my brother. “You’re right. I’ll go, and when I get back, things will go back to the way they were… to the way they should have always been.”
I barely noticed that despite my agreement on the matter, my brother didn’t look at all pleased about it.
Chapter 26
Ash
“What are you doing out of bed, sweetheart?” I heard Billy say as he opened the door to the bathroom without knocking. “Aren’t you supposed to wait for a nurse to help you?” he asked as he moved my IV pole aside so he could stand next to me.
I wasn’t inclined to answer him, and he didn’t seem to notice because he rambled on without pause. “Had Eric pick up your things this morning. I told him to pay a little visit to that fucker to make sure he’d gotten the message, but looks like your letter did the trick. Asshole left town this morning to lick his wounds.”
My heart bounced painfully around in my chest as I realized he was talking about the fact that Aiden had gone to Colorado. My eyes lingered on Billy’s black eyes as well as the gash on his temple and his split lip. A large bandage covered his broken nose. In contrast to the injuries Billy had inflicted upon me, they were minor, but I still couldn’t get over seeing him like that.
My thoughts drifted back to two nights earlier when I’d watched— and heard— Aiden go after Billy. I’d told Aiden in my letter that he’d scared me.
I had been scared.
But not of Aiden and most certainly not for Billy.
No, I’d been terrified of what would happen to Aiden, but I’d been powerless to stop him. I hadn’t even had the strength to call out to him as I’d practically fallen out of my hospital bed.
And things had happened exactly as I’d feared they would.
I’d somehow managed to regain consciousness within minutes of blacking out, just as the cops had dragged Aiden from the ER. Billy, predictably, had been screaming at anyone who would listen that he wanted Aiden’s ass in jail. I’d tried in vain to get Billy’s attention in the hopes I could calm him down, but someone had injected something into the IV port on my arm and I’d been sucked under by a veil of darkness within seconds.
When I’d next woken up, I’d been in a regular room instead of the ER bay, and Billy had been sitting in the reclining chair next to my bed talking on the phone. Since he hadn’t noticed me, I’d quickly slipped my eyes closed as I’d realized the topic of his conversation.
Aiden.
“The fucker broke my nose and cracked my ribs. The cops want me to come down to the precinct to press charges. They said the D.A. might even consider it felony assault. Son of a bitch would end up in prison,” Billy had said, almost gleefully. I’d barely managed to hold back the tears as I’d waited for Billy to finish his call. I’d given it a few more minutes before I’d pretended to wake up.
Then I’d turned into the Ash who Billy loved more than anything.
The needy, grateful, and very apologetic Ash. I’d cried in all the right spots, and I’d taken responsibility for my part in what had happened in the coffee shop the night before. And I’d readily agreed that there was no need to clue the cops in on what had really happened— that Billy had been right, it was our personal business. It was only when Billy had leaned over me and whispered in my ear that he loved me that I’d done something else Billy craved like a dying man craved his next breath.
I’d begged.
“Billy, please, I just want to forget the whole thing with him,” I’d whined, not daring to use Aiden’s name. “It was a mistake— I messed up. I don’t want to keep reliving it. Can we just pretend it didn’t happen?” I’d whispered, forcing a few more tears from my pained eyes.
“Of course, sweetheart. You know I’d do anything for you.”
