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“Seriously?” I laughed. “That isrich, coming from you.”
His eyes narrowed. “Maybe so. Either way, Amanda didn’t say shit to me when she decided to leave. We’d broken up. I told her that you were getting ready to leave Kellen, because of Crystal, and I didn’t want any impediment to being there for you… and finally taking my rightful place in your life. Apparently, I jumped the gun.”
“Yeah, Ash. You did.”
“We live and learn,” he shrugged, pulling against his shackles. “She and I argued. She left. I didn’t see her again after that. Haven’t seen her. But I… missed her. I really did love her. That’s why the phone bill was still getting paid.”
Liar.
“If she’s alive… where is she, Asher? You said she hated me. Was avoidingmespecifically. How would you know that if you hadn’t spoken?”
“Because IknowAmanda. Better than you ever did. You robbed her of every man she’d ever wanted, Monica. She hated your guts.”
I shook my head. “It’s all very convenient, Asher. To blame a woman who has been missing for two years for all of your misdeeds, and put words in her mouth. But understand this – I’mnotbuying it.”
“Because you still don’t get it. But you will, my dear, sweet friend.”
“Friend? Is that don’t I get? Hmm? Cause I agree. I donotget how you called me a friend, called Kellen a friend, butpaidsomeone to disrupt and derail my already troubled marriage? How you knew Kellen was… a whore, and said nothing? Knew he was sleeping with my best friend – if that’s not just another one of your lies – and saidnothing! Thepictures, Asher! That’s how you treat a friend?! Hanging up pictures that were supposed to be private, between me and myhusband, and then pictures of me through my curtains, stalking me in the streets! Plastering them up, to desensitize yourself! I wasn’t a person to you, Ash, just the object of your twisted obsession. A fucking piece ofmeat!”
“That’s all you are!” he screamed right back at me, matching my volume. “Now, since you let another motherfucker touch you, that isallyou are to me! Believe whatever the fuck you want to believe now. I never did anything but love and protect you, never acted without your interests at heart. Only for you to reject me, over and over.Fuck you.”
“Right back at you,” I hissed, standing to storm out of the room. “I hope you rot in here, you sick bastard.”
The door was barely closed before Wick was on me, wrapping me up in his arms. In that moment, I didn’t bother trying to be strong, had no concerns about looking weak. I sobbed because I was hurt, and because I was disgusted, and because I’d put myself through that only for it to be a waste.
He was lying.
The pictures weren’t the only thing they’d found in his apartment.
Asher’s family had owned a decently sized share inBlissful Beauty,the company that had been overtaken byCanvasall those years ago. For whatever reasons, there were still existing accounts there – accounts that Asher, because of his family connection, still had access to.
He’d used that access to make it look likeCanvaswas behind everything.
But the police had found the nail polish bottles from leaving the messages, they’d traced those roses left on my doorstep back to him, plus his lack of alibi for… everything.
Means, motive, opportunity.
It was all there.
And I was done being fool enough to not believe what was right in front of my eyes. I was over it.
Finished.
And I would be right on time to testify at his trial.
“You know… I’m really starting to think you just don’t want to let me out of your sight.”
I glanced back at Wick as he followed me into my office, dropping into a seat on the couch in the corner. It was my first day back since my attack, and my new assistant had done a great job of eliminating all memories of it with a small, but impactful, office remodel that I’d been intending to do for a while. A brand-new desk, fresh paint, and plush carpeting I could sink my toes into after a long day, when I kicked my stilettos off at my desk.
Something I planned to do as soon as I sat down.
“Really? What tipped you off?” he asked, grinning as he stretched his arms across the back of the couch, getting comfortable.
Even though the case against Asher had insurmountable evidence that he’d been the culprit behind everything, and he never spoke a word in his own defense to the people who mattered, Wick had still been playing bodyguard for me. Not that I minded, because I enjoyed having him around, but it was starting to seem pointless to me.
Especially after learning yesterday that Ash had hung himself in his cell, and would never even see a trial date.
To me, it felt more like Wick was keeping an eye on my emotional state, versus the physical protection he was using as his ruse. But again – he didn’t have to front. Ilikedhaving him around me, because he was nice to look at, and he was funny, and his warm, masculine energy sent the hell of the last few weeks way,wayback to the back of my mind.
