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“Should I call the police?”
“No!” I exclaim, then calm my next words. “No, I don’t think that’s a good idea.” She looks at me, and I know what’s coming, so I head off her question before she can ask it. “Look, I don’t know how much Walt shared with you, but not everyone can be trusted, Lily.”
“That is something I know only too well.” Her eyes wander around the room before looking out the window, and I can tell she’s lost in thought.
We sit and drink our water in silence for the next ten minutes until Ash comes back in the room.
“Okay, I have someone checking the house. Once I get the all clear, I want you to go back home, Lily. You’re to enter the house like you’ve just returned from your run. Then I need you to call the police and explain that you came home and found Walt dead, assuming he died in his sleep.”
“You want me to lie?”
Ash comes over, crouching in front of her. “Yes, Lily, that’s exactly what I want you to do. I know this is going to be hard for you, but this is the only way at the moment. There’s a lot of shit happening right now.”
Ash’s tone is harsh, and I while I get this complicates things, I’m not sure it warrants this.
“A word, Ash?” I ask, getting to my feet and heading to the kitchen, but before I even make it to the hall, there’s another knock on the door.
Ash pushes past me to open it, revealing Tripp. I stand behind Ash a little shocked to see him here even though I know that Ash has been in touch with him recently. He hasn’t changed much in the years since I saw him last, he’s aged, of course, bulked up and has a few more piercings and most definitely more tattoos, but otherwise, he’s the same old Tripp.
“Kennedy Scott, look at you,” he drawls with that smooth southern accent that I bet still has woman turning to a puddle at his feet. It’s much more pronounced in person than on the phone, or he’s just putting it on for me. He steps forward, wrapping me in a hug. His rich bourbon and leather scent tickles my senses.
“Hey, Tripp,” I say, barely able to talk as he squeezes me tight before letting me go. He slaps Ash on the shoulder, in a half hug.
“What you doing here, man?” Ash asks, looking back to the lounge where Lily is.
“I went to the house, but it seems someone already called the cops.”
“Damn it,” Ash curses, scrubbing a hand down his face. He looks at his watch, and I know we’re getting short on time. Although, I have no clue what’s going to happen or what Ash has planned. “Kennedy, those flash drives, I want you to give them to Tripp.”
I shake my head, not liking where this is going one bit. “Ash?” I look to Tripp, who just shrugs, then back to Ash.
“Trust me.” That’s all he says before he turns and walks to the kitchen with Tripp trailing behind him, offering me a wink as he goes.
I look in on Lily, who is staring at her empty water bottle, then I race up to Ash’s room and collect the flash drives from where I stashed them. When I arrive in the kitchen, Ash and Tripp are hunched over the counter talking in quiet whispers, which stop when I enter.
“Are you going to tell me what the hell is going on?” I ask, joining them at the breakfast bar, dropping the flash drives on the counter, but keeping my hand over them for now.
“Change of plans. Lily’s not safe here, so she’s going to go with Tripp for now. I need you to give everything you have on Titan and Carmichael and Preston to Tripp. He’s going to go through it all and put together a file. You need to get in touch with Drake—” The sound of car doors slamming shut stops Ash, and he curses again. “Out of time. Kennedy, get Lily,” he says, slipping his hand under mine to take the drives and hand them over to Tripp, who pockets them. I swallow down my protest. Because although I trust Ash, that trust doesn’t automatically extend to the Cobras. I hurry to the lounge, making Lily jump.
“You need to go. The cops are here. It’s not safe.” She stands, looking out the window to confirm my words before letting me lead her to the kitchen.
“I don’t understand. Where am I meant to—” Her eyes widen as she takes in Tripp. “Kennedy, I can’t go with him. He’s…” Her words trail off, and she doesn’t get the chance to finish as a loud thump comes at the front door.
“Police. Open up.”
“Okay, let’s go,” Ash says, opening the back door and waving a hand to usher Lily out.
“You’ll be safe. Trust me,” I tell her, ignoring the little voice that whispershypocriteas I give her a nudge toward the door.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Lily steps up to the door, stopping to look back at me one final time before Tripp rests a hand on her back, urging her forward.
I hope my face conveyed an apology yet some assurance that she’ll be okay. Before I can think any more of it, Ash takes hold of me.
“Take this.” He pulls his phone from his pocket, handing it to me, but it’s not his usual one. It must be a burner. “The password is an important date in our past. Don’t worry about Lily she’ll be fine. And don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine too and back here before you know it. Just focus on putting the rest of the pieces together.”
“Asher King, this is your last chance to come out.”
