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“Ash…” He stops me with a finger to my lips, then he kisses me.
“I love you, Kenz.”
“I love you too.” The words almost get stuck in my throat as it tightens with emotion.
“Better let these idiots in before they break my door down.” He rolls his eyes as he leads me by the hand down the hall. “Just let them do whatever they need to, okay? I’ve got nothing to hide.” He kisses me again, then releases my hand and steps forward and opens the front door.
There’s a rush of movement as the front door swings open, and Ash stands there as the cops shout at him to put his hands on his head. He does, then he drops to his knees as they move in, shoving him to the ground. I can’t help the gasp, a hand coming up to cover my mouth.
Rage rises in me at the way they treat him, but I bite my lip and force it away knowing it won’t help. I keep my eyes on him the whole time. As they drag him to his feet, he winks at me.
I watch, a lone tear tracking down my cheek, as they lead him away
Cops pass me as they traipse through the house, turning everything upside down, searching for God knows what. All I know is they won’t find anything. It doesn’t take them long to go through the whole place. It’s no surprise they walk back out the door empty handed.
Deputy Peters is waiting by the car with his arms crossed and a satisfied smile on his face, which falters slightly when he sees the cops have nothing to show for their search.
When he sees me standing in the doorway, his smile widens again, and as he turns to get in the car, he points a finger right at me.
ChapterThirty
As soon as the cars are out of sight, I slam the door shut. The force of it rattles the windows but does absolutely nothing to calm me.
For several minutes, I stand in the hall like a raging bull, hands on my hips and nostrils flaring as I try to work out what the actual fuck I’m meant to do now.
Finally feeling a little calmer, although nothing is any the clearer, I have a quick shower. Part of me was reluctant, not wanting to wash away Ash from my body if it was the last time. But I give myself a boot up the ass knowing he wouldn’t want me thinking like that.
After my shower, I head to Morning Kick and put a sign on the door saying ‘Closed due to family emergency’. I stop by Mom’s, but no one is home, which is strange, and I wonder where Stu is.
Everly messages me asking if I’m okay, but I don’t reply. I mean, I can hardly tell her that the cops arrested Ash for Owen’s murder. Not that it will make too much difference as it will be all over town soon enough. I guess the longer I can avoid people and questions the better.
Back at Ash’s I scroll through my phone, finding everything relating to Titan, Carmichael and Preston Thomas I have. When I take Ash’s phone out of my pocket, I stare at the screen asking me for a password, remembering his words when he gave it to me.
An important date from our past.
If he means from our past collectively, I could be here all day. If he meansourpast, then there are only a few options.
I try my birthday first; certain it won’t be that but better to rule it out.
Nope.
I spend a little more time thinking before trying again. If it was me, what date would be the most important one?
I type in the date of the first time we kissed on the bridge all those years ago.
Bingo!
The screensaver is a picture of me that I had no idea Ash had even taken, but it’s the message displayed over it that brings a smile to my face.
Don’t be adding any sexy photos to my camera roll while I’m gone. ;)
Well, I’ll definitely be doing that I think to myself as I open his messages. It feels wrong to be going through his phone, but I know he gave it to me for a reason, so here I am.
His last message was to Tripp, which isn’t a surprise. But the one below that is what catches my eye. It’s a message to a number with no name and piques my curiosity.
I realize quickly that it’s Drake, and I scroll all the way to the top of their chat. The beginning is more of the pissing contest I witnessed at Dom’s club, but after is a whole lot of chat about Preston and Carmichael.
There are some pictures too. I stop on the picture of Aria with Calvin Carmichael and Luca Santos, the guy who ran me off the road. But that’s not what has me clicking on the picture and zooming in. When Ash showed it to me that night at The Boulevard, I was flustered at seeing Luca and focused mainly on him. Now though, it’s the very intimate way in which Carmichael is discreetly holding the pinkie finger of Aria. I would have missed it if weren’t for my body language expertize. Aria might be facing away from Carmichael, but her body is very much turned toward his. His stance is open, feet wide but facing her. But the most obvious, aside from the finger holding, is his eyes. They are on her one hundred percent. If this were a video playing out in real time, I can guarantee he’d be watching her every move.
