23. Ashe

“What did you do this time?”

I sit up a little straighter in the bed, wincing as the movement pulls at my side. Dani had not yet gotten around to dressing that wound before . . . What exactly happened between us? What was that moment? Did we almost have a moment?

Her phantom touch lingers on my skin and a heat stirs in my abdomen. It bites through the pain and heightens my senses, and I'm all too aware of the scent of her cucumber shampoo mingling with the metallic odor of blood on the bedsheets. It fills my nose and I exhale a shaky breath.

For the first time in a long time, I felt vulnerable. Seeing Nessa's reanimated corpse, dug up from her grave as a haunting reminder of one of my many failures, had been unsettling enough; laying on this bed while Dani tended to my injuries, knowing what I am and not giving it a second thought as she held it together while the walls of my tenacity cracked and splintered around me, was downright unnerving.

This was not good.

The barista wordlessly picks up her medical supplies, her green eyes purposely avoiding my gaze as she walks out of the room, and my chest tightens. Was she afraid? Ashamed? Why did I care?

“Ashe?”

I blink and readjust the phone against my ear. Hearing Nadia's voice again after all this time unravels the tattered threads of my emotion and I'm unable to hide the slight quiver in my tone as I say, “I need your help.”

“Have you been feeding again?”

“Yes. No, I mean—” I hate that she makes me feel like a scolded child, but Nadia had always been good at knocking me down a few pegs. Taking a deep breath, I continue. “That's irrelevant. It's about the ring.”

“Did you lose it?”

She knew that was impossible. “No,” I mutter. “But it's no longer in my possession.”

There was a long pause before Nadia finally asks, “Have you informed Catalina?”

It has been six years since I last spoke to her, and nearly two decades since I last saw her, and Nadia was still as practical as ever. Was a little empathy too much to ask for?

I clear my throat. “She's the one who suggested I call.”

“I see.” Another pause. “This is becoming a habit with you. Need I remind you that last time—”

“Please,” I urge, squeezing my eyes shut as I lean my head back. I knew what she was about to say and I really did not want to open up old wounds. “Don't. Not from you.”

The hint of a smile is reflected in her pitch as she says, “I take it Catalina is still holding that mistake over your head?”

“More or less. She's not exactly happy about this whole situation, either.”

“And why should she be? She has risked much for us, Ashe, and you nearly exposed us once before. If they find out about your soul ring this time we will not be able to save you again.”

“Nadia, please.” I grit my teeth. “Can you help me or not?”

“You know the only way to remove it is by—”

“There has to be another way!” Even I was surprised by my outburst. Death was not an option, though, and not only because I was soulbound to protect her. I may not want to openly admit it, or even admit it to myself, but deep down I knew that Dani deserved a far better fate than that. She did not ask for any of this. The least I could do was grant her something I could never have in this world: the chance to escape. “You know its secrets better than anyone.”

“If that were true, do you not think I would have tried ages ago?”

“I'm asking you to try now.”

“What you ask is impossible.” She sighs audibly and a flicker of hope sparks within my chest. “I return home tonight. Bring the ring to me as soon as you can. I will see what I can do. Try to stay out of trouble until then.”

“Thank you, Nadia.”

She hums. “We will talk more of this matter soon. Alavida, chhotee juganoo.”

I smile at the nickname I have not heard in years. “Alavida.”

I snap the phone closed and place it on the bedside table, grimacing as the healing skin on my back and side stretch with the effort. At least the scratches down my arms have finally stopped bleeding.

I still had a couple of hours left before Marco showed up, fully expecting to drive Dani into work as he had been doing ever since she got herself wrapped up in this mess. I would have to break it to him—to both of them—that going to work and maintaining this ridiculous illusion of normalcy was no longer an option. But first, I could use those precious hours to try and sleep through my body's regrowing pains.

The smell of something burning in my kitchen only two hours in, however, seemed to have other plans for me.

“What the hell are you doing?”

Dani whips around, nearly spilling the bowl of batter in her arms. “Making breakfast. I figured it was early enough and thought you'd be hungry. Are pancakes okay?”

It was becoming increasingly difficult to be mad at her when she was always being so nice. This was definitely not good.

I walk over to the stove, a hand pressed carefully to my side as I observe the blackened pancake smoking in the skillet. I quirk a brow at the two burnt hotcakes stacked on a plate nearby before turning my attention back to her.

“Are you trying to feed me or kill me?”

“They aren't that bad.” The way her bottom lip tucks up under her teeth as she frowns at her culinary catastrophe was almost too cute to bear.

Goddammit, Ashe, stop! “Give me that,” I grumble as I go to take the mixing bowl from her.

“Ashe, you're still injured!” Dani pivots and I curse as I overextend my reach. “You should be in bed, not standing here bleeding all over the place!”

I glance down at the blood seeping between my fingers and shrug. “The bleeding's stopped.” Mostly, anyway. “But you used way too much butter and at this rate I'll starve before I bleed to death.” She levels her gaze with my own and I let a crooked smile slip. “It'll be my way of saying thank you.”

Dani's face flushes under the florescent lighting, her eyes flicking between mine as indecipherable emotions dance behind them, before she finally relents. “Fine. But let me wrap your side before you bleed out. And for God's sake, wash your hands.”

At the rate I was healing that would be unnecessary, but she seemed so determined to put her medical skills to good use that I did not have the heart to say no.

Once my wound is bandaged to her liking and my hands scrubbed thoroughly clean, I add some extra ingredients to her batter mix and start cooking. She wanted breakfast? Then I was going to make her the best damn breakfast she has ever tasted.

“They look a little thin.”

I cut the barista a sidelong glance. “They're supposed to be. They're crepes.”

Something stirs in my gut and I clench my jaw. What was I doing? I should be angry with her for summoning me in my own home and jeopardizing our safety, not cooking her breakfast with a hole in my side. I was in this mess because of her!

In truth, I was not even hungry. But the incessant rumbling that bellowed from Dani's stomach did not go unnoticed and there was something so domestic about this moment, so normal, that a part of me wanted to try it on for size to see how it fit.

It has been so long since I felt this human.

She leans forward, watching with childlike awe as I flip the pancake over. “I don't think I've ever had crepes.”

Why was she so adorable?

Unexpectedly, she rests a hand on the curve of my back, just beneath the lining of the bandage, and my body tenses at her warm touch. The contact was fleeting as Dani quickly moves to the side and leans against the edge of the counter, but it was enough to set my skin on fire.

“There's a first time for everything,” I mutter as I motion to the refrigerator. “Get me the fruit. Please.”

Dani obliges. “Where did you learn to cook?”

Other than killing and drinking, cooking was possibly the only other thing I was even remotely good at. Though it has been a long time since I have actually done it, and I have never cooked for anyone else before. Not since her.

A flicker of a smile twitches on my lips as I say, “In another life.”

Dani glimpses in my direction, her caramel hair falling casually over one shoulder as she arches an eyebrow, and in that moment it was like I was seeing a ghost.

That look, that infuriatingly unreadable expression that I could only ever describe as a curious fascination. But there was so much more buried under the surface, swimming just behind those eyes, that I never understood no matter how hard I tried to read them.

Those same forest green eyes that threatened to swallow me whole if I stared long enough. Sometimes I felt like I could lose myself in them.

I nearly did, once.

“Ashe?”

I blink. “Hm?” Did she ask me something else?

Dani offers me a mischievous grin as she nods to the skillet. “I think they're done.”

I click off the burner and garnish the plates with an assortment of berries. “No,” I hum absently as I sprinkle a light dusting of powdered sugar over my culinary masterpiece, and a small sense of pride bubbles in my chest. I still got it. “Now they're done.”

The barista hands me a cup of coffee—it was a blessing that she had the foresight to grab the machine from her apartment while she was packing up her life—and a strange, comfortable silence descends over us as we eat our breakfast. Dani hummed with every bite, indicating her enjoyment of the meal, and I could not help but grin at her pleasure. Maybe normal was not so bad, after all.

Marco arrives just as we finish putting away the dishes. “Jesus, Ashe, you look like shit.”

I ignore his gibe and hand the arkoudan a steaming cup of black coffee. “Good morning to you, too, sunshine.”

“Marco! Ashe made breakfast,” Dani chimes as she hands him a plate. “I had her whip up some extra for you. They're delicious!”

He raises a skeptical eyebrow. “You got Ashe to cook?” Cautiously, he sniffs the crepes. “Are they poisoned?”

I frown. “If I let Dani make us breakfast then we'd all be eating bricks.”

Marco scoffs, throwing his mane up into a bun as he takes a seat at the table. While Dani excuses herself to go change, I lean against the bar and sip my beverage. It still surprised me that the barista remembered exactly how I like my coffee.

“You two seem to be getting along,” the bear comments between bites, drawing my gaze. “It's nice to see this side of you for a change.”

“What side?”

“Your human side.”

I take another sip, a smirk curling my lips as I say, “You're too soft.”

Marco flicks his eyes to my bare stomach and grunts. “Was that from earlier?”

I glance down at the bloodied bandage, my lips twisting as I tug at the edges. “Yes,” I say as I unwrap the binding. The skin had healed over enough to stanch any more bleeding, leaving only the trace of a scar that would disappear in another hour or so.

“I told you to be careful.”

“No, you told me not to play with fire. You know this is part of the job.”

“That doesn't look like it came from a shifter, though.”

I grimace at the memory of Nessa's Reaper blade skewering me through the side like a kebab. “It didn't.” I toss the soiled wrap in the trash with a sigh. “We need to leave, Marco.”

“It's not time yet.”

“I'm not talking about work. Dani pulled me through a backdoor.” I turn to meet his gaze, watching as the realization settles over him. “You know we can't stay here now, not with her still wearing my ring. We need to leave.”

“And where will you go?”

I down the last of my coffee. “Houston.”

“Who's going to Houston?”

“We are,” I say as Dani strolls through the kitchen in jeans and a casual T-shirt. “We leave tomorrow.”

“What, why?” At my silence the barista narrows her eyes. “Ashe—”

“I told you they'd be coming for us after you summoned me,” I snap. Marco shoots me a scowl and I take a sharp breath, holding it in for a few seconds as I remind myself that this was not completely her fault. “Remember when I told you that I might know someone who could help us get the ring off?”

Dani nods.

“Well, I've made arrangements for us to see her. She'll be back in Houston tomorrow and the sooner we see her the sooner we'll have our answers.”

“Is this that Nadia person you were talking to on the phone this morning?”

“You're going to see Nadia?” Marco shifts in his seat. “I don't like this new plan of yours, Ashe.”

“That makes two of us,” Dani remarks, crossing her arms as something flashes across her face. What the hell was that?

I grit my teeth. “I don't care. This is the only option we have right now and if she can break the soulbinding then it's worth a try.” Nothing but death would find Dani if she stayed with me. Does she not see that this might be her only chance at freedom?

After a moment, Dani asks, “How long are we staying?”

“A few days, maybe, so you'll need to come up with a plausible excuse for your absence.” Without going into more detail I turn to Marco. “Drop Dani off at work. Do what you normally do on a normal day, then bring her back here and pack up what you can. We'll crash at your place before heading out. Headquarters may have sensed the backdoor open up a few hours ago, but it'll take them time to trace it and organize a unit to investigate. If they get here before you, you know what to do.”

Marco nods and hesitantly stands up, but as he withdraws his keys a thought crosses my mind and I curse. “Wait. I need a lift.”

The bear quirks a brow as Dani grabs her satchel from the couch. “Why?”

“I need to get my bike,” I say as my eyes meet Dani's gaze. She had fallen quiet during our conversation, her brow still furrowed as she lost herself to her own thoughts. What was there to think about? Surely she would want this just as much as I did. It was for her own good! “Were you paying attention to all that, Dani?”

“Like I even have a choice.” The barista shoulders past me on her way out the door without another word. What the hell was up with her?

“What're you gonna do, Ashe?”

The real question was, what did I want to do?

My fists clench as a barrage of thoughts fill my mind. I wanted to rip Chandler's lying tongue from his throat. I wanted to get Dani as far away from here, from them, from me, as possible. I wanted to know what the hell these Enlightened fanatics wanted with me. I needed answers, but more than that I needed a way out. The Tribunal would not allow me to leave the Second Precinct, not without good reason.

So I would give them a reason they could not refuse.

“The Tribunal will think that the Enlightened are behind this, right?” I turn my attention once more to the arkoudan. “So I'll throw them a bone, a lead they can't pass up. Maybe it'll buy us a little time to figure this all out.”

***

Thankfully, my motorcycle was parked right where I left it. My jacket, on the other hand, was curiously missing from the seat I had tossed it on.

“Goddamn drifters,” I growl as I fish my keys out of my pants pocket. That was my favorite jacket.

“You sure about this?”

I sling a leg over my bike, frowning at the lack of a helmet hanging from the handlebar. Fucking vultures! “I'm not sure about any of this, Marco,” I admit as I twist the key in the ignition. The motorcycle roars to life. Pulling the aviators from the collar of my shirt, I slip them on before casting the bear one last look. “Keep an eye on Dani. I'll be home in a few hours.”

I glance past him to the passenger side of his truck, where the barista is staring silently ahead, and my scowl deepens. She might be angry about this impromptu trip to a city four hours away now, but she will thank me when her life is no longer in danger. Death may be the only thing I was good at, but her blood would not be on my hands. Not if I could help it.

Not again.

My eyes flick back to Marco and I offer him a curt nod. “This won't take long.” I rev the engine and peel out without another word.