11. Ashe

I did not plan on staying last night, but my options were limited and I was injured. And, if I was being honest, a hot shower and a few hours of sleep had sounded much more inticing than the thought of trekking all over the city streets looking for a way back to Goss Hollow Park. My body was in no condition for such a journey, no matter how fast I could run.

With a heavy sigh I open my eyes and replay the events that had unfolded last night.

Dani had been nice enough to let me sleep in her bed. Even after everything I said to her. Even after I adamantly refused. She had insisted, and then she spent the remaining hours before dawn on the couch in the other room.

We did not talk much after my shower. She had given me an oversized T-shirt that she had apparently won from a raffle at the local university and a pair of loose-fitting basketball shorts to sleep in—one size bigger than what fit her slimmer frame, I noticed—and had offered to launder my clothes.

Instead I had recommended that she burn them. It was what I would have done, anyway, with them being covered in blood and dirt and all. I could not risk having that kind of evidence laying at the bottom of a trash can somewhere where anyone could get their hands on it. Saving them was just not worth the effort it would take to thoroughly clean them.

After she hastily checked on my wounds one last time, Dani had grabbed a blanket from her closet and left the room with a mumbled, 'Goodnight'. She made it a point to avoid eye contact during our brief exchange, which was more than fine with me. The buzz from the alcohol was wearing off by that time and my body was still in the throes of healing. If I was not able to numb the pain with booze then I'd at least try to ignore it with sleep.

That was easier said than done, though, and as my ribs repaired themselves in the night and my skin tingled with new growth, sleep was nearly impossible.

Daylight was beginning to trickle in through the bedroom blinds by the time I finally started drifting off when the sound of a toe jamming into the wall woke me up, followed quickly by a string of hushed curses.

I grunt and sit up. There was no point in trying to sleep now. “You're up early.”

“Y-yeah,” Dani mutters as she goes back to rummaging through her closet. “Didn't mean to wake you. Sorry.”

“You didn't.”

“How'd you sleep?”

Christ, is she trying to make small talk?

I reply with another grunt, hoping she would take the hint. Dani was nice, but that did not mean she was off the hook. She still had my ring. I was still bound to her, and she did not have the slightest idea of what that fucking meant!

My blood spikes and I suck in a breath. Setting her sheets on fire would hardly be a good way to start the day.

I rein in my anger, dismissing all thoughts from my mind as I wind the loose threads back into a tight ball and lock it within my chest. One deep breath in through the nose, hold it in and count to ten, then slowly exhale. Let the ball sink down as the breath escapes through the lips.

Stay in control.

Once I feel the heat dissipate, I focus my attention back on the human whose world I just flipped upside down.

Her back was turned to me, caramel hair cascading over her shoulders as she picked out her outfit for the day. A flicker of light twinkles from a hole behind a row of clothes, collateral damage from my outburst last night, and a small pang of guilt thumps in my chest. I may have overreacted a little to her putting on my ring, but this whole situation was one giant mess and I needed to direct my anger somewhere.

“Where are you going?” I ask as she slips into the bathroom to change. I did not particularly care to know where she was off to, I just needed some quick answers of my own before she bolted out of the apartment. Where I was at would be a good start.

Her voice is nearly muffled from behind the closed door, but I manage to hear her respond with a curt, “Work.”

Ah, the café. Now that I knew the location of. Finally, some bearings. “How far from here?”

The door opens and Dani walks out in casual jeans and a fitted T-shirt, her hair pulled back into a tight ponytail. “About a fifteen minute walk.” She moves over to the dresser and fiddles with a watch and a pair of earrings. Her hands falter for a moment, and in the mirror I catch her glance in my direction. “Am I allowed to leave?”

“Well you're not a prisoner.” The words come out rougher than I intended and I clench my jaw. She's not the one who can be yanked through a backdoor at any given moment. Jesus, she did not understand the power she now had and she was acting as if I was the one holding her hostage? My insides burn at the thought. “Just don't summon me again. It complicates things.”

“What about this mess isn't complicated?” Her words were spoken low enough that she might have been talking to herself, but when I did not reply she sighs. “I don't even know how I did that in the first place.”

To be honest, I did not even know how it really worked, either. I have only ever been summoned, never the one doing the summoning. I knew enough, but it was probably best to err on the side of caution.

“Don't say my name aloud. Don't even think about me today, or that ring'll pull me to you in the middle of your store and this mess will be even more complicated than it already is.” At the mercy of a soul ring names had power, even over a half demon, and one unsanctioned human with that knowledge was one too many.

“You're not much of a morning person, are you?” If that was her attempt at a joke, it fell flat in the tension between us.

“I'm not much of a people person.” I comb my fingers through my hair and sigh, anxious to expel my frustration. Anger would do me no good here, and there was still so much we needed to discuss. She knows about the supernatural now—a small part of it, at least. The less she knew the better, but there were still rules that needed to be laid down if we were going to get through this alive. “You can't tell anyone about this, Dani.”

She scoffs, a sound that seemed to surprise her just as much as it surprised me. “Yeah, like anyone would believe me if I did.”

Her voice is tense, strained, like she was holding something back, and my curiosity piques. I open my mouth to speak when she suddenly turns around, her emerald green eyes piercing my gaze, and my words catch in my throat.

Several emotions flash across her face and she draws her eyebrows together in what looks like annoyance. It might be confusion, though, or possibly fear. I was not very good at reading facial expressions. That was what my abilities were for, but whatever she was feeling right now I could not sense it and that unsettled me. I'm not used to not knowing.

Goddammit, why can't I read her?

“Here.” She walks over and presses a silver chain into my hand.

The contact is brief, but her rigid stance and the slight tremble as her fingers graze against my skin did not go unnoticed. Was she scared? Nervous?

I raise an eyebrow as I lift my gaze. “What's this?”

“I-I still can't take the stupid thing . . .” Her voice trails off for a moment, her cheeks flushing in that infuriatingly adorable way, but she soon clears her throat and continues. “So, anyway, I thought you might like the necklace back. For when we figure out how to get it off.”

“Get it off?” I blink, my eyes not leaving hers. There was no taking off a soul ring, not until the wearer—or the demon bound to them—was dead. That was the whole point of being soulbound. I certainly did not plan on dying, and it was not like I could just kill her and remove it! We would not be having this conversation if that was an option. “Dani—”

“No, look.” She shakes her head, cutting off my words. “I'm sorry I ever put it on, and I'm sorry I got us into this . . . binding, situation. But I didn't sign up for this crazy train and I don't plan on dying anytime soon, so we'll just have to figure it out so things can go back to normal and we can go back to not knowing each other.”

Well that was unexpected. Was she up thinking about this all night? No wonder she was moody, she barely slept.

“You've clearly given this some thought.”

“Yeah, well, I'm not going to be another mistake.”

So that was where her sudden hostility was stemming from. Did my words strike a nerve with her?

Maybe saying that was a bit harsh. I had been angry when I said it. But dammit, I have a right to be upset about this! This whole situation is dangerous for the both of us, how could she not see that?

I sigh. “It's not that simple.”

Her eyes flick from my shoulder to my torso before locking me in their crosshairs once again. No doubt she noticed the lack of wounds covering my body. Not even a trace of scar tissue, as if my tussle with death never happened.

“You're a demon with a magic ring, Ashe. Nothing about this is simple.”

Fair enough.

“Half demon,” I mutter as I pull the chain over my head, frowning at how light it feels without the band. I had managed to keep it hidden for so long. It would be nice to have my ring back. “But I might know someone who can help. No promises, though,” I add before she can reply. I did not want to get her hopes up, or mine for that matter. I've never heard of anyone removing a soul ring while both parties were still breathing.

But if there was a chance . . .

“You aren't going to have me killed,” she whispers, her eyes swimming once more with a mix of emotions that I could not read. “Are you?”

“That would be the easiest solution.” The words tumble from my lips before I can think and her body tenses, as if she was expecting me to lash out at any second.

Shit.

I force what I hope looks like a sincere smile. “I can't hurt you, remember? That also means I can't let you get hurt.” It did not mean that she was safe, though. “We'll talk more tonight. There's still much for us to discuss.”

Any other questions she might have had died on her tongue, although if it was due to the finality in my tone or the promise of more answers to come I was not sure.

“I get out at eight.” Dani offers me a curt nod and turns to leave but stops just outside the door.

Christ, what now?

With a sigh she glances over her shoulder. “If you need money for a cab or whatever—”

“I'm fine,” I snap. Why is she so nice? “Just need to know where I'm at. I'll find my way.”

She pauses for a moment before finally saying, “Terrace View Apartments,” and leaves without another word.

With a groan I roll off the bed, stretch out my limbs and grab my phone from the nightstand.

So I was in an apartment complex close to Café Roasted, which meant I was at least an hour's drive from Goss Hollow Park. It was too risky to run in broad daylight and I did not take public transportation.

That left me with only one choice.

Dammit.

Flipping the phone open, I scroll through my contacts until I find the name I'm looking for. Before pressing the call button, I spare a glance at myself in the dresser mirror and sigh. I'll never live this down.

He picks up after the fifth ring.

“H'lo?” His voice is laden with sleep, as if he just woke up from a long hibernation. I roll my eyes.

“I'm calling in a favor.”

“Ashe?”

“I need a lift. Pick me up outside Terrace View Apartments, on the upper east side of town. You know the place?”

“Y-yeah, sure. But—”

“Great, see you in an hour.” Click.

Once that was done, I grab my clothes from last night—which Dani had neatly washed, folded and placed on her dresser—along with anything that was used to address my wounds and look around the kitchen for something to place them in. I manage to find two large steel coffee cans in the pantry and a lighter in one of the drawers. After some minor alterations I dump the coffee into the trash, stuff the shredded bits of clothing and rags into the tins as best I can and set them ablaze out on the balcony. The thin fabric catches quickly enough.

As the makeshift fire pits burn outside, I grab a bottle of hydrogen peroxide from Dani's stash of medical supplies and douse the couch, making sure to rub out any blood stains that may have set into the fabric. The floral-printed upholstery quickly splotches and fades, but if you ask me it was honestly an improvement. That thing was hideous.

All evidence of my presence was wiped clean by the time my phone buzzed.

“Be right down,” I say as I scatter the ashes over the edge of Dani's balcony and throw away the cans. Then, slipping the phone back into my pocket, I leave the apartment and bound down three flights of stairs to the building's exit.

“You have any idea what time it is?” Marco asks as soon as I open the door to his beat-up pickup truck. “You're lucky your call woke me up at all.”

I roll my eyes. “It's barely nine. Like you need to sleep that much, anyway.” Bears, honestly.

“I own a nightclub, Ashe. I'm nocturnal.” He blinks, taking in my appearance, and I can practically see the amusement welling up behind his green eyes as he asks, “What the hell are you wearing?”

“Not a word, Marco,” I growl as I climb into the passenger seat. “Not a goddamn word.”

The arkoudan chuckles, clearly not threatened by a Reaper in a college T-shirt and combat boots. “Never thought I'd see you do the walk of shame,” he quips, his lips twisting into the biggest smirk I've ever seen. “Or need help with a getaway. It's humbling.”

I throw up my middle finger and he laughs harder. “Just drop me off at Goss Hollow. I left my bike there and I need to change.”

“So who's the lucky—”

“Shut the hell up and drive.”

The ride was mostly quiet. After a few initial minutes of prodding Marco had finally given up on trying to pry into the circumstances that led to my current predicament and instead settled into the silence between us. His concern would have been endearing if he was not blatantly enjoying my situation, but he was the only person I knew who would not push too hard for answers that I was not so eager to give.

Despite the amount of people on the road at this hour, the park was all but empty when we pulled into the parking lot. I'm relieved to see that my motorcycle is right where I left it.

“So when are you gonna come back by for a drink, sugar plum?” Marco asks as I hop out. “Haven't seen you around lately.”

“Awe, what, you been missing me? Not enough excitement at the club these days?” At his indifferent shrug I shake my head. “Work's kept me busy.” Although, with how my week's been going, a night of bottomless booze did sound heavenly. Hopefully my next assignment likes to partake in the city's bustling nightlife.

“You sure that vampire isn't the one keeping you busy?”

“When does she not keep me busy?”

I slam the door before he can respond and wave him off. He never tries to hide his aversion for Catalina whenever she was in town and that was not a conversation I was keen on having right now.

***

By the time I make it home and change into something a little more comfortable, my phone rings. With a disgruntled sigh I grab a pack of cigarettes and walk out onto the balcony. Was it too much to ask for a little 'me' time?

I light up a cigarette and flip open the phone. “Yes?”

“You haven't checked in yet and you're not at the office.”

“Good morning to you, too, Chandler.” I take a long drag, releasing a puff of smoke with a sigh. “I had a long night so I figured I'd sleep in. Can you blame me?”

“Ashe, we've talked about this.”

“Jesus Christ, Chandler, I'm not working right now!” I bite my tongue, reeling in my anger as I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Look, it was a rough night, okay? I was fighting a demon for fuck's sake. Cut me some slack.”

There was a slight pause before Chandler spoke again. “I understand. Take a few hours to compose yourself and then meet me at Silent Hills around two-thirty.”

I spare a glance at the time and frown. Silent Hills was an hour south of Trinity Valley, which meant it would take me two just to get there. “Not leaving me much time to do my makeup, are you?”

“If by makeup you mean sleep then I suggest you take a power nap. We have work to do, Ashe, and hunting down that prowler put you days behind. Sleep is a luxury you can't afford.” Click.

Easy enough for him to say. He was not the one getting tossed around like a rag doll last night and then being yanked through the cold fog of a backdoor minutes later.

I shove the phone into my pants pocket with an agitated huff as I light up another cigarette. I really did not like that guy.