She looked up…

Thump.

...the girl got off the bed and walked toward me.

She held her hand out. “My name is—”

Thump.

“—my name is Ashley. What’s yours?”

64

Raize

Ash was in Roman’s basement, curled up in a corner of a couch, a blanket around her, and having that same pale color she’d been having since I found out Marco could’ve killed her. She was holding a mug of hot tea, her request, and she was staring at no one, talking to no one.

Gus was on her lap, curled in, his head on her stomach and looking up for pets.

Ash wasn’t having it.

After that day, after hearing her screams, a sound that I will never get out of my head, Gus hadn’t moved from her side. He would piss on the floor if she wouldn’t go with him outside. It was that kind of relationship happening right now.

Roman came into the room, seeing Ash, me, and choosing to come to me first.

Good choice.

He stood at my side, looking around the rest of the room. He had his usual men positioned throughout his house, but he’d asked his usual personal blockade of guards to let him have the basement for this event.

He lingered on Gus, whose tail was thumping into Roman’s black leather couch, but moved and took in Jake, Cavers, and Abram, all who were lounging throughout the room.

“This is so very not smart.”

I grunted. That was the most obvious statement of the century.

I gave him a look. “It’s her stipulation. She’s going to talk. This has nothing to do with you or me, but she’s gotta tell someone. She’s going insane.”

“Plan a mafia coup, swoop in to surprise everyone, and what? Invite a detective to your house to let him see that you’re here. This wasn’t in my plan, Raize,” he clipped out.

“You want her to work for you, this is her demand. Her and I have talked and I am not going to let you use her if she decides against it. This was her request. She’s doing it here, where you are, and it’s two fold. You know about it. You know what’s being said. It won’t look like we’re snitching and again, you know what exactly it’s all going to be about. You’re my employer. If we went without you knowing, we both know how that would’ve looked. You control the environment. You control what detective it is. You’re here and this works for you, too. You want to be somewhat legitimate, so you’re going to deal with the authorities. This is a good start to that relationship.”

He grunted, nodding to himself. “Right, because you haven’t been a pain in my ass lately at all. I’m really controlling a whole lot.”

Ash glanced our way, her eyes narrowing and no doubt, just seeing how we were standing. Both with our backs to the walls. Any firearms were supposed to be hidden, not that the Boston detective, whichever one walked through those doors, wouldn’t know they were there. They would know, but after Ash told me enough that she needed to talk about, we both put together this plan.

Talking to the police at all was considered snitching. It didn’t matter that it had nothing to do with anything illegal that we might’ve done in the last six months. But she was going to come forward, and I worked for the biggest Russian mafia boss on the East Coast. Everything was put in a way that Roman would look like the good guy. Statements were going to be kept to what Ash had to say, which had nothing to do with anything current. She was firm on that.

The police would know about her.

The police already did know about her. This way, they’d know where she was and that she no longer needed to be considered a missing person.

But the police would know about Roman, which was going to happen anyways. Roman wanted to set up legitimate businesses here. There’s no hiding if that’s the case. And myself, I guess they’d learn about who I was if they didn’t already know because I wasn’t leaving her side.

What Roman would be told after the meeting is that Marco decided to work with him after all.

I—I had my own plan to handle that, but we heard footsteps coming down the stairs.

One of Roman’s guys came in. “They’re here.”

Roman nodded. “I want my men gone.” He glanced around the room, and as it’d been talked about before, Abram, Jake, and Cavers all left the room, too. They were here, they had met their boss above their boss, but they didn’t need the detective to see any more faces than what was needed.

We heard footsteps and a woman came in.

She was dressed in a suit. Slim. Sharp face. Sharp eyes, too. And a whole no-nonsense vibe to her.

She lingered on Roman, on me, but she went right to Ash.

“Hello.” She sat on a chair not far from Ash and took out a recorder. “I’m Detective Maronzetti. And your name is Ash…” She paused and glanced at us.

Another detective had come into the room, quieter, but he was there. She looked right at him, letting us know he was there. Not slim, a paunch on his stomach, and dressed in a suit. Balding head with the sides still trying to keep what hair was there. He also, which I found annoying, had smart eyes.

I didn’t know who Roman had asked to come, but these detectives weren’t the ones I’d hoped to get. In my life, you knew who would and who wouldn’t. Neither of these two did.

“No.”

Ash’s voice drew everyone’s attention back to her.

The feeling in the room changed, dipped, grew more somber.

I did not want to hear what she was going to say, but it was because once I heard, then I’d know what happened to her. I couldn’t take it away. I couldn’t kill anyone to make her feel better. The only recourse, literally the only recourse, was this.

“My name isn’t Ash, actually.”

“I don’t want you by me, when I tell them.”

“No.”

“Raize.” She sighed. She sounded so tired. “I have to do this on my own. I have to, for Brooke.” She started crying, but she’d been crying on and off since we left Montana. “I can’t explain it. I just can’t have you by me.”

“I’m in the same room. That’s not negotiable.”

“The police will know you—”

“It’s you, Ash. You!”

That was the conversation we had two days ago. I hated it then. I hated it even more now. But, I was in the room.

I was in the room.

Then she began speaking.

65

Ash

I started at the beginning.

“She was sick, you have to know that first.” My voice was shaky. Dammit. I couldn’t be like that, not for this. I liked the female detective. She was strong. I could feel that, but she was going to be soft with me. I hated that, but I needed that and I swear, she knew that, too.

She told me her name, but I wouldn’t remember it.

I wouldn’t remember anything about anyone in this room after tonight.

I’d only remember what I was about to say, and how it would destroy anything I might’ve had.

“Who was sick, Ash?”

I had a feeling no one else would speak, just her and me. I’m sure it’d been talked about on both sides. That was the precedent here today.