by A. P. Moraez
It took a few seconds, but Logan’s hardened expression finally eased and he relaxed back down, pressing his lips on Ash’s forehead in a soft kiss. “I’m glad you asked for help.”
“Me too.”
“So, you really are kinky like that, uh? Without an ulterior motive. You just naturally love when I fuck you so hard you can’t breathe.”
Ash couldn’t contain the laughter that escaped him. “Fuck you,” he laughed. He shoved a laughing Logan away from him and rose, taking the pillows and comforters with him. “This is practically a giant pile of cum rags. Go on and start the shower while I carry this to the laundry room.”
“Bossy, uh?” Logan taunted, eyes roaming Ash’s body from head to toe. “Guess someone needs a lesson.”
“Stop it.” Ash lifted the stuff between them as a shield. “The guys will be back soon. We don’t have time for this.”
Logan’s eyes narrowed and he took a step forward, prompting Ash to take an involuntary step back. He tripped over the edge of the couch and almost fell.
“We can rush it if we do what you suggested, all rough and dirty.”
“Logan,” Ash warned, eyes wide and breathing erratic, in a half-laugh, “you can’t be serious. We just fucked on that couch not even, like, fifteen minutes ago.”
As a way of a response, Logan tilted one eyebrow and looked down. Ash followed his gaze to find Logan’s ridiculously large cock already pointing up again, hard as a rock.
“You’re really doing this, aren’t you?”
Logan brought his eyes back slowly and, when their gazes met, Ash’s breath caught.
“You should run,” Logan rumbled.
And run he did.
SOMEONE WAS SQUEEZING his hip gently, saying something that Ash didn’t catch. He opened his eyes to find their room bathed in faint, early morning sunlight.
“There’s someone at the door,” Logan murmured at his ear, “I’m gonna check the cameras to see who it is. You don’t need to get up yet. It’s too early.”
Logan kissed his cheek tenderly before the bed dipped and his warmth disappeared from Ash’s back.
His brain was still foggy with sleep, but he registered when the door closed behind Logan.
Who could be at the door this early on a Friday morning?
Worried, Ash grudgingly swiped the covers to the side and got off the warm bed. He shivered. It was a cold winter morning and it had been snowing for days now. Logan didn’t like leaving the air-conditioned on during the night, since he liked snuggling in bed and the heat of their bodies plus the air was too much for his liking. Shivering, Ash put on a robe and made his way to the door.
He barely avoided crashing right into Logan, who was crossing in front of the door with Duke.
“Morning,” Duke chuckled, pushing Ash back from him gently.
“Morning. D’you guys know who’s at the door?”
“It’s Miller,” Logan clarified, sounding worried. “I can’t imagine why he’d rush here this early. It probably has something to do with the investigation, though.”
Ash tensed. Not wanting to risk the police finding out his past involvement with Leonardo, Ash had chosen not to disclose anything to them. Thankfully, even Grace, who was still bitter about Morgan’s death, blaming it solely on him, apparently hadn’t rushed to the police to rat him out. Still, he felt bad for having Miller losing sleep in an investigation that Ash himself was praying wouldn’t result in anything. Because if Miller somehow found out the real culprit for Morgan’s death and the arson at his old house, he’d start digging. And if there was anything Ash was sure of was that if Leo ever got caught, he wouldn’t go down easy, without dragging Ash down with him. The man was a psycho, yeah; kinda cocky and, sometimes, reckless, but he was smart. There was no doubt in Ash’s mind that he hadn’t saved proof of their involvement before that old cursed mansion burned down. For now, though, according to Miller weekly updates about his progress, he hadn’t found a real connection. For all Ash — and the whole world, really — knew, Leonardo Lazarus, notorious Chemistry prodigy and Tompas patron and benefactor, had died a horrible death by fire almost a decade ago. Ash could only hope they would keep believing that; could only hope they could find and deal with Leo before the police ever even sniffed a clue that led to him.
“This must be some hot shit if he’s here at fucking half-past-six on a Friday morning,” Duke complained as they followed along the hall and reached the stairs.
“Maybe,” Logan muttered, still clearly not completely awake himself.
They didn’t say anything anymore until they got to the front door, where Logan pressed his palm to the panel. There were the series of usual beeps, then Logan opened the door to reveal the tall, blond deputy.
“Good morning,” Miller greeted as he snubbed out his half-smoked cigarette. He quickly shook their hands and nodded to each of them in turn. They said their good mornings in return, then Miller took a step back and said, “I hope it’s not too early.”
“No, not at all,” Logan lied. “Any news on Morgan’s case?”
“Yeah,” Miller responded, eyes glinting in the early morning sun. The sky was a dull gray, still heavy with snow that was bound to restart blanketing the place soon. “May I come in? I don’t feel this is something we should discuss in the open.”
Logan nodded. “Of course. House is yours.”
Logan pressed his palm to lock the door behind him, one arm slung around Ash’s waist, before they followed the two men that were already heading to the living room, Duke showing Miller the way.
“Have you had breakfast yet?”
“No, not yet,” Miller said as they got to the living room. “But please, don’t bother,” he quickly added when he saw Logan was about to offer him something to eat. “I’ll have to leave soon. I just wanted to give you guys an update before I go.”
“Oh,” Logan said, “alright. Did something happen? You found something about the case?”
Deputy Miller nodded as he scrubbed a hand over his face. “Yeah, I got a… lead?”
“A lead?” Duke intervened, surprised.
“Yeah,” Miller confirmed. “I’m driving down to Tompas right after here. Something came up there that, as weird as it sounds, I think might be connected to what happened to Old Morgan.”
Ash crossed his arms just so that the officer wouldn’t see how shaky his hands had become just at hearing that name. He would find out, and quick. Whatever this lead was, if it had pointed him out to Tompas, then he couldn’t be that far from discovering who was to blame for Morgan’s murder, and then Ash would fall, too. Leo and him would rot in jail for what they’ve done.
“Tompas, uh?” Duke said with his best facade of calmness. “You mind telling us why you think you’d find anything of help in a place so far from here, where the crime actually happened?”
“There’s been a… development. There’s a guy that’s been locked up in Tompas’ jail for years now. As I understand, he saw the news about what happened here and went running to the prison’s director. Says he might know something about it. They struck some kind of deal, that if what he has to say ends up being helpful, they will reduce his jail time accordingly.”
“That’s… that’s wonderful,” Logan started, with a tinge of uncertainty in his voice that matched the shakiness taking over Ash’s own limbs, “right, baby?” Logan tipped his head down to look at him, squeezing him against his side.
“Righ—” Ash coughed to clear his throat, which had turned dry. “Right, of course.” To Miller, he asked, “Do you happen to know this guy’s name? The one saying he might be able to help?”
Miller frowned, a line appearing between his eyebrows. “The director said it, but I’m not that great with names. It starts with an M, though. Matheo, maybe?” He rubbed his short stubble. “Matt? Something like that.”
Ash’s heart was about to just fly out of his mouth. “Matthew?”
“That’s it!” Miller said, grinning. The grin soon vanish
ed. “How’d you know?”
“Just a guess,” Ash said, putting on a fake smile as his stomach cramped and his legs weakened, threatening to give out.
“Right,” Miller said slowly, as if unsure if he believed that. “Anyway, I gotta go. I’ll have to drive all day if I’m hoping to chat with the fella tomorrow morning.” Miller started for the front door. “I’ll call you folks as soon as I got some news.”
“Thank you,” Logan responded as he let go of Ash’s side to get to the panel and allow Miller to go on his way. “Thank you so much for coming here this early just to update us on everything.”
They shook hands at the door and Miller sent a quick wave to Duke and Ash. “No problem. Have a good weekend, Mr. Bishop.”
With that, the deputy turned around, lit up another cigarette, and bounded toward his police car.
When Logan finally locked the door again and turned around, his eyes immediately widened and he rushed to Ash’s side, capturing him in his arms. “Ash? What’s up? You’re pale as a sheet.”
Ash was trying to breathe, but the walls were closing in around him. He was hugging himself there, in the middle of the living room, eyes squeezed shut, as he shook. Everything was spinning, the world finally crashing down all around him.
“Ash,” Logan cried, “what’s going on?” Logan was rubbing both Ash’s arms, up and down, with his warm hands, and it was helping a little, but barely.
“He’s gonna find out, Logan. I’m fucked.”
“You don’t know that.”
Ash opened his eyes, heartbeat speeding up. “Yeah, I do,” he said, voice shaking. “Don’t you remember? When I was telling everyone about my past? Don’t you remember?”
“Remember what?” Logan and Duke were both staring at him with a mixture of apprehension and confusion.
“Matthew is that guy that got shot in that failed job. The one that got E—” His throat was too tight by the waves of anxiety and fear choking him. He cleared it and tried again. “The one that got Eric killed.”
Logan’s mouth fell open. “The Matthew Miller is about to go chat with is that Matthew? The one you… worked with? For him?”
Ash nodded as he dried his hands that had gone sweaty on his robe. “One and the same. He knows Leo. He knows me. If he tells Miller that he knows me, that I used to work for Leo, that’s it for me.”
“No, it’s not,” Logan reassured, voice low. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”
Ash chuckled without any mirth. “You can’t protect me from everything. Especially when they frame me for—” He caught himself in time, throwing a quick glance at Duke. “For everything I did.”
God, this was embarrassing. A tear had escaped his left eye without his consent and Duke was right there watching him break down. “I’m so fucked,” he muttered, trying for dear life to get a hold of his emotions, but not finding much success.
“Hey,” Logan said, hand raising to cup Ash’s cheek, making Ash look into his eyes. “Nothing’s gonna happen, okay? I’ll never let anything happen to you. Anything. Even if they find out about your past, we will fight, alright? We’ll fight our way through it. Plus, nothing is black and white. Your story sure as fuck isn’t black and white, love.”
Even though he wanted to hang on to Logan’s every word like a lifeline, he couldn’t stop shaking, fists so tight now that he was about to hurt his palms where the nails were digging in.
“Hey,” Logan tried in a half-whisper. He grasped both of Ash’s hands and started forcing them open. Ash relented. “Don’t you trust me?”
Still shaking, Ash nodded repeatedly. “I do. You know I do.”
“Then stop with that, okay? I don’t want you to hurt yourself.”
Ash nodded frantically again. He took a big breath, trying to regain his composure. Before he knew it, Logan had hugged him firmly against his chest, Ash’s head slotted under his chin. He pressed a kiss to the top of Ash’s head and said, “We’re gonna figure this out, okay? We’re gonna find him and this hell will end, you just wait.”
Ash didn’t answer. He just hugged Logan right back and took big, calming breaths, Logan’s smell helping to soothe him, as it always did. They spent a few moments like that, until Logan took a step back, hands on Ash’s shoulders. When Ash looked up, both men were gazing at him intensely, Duke specially. He looked pissed, like someone had just kicked his puppy.
“We’re gonna find him, Ash,” Duke said. “If it is the last thing I do. In fact, I’m gonna speak with my teams right now and as ask for two more guys to focus on our research.”
They’d been using every bit of tech available to try and track Leo down, but no luck so far. He was like a ghost. There hadn’t been any phone calls for them to track. No info on Nate’s dead body, either. He’d been carrying a burner phone with him that day.
“That’s great. Thank you,” Logan replied with a pat on Duke’s arm.
Duke whirled around and bounded toward the stairs to the upper floor.
“Stop worrying, okay?” Logan said, massaging Ash’s neck. “We’ve got a full day today. Have you started packing yet?”
They were heading for Italy tonight. Logan had required that his plane be flown to Denver’s airport yesterday afternoon. Before that, though, they needed to go to the O’Farrell’s bimonthly gathering that Martha had arranged at the bar tonight. Ash had told them yesterday during his half-shift and the whole family had just refused to let them go without a little get-together first, so Martha had transferred the traditional bimonthly gathering to the Friday instead of the usual weekend.
“No,” Ash sighed. “Guess I should, uh? God, I can’t believe tomorrow at this time we’ll be in freaking Italy.”
Logan chuckled. “You’re gonna love it. I have so much I wanna show you there.”
“You’re exited, aren’t you? To go back to a place where you lived for so many years.”
Logan was smiling. “Yeah.”
“Alright, then. Guess I should start packing. You’re gonna have to help me, though. I have no idea what the weather is gonna be like there.”
Logan grabbed him by the hand and they started for the stairs, back to their room. And for the next few hours they discussed what to bring and what not to bring, where they’d be staying, and Ash laughed at all the right places and commented when appropriate. Truth was, he wanted to let Logan’s positivity affect him and influence his own mindset, but that whole time, while they filled suitcase after suitcase, he couldn’t help wondering if this was the last day he’d see this house before Miller came back from his own trip and threw him in jail.
interlude iii
“IT’S A GIRL!” Cass cried as soon as she and Peter, hands clasped, reached the table the O’Farrells had set up for their gathering next to the stage area. The patrons, especially the ones that’d turned up specifically to see Ash play, hadn’t been too happy when Tom announced there’d be no music tonight, but oh, well, you couldn’t always please everybody.
Cass was bouncing on her feet, all lilac today, and Peter was gazing down at her with such blatant love that it warmed Ash’s heart. At least they could have this. Little moments of light and joy in the middle of so much turmoil.
They’d just come back from her first ultrasound, which Ash’d really wanted to be there for, but couldn’t due to having to spend all day packing for the flight Logan and him had to head to in a couple hours.
“Oh my God!” Martha rushed to her feet and enveloped her daughter in one of her lioness hugs. When they disentangled, she hugged Peter too, tears in her eyes. She had apparently forgiven him for daring to put a child on her barely-out-of-adolescence little girl. “That’s such great news.”
Tom, Jeff and Soph all took their turns congratulating them. Even Trav came out of his corner, where he’d been quietly drawing since they’d gotten there, and rushed to give his aunt and uncle Pete, as he called him, a shy hug.
“I told you it’d be a girl,” Ash said as he tugged Logan forward by the han
d and opened his other arm to hug Cass. “We have enough men in the family already, right? It was time for a new girl.”
She hugged him fiercely back, wet chuckles against Ash’s chest. He missed her so much. Everything since that dreadful Christmas night had been so hectic with Wicked Wish and his own relationship, they’d kinda drifted apart. He’d have to fix that. Soon. Being too out of touch with Cass went so deep against his nature that it just felt wrong.
“I’m sorry,” he said in a half-whisper at her ear as their hug extended, “I’m sorry I couldn’t be there.”
She squeezed him. “It’s okay. I know things haven’t been easy for you guys.”
He kissed her temple. “I’ll try to be more present in the future. I promise. I promised that day at the hospital that we’d go through this together, right?”
Teary eyes, she looked at him and nodded.
He smiled, and turned to Peter as Logan took his turn hugging and congratulating Cass. “So,” Ash said, hugging his best friend tight, “ready to lose all your hair in the future chasing off all the guys away from your girl?”
“Hells yeah,” the bearded hipster said, laughing as they separated. He had a silly smile on, and it suited him, this paternity thing. Ash would never in a million years have seen Peter as the fatherly type, but the last month had started to make the picture more believable in his head. Peter had started to change ever so subtly since he found out about the baby. He’d become a little quieter; littler subtler. All of them had noticed it. How he’d never leave Cass’ side anymore; how he took care of her every need, including that one time where she’d had the weird craving for her mother’s Irish coddled pork mixed with strawberry ice-cream. Ash shivered just thinking about it. The strawberry thing alone was already enough to get him shivering, actually.
“Here, look!” Cass urged, taking his attention away from his friend, as she hunted for something inside her purse. A few seconds later, she pulled her shaky hand from the confines of the shiny lilac thing. She was holding two little photographs. “The doctor let us come home with these,” she said, voice cracking as she tried to wipe away one more stray tear.
