Wherever You Go

by Amanda Torrey

  Asher was surprised to see Jenkins had stood by his side through what had to have been hours. He nodded his appreciation to the officer as he walked back to his truck.

  “Here, you’ll need these.” Jenkins called out to Asher, throwing Asher’s keys to him when he turned back. “I had one of my guys turn off your engine. Figured it would suck if you ran out of gas.”

  The corner of Asher’s mouth turned up in a wry grin. “I appreciate it, man.”

  “You sure you’re okay to drive?”

  “Yeah.” Asher drew his hand over the top of his head. “I’m good.”

  “Get some rest, and I’ll be in touch tomorrow afternoon. We’ve got to go over some things.”

  Asher nodded once again. He didn’t bother telling Officer Jenkins what he was thinking—that he didn’t need an investigation to know that Ricky had finally exacted the revenge he had promised.

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Asher fantasized about falling into his bed and staying there for the next week, but he knew that wasn’t a dream that had even the slightest chance of coming true.

  He had too much to figure out. And he’d need Ricky to walk him through every step he had taken after their fight.

  He already knew Ricky had crashed the Ferrari—his bloody head made his crime obvious. Whether he did it on purpose or because he had been under the influence was the only mystery.

  Asher slammed the door when he entered the house, hoping he’d startle his asshole brother awake.

  No response.

  He tossed his keys onto the table, sure that the rattle and slam of metal on wood would make Ricky jump.

  Nope.

  “Ricky. Up now. We need to talk.”

  Still nothing.

  Asher stormed over to the couch, preparing for battle. He was exhausted—lack of sleep and an overdose of emotion had depleted him, and both of those things were courtesy of Ricky.

  Time for a reality check.

  Ricky was slumped over on the couch in an unnatural position, sound asleep and snoring as a syringe broadcast his sins.

  Asher tightened his fists and bit the inside of his cheeks, wishing with everything he had that there was someone he could battle. If the monster would materialize, he’d slay the beast, but he couldn’t fight an illusion. An invisible, faceless enemy.

  Ricky’s snoring turned to a gargle, and Asher detected a blue tinge around his brother’s mouth.

  “Ricky.” Asher shook his brother. He kicked Ricky’s feet, praying for a reaction. “Ricky! You wake the fuck up!”

  Ricky’s eyeballs jolted against his closed lids, but he didn’t commit to waking up. Asher straightened his head, squeezed his cheeks, tried to pry his eyes open.

  The gurgling stopped for a moment, but as soon as Asher released him to reach for the phone, Ricky fell onto the couch, burying the syringe under his body as his snoring grew more strangled.

  The emergency dispatch operator instructed Asher to roll Ricky on his side and to pry his mouth open in an attempt to keep his airway clear.

  Within minutes, his house flooded with the lights of yet another emergency department as EMTs fought to save the life of a man who wanted to die.

  ***

  Paisley had known something was terribly wrong when Asher left Izzy at her house for the whole night.

  When he finally called at eight the next morning, she burst into silent tears, grateful to hear his voice.

  She had heard sirens all night, and hadn’t been able to ignore the gnawing, twisting, tearing fear clutching her gut.

  She knew she was a terrible person, but she couldn’t hide the relief in her sigh when he told her about his brother. She felt horrible for his brother, but she couldn’t deal with something happening to Asher.

  He asked her to hold on to Izzy for a little while longer so he could wait to speak to his brother’s treatment team and sort things out with the police.

  Paisley had rubbed Izzy’s back as Asher spoke to her on the phone, filling her in on all that had happened. Izzy remained silent. Too silent. Too stoic.

  Izzy pushed her breakfast around on her plate. She was mostly unresponsive, but when Paisley tried to get her to talk about something benign, she faked a smile and fed stories to Paisley.

  She tried to act unaffected, but Paisley knew the girl was plotting. She had seen the look on the faces of her clients and on the opposition regularly, and the look was always followed up with something outrageous.

  Her stoicism was the calm before the storm.

  Paisley encouraged Izzy to shower, and while she was in there, Paisley took the opportunity to call one of her employees to ask her to open up the ice cream shop without her. She then called Reed and begged her to come help her keep Izzy occupied.

  As soon as her sisters piled into the little cottage, Paisley excused herself and took a long shower of her own.

  So much for coming to Healing Springs to relax and de-stress. At this point, she may as well have transitioned into criminal law—would have been less stressful than this new life of hers.

  Paisley rushed out of the shower, hair still full of shampoo, when her phone buzzed repeatedly.

  Work related.

  They weren’t supposed to be contacting her while she was on leave, but calls came in multiple times each day.

  Though the interruptions should annoy her, she found herself warmed by the fact that she was needed.

  Kind of like the way Asher needed her. With Izzy, anyway.

  She finished her shower, slipped into a lightweight shorts/tank top set, and skipped the blow dryer and the make-up.

  “Oh look, Her Highness has decided to grace us with her presence.” Reed crossed her arms and glared at Paisley. “I’m going to charge you extra for using all that water.”

  “Trust me, after the night and morning I’ve had, you’re lucky I haven’t raided your wine cellar instead.”

  Simplicity wrapped her arms around Paisley’s neck. “Mind if I steal Izzy for a bit? I wanted to show her the fairy houses I’ve been working on down by the carousel.”

  “You want to?” Paisley asked Izzy, who quickly nodded. “Fine. Stay out of trouble, both of you.”

  Simplicity stuck her tongue out. “You take away all the fun.”

  Paisley didn’t fight the grin that weaseled its way past her tense mood. Simplicity could always be counted on to bring levity to a situation, and watching Izzy’s eyes brighten was worth the aggravation.

  As soon as the door closed, Reed darted Paisley with questions she didn’t know how to answer. Paisley filled her in the best she could, but ultimately collapsed on the bed, more tired than she had ever been, even compared to long nights in the law library pouring over cases that had been deemed unwinnable. She had a nearly perfect record for winning those cases, but she had no faith in her abilities in this arena.

  “Clearly there’s more to this thing with Asher than you’ve been letting on.”

  “No.” Paisley sat up on the bed and hugged her knees to her chest. “There’s not. Last time I saw him, he probably would have pummeled me to death with a rubber chicken if he hadn’t been so focused on getting Izzy away from me. The only reason she’s even here is because she snuck back here and he has no alternative, given the circumstances.”

  Reed shook her head. “Makes no sense. Do you have any crackers here? This baby is trying to kill me with morning sickness.”

  Paisley pulled a half box of crackers from the one cupboard in the cottage.

  “And can I just tell you that I’m starting to get resentful about having to give up coffee? This little shit had better be worth the sacrifices I’m making.”

  Paisley burst into laughter, amazed at how quickly a stitch could develop in her side.

  “You slay me, Reed.”

  “Pais, I know you like to do things your way. You’ve never been wrong in your life, except when you’ve been up against me, of course. But I have to tell you, while I’m really warming to the idea of you stayi
ng here in Healing Springs, I don’t know how the heck you’re going to manage being here and not being with Asher. Pretty sure I hear wedding bells in the near future.”

  “No. Not going to happen.” Paisley reached over and snatched a cracker from the package Reed clutched. “It doesn’t matter how I feel about the guy. He doesn’t even like me. And I’m about to have my best features chopped off, so why would I put him through that? He’s young. Sexually vibrant. He needs to be with someone who can fulfill his needs.”

  “Oh, please. Do you honestly think that any surgery could make you less of a woman? You’re a freaking goddess, Pais, and he knows it. Everyone knows it. You’ve made sure of that.” Reed ducked as Paisley threw the pillow in her direction. “Seriously, though. You’ve never been one to doubt yourself. Don’t doubt that Asher could possibly care enough about you.”

  Paisley didn’t have to come up with a response, because the subject of their discussion strolled in as if he had been invited. He paused when he saw Reed sprawled out on the comfy chair, then searched the room with a wrinkled brow.

  Asher nodded a greeting, shoving his hands deep into his pockets. Dark circles rimmed his eyes, and he looked like he had aged at least ten years overnight. His usually pleasant scent was replaced by the stench of fire, and not the hanging-out-in-the-woods-making-s’mores kind. The kind that told a story of loss. Of pain. Of torment.

  “Izzy’s on a walk with Simplicity. Checking out fairy houses. I’ll yell for her.” Paisley jumped off the bed and started for the door.

  “I’ll get her. They won’t hear if you yell from here.” Reed gave Paisley a pointed look, and the message was clear. She expected Paisley to act girlfriend-like.

  Impossible.

  “How’s your brother doing?” Paisley asked, hating the uncomfortable silence that hung in the air as soon as Reed walked out.

  Asher shrugged, swallowing hard before responding. “He’s conscious, but not alert. They’re monitoring him to see how much damage he did to his brain.”

  “I’m so sorry, Asher.”

  She wanted to hug him. To console him. Something.

  Instead, she watched him from across the small room, unable to communicate how much she cared.

  Just as the walls began to move in and the silence began to echo, the lively trio returned. Okay, so it was only Simplicity who was lively, but she had enough energy to make the whole group appear to be floating.

  Izzy leapt into her uncle’s arms. He closed his eyes and hugged her back, the muscles in his protective embrace rippling. Paisley’s chest tightened. She had never seen anything more beautiful than this unconditional love and support.

  “Is Daddy okay?”

  Asher nodded. “The doctors expect that he’ll make a full recovery, but he’s going to have to go away for a while.”

  Izzy sniffled loudly, sounding like the lost young child she had been pretending not to be.

  “To jail?”

  “Maybe.” Asher grabbed Izzy’s elbow when she tried to dart away. “He needs to get help, Izzy.”

  “You think he crashed the car. I heard you. But he didn’t.”

  “He did, Izzy.”

  “No! I did!”

  So this was what the child had been plotting all morning. This was why she had snuck out of her uncle’s house in the middle of the night. This was the burden the girl carried with her.

  Putting on the legal voice that convinced many-a-person to reveal the truth, Paisley said, “Isabel. Everyone in this room knows you didn’t crash the Ferrari. You’re not doing your father any favors by trying to divert the blame. He needs help if he is going to get better, and the only way to get that help is to take responsibility for his own mistakes.”

  Paisley brushed the hair away from Izzy’s tear-streaked face.

  “Sweetie, your dad wouldn’t want you to take the blame.”

  Izzy collapsed against her uncle’s chest, sobbing and screaming until she was spent. Paisley rubbed her back the entire time, wishing Asher’s pain could be released, too.

  Paisley’s sisters had quietly left the cottage when Asher had first started filling Izzy in on what happened.

  By the time Izzy was blowing her nose, they had drifted back in.

  “You know what always helps me after a good cry?” Simplicity asked. “Food. Lots and lots of high carb, high fat food. You like pancakes?”

  Izzy nodded with more enthusiasm than Paisley had seen in a while. Asher quietly gave permission for her to go.

  The room turned to the kind of quiet that lingered after a natural disaster, before the bodies had been counted.

  Paisley wanted to comfort Asher, but the wall he had erected remained. He was untouchable. Distant. And painfully tortured.

  “Drink?” She reached into her small fridge and pulled out a couple of water bottles. He took one, and she tried not to feel too guilty as a wave of strange pleasure rippled through her when his fingers grazed hers. Not hot desire so much as the kind of chemical exchange that happened when true love handicapped the heroes of a fairy tale.

  He fell back into the comfy chair, and she sat at the edge of her bed, suddenly uncomfortable with the realization that they were alone. And she was on a bed. And he was tormented. And she couldn’t stop imagining herself ridding him of all bad memories in the age-old therapeutic use of great sex.

  “Want to talk about it?”

  His eyes widened as if he just realized she was in the room. Maybe she shouldn’t have reminded him.

  “I do have some business I’d like to discuss.”

  Business? The man looked like he had single-handedly fought off all the demons of hell, but he wanted to talk business?

  She wanted to offer him a sponge bath.

  He straightened his body and leaned forward in the chair, resting his elbows on his knees.

  “I accept your offer. I want you to buy the ice cream shack.”

  Her forehead wrinkled and her eyes narrowed. Those words were the last ones she expected to hear.

  “Asher…”

  He stood then, his eyes all predator-like. He crossed the tiny distance between them in no time. Still trying to make sense of his sudden movement, she looked up at him as he placed his hands on her cheeks and leaned down, staring in her eyes as if she were the only thing in his world that made sense.

  And since she didn’t make sense at all, she knew he was truly lost.

  “I’m sorry. I’ve treated you terribly.”

  His husky voice sent shivers down her spine and ignited every nerve ending, making her want him more than she had ever wanted anything. Ever.

  “You don’t owe me any apologies, Asher.”

  “I do. I blamed you when all you were doing was being a good person. Something I once aspired to be, and now I can’t even recognize it in someone else.”

  “That’s ridiculous.” Almost as ridiculous as the fact that his lips were inches from hers and they had not yet made contact. “I’ve never known anyone who did more for others than you. You’re a good man, Asher.”

  And then she got what she wanted. Full lips crushed into hers. The pressure of his kiss was so intense, their teeth knocked together for a moment before he lightened the approach. His hands held her head steady as his tongue begged for entrance into her mouth. She quickly and eagerly granted permission, sucking his tongue gently as he swept through her, revving up her desire until she thought she’d explode.

  His hands moved as their kiss deepened. He burned her with his touch, but only he could provide the salve.

  She allowed her hands to explore him, too, and shuddered as her palms drifted over his rippled abdomen. She helped him out of his shirt, and he kissed the bare skin above her tank top. She felt her nipples straining and hardening and begging for his touch. He finally took the hint and relieved her of her shirt, cupping her breasts and admiring her cleavage before tracing the upper part of her bra with his tongue. He buried his face between her breasts, and she pulled his head closer, strok
ing his hair and playing with his ear.

  He reached behind her and released her bra, slowing down his pace as he slipped it off her arms. He didn’t make eye contact, but she didn’t mind. She liked the way he looked so hungry, so damned turned on. Her breasts could offer him the comfort he needed. She’d be losing them—they had turned on her—but for this moment, they would serve a purpose and bring him joy.

  She couldn’t feel any sadness over that.

  Asher pushed her back, climbing on top of her and pressing his chest against hers. She couldn’t contain the sigh that escaped her throat, and the way he nuzzled into her neck told her he liked it.

  His rough hands felt delicious against her smooth skin as he ran them over her curves.

  When he reached her hip, he stopped and kissed her ravenously. She arched into him, demanding that he continue.

  He did as her body directed, pulling her shorts down and taunting her with a light, gentle touch over her bare vulva.

  She lifted her hips, pleading. She nibbled his shoulder, then licked his bulge of muscle.

  He was perfect. Exquisite. Hers.

  For the moment.

  And she’d enjoy every single second.

  He sucked on her earlobe and slipped a finger into her. She gasped—ecstatic—and his thumb rubbed her clit until she wanted to scream. He slipped another finger inside her, and she danced with his hand until he had her screaming out in satisfaction.

  He kissed her as he gently brought her back to the planet, but didn’t allow her a long rest.

  His lips savored her nipple as he drew circles around her upper thigh, teasing her still-sensitive nerves and encouraging the tide to build again.

  Paisley’s hands drifted down his strong back and below the waistband of his pants. She squeezed his ass and laughed as he flexed the muscle.

  “Show off,” she muttered into his neck.

  “I have a lot more to show if you’d like to see it…”

  She licked her lips. Oh yeah, she wanted to see it.

  He pulled away long enough to get out of his pants, and she propped herself up for the show.

  The man was fantastic.