Ash Rising (DEAd Series)

by Melissa Fox

  “Let’s not ruin dinner with anymore about that subject,” Emma insisted. “Tonight is for eating, drinking, and being merry.”

  “And celebrating being together.” Ash lifted his drink in a toast, and four champagne glasses met in the middle.

  Emma’s favorite part of the day was coming home to the lake house after work, knowing that if Ash wasn’t there, he would be soon. She didn’t take that for granted. He hadn’t brought up their negotiations again, but he would, or she would, as soon as things settled with her job. She’d heard rumblings from her superiors at the DEA about her next assignment. Wouldn’t be long before they didn’t have the luxury of coming home to each other every night, but whatever happened, they’d come home to each other eventually.

  “Ash?”

  Emma set her keys and bag on the counter. She hadn’t paid much attention outside—nothing had seemed out of place or unusual—but inside the house, something felt…off. His car wasn’t in the garage, but the kitchen was spotless. Weird, because they’d left the house a wreck. She’d intended to pick up after the debauchery of the night before, but he’d joined her in the shower that morning. They’d both been very late when they finally stumbled, laughing and groping, out of the bathroom and into the kitchen. After inhaling food and coffee, they’d made separate dashes for their cars and left dirty dishes all over the counters.

  Opening the dishwasher, she saw the cups, plates, and bowls neatly racked and ready to be cleaned. Her senses sharpened, and she went still in the middle of the room to slow her breathing. No sound other than the usual background hum of the house met her ears. Ash couldn’t be home already. He’d had a meeting at RCMP headquarters in Ottawa and wouldn’t be back until later. Probably still in the car on his way.

  “Ash?” she called, just in case.

  When he didn’t answer, she fished the cell phone out of her bag. In the family room, the throw blanket that had been knocked to the floor the night before was neatly folded and placed on the back of the sofa. The clothes they’d left in a trail from the great room, down the hall, and into the bedroom had also been picked up. With at least an eight hour drive round trip, no way Ash beat her home to pick up dirty dishes and scattered clothes. Her skin tightened, a premonition a cop never dismissed.

  Someone had been in the house.

  Might still be in the house, for all she knew. She pressed the speed dial for Ash’s cell phone and let her finger hover over the send button. If he’d somehow managed to get home before her and straighten the house she’d feel like a knucklehead, but she was too smart to let that stop her. Better a knucklehead than dead.

  Nothing appeared to be out of place in the study as she passed, the other two bedrooms empty and pristine as always. Emma slowed her steps, still holding her finger over the send button of the phone. Her other hand on her weapon, she walked through the house toward the open door of the master suite. Adrenaline surged when she spotted a figure near the dresser on the far side of the bed. Blowing out a breath, she forced her hand away without drawing her gun when she recognized who stood in the bedroom.

  “Lisa?” What the hell was Lisa doing in the house? Surely Ash would have told her if he expected his friend to drop by. “What are you doing here? Is Andy with you?”

  Lisa didn’t respond. Emma walked farther into the room as Lisa wandered over to the bed, skimming her fingers over the comforter as she passed.

  “Is this where you sleep with him? With Ash?” Lisa asked in a low voice.

  Um, okay. Why in the hell would Lisa ask something like that? “What?”

  “I’ve known him as long as I can remember. Longer than anyone else alive.”

  “I know you have.” Emma stepped to the side so she still faced Lisa directly as the other woman moved around the bed. “I wasn’t expecting you. Did you, uh, clean up in here?”

  The thought creeped her out a little—okay, a lot, actually. Lisa was an old and close friend of Ash’s, but Emma wasn’t comfortable with someone else having a key and the alarm code. She’d ask him to do something about that as soon as possible.

  “I noticed he isn’t using a condom,” Lisa continued in the same even tone.

  How the hell she could know something like that…Oh. Ew. And what the hell?

  A smile twitched at Lisa’s mouth, and her next words confirmed what Emma suspected. “Nothing in the garbage can in the bathroom, even though, from clothes all over the floor, he obviously fucked you last night. He’s something, our Ash. My Ash.”

  A fierce expression flashed across Lisa’s face before she calmed. Something was very, very wrong.

  “I don’t see what business it is of yours.” Emma’s hand instinctively moved to her hip, closer to her weapon.

  “Of course it’s my business. He’s always been my business.” Lisa glared at Emma. “He’s been mine for as long as I can remember. I’m the only one who’s been with him from the beginning. Everyone else is gone.”

  She made a disturbing sound, almost a giggle, and the hairs on the back of Emma’s neck stood up. The sensation got worse when Lisa went from the weird giddiness to sober anger in a flash.

  “I’m the one who helped him, who’s been there for him, supported him and loved him no matter what. Unconditionally. Unreservedly. I was there with him growing up, through our teens. When he was hurt. Who do you think knocked him down only to build him back up again? Me, that’s who. I love him enough to do that. I was there when he woke from the coma, helped him through his recovery and rehab. I put up with his moods and anger, his guilt. My hard work put him there, and my hard work brought him back. I should be the one reaping the rewards. Me. Not you.”

  She took a step closer. “This is my house. Mine. I’ve been a part of his life, a part of this house, for over twenty years. I know all his secrets, all the private parts of him. That’s mine, too, and you’ll never have any of him.”

  “Lisa.” Emma drew a slow, careful breath. “I’m not taking him away. He loves you. You’ve known him longer than anyone. I don’t want to change or take that away from either of you.”

  “You’re right. He does love me. And that’s why I need to show you this. It’s important, and I know you’ll be dying to see.”

  Yeah, right. Emma didn’t care if she looked stupid later—she pressed the send button on her cell phone to open a call to Ash.

  And didn’t see the knife until it was too late.

  Ash’s cell rang, and he glanced down to see Emma’s number flash across the screen. He hit the button to send the signal through the audio system of the Mustang.

  “Hello, beautiful.”

  She should be home already, or at least on her way, probably calling to see if they needed anything. He liked the thought and the way it made him feel—domestic, comfortable. Happy. He loved the little familiar touches like her asking him to pick something up for dinner, or see what else they might need from the grocery store. Hell, he liked when she just called to say hello. Noise came through the speakers, but no one spoke. Something wrong with the signal?

  “Emma?” He turned the volume up and heard faint voices in the background, like she had dialed him by mistake.

  The timbre of her voice echoed tinny and distant, and he strained to make out her words. Another feminine voice came through clearer and sounded familiar, like…Lisa?

  “You brought something here to the lake house for me to see? In the master bedroom? You could have called first.” What were Emma and Lisa doing at the house? They hadn’t made plans with Lisa and Andy for that evening. Had they?

  “This is something I need to give you in private. Come see.”

  “Ash should be home any minute,” he heard Emma say. “Maybe he’d like to see, too.”

  A peculiar silence filled the car, and Ash leaned forward, straining to hear. An itch developed between his shoulder blades at the odd tone of her voice.

  “I not sure how much he’ll like, exactly, but he’ll definitely see. He won’t be able to help it. I plan on
making a mess.”

  “A mess?”

  Ash’s foot pushed harder on the accelerator. Thank God the meeting in Ottawa hadn’t lasted as long as he’d thought and he’d been able to leave early. He was only a short distance from the house.

  An odd sound rumbled through the speakers, a crash, and then Emma’s howl of shock and pain. Adrenaline stopped his heart and then sent his pulse into orbit. Someone was in the house with them, hurting them—the women he loved. Dread flooded his soul when sharp cries filled the car along with the sound of something breaking, but his fear went nuclear when he heard Emma gasp, “Lisa! No. Put the knife down!”

  Knife?

  Lisa was doing the hurting?

  He floored the accelerator, and the car leapt forward. He didn’t touch the brakes around the last few curves until he hit the road close to the house, fear hot and metallic in his mouth, his vision blurring. Gripping the steering wheel hard, he took huge, gulping lungfuls of air and had a moment of awful clarity. Rico, Gina. Slick. Throats cut.

  Knife.

  Lisa.

  She knew everything. She’d been privy to everything—all the details of his life, his operations. He and Andy never kept secrets from her. But… He had to be wrong. He knew he wasn’t. Lisa was the leak. Lisa had been behind the murders—all of them—and she was after one more.

  No.

  The car skidded around the corner onto the gravel drive as Ash gritted his teeth and fought to straighten the rear end. He hit the garage door opener and slammed the car to a sliding halt, launched himself out of the car and through the kitchen door, scrambled across the floor and down the hall. Not one second wasted, thanks to Emma being aware enough to give her location over the phone.

  He charged into the room and shouted, hoarse and horrified, as Lisa advanced on Emma’s form huddled in the corner near the large dresser. Lisa spun toward him at the sound, crouched, and warded him away with a wicked-looking knife. Blood—Emma’s blood—spattered across the wall and carpet, and bile surged into his throat. Emma turned her face toward him as she pulled herself into a tighter ball, the movement threatening to send him to his knees. She was still alive.

  For the moment.

  Fluttery wings of panic beat against the solid foundation of his control. Blood, a lot of it, stained her pale skin and clothes. He tamped down strangling fear and forced his attention to the woman he thought he’d known—the friend that had cost him his old life and was about to ruin the new one he’d built.

  No.

  Lisa’s gaze flashed cold and amused. She held the knife in front of her easily, expertly, the gleaming silver blade stained with Emma’s blood. He shook his head, trying to clear the disbelief that threatened to intrude. He didn’t have the luxury of time to process the unreality of the situation. Emma didn’t have the time.

  “Why?” he asked, his voice guttural.

  “Ash.” Lisa’s hard expression softened, and the tip of the knife lowered the slightest bit. His attention stayed on the weapon, even though his gaze remained steady on hers. “Ash. Don’t you understand? Don’t you get it?”

  “No.” His voice was too rough, so he tried again. “No, Lisa. I don’t. I don’t understand. Why?”

  “It’s always been you.” She stared at him eyes wide, imploring. “I’ve only ever wanted you. Everything. All of this. It’s all been for you.”

  “That’s crazy,” he uttered without thinking. He realized his mistake when she jerked, tightened her grip on the knife, and brandished the blade at him.

  “That what she told me. I’m not crazy, Ash. It’s not crazy, you and I. We’ve known each other our whole lives. I’ve loved you our whole lives. I know you. Liz couldn’t love you. This one can’t, either. They distract you. They make you not able to see.”

  She glared at Emma. Desperate to go to her, to see if she was okay, Ash forced himself to think, to focus on Lisa and wait. His chance would be small, but the opening would come, and he had to be ready to take advantage when it did.

  “I didn’t mean you’re crazy. You’re right. I feel the same way you do. Put the knife down, sweetheart, and talk to me.”

  “You do? You—you love me?” The knife wavered as she searched his face.

  “Of course I do. You know that. Come on, Lis. Put the knife down. Let’s go somewhere else and talk.”

  “Love love me?” She considered him, doubt shadowing her eyes. She might not be in her right mind, but she wasn’t stupid. “I told her you could love me, but that’s when she told me I was crazy. I’m not. It’s not, is it, Ash?”

  “No.” He shook his head slowly, deliberately. “No, sweetheart. Not crazy. Come on. Come with me.”

  “She believed it, though. She really did.” Lisa laughed, and the sound raised the hairs on his arms and the back of his neck. “You don’t, do you, Ash?”

  “Of course not. Who would say such a thing?” He had to get her out of the room, away from Emma. He had to get a shot at the knife, give Emma the opportunity to grab her weapon or phone. He prayed she was in any condition to get either

  “Your mother,” Lisa spat, and everything froze, went numb.

  “What?”

  “Your mother. I came to talk to her after Andy told me you’d been seeing Liz, that you were in love with her. I didn’t think it was true, so I came to see your mom and dad. They knew you better than anyone. I wanted to see what they thought. They really believed you loved her. They were so happy. They didn’t see how wrong it was. I tried to explain to Marianne how I was the girl for you, the only one who truly knew you, everything about you, and loved you anyway. She laughed.”

  Lisa bared her teeth and held the knife up, pointing the tip at him. Ash barely noticed. He reeled with the implications of what she’d said.

  “She fucking laughed at me. Told me I was wrong. She felt bad after she realized how serious I was—she felt sorry for me. For me! When I’m the one who loves you more than anything. She should have been happy, but she said I wasn’t meant for you. She patted my arm and said I’d find someone who would love me like I deserved. She didn’t see. She didn’t think I was good enough. And your dad. He agreed with her. Both so honest and sincere, sitting at the kitchen table, telling me I wasn’t good enough for their son. That you didn’t love me. That you never would.”

  “They—” He choked as realization sank in. “They never would have said that. They loved you like their own.”

  “Maybe not in so many words. They were too kind.” She made a mockery of the word. “But that’s what they meant. They didn’t want me with you. They’d stop you from seeing that you loved me, that I’m the girl for you. I wasn’t one of theirs, not like you. No one’s ever loved me like they loved you.”

  “What did you do, Lisa?” Horror trembled through his limbs.

  “I got rid of them. Rid of them all.” She shrugged, and nausea slid cold and slimy up his throat at the indifference of the gesture. “It’s time to show you how much I love you and what I’ve done for you. What I’ll always do for you.”

  “Lisa—”

  “I knew all about your little operation with Rico. Andy is the soul of discretion, but he talks when he’s in love. When he trusts, and he trusted me. Especially when he’s post orgasmic.” She laughed, and he flinched at the sound. “I went to Gina. I knew she didn’t like you. She didn’t want you to be with Liz, either—a kindred soul. I knew she and her brother would help me get rid of Liz and anyone else who stood in my way. I told them who you were—who you really were. And we came up with the greatest plan.”

  His knees buckled. He fought against the weakness as he heard a rustling in the corner of the room. Emma still conscious, still aware. She gave him strength to face the woman who had betrayed him and everyone he loved.

  “Rico got rid of your parents.” She flicked the fingers of her free hand, like the lives of his parents were more worthless than dust. To her, they were.

  Rage tightened his shoulders, clenched his fists, but steeled hi
s resolve. Lisa’s delusions would not cost him any more than they already had, and certainly not the life of another woman he loved.

  “He said he’d help me get rid of Liz, but he lied,” Lisa continued. Ash watched her and the knife. “He wanted to get rid of you, too, but that was never part of my plan. He wasn’t supposed to go after you, plant the bomb in your apartment. That was actually Gina’s idea, so I guess he can’t be blamed too much, although he did go along. And it turned out for the best in the end.”

  “For the best?” His voice was barely a breath. He wanted to look at Emma, check on her, but Lisa watched him closely. He shifted a step closer to where Emma lay but kept his focus on Lisa.

  She shrugged with a smile that made him sick. “Yes. The bomb got rid of her—Liz. Sad about Andy and especially Daniel, but I think he would have gotten in my way eventually, too. I was upset you were hurt—of course I was—but I took care of you, didn’t I? See, this was all meant to be. I was meant to be a nurse, so I could be there when you were hurt. I helped you get back into shape and regain your health. My chance to show you how well I can take care of you, how much I love you, and how no one else is better suited. You see that, don’t you?”

  “You took good care,” he rasped.

  What about Andy? What the fuck? He pushed thoughts of his friend away as he heard Emma’s soft pants of pain and strangled a howl. Forcing the fear aside, he held out a hand. “Come on. Come with me. Let’s go out onto the deck and talk about this. It’s so nice outside, and you know how I love being out on the deck.”

  “You do.” She considered the suggestion, but scowled when he gestured toward Emma.

  “Can I get her into the bathroom or something? She doesn’t matter,” he rushed to assure Lisa when she moved toward Emma’s curled form. “She’s bleeding on the floor, and you know I hate messes.”

  “Oh, Ash. I’ll take care of that. I would never leave my mess for you to clean up.” Her stare became calculating and challenging, testing him. “I don’t want you touching her ever again. Not for any reason.”