Ash: Jagged Edge Series #5

by A. L Long

  Knowing that I needed to get going, I drained the water and began drying off. When I opened the bathroom door, the smell was almost unbearable. Something was burning. I quickly slipped on my clothes to check out what was going on. Opening the door, I could see that there was a fire in the living room. The couch and the curtains were in flames. Hurrying to the kitchen, I grabbed the small fire extinguisher that I put inside the pantry closet and pulled the pin from the handle. Aiming it towards the fire, I squeezed the handle until the white foam came out. It didn’t matter how hard I tried to douse the fire, it was too much for the extinguisher to handle.

  Throwing it to the floor. I ran to the front door to escape the inferno. I kept pulling and tugging on the door, but it wouldn’t open. I decided to try the back door. I needed to get out of this house before the fire consumed everything inside, including me. Turning the knob to the door, just like the front door, it wouldn’t open. I was beginning to panic. There were four windows in the house, but the front window wasn’t an escape option since it was covered in flames. Since I was already in the kitchen, I moved the light sheer curtains covering the window back, only to find that the window wouldn’t open. “What the hell!” I screamed in a panic.

  Going to the bedroom, it was the same thing. Even the small window in the bathroom wouldn’t open. I couldn’t understand what was going on. The first thing I checked when I bought the house was that all the windows worked properly. About ready to give up, I remembered that the basement had a couple of windows. As I opened the door leading to the downstairs, the lights began to flicker until they went completely out. The fire must have caused a short in the wiring. Frantically, I began opening drawer after drawer until I found the flashlight.

  As I headed down the steps, I could feel the smoke getting thicker and thicker. I knew if I didn’t hurry and get out of the house, it would kill me. Reaching the bottom of the steps, I shined the light at the window. Stepping up on a box, I tried to push it open, but it was stuck. My guess was from not being used. I wished I had taken the time to check it as well. Looking around, I found a metal pipe. Hopping from the box, I ran over to grab it. The smoke was unbearable and I could feel it begin to creep inside my lungs. It was getting harder to breathe. I began feeling weak and could feel my body fall to the concrete. I knew then it was too late.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Ash

  I could have kicked myself in the ass for not sticking around until the guy in the Cadillac left. Juliette was in my mind so much that I couldn’t even think straight. I needed to get my head together. Circling the block, I decided the best thing to do was to head back to my place and rethink everything that I knew to be fact. Hopefully by then I would hear from Peter.

  Driving through the Holland Tunnel to the I-78 Express, my chest began to tighten. I had never had this feeling before. I knew something was wrong. I could feel it in my body. Stepping on the gas, I hurried down the highway, weaving in and out of cars like a madman. Hitting the main road to Maplewood, I almost lost control of my truck as I took the corner a little faster than I should have.

  Turning down the dirt road to my house, I couldn’t believe what I saw. There was smoke coming from the road where Juliette lived. Stepping on the gas pedal, I made a sharp turn, causing the back end of the truck to fishtail. The closer I got to her house the more I could see the flames billowing out of the roof and the front window. My heart sank.

  Jumping out of the truck. I tried to get as close as I could to the house. Something wasn’t right. The front door had been secured from the outside with a two-by-four. Why would the house be locked up this way? Heading around the side of the house, I could see that Juliette’s bedroom window and her bathroom window were also secured with a board. There was only one reason the house would be boarded up in this manner. It was either to keep someone from getting in or someone from getting out. There was no way I would be able to get inside the house by trying to remove the boards. Jogging around to the backside of the house, the back door was also secured with a two-by-four. “What the fuck,” I thought to myself.

  Scratching my head, I tried to figure out how I was going to get inside. Frustrated, I kicked the head off of a bumblebee lawn ornament and watched it roll to a stop in front of one of the basement windows. Noticing that there were no boards on it, I hurried over to it and crouched down. I couldn’t get it open. Cleaning off a small area of the glass with my hand, there was a faint light on. Looking around the yard, I tried to find something hard that I could use to break the window.

  Finding a large rock, I threw it against the glass and watched as the glass shattered into a million pieces onto the dirt. Smoke began seeping out. It wasn’t as black as the smoke coming from the roof, which told me that the fire hadn’t reached that part of the house yet.

  Carefully, I removed the rest of the glass and went through the open hole, feet first. When I got inside, the thickness of the smoke just about knocked me over. Keeping my hand over my mouth, I made my way over to where the light was shining. There was a small body on the ground next to a flashlight. As I got closer, I saw that it was Juliette.

  Taking her in my arms, I lifted her head and said, “Juliette.”

  Her face was pale and her body was limp like a Raggedy Ann doll. Putting my finger to her pulse, I could feel that she was still alive. Picking her up, I headed back to the window that I came through. There was no way I was going to be able to get her out this way. Setting her down for a minute, I walked up the stairs and felt the door for heat. The door was warm, but not hot. I had to take a chance that the fire hadn’t reached the kitchen yet. Opening it slowly, all I could see was smoke and not red flames. Going back down, I took Juliette once again in my arms and climbed the stairs two at a time.

  As I got to the back door, my will to save her took over. With everything I had, I kicked the door over and over until it flew open. With Juliette in my arms, I took her away from the inferno and laid her gently on the hard ground. There was still a pulse, even though it was faint. I tilted her head back and opened her mouth and began giving her breaths. At first there was nothing, but then she began coughing. I held her next to me and said, “I thought I lost you.”

  Her eyes began to flutter and she tried to speak. “You found me,” she finally whispered softly

  “Let’s get out of here,” I replied, picking her up and taking her over to the truck.

  I carefully laid her on the back seat where I knew she would be more comfortable until I got her back to my place. Sliding behind the wheel, I looked back to her to make sure she was still okay. Her eyes had fallen closed, but the rise and fall of her chest let me know that she was still breathing. Pulling my phone from my pocket, I dialed 911 and let the dispatcher know to send out the fire department to Juliette’s address. I knew they wouldn’t be able to save the house, but at least they would be able to stop it from spreading into the wooded area and down the road to my place.

  ~****~

  After I got Juliette in the house and situated in my bed, I headed to the kitchen to call Peter. I hadn’t heard back from him regarding Walter Marlow, and I needed to let him know that I had Juliette. Dialing his number, I took a beer from the fridge as I waited for him to answer.

  “Please tell me that you aren’t in any trouble?” Peter answered.

  “You need to have a little faith,” I began. “But there is a problem. Juliette’s house was set on fire. It’s nothing but a heap of ashes. Someone wanted her dead, but didn’t pull it off. They boarded up the house tighter than security at the Fort Knox.”

  “So are you saying that Juliette was in the house?” Peter asked, confused.

  “Yeah, I don’t know all of the details, but she’s safe now. She’s here at my house and I’m not going to let her out of my sight.”

  “If she tells you anything, let me know. We might have a lead on where Mr. Marlow is living. I’ll call you back as soon as we know for sure,” Peter declared

  Placing my cell on the
counter, I finished drinking my beer before grabbing another. Walking over to the floor-to-ceiling windows in the living room, I looked out to see that Juliette’s house was still burning. I could hear the sirens in the distance, which let me know that they had arrived. I felt a tightening in my gut as I thought about Juliette and how much she wanted to make something of that old house.

  It had to have been at least a couple of hours, if not more, that I had been looking out the window. At least I didn’t see the flames rising in between the trees anymore. The only thing left was a cloud of smoke in the distance where Juliette’s house once stood. As I turned to walk away from the window and check on her, I saw her small frame standing a few feet in front of me.

  Walking into the light, she had a blanket wrapped around her like a child that had been woken from a bad dream. She moved slowly to the large windows and looked out to where her house used to be. Coming up behind her, I wrapped my arms around her and held her body close to mine. I could feel her body tremble with sadness as she watched her dream taken away. Turning her body away from the destruction, I lifted her chin and said, “It isn’t the end, Juliette. We will find who did this and they will pay. I promise.”

  Leaning her head against my chest, I could hear the pain in her voice. It nearly broke my heart. “It will never be okay. He will find me. I will never find true happiness.”

  Picking her up, I took a seat on the couch and pulled her body close to mine. She nuzzled her head just under my chin. I wanted to help her, but the only way I was going to be able to do that was to know the truth. “Juliette, you need to trust me. I need to know everything if I am going to be able to help you.”

  “I know,” she mumbled. “I just don’t want you to hate me.”

  Putting her at arm's length, I looked into her beautiful green eyes and confessed, “Not in a million years could I ever hate you. I care for you so much that it kills me to see you this way. Whoever did this needs to pay.”

  Snuggling against me, I heard her speak in a soft voice. “I’ve made such a mess of my life.” Looking up at me she hesitated for a moment before she began again. “When I was eighteen, I got caught shoplifting a very expensive lipstick. I don’t know why I took it. I just really wanted it. The lady who owned the store said I was trespassing and that I broke into her store. It was my word against hers. The door was open and I walked in. There was nobody around so I thought I could take the lipstick and leave before anyone noticed.”

  “What does this have to do with Sebastian and the contract?” I asked.

  “Somehow Sebastian found out about it. He came to the police station and paid my bail. He said that he could take care of everything and that I wouldn’t have to spend any time in jail. He offered me a deal. That was when I signed the contract you found. He promised that nothing bad would happen to me and that he would take care of me. Even offered to put me through college,” she confessed before continuing. “I did everything he asked. He introduced me to so many men, and he told me all I had to do was please them in any way they wanted. I had never been with a man before, Ash.”

  I could see the torment in her eyes. Sebastian took her innocence for his own personal gain. I felt my blood boil just thinking about what he did to her. Stroking my hand through her hair, I needed to hear the rest, no matter how disgusting it was. “It’s okay, Juliette.”

  “Then I was introduced to Mr. Marlow. The minute I saw him, I knew he was a bad man. He did things to me that no one should have to ever endure. I will never forget the first time with him. Sebastian taught me many things, but he never prepared me for what that asshole did to me,” she cried out as she sucked in a breath. “It didn’t matter how many times I told him ‘No,’ he kept going. And then… Sebastian did the unthinkable. He sold me to him. Just like that, he handed me over like I was nothing more than another business deal.”

  “You don’t need to say anything more, Jules,” I whispered.

  Lowering my head, I kissed her on the forehead and placed my hand on her cheek. Her eyes were filled with such pain. I was sure she knew how I felt about her and what she meant to me. I couldn’t care less about her past and the men she had been subjected to. All I cared about was keeping her safe. Lifting her chin, I looked into her emerald eyes and said, “I’m never going to let anything happen to you.”

  Her lips met mine and I pulled her even closer to my body, kissing her deeply. A sweet, breathless whimper escaped her lips. I lifted her in the air and positioned her body so that it was straddling mine. Lifting her arms above her head, I removed the t-shirt I had given her to wear. As I pulled it over her head, her sweet scent filled my head and my need for her took over. Breaking the kiss, I lowered my head and took a hardened nipple between my lips and gently caressed it with my tongue. Juliette’s head fell back, pushing her taut bud even closer to my lips.

  Unable to hold back my aching desire, I moved her off of my lap and laid her carefully along the couch. Pulling down her lacy panties, I consumed more of her sweetness. Placing one knee on the couch, I balanced my body close to hers with my foot that was still on the floor. Running my hands down her silky skin, I lifted her legs higher so that her butt was in the air and off the couch. Having the access that I needed, I began kissing her on the stomach, dipping my tongue inside her navel before moving on to her cleanly shaven mound.

  Drawing her near, I slid my tongue down her clit to her folds, where I found her wet with the sweetest honey I had ever tasted. Her fingers began running through my hair as I continued my assault on her clit. Dipping a finger inside, I could feel the warmth of her channel as I began pumping in and out of her. I could feel her walls tighten, pulling my finger deeper inside. Finding her special spot, I placed my finger along the rough area, rubbing it slowly. Her hips began to buck, moving with the motion of my finger. Sucking her swollen nub, I bit it lightly, causing the juices within her to spill on my finger. Removing my hand, I glided it up her body and lapped up the remaining nectar with my tongue.

  Needing to satisfy my need for her, I quickly unzipped my pants and pushed them down my legs. Setting my raging arousal free, I slowly glided inside her warmth. The sensation of being enveloped and held tightly was unlike anything I had felt before. With every thrust, her walls clinched down and began milking me. I could tell she was close to her own release as her hips began to rock faster. As much as I wanted to take this slow and savor every minute with her, my will to control my release was beginning to lose out. Juliette moved her hand down between us and reached for the base of my sac. Never had a woman done that before. It felt so fucking good that my desire won out and I spilled like Niagara Falls deep inside her.

  We remained on the couch for a moment, feeling the weight of all the pain being lifted from inside us. I could feel Juliette’s warm breath on my chest. She had been through so much in the past weeks. Never was there a woman as strong as she was. To be so young and trusting and then to be taken advantage of, knowing there was no way out, had to have been the hardest thing for her to go through. But no more. She was never going to go through that again. I didn’t care what it took.

  Careful not to wake her, I slid out from under her, grabbed the throw blanket, and wrapped it around her. Lifting her off of the couch, I carried her back to my room where I knew she would be more comfortable. Feeling her hand come up to my face, her eyes opened and a sense of security fell upon her face. Kissing her lightly on the forehead, I could no longer keep in the feelings I had for her. In a soft whisper, I confessed, “I love you, Juliette Daniels.”

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Juliette

  It didn’t matter that my life was pretty much over. I was still happy and my secret was out in the open. Ash still wanted me after I told him everything. He even told me that he loved me. This was something I hadn’t heard for a very long time. Rolling over on my side, I watched as Ash’s chest rose with every breath he took. I could stare at him for hours and still not get enough of him. Kissing him on his chest, I felt him ta
ke in a deep breath. With one hand on his tight abs and the other tucked under his head, he turned his head slightly and opened his eyes.

  I had never really taken a good look at them, but they were gorgeous. They had light specks of gray near his pupil that extended to the outside. And with his dark lashes, it was no wonder he captured my heart.

  Kissing him tenderly on the lips, I slowly pushed away from him and said, “I need to take a shower.”

  Before I was off of the bed, he had me in his arms, carrying me to the bathroom. I guess he decided that he needed to take a shower too. Setting me down, he opened the glass door to the shower and turned the water on. When the temperature was where it needed to be, we both got in and took in the warmth the water offered as it cascaded down our bodies. Ash grabbed the sponge and put a generous amount of body wash on it. Placing it on my back, he began rubbing it lightly across my my skin as his lips fell to my neck.

  My mind was reeling with pleasure as he continued kissing me lightly on the neck. He lowered the sponge to my lower back before sliding it down my butt and in between my legs. With his breath so close to my ear, he whispered softly, “Spread those gorgeous legs, baby.”