Page 98 of Lay Me Down
“I’m not coming back until I’m bringing our brother with me. This is the first time in weeks that anything has made sense. Ithasto mean something, Alex,” I say definitively. He stares at me for a moment, like he’s trying to steal my confidence, but then he nods, giving in.
“Well, if you don’t want anyone following you, I suggest you be sneaky about it. Carter texted and said that Satori is blowing up his phone, asking about Ashia,” he reveals, and I scowl.
“What is his deal with her? If that dude even gets near her right now, I’ll fucking kill him.”
“Well, if he’s really as big of a problem as you say his is, you better save that for D, orhe’sgoing to killyouwhen gets back.”
I pull away from the door and turn back to him. The air in the bathroom becomes heavy, and I know I probably shouldn’t ask, but we’re at the point of now or never.
“Do you think he’s still alive?”
Alex lets his arms fall to his sides, and after a not-so-nonchalant look around the bathroom, he sighs and looks back at me.
“I think that if DeLuca and Saconne wanted him so badly, they wanted him for a reason. If he was dead, they wouldn’t have been subtle, and we would’ve found him by now.” I nod my head as he looks down at his phone. His lip curls in frustration. “Fuck.”
“What is it now?”
“Carter’s here.” He lifts his gaze to me and clenches his jaw before opening his mouth again, but I cut in.
“Listen, I know Carter’s annoying, but we still have to love him all the same.”
“He brought Kade with him, jackass.” He huffs and pockets his phone again. My body tenses with that revelation, and the urge to stay here with Ash explodes in my chest. “Do you trust Kade?”
“I know D does, but I don’t know what to think. Until we know exactly what the hell happened today, we continue to look at him like he’s Satori’s bitch, and until he proves otherwise…”
“I agree with you for a change,” Alex cuts in. He tries to joke, but it doesn’t quite hit a homerun. Something happened in our system when Damien went missing, and we still haven’t foundout why. Everything points to Kade, but something about it doesn’t feel right. Either he’s really fucking good at pretending to give a shit, or he’s truly not involved. We stare at each other in a silent debate, like somehow we can read other’s fucking minds, but I let him have his dramatic moment. “Are you sure we shouldn’t call it?” he asks quietly and with big, sad, puppy eyes.
I hate that we even have to think about it. We were supposed to initiate the Reaper Protocol the moment Damien went missing, but none of us could bear to do it. Calling it would mean more than just transferring power. It would mean the end of Damien.
“Not yet,” I decide without hesitation.
“Okay, good.” He sighs with relief. “Now, go on and get the fuck out of here. Keep me and Carter updated, alright? Let’s switch to our disposable cells only.” I nod in response to him, but he just cocks a brow. “Are we ever going to tell Ash that we’ve known she’s been snooping?”
I can’t help but chuckle. I was actually in Richmond today checking up on a lead like she wanted me to, but anything too vital has gone through the flip phones. I know my sister better than that by now, and unless we have something concrete to give her, we didn’t want her worrying too much.
“Hell no. Let her have the win. She deserves one.” I give him one strong nod and then lead him out of the room—only to head out of the ward and towards the back entrance.
I still got it.
Stealing a car was like stealing candy from a baby, and now that I think about it, I probably shouldn’t use that analogy in front of Ash. I knew that pregnant women were emotional, butholy fuck. Granted, she’s been a damn trooper through all of this, and I know exactly how she feels. Well, notexactly. I don’t know what it’s like to grow a tiny human in my body, so she’s got that extra point. My girlfriend is dead-dead, and Damien is just maybe-dead, so that might put me back on top, but that’s beside the point. She’s exhausted, in pain, and really fucking sad. Hell, if I wasn’t taking care of her, I’d probably cry more, too.
Anyway.
There are three ice cream shops in town, only one is locally owned, and they have all sorts of different, homemade options. Plus, cookies to make sandwiches, candy to put on top, and literally anything else involving ice cream you can think of. Churro taco with ice cream for a filling? They have it. What else would a pregnant girl want?Of course, Damien would pick the bougiest option for Ashia.If he went anywhere, it was here.
I walk into the cute, overly-bright, little shop and the two young ladies at the counter look up at me with cheerful smiles.
“Welcome to Diane’s Sweet Tooth! What can I get you?” The youngest girl behind the counter asks. She has short, cropped, pink hair and an abundance of facial piercings. Her bubbly personality doesn’t really fit the aesthetic she’s going for, but she’s super nice, nonetheless.
“I actually have a few questions, if that’s okay?” I put on my Prince Charming smolder and lean on the counter. She blushes slightly and stands a little taller, immediately falling for my false sense of interest.It works every time. “Who was working on September first?” The girl turns to look at the paper schedules on the back wall.
“Oh, Diane and Shelly worked that day.”
“Is either one of them here?”
She nods quickly, like a hyper little squirrel.
“Diane is.”
