Page 92 of Ash and Poison

“I know, but… you should be careful for a while.”

He gave me a disgruntled look and then nodded.

“Good night, Ash.”

“Good night, Diya. Dream of me.”

“I will.” Smiling, I walked away.

It took me a few minutes to reach the cottage. I closed the door and took a bath before doing some more research on Duskwood Park, and Millie’s case. There were very few records, and I didn’t find anything else connecting Millie’s case to Riley.

Millie was still alive. Perhaps I was just reaching.

When I was done with research, I called Trina. By now, it was a habit—I always talked with either Trina or Layne, whenever I could.

“Hey Dee, is Lay already there?”

“No,” I said. “I told her not to come.”

“You know you can’t talk her out of it. Just let her come. I’m worried too. If it wasn’t for the restaurant, I’d be there already.” She sighed. “Did you find anything more?”

I told her about the letters and the monster in the woods.

“This man sounds smart, Dee. Be careful. I know you want to help Asher, but…”

“I’m smarter,” I said with a smile.

“I know you are, but it’s his territory. You’re new there. He knows things you don’t.”

“You’re right, but I have Asher for that.”

There was a long pause. “You shouldn’t have gotten involved.”

“I couldn’t just watch, Trina. It was horrible, what happened to her.”

“But he tried to kill you.”

“We decided to move on,” I said with a shrug.

“What else?” she asked. “Did you… sleep with him?”

“I… I did, but it was only…”

She sighed, long and really loud. “There’s Dex, and then there’s this monster in the woods, whatever he was, and as if it’s not enough, you’re fucking the man who tried to kill you.”

“Well, you and Layne did tell me I should...” I trailed off, and she scoffed.

“You should have picked the sheriff. He’s the safest option, but I understand. The heart wants what it wants.”

“The pussy,” I corrected, making her laugh.

“You’re an idiot. Just don’t get into trouble until Layne gets there.”

“I won’t. You know… he’s kind of an asshole, but he’s just as overprotective as the two of you.”

“That makes me feel a little less worried,” Trina said.

After talking for another ten minutes, we said goodbye.