Nope, that didn’t work for him. Ash pushed out from his chair and stalked to her desk. “You have to pick one. It takes hours to locate these files. I can focus on that or your original task. Or you can re-open my port.” He was playing with fire.
“You dare tell me what to do?” Her blue gaze raked over him, leaving an icy burn.
“I can’t do it all,” he blurted. It might have been lack of sleep, it might have been years of feeling restrained.
“Perhaps you should curtail your bar visits.”
His blood froze. “What?”
“Don’t play dumb. You’ve been out a number of nights lately.”
Blood rushed from his head, leaving him feeling faint. This was bad. Really bad.
He’d hoped no one had noticed his sudden affinity for Razor Jack’s. He tried to laugh it off. “Some days you just need a drink to unwind.”
“You suddenly decided you needed a drink in that part of town? Bullshit. I know what you’ve been up to.”
Despite the churning of his stomach, Ash forced his stiff muscles to relax and his feet to remain where they were. She couldn’t know why he’d been at Razor Jack’s.
Could she?
He’d surely be dead if she had the slightest indication of his plan.
“Just having a drink.” It took effort to keep concern out of his voice.
“The only reason to head to a bar that far out is a woman. Or a man.”
Relief hit like a punch. His heart started beating again. That was what she thought?
It was true, but still. Ash shrugged. “The place has good beer and pretty girls.”
“It’s a woman.” She paused and her gaze held his. “Which is interesting. There’s no report of any long-term relationships in your file. You’re either very discreet or you’re very into this woman.” She tapped her finger against her chin. “And that makes me wonder. What kind of woman would keep your attention that long? Pull you out into the open?”
Portia Tremaine was a very scary woman. What would stop this line of questioning?
Ash gave in. “Fine. There’s a woman. She works at the bar.”
Chapter32
“The pressure’s increasing,”Ash told Taryn as he sat at the bar later that night. “Portia wants me to dig faster. I was able to put her off today, but I don’t know how long I can keep it up.” This was the part he wasn’t looking forward to telling her. “Somehow, she knows I’ve been coming here. I don’t know if she’s having me followed or what. Please tell me you’re close to freeing Hope.”
She stared at him a long minute, then pulled a beer for someone down the bar. She looked pensive when she came back to him. “Almost.”
Ash growled. That wasn’t what he wanted to hear.
She glared at him. “Don’t be an asshole. The pieces are coming together. We need to find the perfect time to put it in motion.”
“Sooner is better.” His impatience bled into his words.
She looked around, then leaned over the bar. “It’s a lot of work moving a comatose girl,” she hissed. “I can get her out safely, or I can risk everything for all three of us.”
His brain stuttered. It was surprisingly easy to imagine the three of them together, creating a family, a life outside of Seattle. Maybe Hope would never come out of her coma, but Ash wouldn’t give up on her.
Deep in the files of the Tremaine system, he’d discovered a hypothetical cure. That file would be coming with him when he left.
“Why are you staring at me?” Her friendly smile carried an edge of concern.
“Just thinking about what it might be like to get out from under the Tremaines’ control.” It was too early to tell her he could imagine a future with her. Right?
