“I want to see you again.” I’ve never been this real with anyone, this raw. Ashlyn has the power to make me say things I would typically never say out loud. She’s some sort of enchantress. “I like you. Like a lot. Already. Have I gone mad?”
It’s dark, and the single light buzzing above reveals the blush crawling up her neck. “Tomorrow,” she whispers, answering my first question. Her blush answered the second.
“Okay. Tomorrow.” We have tomorrow. We have this entire holiday.
“Goodnight, Ethan.” Ashlyn steps forward. It’s small but enough. She wants me to kiss her again. I smile because I can’t help it. Our first time was messy. I didn’t know what I was doing before. But this is my chance to make it right. I close the distance between us and pull the glove from my hand. My touch is warm against her cold cheek.
I don’t hesitate and lower my head and kiss her. The force causes her to take a step back, and I sneak my arm around her waist and pull her against me. Chest to chest. Heart to heart.
And this time, it’s perfect.
I wasn’t perfect.
I’d never claimed to be better than the next person. I’d made mistakes, continually throwing my own spanner in the works to save my arse when the time came. This was that time.
And suddenly, I was thankful for my grudge against Oscar.
Once Oscar had pinned the attempted murder of Brad on me, I’d stolenWhite Foxout from under him. The money, assets, accounts, I’d drained and hidden the cash in a secure location no one would be able to find or trace back to me—cash I had fully intended to give to Brad’s wife and two kids. Though their dad had a taste for prostitutes, preferably Mum, his family was innocent.
After they’d confirmed me as a suspect, I had tattooed a hint of the location beside the scissors on my arm before turning myself in. It had been a daily reminder, my strength to make it through my false punishment so one day I could, at the very least, give back a morsel of what had been taken from the family, though it would never be enough.
I’d become White Fox, and my brother had been chasing me ever since.
Oscar should’ve known never to trust a fox.
Dex wasn’t any better of a man than Oscar, but Dex had resources. And desperation called for making deals with the devil and bathing in sin. But the devil would be foolish to underestimate a broken man with nothing left to lose.
It made me nervous to mention Mia’s name to Dex, so I gave Scott’s name instead, sure wherever Scott was, so was Mia. The last thing I needed was for Dex to find out about Mia, for him to use her as a pawn and hang her life over my head as some sort of sick threat in the future.
It had been two days since the meeting with Dex. Travis and I were back in Surrey, sitting at a bar in the village and waiting on orders for my first assignment from the Links, and for Laurie, my agent, to meet us.
The Green Lion’s atmosphere was very different from Jack’s. On the outside, the building had welcoming white brick, green trim, and brown shingles, straight out of a fairy tale. The inside was warm and inviting, with a fire going in the curved-brick indoor fireplace.
“I don’t like it.” Travis groaned beside me with a shake of his head.
We’d found a booth in the far corner of the restaurant, and the constant tapping of his fork against the wooden table beside his uneaten burger wasn’t helping my headache. “It is what it is.”
“I can’t let you keep fixing my past.”
“Trust me, mate. I need this more than you. I need to find Mia, and Dex is my only option.” The barkeep turned up the volume on the telly hanging on the wall above the bar, and it displayed news of a cabin fire in Cheshire last night. I returned my attention to Travis. “Eat your burger before she gets here.”
“Two fatalities in a cabin fire,” the news reporter stated on the television, pulling my gaze from Travis to the images from the night before flashing over the screen. “Investigation continues to the cause of the fire, and the identities of the bodies are still underway.”
The news lit an ache in my chest. I stood, emotions kicking into high gear—a sixth sense. Something wasn’t sitting right with me. My gaze locked on the screen as a drone flew over the destruction, capturing images of smoke and the cabin burnt to a crisp. My mind was in chaos as it tried to put together what I was seeing and feeling inside my chest.
“What is it?” Travis asked with a mouthful.
“I don’t know.” I shoved my hand into my pocket to retrieve my phone and dialed Dex. He didn’t answer. “It’s Oliver. The cabin fire in Cheshire. Find out who owns it and give me a ring.”
Travis spoke up behind me, “You think Scott had something to do with it?”
“I’m just following my gut.” Usually, I was right. And for once, I didn’t want to be. I’d put all my cards into one basket with Dex. No, I didn’t trust him, but sometimes you had to play nice with your enemies as long as you didn’t lose yourself in the process. And the only way I could lose myself was if I’d lost Mia.
“You’re Oliver Masters,” the voice was mixed with a question and statement. I pried my eyes from the television screen above the bar to a lady in her mid-thirties looking up at me, a satchel over her shoulder. Her blonde hair twisted behind her head as strands fell from the tight hold, wearing a navy suit with black heels, which only increased the agitation I’d already been facing. Big hazel eyes peered up at me behind large black-rimmed glasses, and her mouth parted. “Oh, this is great,” she continued, taking in my appearance. “You’re—”
I lifted my chin. “I’m what?”
“Unexpected.” She slid into the booth beside Travis after a quick“how-do-you-do”and pulled out a laptop from her satchel. The MAC powered up, and I took a seat across from her. Travis had talked me into this meeting, but he was right. If I gave up on the future I’d worked so hard on building for Mia and me, there would be nothing left once she was back in my arms. I had to maintain my job, Dex, Laurie, and my heartache and pain. I had to do it all.
