Page 88 of Power of Shadow

“That wasn’t a peaceful time either, was it?”

She shakes her head. “It was a school of life. It wasn’t easy, but somehow we survived year after year. By the time I was sixteen, I was already a street kid. A thief, a burglar hidden in the shadows. An underground fighter. On the day I met Alex, I saved his life. That same night, I took Zoe from the foster home because her stepfather had decided to taste the forbidden fruit. I knocked him out with something I had at hand. I don’t even know what it was. Under the cover of night, we fled, and we never went back there again.

“At first, we slept on the streets, and it was hell. For months, I couldn’t sleep at night. I was in a constant state of alert. Until I ran into Alex again. He owed me, so he decided to pay off his debt. He helped us get out of that mess, found us shelter, and helped us get back on our feet.”

“Is that why you work for him?” I ask.

“I wouldn’t say I work for him. He’s my middleman because I don’t want anyone to know me. I like to stay in the shadows. I don’t care that he takes a percentage of my earnings. He deserves it for the risks he takes. That’s all.”

I’ve always found it difficult to open up and talk about my feelings. Ash’s story has left me completely breathless and speechless.

“Did your mother ever mention who your father is?” I ask.

“She always cut off the subject whenever I asked her about it. She would fall into a reverie and usually needed a higher dose to stop feeling. Eventually, I quit asking her.”

“So you got an order for your own father and you won’t fulfill it. What was the point of this whole charade?”

Ash suddenly falls silent, looking away. She doesn’t want to tell me the whole truth. I can feel it.

I want her trust as much as I want her. Even if I’m a damn hypocrite.

“I... When I got the assignment, I had no idea who he was.”

“I understand. We both have a job to do—” I stop, because only now does the thought hit me. Heat floods my insides, and I feel a pang in my heart stronger than anything I’ve ever felt before in my life. “You had no intention of killing him, but you also wanted to make sure I didn’t.”

Her eyes widen. “Ryker, you have to understand. I just found out the truth about my father. And you want to kill him. I need to talk to him. I need to understand.”

I know this is my moment to tell her the truth. At least part of it. I’m not supposed to kill him, Ash.”

“No?”

“I mean, in a way, yes. I’m supposed to find Charles and bring him to some red room. Someone really, really wants to torture him before killing him. Someone has put a lot of money on his head for me to do this so that they can finish him themselves.”

Now, Ash is trying to wrap her head around it all. “To the red room? I thought that was just something from horror movies. I didn’t know such a thing even existed.”

I shake my head. “It exists, Ash. You don’t realize how much darkness money can bring. Many people consider it a sport, you know? For others, it’s a way to relieve boredom. For some, it’s fun related to revenge. Fun with the victim.”

“You know something about it,” she snorts. “Who put a target on his back?”

“No idea. You met my father today, so you can imagine what kind of man he is, and even then, only a small fraction of it. He gives orders without explaining.”

“You’re a pawn in his game? His own son?”

Her naive look makes me burst out laughing. If she knew who my father really is…

“It doesn’t matter,” I say honestly as the laughter subsides. “He never treated me like a son, more like a soldier. A soldier doesn’t argue; he just follows orders from above.”

Ash looks down and thinks. She says nothing for a long time.

“You have no idea, Ryker, what it’s like to spend your whole life wondering where someone so important to you is. You don’t know what it’s like to look for your own father in every man you meet on the street. I don’t want to be haunted for the rest of my life by the questions I need to ask him.”

“You’re wrong, Ash. I know exactly what it’s like to wonder where that important someone is.”

Chapter 20

Ashley

Ryker’s words freeze time. What does it mean that he knows what I’m talking about?