Page 120 of Ash Storm

Ash

By the time they made it downstairs, most of the others were sitting down to dinner.

“Reka!” Alexia said, rushing towards Reka. “How are you, and how’s Chloe doing?”

“She’s okay. She decided to have an early night.” Reka didn’t need to explain that being around other people was still overwhelming to Chloe. Everybody in this room understood.

Ash placed his arm around Reka’s slim shoulders.

Slate’s eyebrow went up. “You do know her uncle’s around, right?”

“We’ve already spoken. Thanks for the vote of confidence, man,” Ash said.

“You’re still alive. That’s a good sign,” Rogue added.

Ash barked out a laugh. “Reka stopped him from hurting me.”

Reka glared at them, but the men were all laughing too hard to pay her any attention.

“I hear Chloe’s flying back tomorrow,” Rogue said.

“Does that mean you’re staying, Reka?” Alexia asked, smiling.

“I’m staying.” She looked around the room, meeting the eye of every person in the room. “If that’s okay with all of you.”

Smiles and congratulations came from all sides of the table.

“Awesome!” Alexia exclaimed, running to her and hugging her. “I’ll tell you everything I’ve learned about the visa process.”

Reka’s forehead wrinkled. “Thanks! Ugh. I’m not looking forward to that.”

“What will you do?” Slate asked between bites of grilled steak.

Guilt, hot and heavy, rose up inside him.

What if she ended up destroying her career?

Reka didn’t look worried. “I’m a psychologist. I’ll keep seeing those patients I can see online, I’ll continue my research, continue writing … and I’m thinking about getting involved in a new project. I want to make sure those women Afsan took don’t end up slipping through the cracks in the system, and I want to help make the problem of human trafficking visible to the public.”

She reached out and grabbed his hand. Ash froze for an instant, then squeezed back.

“We’ll do everything we can to help you, Reka,” Alexia said. The men all nodded quickly. Ash heard nothing but support coming from all corners.

How did I get so lucky?

They were almost finished with dinner when Reynolds and Thorne walked into the large kitchen.

This time, Reynolds didn’t say anything when he saw how close Ash and Reka were sitting. It was as if he’d learned his lesson upstairs, and didn’t want to get chewed out by Reka.

Thorne cleared his throat. Under the kitchen’s bright lights, he looked like shit—as if he hadn’t slept in weeks. You could land a helicopter in the deep grooves under his eyes.

Ash hoped this wasn’t going to be bad news.

“Gentlemen, thanks to Ash and Griffin’s description, the French authorities were able to arrest one of Afsan’s buyers and rescue the three women he left Turkey with. One of them asked about you, Reka. Her name is Anara.”

Reka let out a breath. “Anara. Is she okay?”

“Physically, she will recover.”