Page 60 of Ash Storm

Reka

When she came to, she was stretched out on the floor of a helicopter. She could feel the vibrations beneath her, lulling her back into a dreamless sleep. And she was so tired … She leaned her head back against something soft—a pillow. It was that unexpected softness that finished waking her up.

Snapshots from the last hours filled her addled mind.

Smoke.

An explosion.

Ash and Griffin.

Fear and confusion filled her.

What if it was all a drug-induced dream?

What if Afsan sold me, and my mind is refusing to—

A whimper rose to her lips as a strange man approached her. He was huge, bigger even than Ash, with muscles that strained against his black T-shirt.

He stopped in his tracks when he saw she was awake.

“Don’t be scared,” he said.

His words did little to reassure her.

“That’s exactly what you would say if you were one of them,” she croaked, although that wasn’t technically true. In all the time she’d been held captive by Afsan, none of his men had cared at all whether she was scared or not. She thought back to Junior. Some had even relished her fear.

His lip curled in a small, wry smile that suddenly made him look younger. His eyes reminded her of someone. Except the color was wrong. A deep blue, instead of sea green.

“You’re Slate,” she stated. His blond eyebrow lifted in surprise. “You’re Griffin’s brother. Ash told me about you. How is he?”

Slate pointed to the other side of the helicopter, where a prone figure was surrounded by two other men.

“We’re administering plasma,” he said. His jaw was clenched tight. “We’ll be landing in Athens soon.”

“Athens …” Her head was spinning. “I can’t go to Athens.”

She had to stay in Istanbul. She had to find Chloe.

Another thought assaulted her.

“Ash—“

“I’m right here,” he said, limping towards them. A pack of ice was tied against one knee. His brown eyes were full of worry as he gingerly lowered himself onto the floor next to her, keeping his knee straight. “How are you feeling?”

Better now that you’re here.

For some reason she couldn’t explain, his very presence helped calm her.

“Tired,” she answered, instead. That was true, as well. Her head and the soles of her feet were also killing her, but she didn’t want to talk about that.

She caught sight of the needle in Slate’s hand and shrank back against the wall.

“No more drugs, please,” she begged, feeling strangely vulnerable.

Ash and Slate exchanged a long look.

“It’s just an IV fluid, Reka, to treat your dehydration.”