Slow Burn (40 page)

“I’m not comfortable here. Not around you or
your family.” She shook her head. “I just want to go home.” This
time, she made it past him on knees that weren’t too steady. Her
hands shook as she gripped the handle of her suitcase. “I’m going
to stay with my aunt and cousin once I get back to L.A. I’ll be
fine.”

His eyes narrowed. “Why do you have to make
things so difficult? All I’ve ever wanted is a chance for us to
know each other without the past coming between us. It might not
seem that way now, but I was planning on telling you the truth once
I confirmed it.”

“Maybe that’s the mistake you made, Ron. I
don’t need to be protected from the truth, however ugly. I need a
man who trusts me, a man…,” her voice snagged. A tear escaped her
eye and she flicked it off her cheek. “I need to call for a cab,”
she mumbled.

“Don’t. I’ll drive you.”

“No. That won’t be necessary.” She pulled her
cell phone from her bag.

Ron cursed under his breath. “Just let me do
this one last thing for you.”

Her chin lifted, eyes connected with his
frustrated ones. “Okay, Ron. Fine.” She dropped her phone back
inside her bag. “Let’s go.”

***

From the way Ashley hurried out the door, it
was obvious she couldn’t wait to put some distance between them.
Ron didn’t blame her. He’d hurt her, something he’d always regret.
The pain he’d glimpsed in her eyes would be etched in his brain for
a long time. But once he finished this investigation, he planned to
make it up to her.

“I’ll get the car,” Ron told her when they
reached the foyer of the main house. When she nodded, he took off
toward the den, pulled out his cell phone and punched in his office
number. He looked at his watch as he waited for his assistant to
pick up the phone. It was a quarter to five. “Get me two tickets to
L.A. I’m leaving for the airport right now.”

“In your name and Ms. Fitzgerald’s?” Nikki
asked.

“Yes. Call me when you’ve booked them.”

“Is everything okay?” Nikki asked.

“Yeah. Just get me those tickets ASAP.” He
terminated the call and pushed open the door to the study. Gregory
and his grandmother were deep in conversation, and both looked up
as soon as they realized they weren’t alone. His grandmother’s
sympathetic expression and his uncle’s uneasy one indicated they’d
overheard the conversation he and Ashley had in the foyer earlier.
He didn’t need their pity.

“How long does it take Satchel to file a
flight plan?” he asked his uncle.

Gregory checked at his watch. “He and the
crew already left the airport, so it will probably take him two to
three hours to round everyone up, get back to the airport and make
the arrangements. Why?”

“I’m taking Ashley back to L.A. May I borrow
your car?”

Gregory nodded. “Of course.”

“Thank you.” Ron turned to leave the
room.

“Ronald, wait,” his grandmother called
out.

“Not now, Grandma. We’ll talk later.” He
didn’t break his stride as he disappeared into the hallway, and
speed dialed Kenny’s number. Kenny picked up after two rings.

“I need a few guys to keep an eye on Ashley
until this thing blows over. We’re flying back tonight. Can you
have your people tail her from the airport?”

“No problem.”

“Good. And the name of the company Doyle used
to pay off the arsonists is called Prime Corp.”

“Prime Corp? Doesn’t ring a bell. I’ve
checked every corporation and company with his name on it.”

“It was a dummy company.” Ron pushed open the
side door leading to the garage to find Gregory’s uniformed
chauffer conversing with the cook/housekeeper. He slanted his head
to indicate the Bentley. “We need a ride to the airport. I’ve
already spoken with Uncle Gregory about it.” He slid in the front
passenger seat and continued to speak into his phone as the driver
settled behind the wheel and started the engine. “Try the islands.
He has properties in the Caribbean. And pass the info around. I
want that bastard and his hitman behind bars for a very long time.
I’ll call you with our itinerary in a few minutes.”

“Is everything okay, man? You sound like
shit.”

He felt like shit. “My father’s name will be
on the list of those paid off, too, Kenny. Thought I’d give you a
head’s up.”

There was silence then, “Damn, man. That’s
fucked up. Does Ashley know?”

“Yes. Listen, I’ll let you know when we’ll be
getting in. Just have a few of your men ready to tail her from the
airport. And I could use a ride, too.” He cut off the connection
just as they stopped at the front of the house, where Ashley waited
with her bags.

Ron got out, opened the back passenger door
for her and waited until she was seated before he went to get his
things. By the time he came back, the chauffer had already stored
Ashley’s bag. Ron added his and joined them.

“You don’t have to travel back with me, Ron,”
Ashley said when he settled in his seat beside the driver. “I told
you I’ll be fine.”

“Humor me,” was all he said.

The silence inside the car became oppressive
even before they pulled onto the street. The drive to the airport
was the longest he’d ever taken. When the driver dropped them off
at the terminal, Ashley disappeared into the building. Ron was
right behind her as she spoke with an airline agent. When the woman
couldn’t offer her a standby ticket, Ron blocked her path before
she could go to the next one. “I can charter a plane to take us
back,” he said.

“No, thanks.” She took a step away from him.
“There’re more airlines I haven’t checked. You go on ahead and
charter a plane. I’ll be fine on my own.”

Her insistence that she’d be fine was
beginning to tick him off. It was an attempt to prove that she
didn’t need him. Had she forgotten how cold and ruthless Doyle was?
Before he could remind her, the sound of his cell phone drew his
attention.

“Yeah,” he barked into the phone.

“Two tickets on Delta Airlines, leaving in
forty-five minutes.”

“Thanks, Nikki. You’re the best.” He turned
to speak to Ashley, but she was talking to an agent of another
airline. As he got closer, he caught the end of their
conversation.

“…last minute cancellation…will start
boarding in a few minutes. Do you want the seat?”

“No,” Ron said at the same time as Ashley’s,
“Yes, thank you.” She shot him an annoyed look.

“We already have two tickets, Ashley. We’ll
be leaving in forty-five minutes.”

“Thanks, but I’d rather leave now.” She
reached inside her bag for her wallet, pulled out a credit card and
her driver’s license.

“How many seats are available?” Ron asked the
woman as he removed his credit card, too.

“Only one, I’m afraid.” Her gaze shifted from
Ron to Ashley. “I didn’t know you needed two tickets.”

“We don’t,” Ashley answered before Ron could
speak.

That he couldn’t fly back with her bugged
him. He fumed as he waited for her to finish the transaction. When
she gripped her boarding pass and would have rolled her bag past
him, he blocked her path.

“I’ve got to run, Ron. I still have to go
through security.” Her voice shook toward the end of the sentence,
the only indicator that she wasn’t as calm as she pretended to
be.

“I love you, Ashley. No matter what you may
think or feel now, remember that.” He cupped her cheeks. When she
didn’t flinch, he lowered his head and gave her a brief kiss. She
neither pushed him away nor responded, which only added to his
frustration. His hands dropped heavily to his sides. “Go.”

“Goodbye, Ron,” she whispered, then hurried
away.

Disappointment and regret burned in his
stomach like acid as he watched her go.
This is not goodbye,
babe, not by a long shot.
He got the information for Ashley’s
flight from a kiosk, then dialed Kenny’s number.

***

The flight to Los Angeles was a blur. Ashley
curled up in her window seat and tried to exhaust her demons by
sketching, but for once her art couldn’t ease her pain. Tears
blurred the charcoal sketches and streamed down her face. Giving
in, she let loose enough tears to irrigate the Sahara. The wad of
tissue in her hand kept getting wetter, but the pain clawing at her
insides refused to abate. The male passenger with salt-and-pepper
hair and ruddy complexion seated beside her asked several times if
she was okay and finally gave up when he only made her cry
harder.

Of course she wasn’t okay. She was in love
with a man who was wrong for her. No, actually Ron was perfect for
her in every way except that he treated her like a child and didn’t
trust her, and his father killed her parents. How could he hide
things from her and then claim that he loved her? There could never
be love without trust. It was best they went their separate ways.
What his father did would have poisoned their relationship
anyway.

I love you. No matter what you think or
feel now, remember that.
His words echoed in her head, mocking
her, making her question her decision. What if she were screwing
things up by running away? What if he really loved her? The past
wouldn’t have mattered. His father’s sin weren’t his. The bottom
line was Ron hadn’t trusted her. Leaving him behind might be the
hardest thing she’d ever done, but it was the right thing to do. A
fresh trail of tears streamed down her face.

In L.A, Ashley waited for all the passengers
to deplane before she slipped on her sunglasses and trudged to the
gate. She found a cab smoothly. The driver was pulling away when
she saw Kenny Lambert jump from a SUV and race toward the
terminal.

“Stop the ca…,” she bit back the last word.
When the taxi driver glanced at her through the rearview mirror,
she shook her head and said, “Never mind.”

No more fraternizing with anyone who knew
Ron. She pressed her hands against her stomach and curled against
her seat as fresh tears filled her eyes. It was hard to think about
a future without factoring in Ron. Everything in her home would
remind her of him. The paintings, her kitchen, the couch where
they’d made love.

She slapped a hand over her mouth to catch a
sob and closed her eyes. This had to stop. She had to be strong.
Maybe she should move to a different city, but what difference
would it make? Ron was so imbedded in her heart it wouldn’t matter
where she went. She had to get her act together and move on. She’d
suffered through the loss of her parents and survived. This one
might take her just as long to get over, but she would. She
must.

Ashley blew her nose and doggedly avoided the
taxi driver’s not-so-subtle glances. The man had been watching her
through the rearview mirror since they left the airport. Taking a
deep breath, she stared out the window until they pulled outside
her place. She paid the driver and entered her building.

For once, she ignored her phobia for tight
places and took the elevator. The red light on her landline phone
drew her attention. The messages were probably from her cousins and
aunties wanting to know about her fight with Nina Noble. Let them
speculate. She wasn’t discussing the Nobles with anyone except her
immediate family members.

She pressed the button, plopped on a stool
and dropped her chin and her arms on the granite counter. She
jerked up when the first recording started.

“Call me as soon as you get this message, Ms.
Fitzgerald,” Nina Noble’s voice said. “We need to talk. Here’s the
number where I can be reached.”

Ashley pressed the button to stop the
voicemail and dialed Nina’s number. It was picked up after a ring.
“May I talk to Mrs. Noble?”

“She’s expecting you,” the male voice
said.

“Where?”

“At Carlyle House.”

Ashley frowned. Carlyle House? “Why? I
already told her son I don’t want the house.”

“I don’t know anything about that, miss. I’m
just the driver. She’s waiting for you inside right now.”

Ashley looked at the clock. It was almost
seven, early enough to get to Carlyle House, tell the woman she
didn’t want it, and come back for a long bath and an early night.
She’d bet Nina would be thrilled to learn that Ashley and her son
were no longer together.

The musical chime of her cell phone
interrupted her thoughts. She ignored it when she saw Ron’s number.
Instead, she scribbled a brief note about where she was going on a
Post-It, slapped it on the fridge door and went to wash her face.
After changing into a pair of black jeans and a plum turtleneck,
she picked up her purse and keys and hurried back downstairs. Her
cell phone went off again. Ron. This time, she turned the power
off.

Downstairs, the security guard hurried from
behind the booth when she entered the lobby. “Mr. Noble called,”
the guard said. “He wants you to call him back.”

“Thanks, Jeffrey.” She continued to the back,
where residents parked their cars and got inside her car. It was
still warm despite the sun dipping over the western horizon. She
lowered the convertible’s top and took off.

***

Ron’s jaw muscles twitched as he listened to
his friend.

“By the time I got there, she was gone,”
Kenny said. “I’m approaching her place now. What do you want me to
do?”

“Make sure she stays put until I get there.”
He looked at his watch. His plane should be landing in less than
thirty minutes. “Better yet, I’ll call in a few minutes to talk to
her.” With Kenny there, she could hardly refuse to talk to him.

Why did he have a bad feeling about things?
Ashley had told him she could take care of herself. Under different
circumstances, he’d believe her. She was smart and cautious by
nature. Unfortunately, Doyle and Frankie were ruthless bastards
who’d stop at nothing to remove anyone who could finger them. With
Kirkland still in a coma, that left Ashley and his mother.