Page 100 of Ruthless Intent

“I’ll see you later, Firecracker.” I keep my voice flat, and force myself to turn my back on her, but my mind is stuck on how soft her lips are, how silky her throat felt under my fingers, how her gasp has woken up something new inside me. Something I don’t want to think about.

“Think about me during your meeting.” Her words are a taunt, lost in the sound of the engine as I flatten my foot against the accelerator.

CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX

ASHLEY

I can’t believe he’s driven off and left me here with his mom, without even a proper introduction. What the hell must she be thinking? She must know who I am. What I did!

No, I can believe it. I just … I don’t even know.

I keep my smile fixed to my face, and turn to the woman standing behind me.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t expect Zain to drive away. We were supposed to go to my mom’s, not come here.”

His mom shifts her gaze from the disappearing car to me. There’s a small frown wrinkling her brow, and it deepens when she looks at me.

“What happened to you?” She touches my forehead gently.

“What? Oh!” My hand lifts to cover the bruise on my temple. “I … went for a run this morning, in the forest behind the house, and … I tripped and fell.”

“You tripped and fell?”

I nod. “Luckily, Zain wasn’t far behind me.” Why am I protecting him? Tell her you were trying to escape from him! “He caught up just in time to see me tumble down the hill, and came down after me.”

She stares at me in silence for a minute, then sighs. “Come inside, and let’s take a closer look.”

She turns toward the house. I touch her arm.

“I’m sorry.” I’m not talking about Zain leaving me here.

She hesitates, then nods. “I can’t say I’m happy about this, or with what he says is happening between you, but I trust my son. I just don’t understand it.”

What am I supposed to say to that?

Apparently my brain has an idea, and the words that spill from my mouth surprise me.

“He managed to get hold of the footage from my interview and his interrogation.”

“He told me.” She leads me into the house.

“It showed things that … don’t match my memories.”

She looks at me from over her shoulder. “What do you mean?”

“When I was first taken to the station, there was a short time when I was with the detectives … before my dad arrived. I don’t remember that at all.”

“Through here.”

I follow her along the hallway and through the door.

The room beyond is a large kitchen. An oak table takes center place, with six chairs around it. Other than the two of us, the room is empty.

“Sit down, Ashley.” She crosses the floor and opens a cupboard door.

When she returns to where I’m sitting, she’s holding a packet of antiseptic wipes. “It looks like you’ve tried to clean this.”

“Zain did, but we only had water at the house.”

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