Page 53 of Heir of Ashes

Logan seemed to be considering my words, then his eyes hardened with determination. “No.”

“No?”

“No. You’re not going. I’ll put you somewhere safe where you’ll stay until I’m done rescuing Archer, then he’ll help you disappear.” His tone brooked no argument.

“I’m sorry,” I said sweetly. “I think you’re under the mistaken impression that you can tell me what to do.”

He didn’t flinch at my tone. “I’m telling you how it’s going to be.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Don’t think that just because you’ve helped me a few times that you have the right to tell me what I can or cannot do.” I clenched my fists. “No one, and I mean no one, gives me orders.” I’d been dictated to enough times in my life to last a small eternity.

A punk with green and orange spiked hair swaggered past, gagging dramatically as he got a whiff of me. We both ignored him.

“I wasn’t giving you an order.”

“Eew, man, how can ya kiss that trash without pukin’ in her mouth?” sneered the punk. “Is that toilet paper in her hair?” He squinted at me. “Eh, she’s totally trashed.”

I shot him a withering glare, but he just jeered and staggered away.

“It sounded like one from this end,” I said to Logan.

“Look,” he began a touch more conciliatory, “when I asked for your help, I hadn’t realized the extent of what you’d been through. Once you filled me in and we reviewed the layoutdetails, I realized this mission won’t be as simple as I’d hoped. I don’t want you to get captured again because of me.”

His words, for some reason, had my hackles rising, though logically, I knew it made sense. But another part of me thought about that person he’d tried to persuade not so long ago, to help with the same mission he now considered me unfit to see through. “It was okay to risk my life before when you didn’t know what I’d been through? God, you’re so full of shit.”

“Excuse me?” His anger was beginning to surface. A couple of days ago, it might have shut me up—the fury of a vampire werewolf aimed solely at me—but today it fueled my own.

“Tell me something,” I said, my voice icy, “Would it have mattered to you if I were captured while rescuing your friend? Would you have left me behind if you saw your chance to make a clean getaway with Archer?”

“Maybe at first I didn’t care about what could have happened as much as I did after you told me what you went through, or who your father was, but I would never have left you behind. Archer is my main goal, but a team is worth nothing if we don’t have each other’s backs.” He raked a hand through his hair in exasperation. “Look, Roxanne, if I don’t want you to come with me, it’s only because I don’t want you to get hurt any more than you already have or face the guilt if you happen to be captured in the process.”

“If I get hurt, Logan, it’s my decision. I won’t hold you responsible. Besides, I know the place better than anyone else. I can save you a lot of time—time that can be the difference between success and failure.” Seeing doubt flicker in his eyes, I pressed. “Your friend might not even show up. You said yourself you can’t pull this off on your own. I’ll do everything you tell me. Even if your friend does show up, Archer might be hurt and needsupport. I can provide that. Plus, I can find another exit if we encounter any obstacles without wasting time.”

He exhaled in frustration and nodded once. “Alright. I’ll give my friend another day to contact me, and then we move forward with or without him. Meanwhile, I want you to learn some basic defense moves. It’s non-negotiable.”

“Hmm.” I doubted that defense moves would help much against tranquilizer darts, but if that was my ticket, I’d take it. Who would have thought I’d be going back to that place—willingly?

We resumed walking, now within sight of the Hilton. The sky was beginning to lighten, signaling the approach of dawn. Another day, another problem.

The hotel lobby was empty except for a bored receptionist who barely looked awake. He wrinkled his nose when my stench reached him, but when he realized I was the source, he quickly smoothed his expression and handed over the room key card, eyes watering.

Logan urged me to proceed to the room while he spoke with the receptionist. My duffel was still where I’d left it, packed just inside the closet. I’d planned to come back for the night and leave in the morning, even though the room had been paid for three extra nights. I’d imagined returning with answers, but all I had were more questions. No, I never thought I’d be going back to the PSS willingly, but Logan had powerful friends, powerful connections, and I knew if I let him walk away, I’d never see him again. He had, after all, packed his belongings into the SUV, and although he’d promised to post a new ID to the Plaza Hotel in one week, he hadn’t promised to be there—and he had the answers I needed.

I left my bag in the closet and went straight to the bathroom, not wanting to taint any clean clothes with the stenchwafting off me like heat waves off hot asphalt. It was bad enough that my clothes and new coat were going straight to the garbage.

I took the longest, hottest shower of my life. I scrubbed, soaped, and scrubbed again, washing and conditioning my hair twice, trying to get rid of the smell that seemed to be permanently lodged in my nose. Wrapped in a towel, I emerged from the bathroom to find Logan sitting on the edge of the bed, waiting for me, my duffel bag beside him.

“We going somewhere?”

“Just to another room,” he replied, his eyes giving me a quick, appreciative scan.

A blush crept up my neck. He made no effort to hide his attraction. When his eyes met mine, they held an intense gleam that quickly turned to amusement as my blush deepened.

I grabbed some random clothes from my duffel with one hand while the other held the lapel of the bathrobe closed and skipped back to the bathroom.

Another room. I wondered if that was where he had taken his stuff?

My eyebrows lifted when we ended up in the room directly across from mine. Maybe he’d just been trying to give me some privacy. Had he been here when he received that anonymous call? As soon as we entered the room—identical to the one we had left but decorated in blues and cream instead of green—I realized his belongings weren’t there either.

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