Page 84 of Into The Darkness

I walked into the Den and straight up the stairs, saying hi to Pico who told me that Marissa was asking about me. I told him I would text her, then bounded up to the loft.

“Hi.” I pushed the door open and found Ash on the phone.

“Yeah, Dad. I gotta go now. Yes, we will talk later.” He hung up and pulled me into a deep hug. He had been far more affectionate recently, but I chalked it up to the added stress of the upcoming bonfire.

“Is everything okay?”

“Fine.” He pulled away, then kissed me on the forehead.

“Ember . . . Let’s go. I am sick of being in this fucking house.” I nodded and grabbed my jacket. Although it was well into spring now, it was still chilly at night.

We walked down to the foyer of the house where Rain stopped us.

“Have you talked to her?” he mumbled, pulling Ash aside.

“Talked to me about what?” I interrupted, walking closer to them.

“No,” he stated, then gazed back in my direction. “Let’s go, mi sol.”

I begrudgingly followed him to the car and hopped in the passenger side, knowing exactly where we were headed. We drove in silence, aside from Ash asking me to look in the mirrors as we were headed out of town. This close to the bonfire, he was on high alert.

As we parked on the dirt and walked the little path to the rock, it was clear Ash was holding in frustration, even if we were hand in hand.

“Okay, spill,” I said when we sat down on the blanket I’d laid out for us.

“I need you to come to this bonfire.” He was acting so strangely. I didn’t like what this was leading to, but in typical Ash behavior, he was ever so elusive.

“Why? Isn’t it supposed to be kinda sketch?” I asked. “Marissa told me that she never goes. It’s a chaotic night, and Pico tells her to stay far away.”

“But if you aren’t there, I need to protect you, Ember. Please.” His head hung low, and I scratched his back. “I need this from you.”

“Is that what is bothering you?” I asked, gripping the back of his neck as I peppered his cheek with kisses.

“Yes.” He nodded, pulling away from me to look in the other direction. He was hurting.

“Okay, then I will come,” I whispered. I’d do anything for him, and that was a truth I wasn’t sure if he believed himself.

“But you need to know that Walsh will be there too,” Ash added.

“I figured, since you both are the leaders,” I said.

“Wait, how did you know?”

“Know what, silly?” I asked.

“That I was the leader of the Den?” I paused for a moment, narrowing my eyes in his direction. He wasn’t serious, was he?

“Wait, isn’t it obvious? You have the best room, the guys all listen to you from the moment you step into the house, your dad is the head of the fucking cartel . . .?”

“Ember,” he breathed a sigh of relief. “Holy shit.”

“Is this what Rain was saying at the house?” He nodded. I laughed again.

“Ash, if you need me to be at the bonfire because you tell me it’s safer, then I will be there.” I offered him a slight smile, then his hands cupped my face.

“I love you,” he whispered, and my hands went straight to his pants, fumbling with the zipper.

He shimmied out of them, and I pulled off my jeans. I undid the jacket, and my nipples hardened.

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