Page 129 of Fall Into Me

The taller detective checked his watch, muttered something about being sorry for what I’d gone through, then gave Ash a wary glance before they both left.

“Poirot!I freaking knew it!” The words flew out of my mouth the moment Ash moved his hand. “But, wait, why are they asking about Fane?”

Ash scratched the back of his head and dropped his eyes. He mumbled something about Fane being Declan’s boss and something else about taxes that didn’t make any real sense. It was a bad lie, and he knew it.

I wanted to push him on it. It was my nature to push, but the last few hours felt like something that both did and didn’t happen to me. It happened to someone else, and I just had all the memories of it. So, even though I wanted to ask, I wanted a nap even more.

“What the fuck even happened today?” I dropped my head into my hands, wincing at the sharp pain radiating from my forehead.

I’d been told I had a minor concussion. The spot where Declan’s face had made contact with mine was tender, but that was it. No bruising, no swelling. Nothing to show for what had happened.

The doctor told me I was lucky.

I stared at him with the fire of a thousand suns until he left with a nervous look on his baby face. That’s when the detectives walked in.

“They seem to know you well,” I hedged, my head tilting to the side as I studied Ash.

“They’re from Artington. We’ve…crossed paths.”

“How ambiguous.”

If nothing else, at least I managed to use my word of the day from the day before. The thought made me realize I really needed to cancel my subscription to that stupid app, especiallynow that I was still paying for it and didn’t even have a freaking phone.

He’d been poking around the little medical room we were in, a very strong indicator that he was trying hard not to lie again while also avoiding being truthful.

“You okay?” I asked, the frown on my face making the tender skin between my eyebrows ache.

His laugh was humorless. “Me? Cali, you almost died. He almost—”

“But he didn’t.” I cut him off because I’d thought about it too, and it still didn’t make that feeling of peace disappear. “Was I scared? Sure. Will I have nightmares about that deranged psycho watching Fane and me—Oh my god,Jerry!”

I shot out of my seat so fast I nearly toppled over. In two strides, I gripped the sleeves of Ashton’s jacket, my eyes already brimming with tears.

“Hey, no, sorry. Cali, he’s okay.”

“Holy fuck.” My knees buckled slightly, and I braced my hands on them, leaning forward as relief hit me like a wave. “I’m the worst dog mom ever.”

His snort that time was definitely full of humor. “Please, you love that dog more than you love Fane.”

I stood up and palmed away the tears falling down my face. “It’s pretty equal,” I sniffed, trying to give him a smile, but my heart was aching.

Without Jerry, without Fane, even with Ash right in front of me, I suddenly felt very,veryalone.

“What did he do?”

“Gave him Benadryl, and only a very small amount for his size. He woke up halfway to the vet. It was probably the best sleep he’d ever had.”

My face crumpled, and I dropped it into my hands. The relief of it all washed over me like when the sky suddenly opened up,and all the raindrops fell at once. Like the second to last thing I needed to be okay clicked into place, and I felt a little less like my world was spinning out of control.

Ash was not one for physical touch, so when I felt him pull me into a hug, his arms a little stiff around me, I leaned into him and wrapped my arms around him, hoping he could feel how grateful I was that he was there.

There to save me from Declan.

There for Fane over the last two years.

There for Jerry.

Here for me, right now.

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