Page 56 of Broken Arranged Mate
“Ash was here, too,” I say, looking up at the guys. “And I’m pretty sure she was beating the shit out of someone in this spot.”
Dorian actually laughs, letting out a puff of air that’s almost amused, but mostly pissed off and concerned. “That sounds like her. I bet she led the fucking charge, got everyone else into trouble.”
Thatsends a ripple of defensiveness through me, but I can’t argue with him when I realize it’s right. Ash is exactly the kind of woman to jump into a fight, especially if it means defending her friends.
Aidan has wandered a little away from the road, and when he turns and looks back at us, his eyes are flashing with recognition. “Emaline’s phone,” he says, holding up a smartphone in a pink case.
“Come on.” Dorian turns and faces up the road, where their scents trail off. “No point wasting more time here.”
The second I find Ash, I’m going to tell her everything.
And the second I find the person who dared to lay a hand on her, I’m going to rip them limb from limb.
Chapter 32 - Ash
“Well, this has to be the worst girls’ night ever,” Raegan jokes, wriggling her wrists where they’re tied to mine. “I thought you guys said you usually get margaritas?”
We’re locked up in what must be the most stereotypical kidnapping room—a dank, dark room with a dirt floor beneath a nondescript building on the outskirts of the city. There’s a pole in the center of the room, to which they’ve tied all of us, looping the rope between our wrists and around Veva’s cuffs.
“Ha, ha,” Veva says, grunting a bit as she tries to slide her way up the pole. “And I thought you guys were supposed to be tightening up the ship over here.Highway bandits? I didn’t even know that was a real thing.”
“Hey,” Emaline says, dryly, “don’t knock it until you try it.”
“Iamtrying it,” Veva says, blowing a piece of hair out of her face and turning to Emaline. “Not a good review from me.”
“Maybe we couldtighten up the shipif Oren listened to any of my suggestions,” I say, and I feel all the women quiet, listening to me, registering that this is more than generic complaining. “In fact, I’m not sure what’s going to happen with us.”
“Well, I guess we’ve got nothing better to do,” Raegan says. “What did my stupid brother fuck up this time?”
Slowly, hesitantly, I rehash the story, this time mostly for Raegan. I start with that night, the super blood moon. Talk about the plateau. Our encounter, me trying to claim him, and him denying me as his mate.
How I’d tried to forget about him until he showed up again, and how much it had sucked having him in Ambersky. Then, I tell them about the watchtower, him making sure it was ready for me. I tell them about the way he looked at me, how I’d stupidly thought he felt something for me, even after everything that happened that night.
“Oren and I aren’t that close,” Raegan says, her voice small. “But I do know that he’s stupid about love—we didn’t exactly grow up with good role models.”
“I think the problem is that neither of you talks to each other,” Kira says gently. “If he won’t talk to you, you might just have to talk to him first. Tell him everything—just be up front about how you feel. The key to a strong relationship is vulnerability.”
“Or you could just leave him.”
“Veva.”
“I’m just saying—we should be honest about her options.”
“Oh, yeah, and would you just leave Emin?”
“No,” Veva admits, “but he’s made up for all his mistakes. You’ll have to see if Oren is willing to do the same.”
There’s another beat of silence, then Emaline asks, her voice so low I barely catch it, “Do you love him?”
I hesitate for only a moment. “Yes. I do.”
“Then you should do everything you can to keep him,” she says. “You never know how close you are to missing out on the love of your life.”
“I—”
“Shutupin there!” a guy calls from outside the room, and Veva scowls, looking down at our hands again. “Or we’ll come in and gag you, too!”
There’s a beat of silence, then we hear the guy turn and go back up the stairs.
