Page 84 of Beyond Rosy Irish Twilight

I shook out a pill and stared at it.

It was only one night.

* * *

I yawned and rolled over, feeling sleepy, but more refreshed than I had in a long time. Asher’s hand slid over my body and pulled me closer to him. I snuggled in and enjoyed the warmth.

“What time did you come to bed?” I asked around another yawn.

“Late. I got tied up working on some things for today.” His fingers slid up and down my arm, lulling me back to sleep. “You were out hard when I came up. I tried waking you, but you sleep like the dead. It kind of freaked me out for a minute.”

I laughed it off quickly. “It must have been how hard you fucked me.”

“Must have been,” he answered.

I didn’t look up at him, knowing he would see the guilt on my face and wonder what was wrong. Technically, I hadn’t done anything to be ashamed of. I needed sleep desperately, and that pill gave me what I needed.

“I’m going over to your father’s house today if you want to come with me.”

I sat up instantly and smiled at him. “Yeah, I want to go.”

He eyed me warily. “I didn’t think I would get that reaction.”

“I haven’t seen my mom since I came back here. I need to check on her.”

“Is there really nothing they can do for her?”

I shook my head. “I wish. I’ve talked to every expert. Not a single doctor came up with the correct diagnosis.”

He slid his hand up my arm and cupped my cheek. “I’m sorry, baby.”

I shrugged helplessly. There was nothing I could do to change it, but I could go see her. At the very least, it would reassure me that she was still fighting whatever was taking her from me.

“I’d like to think my father was different before all this happened. I think my mom kept him on an even keel.”

“Jade, with the amount of power your father holds, I doubt that’s possible. He’s been at this a long time. He might have hid it better because of your mother, but there’s no way he just sank into this life five years ago.”

I wanted to think that wasn’t true, but I knew Asher wouldn’t lie to me about something as serious as that. “So, when are we leaving?”

“An hour.”

“Can I ask what you’re going there to do?”

“Just a meeting. I want to move forward with him on his plans. I need him to trust me.”

Something inside me wiggled uncomfortably. He was my father and I hated what he did, but at the same time, it felt wrong to go there knowing my own husband was trying to take him down.

“Jade, is this going to be a problem?”

My eyes flicked to his. “It really shouldn’t be. I mean, I tried to turn him in myself.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“I don’t know,” I sighed. “When I gathered that information on him the first time, I didn’t know as much. I thought he was just doing something wrong with his money. I guess I just imagined him spending some time in jail. I thought he would learn from his mistakes, and he’d be mad at me, but we’d get past it.”

“And now?”

“It’s so much worse.” I looked up at him, scared for what the future held. “What’s going to happen with us?”

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