Cash Baker's Girl

Part 16 - Cash Baker

Cash's POV

I woke up, feeling different than before. "Hello?" I called. I looked around, quickly identifying that I'm in a hospital. Maverick entered the room, a lost look in his eyes. "Why am I here?"

"You were kidnapped. You lost a lot of blood." Maverick whispered.

"Why didn't Ashlyn just heal me?"

"She did. But she couldn't heal your head. Not right away, anyway. You lost your memory, Cash. It... tore Ashlyn apart."

"Why do I have my memory now?" Maverick's frown somehow deepened.

"Ashlyn discovered her power in her distress." My eyebrows raised. "She can control memories. She gave yours back to you. She's pretty upset with herself. She blames herself for what happened. For you being taken. She had to compel you to calm down and that hurt her pride a bit."

"It's not her fault. None of it was." I sat up the best I could without feeling dizzy. "Where is she?"

"She left, Cash. She said she'd come back. Gave me a list of things she felt like she needed to do. She had an honest look in her eyes. She will come back, Cash. We just don't know when."

"She isn't going to do the things she said she was doing to do." Jason said as he entered the room. My body turned alert. "She's going to do something only Ashlyn would do."

"Don't tell me she's going to let herself get her ass kicked again." I whispered, running my hands over my face.

"No, not quite. She's angry, Cash. What does Ashlyn Stone do when she's angry?"

"She fights." I answered.

"Yeah. Only there's one thing you haven't seen her do." Jason's face held sadness, fear.

"And what's that?" Maverick asked.

"Without Cash, she won't be able to sustain her thirst. She'll go on a bloodlust."

"She told me you guys don't kill your victims. If you even have any." I barely managed to get out.

"Cash, she's a vampire. The instinct to kill is in her blood. She won't be able to fight it for long."

"If she does that..." I trailed off. Lysandra entered the room, a pissed off look on her face.

"She'll never return to Cash. She will ruin everything she stands for. She's never liked killing." Lysandra told us softly. "She told me once that she'd killed before and she loved it, but hated."

"She loved the thrill." Jason stepped in. "The chase is great, but seeing the fear on your victim's face is the best part of it all."

"But Ashley told me she'd starve before she did it again." Lysandra argued.

"Lys, you remember what it felt like to be starving. Your instincts overpower your brain. It's uncontrollable. You know that, I know that."

"How do we stop her then? How do we even find her, Jase. This is Ashlyn we're talking about. The same girl who hid from her father, killed ten vampires, stuck her hand in a mortal's chest, and killed an entire pack of werewolves."

"She'll come back to me." I stepped in. "She'll listen, right?" My voice cracked a bit. "Guys, she... she..."

"She what, Cash?" Maverick asked gently.

"She said she loves me." I whispered. "When she came in earlier to give me my memories. That specific memory is faint. Almost nonexistent. But those words are all I can hear. And now she's gone."