BOOK II.
Four months have passed since Ashton and Ria's relationship fell into ruins. He's convinced that she hates him and she believes he never loved her. Giving up on each other, they attempt to mend their loneliness in the arms of their past; Ch...
❝When you're determined to do something, nothing can stop you.❞
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ASHTON JUMPS AWAKE to the familiar smell of charred sausage and overcooked eggs. He rubs his eyes and rolls around, kicking sheets from his legs. Ria must be cooking. He stretches out of bed and ruffles up the nest atop his head. There's a distant squeal and the sound of steam rising from a searing pan.
With a chuckle, he grabs his phone and checks for messages. "Are you still alive in there?" he calls to her.
"I'm fine!" she squeaks.
Ashton shakes his head and bites back laughter. God, this woman is everything. Yawning, he rises and crosses the hall into the bathroom to freshen up. Ria continues to burn breakfast and leaves a series of cries of distress in the distance.
As he's striding towards the kitchenette, the pockets to his sweats buzz and he's quick to snatch out his phone. A single text reads across the screen.
We're in. Set a time and place to meet.
He grins. Perfect.
Meeting might not be possible. I'll call with instructions.
His pulse thrums as he reforms the plan he's come up with for taking Vincent out. After reaching out to a few resources, he was able to get in contact with a couple of Vincent's ranks. Men that Ashton has fought with on a number of missions. Men who loathe the monster they have to work for.
They were more than eager to join him in devising a plan against Vincent, but he doesn't trust anyone enough to meet alone. It's not worth risking if someone tries to set him up and turn him over. Plus, with Ria spending most of her time with him in the hotel, only leaving for her hour therapy sessions, she'd be bound to notice him leaving for some unexplained reason.
I'll just have to call them tonight. Everything will be set in motion. All he has to do is make sure they can excute Vincent without leaving any other casualties.
The one skill that Vincent used Ashton for is going to be the means to his own end.
Ria will understand. She has to.
After everything that demon has done to him and Vivian, it's unrealistic to let him live in a world where they're all supposed to be happy. He promised Vivian freedom from her brother and that's what he'll provide.
Pocketing his phone, he's welcomed to Ria, in nothing but an oversized sweater and knee-high socks, shoveling a spatula full of suspiciously dark eggs onto their plates.
"You realize I could have called room service, right?" Ashton sits on the other side of the island and rests his arms atop the cool marble.
"I wanted to do something nice for you," she mutters and sucks in her bottom lip to keep from pouting. "Though it didn't turn out so well."
