Slow Burn

by Ednah Walters

  Ron frowned. His mother needed to know the truth so she could let go of the past, just like Ashley had said. “No. You can’t hide things from her. She’s stronger than you think.”

  “Have you any idea how devastated she’ll be when she hears that rumors we’ve all lived with this past ten years are true? That Doyle paid your father and his firefighter friends to start the fire, which killed the Fitzgeralds?” Penelope asked in a relentless voice.

  Ron stopped paying attention to his grandmother before she finished speaking, his mind going in circles. His Ashley. If one person deserved to know the whole sordid truth, it was she. He’d talk with his grandmother later about treating his mother like a child, but he must talk to Ashley right away, tell her everything.

  “Ashley mustn’t be told about this either,” his grandmother ordered. “Some things are better left unsaid, especially when revealing them may have dire consequences.”

  Ron shook his head. He never argued with his grandmother when she used that tone, but this time was different. His future was at stake. He refused to lie to the woman he loved anymore.

  “Ronald? Did you hear what I said?”

  “Yes, Grandmother. But—”

  A sob from behind them cut him off. Ron turned to look. Someone was eavesdropping behind the door. He jumped up and raced to open it. When he stepped into the hallway, Ashley was hurrying toward the foyer. His stomach dropped. Just how much had she heard?

  CHAPTER 20

  “Ashley, wait.”

  She ignored Ron and continued on into the foyer, but running didn’t lessen her anguish, her sense of betrayal. It became sharper as the conversation she’d overheard replayed in her head. Pain constricted her throat and tears stung her eyes. How long had Ron known about his father? Why hadn’t he told her?

  “Damn it, Ashley. Let me explain.”

  She spun around and glared at him. Everything else around her became blurry as she focused on his face, so dear and familiar, yet so angry. Why? Was he pissed with her for eavesdropping? She would never have known the truth if she hadn’t gone in search of him and overheard.

  She shook her head. It hurt so much to look at him, to know that she’d trusted him so implicitly, but he had been hiding things from her. She loved him with her heart and he didn’t deserve that love. She swallowed her hurt and willed the tears away from her eyes.

  “Explain what, Ron?” she asked in a shaky voice. “That you knew your father was involved in the fire, but you chose not to tell me?”

  He stopped in front of her and shoved his hands in the front pockets of his jeans. “I’m sorry you found out this way. I had planned to tell you everything after I spoke with Uncle Gregory.”

  Ashley shook her head, feeling so betrayed. “You knew, Ron.”

  “Please, listen to me. I didn’t know anything. It was a rumor I’d lived with the last ten years, but never cared to find out if there was some truth in it until I started receiving those letters. If you recall, the whole point of the investigation was to find out what happened that night.”

  Was he seriously trying to excuse his actions? “You don’t get it, do you? You should have been honest with me from the word go, Ron. My cousin hinted at the rumor, but I refused to believe him because I trusted you. I thought your reason for starting the investigation was the same as mine, to bring justice to our parents.” Her voice hitched and jerked. She wanted to hear Ron admit it. No, she wanted him to tell her it wasn’t true, that what she just heard were lies. She wanted him to make the pain go away. “Did he start the fire? Did he kill my parents?”

  He sighed. “I don’t know.”

  “You don’t know? After what I just heard in there?” She jabbed a finger in the direction of the den. When Ron yanked his hands from his pockets and scrubbed his face without speaking, she whipped around and continued toward the back door. Ron dogged her footsteps.

  Ashley ignored him, but the silence whispered things she didn’t want to hear. She fell in love with the son of her parents’ killer. Would she have helped Ron with his investigation had he been honest with her? Probably. Slept with him? Hell no, not without feeling like she was betraying her parents. She should have listened to her cousin. Taking the blame didn’t make her pain go away, it only made it worse.

  The pool house door was partially open. She pushed it, walked to the center of the living room, turned around and wrapped her arms around herself. Ron closed the door behind him. He kept his distance but stared right back at her. She wanted him to take her in his arms and tell her everything would be all right. How could she still want him when his father killed her parents?

  “I’m so sorry you found out this—”

  “Don’t tell me you’re sorry, Ron,” Ashley whispered, her throat swollen with tears. “I trusted you.”

  He forked his fingers through his hair, the way she often did when they made love. Even thinking about that made her angry.

  “Why couldn’t you just be honest with me?” she demanded.

  “I was afraid you’d shut me out if you knew the truth. And the more I got to know you, the harder it became. I didn’t want to lose you.”

  “Don’t you mean you didn’t want to lose the only witness to what happened that night? No wonder you scaled my wall to be there when I went through hypnosis.” And she’d thought he’d missed her and wanted to be with her. God, she was an idiot.

  “You’re taking what you heard the wrong way, Ashley. If you’d heard—”

  “I heard enough. Your grandmother said I shouldn’t know the truth and you agreed.” The words came out shaky, her voice begging for answers instead of demanding. When he pressed the heel of his palm against his temple and scrunched his face as though he were in pain, her heart wrung. She almost opened her mouth to ask if he was all right, but she had to know the truth. “Do you deny you were willing to continue lying to me?”

  A muscle ticked in his cheek. “If you were in the den with us, you’d have seen me shake my head when she demanded I keep the truth from you.”

  Ashley was taken back by the depth of despair in his eyes. She’d been so absorbed with his betrayal she hadn’t stopped to think how he must be taking this new revelation. Could he be shouldering the guilt of his father’s criminal act? Once again, she was tempted to reassure him, but she hardened her heart. She shouldn’t care about what he was going through. He was the one who’d betrayed her trust. His father made her an orphan.

  “I know you’re angry right now and you have a right to be, but I meant to tell you everything, Ashley,” Ron continued, his tone bleak. “You and my mother deserve to know the truth, no matter how painful and distasteful it is.”

  It was a little too late. She just wanted to go home. “It doesn’t matter. Not anymore.”

  “Don’t say that. It matters, just like what we have matters.” Before she knew his intentions, he’d closed the gap between them and pulled her in his arms. “I won’t let this come between us, Ashley.” His mouth closed over hers.

  For a moment, his senses overwhelmed hers. Her body yielded, guided by familiarity. He made it so easy to love him. To want him. To need him. Tears filled her eyes, rolled down her cheeks to their locked lips. He must have tasted them because his head lifted.

  “Sweetheart….”

  She shook her head, rejecting the concern in his voice. “You can’t use the power you have over my body to win me over, Ron. I won’t let you.”

  His jaws clenched. “We belong together.”

  “No, we don’t. Not when you lie to me. Not when I can’t trust you.” Not when what his father did would poison their relationship. “There is no longer an us.”

  Pain flashed in his eyes. “There will always be us. We can start over. You can learn to trust me again. I love you.”

  Earlier in the day, she would have jumped with joy at those words. Now, they left her angry. A borderline hysterical laugh escaped her. “Love is not a four letter word you brandish when you feel cornered, Ron.” His eyes
blazed at her words, and for a beat, she thought he would grab her and shake her, but all he did was glare. “Listen, this conversation is pointless.”

  “No, you listen.” His voice was hard. “You can laugh at my feelings, throw them back in my face, but it doesn’t change how I feel about you. I love you, and once this investigation is over, I’m going to prove it to you. And before you blow me off, hear me out.”

  Ashley had no choice but to listen as he explained about the bad investments his father made, owing Doyle money and the man’s demands concerning Carlyle House and finally the money in his father’s account that tied him to the other firefighters. “It’s all circumstantial. Just because the money was wired into his account at the same time the other firefighters were paid doesn’t mean my father was in on their plans. Since Doyle won’t talk, I mean to find Frankie and have him confirm or refute my father’s involvement that night.”

  Logic returned as she shifted through everything he just said. Was it possible that his father wasn’t guilty? No, she didn’t want to cling to false hope. Besides, his explanation didn’t negate the fact that he’d lied to her.

  Ashley sighed. She was tired and emotionally drained. She just wanted to nurse her bruised heart in the privacy of her home. Even now, sheer will was the only thing keeping her tears at bay.

  “Then I wish you the best in your investigation.” She started to walk around him, but he blocked her path.

  “Where are you going?”

  His scent, so masculine and enticing, teased her senses. Her heart trembled. It hurt so much to think they’d never be together again, that this was goodbye. “To collect my things and go home.”

  “Don’t go, please. As long as Frankie and Doyle are free, it’s not safe. You’re not safe. Stay here for a few days.” He indicated the pool house. “There are two bedrooms in here. I swear I won’t bother you.”

  She couldn’t sleep with him a few feet away, wanting and needing him, knowing he lied to her. “I can’t.”

  “Then sleep in the main house while I stay here. Just for tonight.”

  “I’m not comfortable here. Not around you or your family.” She shook her head. “I just want to go home.” This time, she made it past him on knees that weren’t too steady. Her hands shook as she gripped the handle of her suitcase. “I’m going to stay with my aunt and cousin once I get back to L.A. I’ll be fine.”

  His eyes narrowed. “Why do you have to make things so difficult? All I’ve ever wanted is a chance for us to know each other without the past coming between us. It might not seem that way now, but I was planning on telling you the truth once I confirmed it.”

  “Maybe that’s the mistake you made, Ron. I don’t need to be protected from the truth, however ugly. I need a man who trusts me, a man…,” her voice snagged. A tear escaped her eye and she flicked it off her cheek. “I need to call for a cab,” she mumbled.

  “Don’t. I’ll drive you.”

  “No. That won’t be necessary.” She pulled her cell phone from her bag.

  Ron cursed under his breath. “Just let me do this one last thing for you.”

  Her chin lifted, eyes connected with his frustrated ones. “Okay, Ron. Fine.” She dropped her phone back inside her bag. “Let’s go.”

  ***

  From the way Ashley hurried out the door, it was obvious she couldn’t wait to put some distance between them. Ron didn’t blame her. He’d hurt her, something he’d always regret. The pain he’d glimpsed in her eyes would be etched in his brain for a long time. But once he finished this investigation, he planned to make it up to her.

  “I’ll get the car,” Ron told her when they reached the foyer of the main house. When she nodded, he took off toward the den, pulled out his cell phone and punched in his office number. He looked at his watch as he waited for his assistant to pick up the phone. It was a quarter to five. “Get me two tickets to L.A. I’m leaving for the airport right now.”

  “In your name and Ms. Fitzgerald’s?” Nikki asked.

  “Yes. Call me when you’ve booked them.”

  “Is everything okay?” Nikki asked.

  “Yeah. Just get me those tickets ASAP.” He terminated the call and pushed open the door to the study. Gregory and his grandmother were deep in conversation, and both looked up as soon as they realized they weren’t alone. His grandmother’s sympathetic expression and his uncle’s uneasy one indicated they’d overheard the conversation he and Ashley had in the foyer earlier. He didn’t need their pity.

  “How long does it take Satchel to file a flight plan?” he asked his uncle.

  Gregory checked at his watch. “He and the crew already left the airport, so it will probably take him two to three hours to round everyone up, get back to the airport and make the arrangements. Why?”

  “I’m taking Ashley back to L.A. May I borrow your car?”

  Gregory nodded. “Of course.”

  “Thank you.” Ron turned to leave the room.

  “Ronald, wait,” his grandmother called out.

  “Not now, Grandma. We’ll talk later.” He didn’t break his stride as he disappeared into the hallway, and speed dialed Kenny’s number. Kenny picked up after two rings.

  “I need a few guys to keep an eye on Ashley until this thing blows over. We’re flying back tonight. Can you have your people tail her from the airport?”

  “No problem.”

  “Good. And the name of the company Doyle used to pay off the arsonists is called Prime Corp.”

  “Prime Corp? Doesn’t ring a bell. I’ve checked every corporation and company with his name on it.”

  “It was a dummy company.” Ron pushed open the side door leading to the garage to find Gregory’s uniformed chauffer conversing with the cook/housekeeper. He slanted his head to indicate the Bentley. “We need a ride to the airport. I’ve already spoken with Uncle Gregory about it.” He slid in the front passenger seat and continued to speak into his phone as the driver settled behind the wheel and started the engine. “Try the islands. He has properties in the Caribbean. And pass the info around. I want that bastard and his hitman behind bars for a very long time. I’ll call you with our itinerary in a few minutes.”

  “Is everything okay, man? You sound like shit.”

  He felt like shit. “My father’s name will be on the list of those paid off, too, Kenny. Thought I’d give you a head’s up.”

  There was silence then, “Damn, man. That’s fucked up. Does Ashley know?”

  “Yes. Listen, I’ll let you know when we’ll be getting in. Just have a few of your men ready to tail her from the airport. And I could use a ride, too.” He cut off the connection just as they stopped at the front of the house, where Ashley waited with her bags.

  Ron got out, opened the back passenger door for her and waited until she was seated before he went to get his things. By the time he came back, the chauffer had already stored Ashley’s bag. Ron added his and joined them.

  “You don’t have to travel back with me, Ron,” Ashley said when he settled in his seat beside the driver. “I told you I’ll be fine.”

  “Humor me,” was all he said.

  The silence inside the car became oppressive even before they pulled onto the street. The drive to the airport was the longest he’d ever taken. When the driver dropped them off at the terminal, Ashley disappeared into the building. Ron was right behind her as she spoke with an airline agent. When the woman couldn’t offer her a standby ticket, Ron blocked her path before she could go to the next one. “I can charter a plane to take us back,” he said.

  “No, thanks.” She took a step away from him. “There’re more airlines I haven’t checked. You go on ahead and charter a plane. I’ll be fine on my own.”

  Her insistence that she’d be fine was beginning to tick him off. It was an attempt to prove that she didn’t need him. Had she forgotten how cold and ruthless Doyle was? Before he could remind her, the sound of his cell phone drew his attention.

  “Yeah,” he barked
into the phone.

  “Two tickets on Delta Airlines, leaving in forty-five minutes.”

  “Thanks, Nikki. You’re the best.” He turned to speak to Ashley, but she was talking to an agent of another airline. As he got closer, he caught the end of their conversation.

  “…last minute cancellation…will start boarding in a few minutes. Do you want the seat?”

  “No,” Ron said at the same time as Ashley’s, “Yes, thank you.” She shot him an annoyed look.

  “We already have two tickets, Ashley. We’ll be leaving in forty-five minutes.”

  “Thanks, but I’d rather leave now.” She reached inside her bag for her wallet, pulled out a credit card and her driver’s license.

  “How many seats are available?” Ron asked the woman as he removed his credit card, too.

  “Only one, I’m afraid.” Her gaze shifted from Ron to Ashley. “I didn’t know you needed two tickets.”

  “We don’t,” Ashley answered before Ron could speak.

  That he couldn’t fly back with her bugged him. He fumed as he waited for her to finish the transaction. When she gripped her boarding pass and would have rolled her bag past him, he blocked her path.

  “I’ve got to run, Ron. I still have to go through security.” Her voice shook toward the end of the sentence, the only indicator that she wasn’t as calm as she pretended to be.

  “I love you, Ashley. No matter what you may think or feel now, remember that.” He cupped her cheeks. When she didn’t flinch, he lowered his head and gave her a brief kiss. She neither pushed him away nor responded, which only added to his frustration. His hands dropped heavily to his sides. “Go.”

  “Goodbye, Ron,” she whispered, then hurried away.

  Disappointment and regret burned in his stomach like acid as he watched her go. This is not goodbye, babe, not by a long shot. He got the information for Ashley’s flight from a kiosk, then dialed Kenny’s number.