The Asset

by Anna del Mar

  The men scampered out of sight. The helicopter got closer with every step, and so did a life of servitude in Hacienda Dorada.

  Time slowed down to a crawl. My mind opened up to a world vibrant with detail. I could see the spectrum in the sunlight. I could hear the subtle swoosh of the clouds rushing by. I could taste the salt of the mountains’ minerals on my lips and whiff the scent of three seasons dying beneath a layer of frost.

  I closed my eyes and breathed in the mountain’s cool air, the fragrance of peace, beauty and freedom. I gave thanks for a life that had tossed me a huge bonus of happiness right there at the end. Ash was out there, far or near, it didn’t matter. He was alive and his rifle’s range would close any distance with deadly accuracy. He was a man who owned his hard choices, lived with them and suffered them in his nightmares, even when he understood his choices to be right.

  I spotted him then, kneeling next to Wang behind a patrol car casing the seventh hole. My pulse raced. Ash braced his rifle over the hood and squinted through his scope. The telescopic sight would show him the details on my face and my expression all the way to the white of my eyes.

  “It’s whether you want to make your own decisions or whether you want to play someone else’s game; whether they’re gonna kill your guys or you’re going to kill the ones who want to kill your guys before they kill you.”

  Time to make my own decisions. Time to fulfill my personal resolutions. No prison would ever prevent Red from selling drugs and destroying the lives of innocent people. No protective detail could ever keep him away from me. As long as we both lived, I was his to keep.

  But I had a chance to end it now, even if Red’s death meant mine too. It seemed like a fair trade to rid the world of evil, protect the ones I loved and free myself for good. I was the only one who could do all of that.

  Ash might have recognized the resolve on my face. His head popped up from behind his scope. His eyes went wide. His lips pursed. “No, no, no.”

  I mouthed the words. “You go out fighting.”

  I’d practiced the motion with Ash a thousand times before. It took but a second. I braced myself for the pain, then planted my front leg, claiming my real estate. I bent my knees and wrapped my hands around Red’s elbow while pulling down with all my body weight. At the same time, I wrapped my right leg behind his and threw my body toward his shoulder.

  The dog came out of nowhere, a sable blur that rocketed out of my peripheral vision and collided into Red like a high-speed projectile.

  Neil?

  The thoughts raced through my mind. How could it be? He’d been taught to stay away from fighting. Ash took every precaution never to allow the dog near danger. We were a good twenty miles from the cottage.

  But it was him, and he sank his teeth into Red’s forearm, just an inch or two above the hand holding the gun, growling like a wild beast. The three of us went down together. Fur flashed before my eyes. Fangs pierced flesh and ripped tendons. Shots rang out, so loud that they hurt my ears. There was howling, snarling, screaming and blood, and yet the fierce three-way struggle continued.

  The wolf bred into Neil took over. His attack became primal. Red punched Neil on the face and kicked the dog to the side while I struggled to free myself from his clutch. For an instant, he let go of me, grabbing the dog by the collar and angling his arm to aim his gun at the beast leaping for this throat.

  I tackled Red with all my strength. Additional shots rang out from his gun, loud and yet somehow muffled to my bewildered brain. I lunged for Neil, enfolding him in my embrace as we tumbled together away from Red. More shots rang in the air, sharp and clear. Red’s body jerked with the impact of the snipers’ bullets. Thump, thump, thump. People shouted. The helicopter tried to gain altitude, spun out of control and crashed against the mountain. Fire, smoke and debris raged in the wind of the explosion, breaking windows and setting a patrol car on fire. People dove every which way to take cover.

  I huddled with Neil against the wall, hugging the dog to my chest. For a moment, the world went mute. Then Neil whimpered and nuzzled me with his big head, caramel eyes fastened on my face. A loud swoosh filled my ears. His breath came in short, sharp pants. So did mine.

  “My dear friend.” I petted the lovely, courageous boy. “I would’ve never allowed him in my house if it hadn’t been for you. You were the best caretaker ever.”

  I stared at the blood dripping from my hand. So much blood. It smeared Neil’s fur, coated my arms and soaked my shirt. I fumbled through my coat and found the little flashlight attached to the keychain and unscrewed the top of the battery compartment. It was hard. My hands didn’t want to work. But it seemed important that someone should have the thumb drive that slid out and onto my hand. So many people had died because of the information it contained.

  The sights before me blurred. The pain burning inside me eased. I let out a long rattling breath. Relief. Red was gone, unable to kill anymore. The rest of my friends were safe. Ash was alive. I’d defied the course of my life, challenged the expected outcome and gained my best years in the bargain. No more running. No more hiding. No more fear.

  It was done.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Dying was a hell of a lot easier than healing. In that, we all agreed. The guys gathered around my bed had a lot of experience in the subject. They swore I was the worst patient in the history of medicine.

  “You went at the ventilator like a banshee,” Manny said.

  “I couldn’t talk with that tube down my throat,” I said, still hoarse from the experience.

  “And then she tried to rip off the IV,” Wang said gravely, his forehead still scarred from the blow he’d taken to the head.

  “I wasn’t really awake yet.”

  Some of the doctors and nurses at the hospital may have agreed with the guys, but Ash just smiled. Sitting next to me in my hospital bed, he kissed my hand. “The way I see it, you took two bullets to the lung and came out of an induced coma. You give them hell if you need to, baby.”

  “The problem with Lia is that she refuses to follow directions,” Wang said, refilling my cup. “She’s never met an instruction she liked.”

  “I’m right here,” I said, “No need to discuss me in the third person.”

  “The real problem with Lia is that she hates rules.” Manny sneaked a chocolate bar out of his pocket and, snapping off a square, offered it to me. “Hospitals have a lot of rules and she refuses to comply.”

  “Now see?” I seized the tiny piece. “You really know how to ease a girl’s sour moods.”

  “She refuses to comply?” Jordan plucked the chocolate out of my hand. “You guys are a bunch of desperadoes and a terrible influence on my patient. Lia, I’m not letting them keep you here a day more than is absolutely necessary just because your blood sugar tests are all over the map.” He dropped the chocolate into his mouth and swallowed.

  “Dude,” Manny said. “You’re gonna hog the diabetes all by your lone self?”

  “Drink this instead.” Wang delivered the cup of apple juice to my hands. “I got you a different kind today. See if you like it.”

  The guys’ kindnesses brought tears to my eyes.

  “Oh, no.” Will burst out into a song. “Don’t cry for me Argentina...”

  “Goddamn it, stop it, Will.” Manny eyed the door. “We’re going to get kicked out of here again. Hurry up, somebody go find the mean nurse. You can cuss at her, if you like, but please, Lia, whatever you do, don’t cry.”

  “Stand down, everybody.” I wiped the pesky tears from my eyes. “I’m fine. I explained this to you yesterday. These are the good kind of tears.”

  “Tears freak me out,” Wang said. “I might need a drink after this.”

  I laughed and winced at the same time.

  “Doing okay?” Ash said.

  “Fi
ne.”

  “You look tired,” he said. “Visiting hours are done for today, guys. Our gal needs to rest.”

  The guys said goodbye and marched out in single file, with Manny leading the parade in his rover and Jordan lingering behind.

  “Don’t worry about your animals,” he said. “They miss you, but they’re all doing great. I’ll come back to pick up the Maltese in a few hours.”

  Ash threw an empty cup at Jordan, but he ducked it and slipped out the door, laughing.

  “Of all the fine breeds out there,” Ash grumbled, “the asshole had to pick a Maltese?”

  “Don’t you dare make me laugh,” I said but I was already laughing.

  “Okay, then.” He reached over and grabbed his tablet. “Some serious stuff instead. How about we take a look at the plans?”

  “What plans?”

  “The plans for the house we’re going to build.”

  What on earth? “A house?”

  “Our new house at the ranch,” Ash said. “The one where we’re going to live. What? Do I hear an objection?”

  “No, no objections,” I said. “I’m just a little surprised, that’s all.”

  “Why?”

  “Well, to begin with, I didn’t know you’d come to a decision regarding the ranch.”

  “I did,” he said, turning on the tablet. “I re-signed the lease with Woods the day before yesterday. The new contract is plenty profitable and offers robust growth rates for the trust.”

  “I bet you Wynona is doing a happy dance in heaven.”

  “No doubt about it.” Ash grinned. “She’s a happy angel. Now take a look at this.” He brought up the floor plan on his screen. “What do you think?”

  “Wow.” The elegant facade of a sprawling stone, glass and log home was featured on the screen, complete with an extensive floor plan and a site plan that included a redwood barn and fenced-in fields for my animals. He’d thought of everything.

  “It’s great, Ash, and it looks really nice. When did you have these plans drawn up?”

  “I did it while you were under,” he said, “I couldn’t sit still. Or sleep. Or eat. I had to do something. So this was the next best thing.”

  I caressed his face, tracing the stubble along his jaw. It was just like him to focus on hope amid the grief.

  “Ash, I—”

  “Don’t you dare say anything nice to me,” he said. “I may yet break and you’ll have to pick up the pieces and do something with the mess.”

  “You’re fine,” I said. “You’re more than fine, you’re holding your own. Think about it. You’ve gotten through the last couple of weeks without Neil by your side.”

  “I won’t lie,” Ash said. “I miss that insubordinate son of a bitch. I can’t wait for him to come home. Jordan says he’s recovering well, but I swear, between you and him, I’ve got no more terror left in me.”

  “But he’s going to be fine, right?”

  “Neil’s a trouper and a pro and tough as they come. He followed our scent for twenty miles. He must have galloped all the way. I think Neil would’ve died for sure if Jordan hadn’t been right there on the scene when he got shot.”

  “Lucky dog,” I said.

  “That I am.” His eyes lingered on me. “Lia, I... If you hadn’t made it...”

  “I made it,” I said, bracketing his face between my hands. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  “I’m good,” he said. “That’s what’s strange. I haven’t needed Neal to deal with stuff. I haven’t had problems coming and going to the hospital, or into town, or wherever the hell I’ve had to go.”

  “That’s good progress.”

  “It is,” he said. “I’ve also been talking to the shrink on the phone. That helps. But enough about my crap. Now it’s all about you. By the way, Gunny Watkins came to visit while you were out.” He gestured toward the flowers on the table. “She’s responsible for that horrendous cactus over there.”

  “A cactus, eh?” I cracked a smile. “Perfect...coming from her.”

  “She said they’re a reliable plant. Resilient too. She said they’re her favorite.”

  “I hear they’re hard to kill.”

  “In that case,” he said, “I find them sexy as hell.”

  I laughed and planted a kiss on his lips. “What did the doctor say about your foot?”

  “We all know it’s got to go.” Ash looked out the window, before returning his stare back to me. “I’m just biding my time until you come home.”

  I caught a glimpse of the pain the decision caused him, but also of the determination that made him such a remarkable fighter. “Are you okay with that?”

  “You know I hate goddamn hospitals,” he said. “Healing is serious business. I see tough times ahead. But after what we’ve been through, I think we’ve got it down.”

  I had to agree. “We’re learning for sure.”

  “So here’s my plan,” he said, taking my hand.

  “I should’ve known.” I smiled. “You always have a plan.”

  “Your hospital, Neil’s hospital, my hospital.” He lifted my fingers one by one. “Then healing and then on to that stuff you promised me.”

  “Oh?”

  “That nonsense about the best is yet to come and all that.”

  I frowned. “I have no idea of what you’re talking about, but I’m not encouraged if you think it’s nonsense.”

  “Hey, you promised me and you better deliver.”

  “Deliver what?”

  “Lia!” He reared up. “Have you forgotten so easily? You promised me an alternative future.”

  “An alternative future?”

  “Yes, don’t you remember?” he said. “That day, after pizza, at the supermarket parking lot? You said the future could hold as much adventure, challenge and satisfaction as the past. You said that the future could be even better than the past.”

  “Ah, yes, I remember now. That future.”

  “Well, I’m here to claim your version of the future,” he said. “In fact, I demand it.”

  “Lucky for you,” I said. “Futures are always up for grabs.”

  “So tell me again,” he said, with a crooked smile. “I need to hear it.”

  “Ashton Hunter, we’re a done deal,” I said. “And so that you know, I’m looking forward to discovering the future with you.”

  “In that case.” He dug in his pocket and held out his hand. The obsidian pendant rested on his palm, sporting the stylized outline of the frog skeleton. “May I?”

  I nodded, because words couldn’t convey the joy in my heart. His hands were strong and steady as he fastened the pendant around my neck. He couldn’t speak either. The smile in his eyes dazzled me with a glimpse of the future he demanded. He kissed me and every part of me rejoiced, not because the future lacked in challenges—no way—but rather because we were both free of the past and ready to tackle a new adventure together, our alternative future.

  * * * * *

  Look for AT THE BRINK, the first book in Anna del Mar’s new erotic romance series, coming from Carina Press in May 2016.

  To purchase and read more books by Anna del Mar, please visit Anna’s website here or at www.annadelmar.com

  Coming soon from Carina Press and Anna del Mar

  A woman will do a lot to keep her husband happy. But when mine sells me to the highest bidder—billionaire, former navy SEAL, pride of Boston’s business scene—I agree not to keep him happy but because it gives me the chance to finally escape. Escape my marriage, escape my debts, escape my life...

  Read on for a sneak preview of

  AT THE BRINK,

  the first book in Anna del Mar’s new erotic romance series

  At the Brink

  by Anna del
Mar

  Chapter One

  The silk gown propped up on my couch announced the end of a truce and the beginning of yet another battle. After a long day at work and a dreary walk through the cold drizzle soaking Boston, I wanted a bath and my bed. But I knew better. Martin and trouble always came together. Dressed in an ill-fitting tux, Martin sat on the couch between the gown and a shopping bag from Second Hand Concessions, twirling a pair of six-inch stilettoes by the heels.

  “Beautiful, yes?” He lifted the shoes in the air. “A present. For you.”

  I shut the door behind me and dropped my purse on the table. “Why are you here?”

  “Why, Lily, you forget,” he said, voice tilting with the French accent I’d once found charming. “This is my place too. I’ve come to take you out. Tonight. You need to get ready. We’re going to a party.”

  “A party?” My heart revved up. “You know I don’t do parties.”

  “You’ll do this one.”

  “No, Martin, I won’t.”

  “There’s no need to argue.” He rose from the couch and, clutching the shoes in one hand, tucked a handful of salt-and-pepper curls behind his ear. “You are going to the party and that’s final.”

  I kept him at bay with a narrow-eyed glare and retreated behind the kitchen counter. “What are you up to this time around?”

  “You blush so prettily when you are angry.” He launched a shoe up in the air and began to juggle the pair. “You might be surprised, but I’ve found a solution to our problem.”

  “Our problem?” I stared at him in disbelief. I wasn’t the one who had gotten booted out of a professorship at MIT for cavorting with students. I wasn’t the one who’d lost my grant, maxed out our credit cards and mismanaged my research project. And I sure wasn’t the one who’d defaulted on one bank loan after another.

  “Yes, dear, our problem.” Martin flashed a joyless smile, eyes fast on the shoes, hands moving with practiced ease. “Don’t forget that you are my wife.”

  “I’ve told you many times,” I said. “I don’t want to be your wife anymore.”