Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Sunday

“It’s about time,” came the warm greeting that had Ashley opening her eyes to find Jacob sitting on the end of the couch, devouring another bowl of M&M’s.

“Hungry?” Ashley asked around a yawn as she sat up.

“Always,” Jacob said as Ashley glanced to her right and-

Found the chair empty.

For a moment, she considered asking him where Kale went, but…

It didn’t matter.

She was just a job and Kale was the grumpy shifter that was stuck with her, Ashley reminded herself as she shoved her blanket aside and headed to her bedroom.

A few minutes later, she was standing in the bathroom, looking down at herself and couldn’t help but wonder if she was ever going to hit puberty. Not that she was complaining because she wasn’t, not when it meant that she didn’t have to worry about having a period or shaving, but she was starting to feel a little self-conscious about the fact that she was still bald…down there.

Then again, this could explain a few things, Ashley thought as she stepped into the shower and-

Sighed when everything turned red.

She was going to have to figure out how to control that, Ashley thought as she turned the hot water on and focused on getting through her shower without thinking about what it was going to be like now that Jacob was leaving. As much as he annoyed her, it had been nice having someone else around. Now that he was leaving…she’d be fine, Ashley told herself as she focused on getting through her shower without feeling sorry for herself.

More than fine.

She had plenty of things to keep her busy, new books to read, new recipes to try, her afternoon walks, and not to mention that flower garden that she’d been thinking about starting. Yup, she had plenty of things to do to keep her mind off the fact that she was going to miss the big jerk, Ashley thought as she finished her shower with a heartfelt sigh and focused on getting dressed.

Once she was done, Ashley debated curling up in bed and staring at the wall for old times’ sake only to decide against it since Jacob would probably take that as an invitation to find another snake to throw at her. Decision made, she headed to the kitchen, pulled up that recipe that she found last week for extra thick buttermilk pancakes and spent the next hour dicing, whisking, sautéing, baking, and frying her heart out.

When she was little, she used to love watching her mother work in the kitchen. Her mother had been an amazing cook, an incredibly kind woman, and always had a warm smile on her face for Ashley even when she was struggling to keep it together. After she died, Ashley had been shuffled between foster homes and group homes, some of them decent, some of them she didn’t like to think about, but none of them had ever felt like home.

She’d always thought that would change once she moved out on her own, but if anything, the small apartments that she’d rented over the years had only left her feeling…lost. She didn’t know how else to describe that overwhelming feeling that she wasn’t where she was supposed to be, but whenever Kale was around, she-

Was clearly seeing things that weren’t there, Ashley told herself as she watched the man in question walk into the kitchen. When Kale saw her, his gaze softened as everything turned red again, Ashley realized, biting back a sigh as she watched Kale’s expression harden. She really needed to figure out how to control that, Ashley thought as she returned her attention to what she was doing while she did her best to ignore the cold glare that followed her every move. She considered asking him why he hated her so much but decided against it since she probably didn’t want to know the answer.

Hoping to get him to stop glaring, Ashley grabbed a plate and piled it high with pancakes, home fries, bacon, sausage, toast, and-

“Thanks,” Jacob said, shoving a piece of bacon in his mouth as he helped himself to the plate that she was making up for Kale and sat down with a heartfelt sigh.

“You’re welcome,” Ashley said, unable to help but smile as she watched him dig in.

She was going to miss having someone to cook for, Ashley thought as she grabbed another plate and piled it high with food before she turned around and-

Watched as Kale leveled a cold glare on the plate of food before grabbing a protein bar out of the pantry and headed for the door, leaving her standing there, watching him go until Jacob plucked the plate out of her hands with a murmured, “He’ll be back in a week,” and dug in.

Sighing, Ashley headed back to her room to grab her Kindle so that she could find that horrible book that she hadn’t had a chance to finish since this whole thing started, only to frown when she spotted the yellow envelope on her bed. Curious, she picked up the envelope and found herself smiling when she took in the Christmas cards that she’d received over the years from foster parents and social service workers, her old school pictures, the documents that probably weren’t going to do her any good now that she’d changed, and the silver necklace that she received one year from a Secret Santa before she glanced back down at the bed, looking for her old journal. When she didn’t find it, Ashley bit back a disappointed sigh, knowing that she was lucky to get this stuff back. It made her wonder why Kale would do something this nice for her when it was more than obvious that he hated her.

* * *

Monday

JFK Airport

What the hellwas he doing? Kale wondered as he stared down at the small diary in his hands. He should be doing everything within his power to make sure that he was five steps ahead of the little bastard so that he didn’t get another chance to escape, especially now that the reward was twenty million dollars instead of sitting here wondering about a mate that he didn’t want.

It was a waste of time wondering about her, Kale thought as he turned the small journal over in his hands. He had better things to do, he reminded himself with a sigh as he turned the small book in his hands over one last time before he slid it back in his backpack and pulled out his iPad. For the next hour, he sat there, double-checking that Vane was still where he was supposed to be, finding out who the competition was, where they were, their resources, and-

He couldn’t stop looking down at his backpack.

Fuck it.

Deciding to just get it over with, Kale shoved his iPad back in his bag and grabbed the journal, hoping that the typical bitching and self-pitying bullshit that was most likely written inside would finally be enough to help him forget about her. Sighing heavily, Kale sat back against the hard plastic chair as he opened the journal and-

God, she was fucking killing him.

* * *

Tuesday

Homestead, Washington

He really couldn’t bethis fucking stupid, Kale thought as he read the text that Izzy sent him and…

“Fuck!” Kale snapped, tossing his phone aside. He rubbed his hands roughly down his face as he paced the small rundown motel room that he’d rented for the night.

They’d moved the little bastard.

He’d paid a small fortune for information on the little bastard’s whereabouts and had taken the first plane out of New York to get here and it was all for nothing. By the time that his plane touched down, they already had Andrew Vane on a plane heading back east and Kale had no fucking idea where they were taking him.

Now, he had to sit here and fucking wait.

Slowly exhaling, Kale took in the dingy hotel room, debating his next move only to find himself looking at the small journal on the bed. He’d finished reading it an hour before his plane landed and although he didn’t get any of the answers that he’d been hoping for, he’d learned that Ashley was intelligent, incredibly lonely, and resigned to watching life pass her by and now…

He didn’t know what to think.

He’d tried to get his mind off of her, tried to focus on the job, which should have been easy to do now that the reward was twenty million dollars for the little bastard, but he couldn’t stop thinking about her.

“What the hell is she doing to me?” Kale wondered, rubbing the back of his neck only to drop his hand away with a sigh.

He never should have kept that journal, never should have read it, and now that he had, he couldn’t stop thinking about what he’d read. While most women would have bitched about growing up in foster care and all the bullshit that came from living paycheck-to-paycheck, Ashley had focused on all the things that she wanted to do, the places that she wanted to see, the restaurants that she wanted to try, and the books that she wanted to read one day. It had been a collection of wishes and it had started with how much she’d missed her mother.

She’d been a little girl when she wrote that passage, terrified, alone, and in so much pain from losing her mother and it had nearly destroyed him sitting there, unable to do anything about it. It fucking killed him knowing that his mate, even an unwanted one, had been in so much pain.

He just…

Fuck it, he needed to stop thinking about her, Kale decided as a small chime alerted him to a text. Slowly exhaling, he picked up his phone and-

“Fucking hell.”

-realized just how badly he’d fucked up.

* * *

Wednesday

Crispwater, Maine

So fucking close…

Kale reached around and covered the shifter’s mouth as he slid the silver-tipped knife into the back of his neck, severing the spine only to follow that up with a quick twist of his knife and dropped the large shifter to the ground before pulling his knife out and slitting the shifter’s throat as he kept an ear out for the demons, vampires, and shifters hired to stop him.

Knowing that it wouldn’t take long for Vane’s guards to scent the blood, Kale doubled back through the woods, retracing the guard’s steps to hide his scent as he kept an eye on the large cabin where he’d caught Andrew Vane’s scent an hour ago. Vane would have been better off keeping his son in the city, Kale thought, watching as the front door of the cabin flew open and several armed men came running out.

Fucking pathetic, Kale thought, biting back a sigh as he quickly moved through the woods and headed for the cabin, using the poorly lit areas as cover while he avoided the bright lights of the spotlights aimed towards the front and back of the cabin. When he scented another Alpha, he went still and stepped back into the shadows, watching as the shifter quickly discarded his clothes on the porch before he shifted into a large, brown werewolf and-

Spotted Kale.

Kale waited, watching as the large beast’s silver eyes locked on him as he scented the air, searching for the backup that Kale knew better than to bring with him. When the shifter didn’t scent anyone else, he moved towards Kale as the demon that didn’t think that Kale knew about him, moved up behind him as he pulled his sidearm free.

Before the demon was able to raise his weapon, Kale reached back and grabbed the demon by the wrist and with a quick squeeze, broke the demon’s wrist as he pulled him forward and shoved him towards the large werewolf moving in to tear his throat out.

The demon barely had time to grunt in pain before that large claw swiped through the air and tore him in two as the werewolf swatted him out of the way to get to Kale. Keeping his focus on that cabin and the shifter that the remaining guards were trying to rush towards the door, Kale reached up and grabbed hold of the werewolf’s large muzzle and rammed the silver-tipped dagger into his eye. As soon as the large beast stumbled back with a pained howl, Kale was moving his ass.

He worked his way through the demons, shifters, and vampires hellbent on stopping him from reaching Andrew Vane, ignoring the blows they landed, the blades slicing through his skin, and-

“You should have claimed your mate when you had the chance,” came the coldly drawled words that had everything in Kale going still while he watched as Andrew Vane was ushered through the front door towards a waiting SUV.

Kale scented the air and…nothing. He listened for the telltale heartbeat that he’d somehow missed and realized that it wasn’t there. He told himself to keep going and stop that SUV only to find himself turning around and facing the demon that never should have been able to scent his mating mark.