Ash Rising (DEAd Series) (14 page)

“They were at the theater,” Andy explained, his voice low with heartache
. “In your dad’s car, heading home. Someone came up when they stopped at a stoplight, and…and…”

“And what?” Ash demanded through gritted teeth when
Andy couldn’t continue.

“And whoever it was shot them. F
irst your dad, and then your m-mom. Ash—”

A
harsh sob tore free from Ash’s chest and erupted into the room. He wavered and stumbled before catching the counter, braced both hands on the edge and hung his head, shoulders heaving with the effort draw breath. In an explosion of movement, he grabbed the coffee pot sitting next to the refrigerator and threw it against the wall. The carafe shattered in a hail of glass, and then he did the same with the coffee maker. They both stared at the fragments, Ash panting for breath, Andy with tears on his face.

“Ash.
”

He spun toward his friend
. “I want to see them.”

“What? No.” Shock broke through
the grief in Andy’s voice. “You can’t.”

“The hell I can’t.”

“Even if you weren’t undercover…Ash, there’s no way. It’s too dangerous. Your cover.”

“Fuck my cover.” He didn’t recognize his own voice.

“You don’t mean that. Daniel’s on his way over with the file—with all the information we have so far. Lisa…Lisa went down to identify them.”

Another horrible sound
tore loose from somewhere inside his being, and Andy flinched.

“We’re taki
ng care of them, Ash. Count on it.”

They both looked up as the front door opened, and Daniel’s large figure appeared, momentarily backlit by the
sun. He strode into the kitchen and dropped a leather portfolio on the table. Without preamble, he grabbed Ash and pulled him into a hard, rocking hug. Ash struggled for a brief second before accepting the embrace. His hands fisted in the back of Daniel’s shirt as a sob rose from one of them. Ash didn’t know whom the sound came from, but Andy’s arms wrapped around them both.

He
eventually separated from his friends, and Daniel examined his face before stepping back.

“I’m sorry, man.” His
gaze was steady. “We loved them, too.”

“I know.”
After a few intense seconds, Ash glanced away to see the thin binder on the table.

“That’s
everything we have so far. Isn’t much,” Daniel warned as Ash picked up the seemingly innocuous case. “Only been a few hours.”

He moved to Ash’s side and put his hand over the file. Ash
stared at him, his body tense as he prepared to fight for the information contained inside.

“Pictures are in there, buddy,” Daniel
said. “Want me to take them out first?”

Ash stared hard at the bland brown cover of the file. He swal
lowed and shook his head, fingers unsteady as he leafed through the pages. He couldn’t look. He had to see. Oh, God. A sickening lurch rocked both his gut and head, so intense he thought he’d explode in either vomit or a scream, followed by pure, scorching fury. He dropped the file on the table, braced himself on his arms over the papers, and an eerie keening sound issued from the depths of his chest. Daniel grabbed the file and snapped the cover shut, then handed it to Andy who placed the bundle on top of the fridge.

“Knew that was a bad idea,” Daniel muttered, placing his hand on Ash’s back. “Are you okay?”

Ash’s breath sawed in and out of his lungs with a strange whistling sound he heard from a distance. Grey seeped in from the edges of his vision—he was about to pass out for the first time in his life. His knees gave out, but Daniel caught him and eased him into a chair. After a long time of concentrating on nothing other than not puking, he gradually became aware of the rumble of their voices.

“They were executed.”
Ash thought he’d spoken clearly. The words and images were sharp in his mind, but his friends stopped talking to stare at him.

“What?”

“They were executed.” He said the words slowly, carefully. His voice echoed in the silent room.

Ash caught the uneasy glance
Andy and Daniel exchanged over his head before he lowered his gaze to stare at his hands. He unclenched and laid them flat on the scarred wooden table. Daniel crouched next to Ash’s chair, balanced on the balls of his feet, and covered one of Ash’s hands with his.

“We don’t know that. T
here hasn’t been enough time to—”

“You saw
the crime scene photos.”

“Yes, but—
”

Ash shoved his chair back and le
apt to his feet. Daniel flailed but managed to stay upright.

“Don’t give
me that bullshit! You saw the same thing I did.” He flung his arm in the direction of the refrigerator and incriminating photographs. “They were fucking executed, and you know it.”

Daniel could only
hold his infuriated glare for a few seconds before looking away. Ash snarled and held out his hand, shaking his arm impatiently when Andy didn’t respond.

“What?” Andy asked.

Ash spun on him. “Give me the file.”

“Ash, I don’t think—
” Andy began uncomfortably.

“Give me the
fucking file,” he growled from between his teeth.

Andy searched his face, but reached up and grabbed the
folder, placing the heavy weight in his hand.

“If
you’re right…” Andy’s voice was hesitant. “If you’re right, the situation is all kinds of fucked.”

Daniel
stepped forward. “If you’re right, then your life is in danger, too.”

“
Your cover.” Andy shook his head. “The entire operation.”

“Yeah.”
Ash stalked out of the room to sit on the floor between the sofa and the coffee table, his hands buried in the hair at his temples, forehead on his knees. He’d tossed the file on the table, and pages fanned across the surface. He couldn’t bear to go through the contents again, but he fought past the suffocating tightness wrapped around his heart and forced himself to examine each page, memorize every last detail, which proved to be both too much and not enough. He had no idea how much time passed before his friends appeared in the doorway between the kitchen and the claustrophobic living room.

“Hey.”
Daniel braced his arms on the doorjamb.

“I need to go home.”

“Home?” Daniel repeated cautiously. “Like, lake house home, or…”

Another vicious stab stole his breath as he thought of his home—his parents’ home
. “Not the lake house. My apartment.”

“Okay. We can get you a cab the next street over. Do you want me to go with you? Or Andy?”

“No.” Ash struggled to unfold his large body from the small space he’d wedged himself into. “But thanks. I need to think.”

“Ash.” Daniel helped him get to his feet. “You’re not going to do anything stupid, are you?”

“Me? No.” He tried to grin but felt as awful as the expression must have looked. He paused when a thought struck him. “Does Davenport know?”

“
Yeah.” Daniel grimaced. “Look, Ash, if it’s true, if they were executed—”

“If it’s true
, then I’m fucked.” Ash’s voice was flat. “The entire operation is. Keep on top of this for me while I figure out what the hell is going on, okay? I need to know you guys have my back.”

“Absolutely
.”

“
Thank you,” Ash gripped Daniel’s shoulder more for support than gratitude, but definitely a lot of both.

Andy scooped the papers off
the coffee table and put them back in the file. Holy hell, the urge to grab them, to go over every detail again and again until they made sense…but nothing ever would. He couldn’t risk having the documents on his person or in his apartment, especially if what he suspected proved true. Daniel walked to the kitchen, talking on his cell phone, his voice quiet. He couldn’t make out what he said or whom he talked to, but that didn’t matter. He trusted both Andy and Daniel without question.

“Come on.” Daniel came back into the front room where
Ash stood motionless, staring at nothing, thinking nothing, doing nothing. He wanted to feel nothing, but what a futile wish. “We’ll walk a couple of blocks and catch you a cab back to your apartment.”

“Thanks, man.”

Andy grasped his hand and then pulled him close for a brief hug. “I’m sorry, Ash. Let me know if there’s anything you need, okay? No matter what. I’ll figure out a way to get to you.”

Ash nodded,
unable to speak. If he did, he wouldn’t be able to maintain the fierce grip he held on his emotions. He had to make it just a little while longer, until he was safely back in his apartment. Then he could let go for a few brief moments of grief before pulling the shroud of deception over his head once again. He followed Daniel’s large figure out of the safe house, his head down and hands in his pockets. A yellow cab pulled to the curb, and Daniel opened the door. Ash glanced at his friend, expecting Daniel to insist on seeing him to his apartment. He would have refused, of course, but thought Daniel would make the effort. Daniel merely angled his head, indicating he should get in the vehicle. Ash looked at the driver—not in alarm, but in interest.

Pete Davenport
sat behind the wheel. Ash eased into the backseat and met Pete’s gaze in the rearview mirror as the taxi pulled smoothly into traffic.

“I’m sorry
,” Pete offered. Ash jerked his head in acknowledgement and turned to stare unseeing out the window. “Of course we’re making this a priority. We’ll do everything we can to catch whoever is responsible.”

“You sa
w the crime scene photographs.” Pete nodded, and Ash shut his eyes, leaning his head against the cool glass. “The guys haven’t figured it out yet.”

Ash
blinked, once again meeting Pete’s steady regard in the rearview mirror to see if his boss understood, and not the fact his parents had been killed execution-style. Pete maneuvered through the streets to Ash’s apartment. “No. Don’t imagine they’ve made the connection yet.”

“But you have.”

“Yeah.”

“We have a leak.”

Pete looked like he would argue but just sighed again. “Yes, I think we do.”

“There’s no way anyone followed me home or to
or from any of the other UC assignments, not that I’ve had many lately. The cover team would have picked up on a tail. I don’t have anything on me or with me that someone could use. Nothing. My apartment is clean.”

“I know. I was just there. Clean as a whistle.”

Good to know Pete hadn’t found anything incriminating. The fact didn’t lessen his sense of responsibility for what happened, but at least he hadn’t made a careless mistake.

They rode in silence for a few blocks before Pete spoke again. “I’m going to pu
ll you, Ash. If there is a leak—”

“No!” Ash sat forward
and smacked his hand against the plexiglass separating the passenger compartments of the taxi.

“If there’s a l
eak,” Pete continued implacably, “it’s not safe. You’re not safe.”

“Not
safe?” Ash bit out. “I haven’t been safe since day one. I knew that, knew what I was getting myself into. What I didn’t know is that it would bring my parents—my
parents
, damn it—into it. You can’t pull me now, Pete. I’ve got to find out who did this, who the leak is.”

“All the more reason to pull y
ou. You can’t be objective, Ash. Not safe for you or anyone else involved in the operation.”

“Fuck that.”

“Exactly what I’m talking about. No,” he said when Ash started to interrupt him again. “Has it occurred to you the others aren’t safe, either? Daniel and Andy. Liz.” Pete pulled out the only reason that would give Ash pause. “And everyone else involved in the operation. Ash, if they know who you are, what you are, then they know about them. The entire team is vulnerable if it’s true. Think, constable.”

Ash’s mou
th opened and closed. He scrambled to find something to make his point, but he couldn’t.
Liz
. He’d sworn he would do everything in his power to keep her out of harm’s way, that he’d never let his job put her at risk. He’d sworn the same about his family, too, but all his promises and good intentions had done nothing but get them killed.

“Find out,” he finally said. “Find out what happened, Pete, if Rico or any of his gang is responsible for this. We can go from there. I
f he did this…if he had someone do this…”

Rage
tangled his tongue and felt a whole hell of a lot better than the debilitating grief. He needed his wits about him more than ever. Taking a couple deep breaths, he fought the nausea still lingering in his belly. Pete cast him a concerned glance in the mirror but didn’t say anything until he pulled up in front of Ash’s apartment building.

“Are you going
to be okay tonight, Beaulieu?” He turned in his seat to meet Ash’s gaze.