Page 39 of Branded Souls (Ember Hollow Romance #3)

Ash’s expression didn’t waver or betray his secrets. “You can’t have her anymore. You can’t be trusted.”

I kept my eyes on the knife, trying to predict his next move. “What did you do, Ash?”

“She’s safe.” His voice cracked. “She’s with me. She’s not leaving me again.”

“Jesus.” I took a step back, adrenaline burning like fire in my blood. I needed to disarm him. Fast. “Ash, listen to yourself—”

“You don’t get it!” he shouted, slashing the blade wildly.

I dodged right, bumping up against the wall.

“Even now, you bring her to talk to fucking serial killers for no good reason! She’s not safe with you.” He came close again.

I ducked low, the knife slicing air above me. I drove my shoulder into his side, knocking him off-balance, but not enough. He caught himself, regaining his footing.

I used the brief moment to create some more space between us, almost hitting a floor lamp near the couch.

A lamp. Not looking away from Ash, I tried to remember what the lamp had looked like walking in. I thought it was made out of some kind of metal.

That was good.

The knife shook in Ash’s fist as he blinked at me. I needed to keep him talking. Hopefully, I could catch him off guard .

“And she’s supposed to be safe with you?” I inched my back foot closer to the lamp. “Make me understand, Ash.”

“The plan was to always keep her safe,” Ash seethed. “Even when my father was around, I watched out for her as best I could.”

I froze. His father. Where did he fit in all this? “Where is he now, Ash? Your father?”

Ash narrowed his eyes. “He’s gone. He’s been gone for a long time.”

I wasn’t sure what he meant by that, but something suddenly pieced itself together. “Was it all you?” I breathed, stunned. “The threats? The surveillance?”

For the first time, his hatred and anger slipped. There was a glimpse of something else…maybe shame? Uncertainty? It was gone before I could identify it.

His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed hard. “I didn’t have a choice.”

I stared at him. At the boy I had once tried to protect. At the man who had unraveled into something unrecognizable.

“How?” I whispered. “How did you plant that spyware? I couldn’t trace it.”

He lifted his chin. “You can learn anything on the internet if you try hard enough, and know where to look.”

I shook my head in disbelief. It was possible to find almost anything online.

I’d known hackers who never set foot in a college classroom.

“I-I guess I never knew you were interested in tech.” I needed to keep him talking.

I carefully moved another half step back, toward the lamp that was almost in reach.

“You failed her.” Ash’s lip curled into something that wasn’t quite a smile.

“I learned how to keep her safe, even at a distance. I focused all the time I could on being better than you, so that I could be the one who protected Skye.” Ash tilted his head.

“At first, it was our father keeping tabs on her, but he wasn’t good at it.

When he discovered what I could do, he loosened things up around the house.

He encouraged my studies so I could help him.

He never let her go, but I was always there to make sure he never got too close to her. ”

It was all starting to come together in a horrifying picture. “But you threatened her?” I pushed.

“I would never hurt my sister,” he snarled.

“Then why did you run us off the damn road?” I snapped back. “I’m assuming that was you, too?”

“That was an accident,” he fumed. “You slowed down too quickly and I couldn’t stop fast enough in the rain.”

I glared at him, not sure I believed that. “But you deleted her files. You tracked her. Put up cameras in her home and pretended you were your own father.”

“You weren’t supposed to come snooping around.

” He bared his teeth at me, tightening his grip on the weapon.

“She was supposed to stay away from you. I was only deleting her files because I wanted her to stay longer. I needed more time. But when you butted in, I had to create a distraction.” His eyes blazed.

“It wasn’t hard to fake a call from our father.

Digitally recreating a voice is an easy task these days. ”

I shook my head, bile rising in my throat. “This is insane. You’re insane.”

Ash smiled, but it was hollow. “You’re not going to put Skye in danger ever again.”

My time had run out. He charged faster this time.

I dodged, reaching behind me and grabbing hold of the lamp.

With all the strength I had, I swung the large lamp at him, but it was heavier than I anticipated and it slowed me down.

He cried out as glass shattered, and pain sliced across my ribs. We somehow both crashed to the ground.

The knife skidded across the floor, and I crawled after it, Ash close behind. We struggled, grappling—his fist hit my jaw. I elbowed him in the ribs. He growled. My fingers found the knife, but Ash’s nails dug into the back of my hand, puncturing skin.

I wasn’t sure exactly what happened next.

I rolled, trying to keep control of the weapon, but he never let me go. I ended up on my back, Ash on top of me, the knife shaking between our bodies as we both fought to take it from the other.

And then—someone let go. Ash jerked. Everything slowed as Ash’s eyes widened.

Horrified, I looked down.

The knife was in him, sticking out from Ash’s abdomen.

It wasn’t deep, but it was in his side, just above the hip. Blood was already soaking his shirt.

“Shit,” I breathed.

Ash stared at me. The rage in his face drained, replaced by something like fear, maybe even regret.

He glanced down at the knife, and before I could stop him, he grabbed the handle and pulled it out of himself.

“No!” I yelled, reaching for the weapon. He didn’t fight me this time.

Ash made a soft noise, something between a groan and whimper before he slumped to the side, hitting the floor hard.

“God,” I muttered, scrambling to my feet. “Hang on. Don’t move.”

Knife in hand, I sprinted to the kitchen.

I threw it into the sink, and then I snatched a towel off the counter and hurried back to Ash.

I fell to my knees beside him as he gasped for air.

His skin was pale and sallow. I ripped off my belt and pressed the towel to the wound. Blood pulsed beneath my hands.

He moaned, eyes glassy.

“Tell me where she is, Ash,” I begged, voice shaking as I wrapped my belt around his abdomen and secured it as tight as I could. He cried out, but I had to keep as much pressure on the wound as possible. “Please.”

Ash blinked at me. “I wouldn’t have hurt her,” he whispered. “I just wanted to—keep her safe.”

“I know.” I nodded, trying to sound soothing. “I know you did. But I need to find her. I need to make sure she’s okay in case…in case something happens to you.” I stared at the towel quickly soaking up his blood.

Tears leaked from the corners of his eyes. He shook his head, but something blended with the fear. Surrender. His hand fumbled in his pocket and pulled out a small ring of keys. “She’s…downstairs. The basement. The room locks from the outside.”

I stared at the key. My vision started to go fuzzy at the edges. I’d been ignoring the fact that Ash wasn’t the only one bleeding. I grabbed the keys, already rising to my feet, heart pounding out of my chest. My shoulder burned. My ribs screamed. But I forced myself to move.

I was going to get to her.

No matter what.