Page 13 of Ash Storm

“Okay,” Dark said quietly. “God knows I’m no stranger to stupid decisions made in a moment of stress, but why didn’t you set the record straight later?”

Ash shook his head. “I tried,” he said. “But the press had taken hold of the story by then, and it was easier to sweep any doubts under the rug and make an example of me.”

“But the girl knew. You could have asked her to—“

“No,” Ash growled. “She’d been through fucking enough. I wasn’t about to dredge it all up for her again.”

“You said she still writes to you?”

“I gave her my sister’s address.”

“So she doesn’t know what you gave up for her?”

Ash shrugged.

“Jesus, Ash,” Dark growled. “This whole time, you let us all think you were the worst kind of criminal. Don’t you think you could have set the record straight, at least with us?”

“Maybe I got tired of having to defend myself. Maybe it’s easier to let people think whatever they’re going to think.”

Dark considered that for a moment. “Yeah. I know how that is.”

“It’s in the past, anyway.”

Dark stared out at the green countryside. “Listen, Ash, I need to know you can do this. I need to know it’s not going to trigger you and send you back to a bad place.”

The swift change in the conversation took Ash by surprise.

“I can do this. I swear to you, Dark. Send somebody else in as the billionaire playboy, but send me in to fight.”