Ruthless Regret (Ruthless Games Duology #2)

Chapter 28

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

ASHLEY

My heart skips a beat.

What’s Zain’s lawyer doing here?

“What do you want? You have nothing to say that I’m interested in hearing.”

“Let me assure you, I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t important.”

“Ash, who is it?” Scott’s voice comes from behind me.

“I didn’t realize you had company,” Peter says smoothly, his voice formal and clipped.

There is nothing in his voice to suggest that he’s surprised by Scott’s presence, and I don’t know why my cheeks heat up. I’m doing nothing wrong, but I know how it must look. It’s barely seven-thirty, and there’s a man … my ex- boyfriend … standing behind me, while I’m in nothing but my pajamas and robe.

“Please leave. I have nothing to say to you.”

His palms hits the door before I can close it, and he takes a step forward. “Given the fact that your attacker remains at large, I really do think you should listen to me.”

That makes me pause. “Has he been found?”

“Attacker? Ash, who the hell is this man?”

I sigh, closing my eyes briefly, then move to the side. “Come in, then. Make it quick. I have things to do today.”

He gives a small incline of his head and walks inside. I close the door. “Go straight ahead, through to the kitchen.”

“Ashley.” Scott touches my arm. “ Who is this?”

I hesitate for a second. How am I supposed to explain any of this? “His name is Peter Longeaton. He’s a lawyer.”

“A lawyer? Why do you need a lawyer?”

“He’s not my lawyer. He?—”

“I have a legal matter to discuss with Mrs. Ryder.”

“Mrs. Ryder?” Scott jumps on the name. “I think you might have the wrong person. Ashley’s last name is Truman.”

“It’s actually Tru mont , or was.” Peter turns to face me once he enters the kitchen. “And there’s no mistake, I definitely have the right person.”

Scott blinks, his confusion clear. “Ash, what’s he talking about? And what did he mean about an attacker?”

I open my mouth, but the words don’t come easily. “It’s … complicated.”

“Maybe we should talk somewhere private?” Peter says.

“I don’t think so.”

“So be it. Zain wished for me to talk to you about your safety.”

“My safety? Is that his way of trying to manipulate me into doing what he wants again?”

Peter doesn’t give any reaction that I can see. “Of course not. He believes you may still be in danger. After the attack on you, someone tried to set fire to the house where your brother died.”

“Wait. Attack? Fire? What the hell is he talking about?” Scott pulls me around to face him.

“There was an incident in Whitstone, but I’m fine .”

“ Incident ? Ash, you’ve been home for two days. Why didn’t you call me? Why didn’t you tell me you were in danger?”

“Because it doesn’t matter!” I don’t want to think about it. I don’t want to talk about it.

“Mrs. Ry?—”

“ Don’t call me that.” I whirl to face the lawyer.

“Ms. Trumont … Ashley , I understand your reluctance, but Zain isn’t looking to make this difficult. He wants to keep you safe, and he needs your cooperation to figure out what’s going on.”

“I’m not his responsibility or his possession. And I’m not going to let him dictate what I do.”

“The contract you signed says otherwise.” The smoothness of his response makes my jaw drop.

“What contract? Ashley , tell me what’s going on!”

Before I can reply to Scott, Karla and Jessa-Mae appear in the kitchen doorway.

“What’s all the yelling?” Jessa asks, her eyes darting between me, Peter, and Scott.

Peter turns to them. “Ladies, I apologize for the early hour.”

“Who are you ?” Karla doesn’t even pretend to be polite.

“A lawyer,” Scott tells her, frustration sharpening his tone.

“He was just leaving.” I give Peter a pointed look. One he ignores.

“This situation is not something you can brush off and ignore.”

“I’m fine. I’m here. It’s over.” It’s not over. I know it’s not over. If it was, I wouldn’t be researching the damn murders and having nightmares.

“I should point out that I’m a lawyer. I know when someone is lying to me. This is far from over. Zain believes there’s more going on, and if you stay away, next time you might not be so lucky. Someone wants to make sure there’s nothing that can lead back to them.”

“Zain?” Jessa straightens. “You’re Zain Ryder’s lawyer?”

I wince, regretting that she heard his name.

“Zain believes that you may not remember certain things.” Peter ignores her question, his attention focused solely on me. “Things that could be crucial to figuring out what really happened back then.”

“I remember enough!” I don’t. I know there are things I’m missing. But I’m not prepared to let Zain or his lawyer bully me into doing what they want. “I’m not going back.”

Before Peter can respond, there’s another knock at the door. The interruption has everyone looking at each other. I glance at Peter. His expression doesn’t change.

Another knock sounds.

“I’ll get it.” I push past Karla, and walk slowly along the hallway.

My heart is pounding. I have a good idea who is going to be standing on the other side of the door when I open it. But I still hesitate, my fingers curled around the door knob, for half a second before I pull it open.

Zain is standing there, just as I expected. His dark eyes find mine, intense and unwavering. He doesn’t move, doesn’t say anything, just looks at me, and the air immediately turns thick with tension.

His presence fills the doorway, larger than life, and for a moment, the rest of the world feels like it’s miles away. It’s just me and him … the man who’s consumed my thoughts, my nightmares, and my life for longer than I care to admit.

“Gonna let me in?” His voice is low.

I don’t reply. I want to slam the door in his face. I want to tell him I’m sorry. I want to scream at him. I want to ask for his forgiveness. I want to tell him to leave and never come back.

I don’t do any of those things. Instead, I take a step back, and let him walk inside, because from the second I made the decision to leave Whitstone and come back to New York, I knew he wouldn’t let me leave without an argument. I knew this confrontation would come.

“We need to talk.” His gaze moves over me, along the hallway, then back to me.

“We don’t need to do anything of the kind.” I’m pleased by how steady I sound.

A muscle in his jaw tightens. “I know you don’t owe me anything, but you owe it to yourself to figure out what is going on.”

“I don’t need you to tell me what I might or might not owe myself.”

Behind me, I can hear the muffled voices of Peter, Scott, and my friends in the kitchen. But right now, all I can focus on is Zain, and the way his presence changes the very air that I’m breathing.

“You might still be in danger.” He steps closer. “Whether you believe it or not, there’s more at play here than either of us understands.” His voice softens, but stays just as intense. “I understand that you don’t want to do anything to help me, but think about doing it for yourself.”

“You used me as bait, Zain. Bait! On what planet, would I help you do anything after that? You lied to me, threatened me, manipul?—”

He cuts me off with a single word. “Ashley.”

It’s not the word itself, but the way he says it that stops me in my tracks. There’s something raw in his voice, something that cuts through all the anger and defensiveness I’ve built up since he forced me into this mess.

For a moment, neither of us speaks. We just stand there, eyes locked together, while the silence stretches out between us.

“Look, you have every right to hate me,” he says finally. “But whoever is out there … they’re trying to cover their tracks. They didn’t expect me to be released, and they sure as fucking shit, didn’t expect you to come back to Whitstone. You’re a loose end, Ashley. They’re going to want to clean that up.”

“Clean it up?” I know what he means. I wish I didn’t.

“Remove you from the game board.”

“I wouldn’t be on any playing board if you hadn’t blackmailed me.” I don’t know why I keep my voice low. I should be screaming it from the rooftops, and yet …

“Wouldn’t you? Or would you be dead now, because they found you before I did? I think the clock was ticking from the second I walked out of prison a free man.”

My heart stops beating. I stop breathing. He’s right. I know he is. I’m sure it’s one of the reasons for the nightmares.

But I don’t want to give in to him. I don’t want him to think he’s won.

“Ash?” Scott steps out from the kitchen. His eyes flick from me to Zain. “What’s going on?”

The tension in the hallway spikes. Zain’s expression blanks, his eyes narrow, then he turns his head to look at Scott. I take a breath, mind racing as I try to think of a way to explain any of this. But I’m not fast enough.

“I’m her husband. Who are you, and what the fuck are you doing in my wife’s house at this hour of the morning?”