She walks up the steps to the office, and Travis passes her with a nod. “Ashley.”
“Travis,” she says, confused, and watches him walk to his car before heading inside.
Moving over to Grayson sitting at his desk, she stares in annoyance at how he looks like he got a full night’s sleep while she feels hungover. She points a thumb over her shoulder and asks, “What was that?”
“Travis came to make me an offer,” Grayson says.
“He’s finally inviting you to join the investigation? To help where they’re obviously failing?”
It was only a matter of time before they came crawling back to him. Letting him go was the biggest mistake those idiots have ever made, which is a long list and says a lot.
“Kind of…”
Sitting down in the chair across from him, Ashley leans back and keeps her legs straight out, crossing her ankles as she studies him. “How the hell can you look so refreshed and awake after getting up at three? I feel hungover as shit.”
He chuckles. “You look good enough to eat, Mrs. Tate.”
“Don’t try to distract me. What did Travis offer?”
“A job.” When she gapes at him, he adds, “They want me back on the force.”
Suddenly more awake than if she’d mainlined caffeine with a hit of coke, Ashley sits up straight. “What?”
“Julian’s on his way out. The mayor is pushing for his resignation, and the investigation has gone nowhere since the first body was found. He’s taking a huge hit, and they need results.”
“How’d Travis take it when you turned him down?” When he says nothing, her eyes widen. “Youdidturn him down, didn’t you?”
“I’m considering the offer.”
She stands up and backs away like he might release some type of venomous snake or angry ferret towards her. “Are you fucking with me right now?”
“What?”
“Look what they did to you! You know this makes you nothing more than a little set piece for them to play with after they royally screwed the pooch and pissed on the club one too many times, right?”
He looks confused. “I didn’t understand much of that.”
“They’re using you,” she says, angry at how blind he is. “They want you to solve it and use the club to take down the killer because they no longer have a relationship with the Drifters.”
“Then why didn’t they go to the club for help?”
She snorts. “Because Dad would tell them to fuck themselves! I can’t believe you’d even consider this. Do you realize that you and my family can now only talk about cars or sports again? Assuming they’ll even talk to you at all.”
He stands, and she’s taken aback at how angry he looks. “I had dreams of being chief, Ashley. Dreams that were dashed the moment they fired me.”
“Because of me.” Crossing her arms over her chest, she sighs. She knew it would circle back one of these days. “Your dreams were taken away because of me.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Yeah, it is.”
Sighing, Grayson runs his hands through his hair. The hair he’ll have to cut if he decides to put that uniform on again every day. “I wouldn’t change it, Ash. Not for a second. I love you, and I want to be with you.”
“The club will never trust you again. It’ll put a wedge between us and them.”
“They don’t fully trust me now. If I take their offer, I’ll have benefits again. Ones I don’t have to pay an arm and a leg for. And a pension. We’ll be set.”
How can he just overlook everything else so easily? “You’re an owner of a business right now, Grayson. You’re growing at a pace that will require you to hire help soon. Plus, you’re making more money now than you did as a cop with hours you can set yourself.”
