“Okay, that face tells me there’s more to the story than just going on a first date.”
Ashton decided to just jump right in.“I’ve basically been lying to her for the past seven months.She thinks I’m someone I’m not.”
“More than daisies, then.”Marcel chuckled and pulled him toward the roses.“How big are these lies you’ve been telling?”
Ashton rubbed his eyes.“Pretty big.”
“Have you considered the Louis Vuitton store?”
“What?”Was that a different florist?
Marcel chuckled again.“Never mind.C’mon, I’ll get you set up with something that will hopefully give your date something else to think about besides what a lying bastard you are.”
Ashton grimaced.That was going to take an awful lot of flowers.
Marcel made a beautiful bouquet, Ashton had to admit.It wasn’t roses—possibly the only flower he would’ve been able to identify.Instead, the bouquet was made of lilies, artistically arranged to look stunning but not overwhelming.
The flowers were lovely and full of life, just like Summer.Ashton told Marcel that.
“You be sure to tell your lady friend you think she’s lovely and full of life.That will go a long way toward whatever news you need to tell her that’s so bad.”
Ashton paid and made his way out the door toward his truck.He heard the bells on the shop’s door ring and Marcel’s voice call out.
“Be sure to keep those out of the sun until tonight.Won’t do you any good to bring her wilted flowers along with your lies.”
Ashton chuckled and spun back to give the older man a smart-aleck response.
An action which saved Ashton’s life.
The flowers in his hand—right where his chest had been a second before—exploded into a thousand pieces of brightly colored petal confetti.A second shot flew over his shoulder and into the window of the shop, shattering the glass.
Ashton had pulled his Glock before the glass finished breaking and scurried back to the cover the tires of his truck provided.
“Marcel, get inside,” he yelled.
The man’s eyes were wide in his face.He stood motionless.
“Marcel, inside now!”Ashton yelled again.
It took the older man a second to process what Ashton was saying before he ran back through the door.
“Call the police!”Ashton yelled after him.
He turned around and peeked over the bed of his truck, only to immediately duck back to the ground as another bullet came spinning for him.He let out the vilest curse he knew when the next two shots took out the back and side windows of his truck.
The shots were coming from an office building across the street.Whoever it was had a relatively high-powered rifle—probably a .308 Winchester—and was fairly skilled in its use.
Fortunately not highly skilled or Ashton would now be lying dead in The Blooming Idiot’s parking lot.
And thankfully he’d parked his truck on the far side of the lot so the gunman had to shoot while he was walking rather than picking Ashton off as he stopped and unlocked the door to his vehicle.
He got his cell phone out of his pocket and called the first Omega number he came to: Roman’s.
“Calling me for advice about your date, Fitzy?”
More shots rang out.Ashton could see people in a parking lot down the street trying to figure out what was going on.
Ashton didn’t waste time.“Roman, I’ve got some asshole shooting at me from a building across the street.”He gave the address.“Nobody is injured, but the guy has me pinned down behind my truck.”
