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"What did you do?"

Tory jumped at the sound of Ash&039;s deep, accented voice behind her Guilty about contacting his friend, she turned around to face him and froze Dressed in black pants and boots, he&039;d left his daht, the ray T-shirt that had a pile of skeletons on it that really caught her off-guard and made her wonder if his propensity for that wouldn&039;t have him kill her over what she&039;d done behind his back

She cleared her throat and tried her best not to look too nervous "What?"

"You turned so on while I was in the shower and froze the crap out of hed "Sorry Dishwasher I won&039;t do it again"

"Please don&039;t One "

She scowled as she saw the dragon tattoo back on his forearinally "Is that like so you do to screith people&039;s heads? I swear it keepsto different parts of your body"

Before he could answer, her phone rang Tory groaned at the sound "You know, between the two of us, we can&039;t have a minute&039;s peace from these stupid phones" She picked up the phone, surprised to find Bruce there "Hey, sweetie Did you get the journal for ht and ransacked his place Theyback at the unexpected news, Tory dropped the phone as horror and grief enveloped her

Ash barely caught Tory before she fell to the floor, sobbing "Breathe," he whispered

But she didn&039;t appear to hear hi, "No, no, no," in a low tone

He picked up the phone from the floor "Hello?"

"Where&039;s Tory?" a s to her chest and was sobbing against them while she covered her head with her arm "She&039;s really upset What happened?"

"One of our friends was killed last night"

Ash ground his teeth as he remembered the horror of Dimitri&039;s final hours-no one deserved that "Okay I&039;ll have her call you back when she calainst hiainst his shoulder and wrapped her arlehold that soe to hurt him "How can he be dead? Why?"

He held her close "I don&039;t know, Tory Shit happens to the best of us"

"No Not over a fucking book" Her language shocked him and let him know exactly how upset she was "Please, Acheron, tell me a book isn&039;t worth a rabbed the phone

"What are you doing?"

Lifting her glasses up, she wiped at her eyes as her cheeks flushed red with anger "I&039; them to hide immediately I won&039;t have another person hurt I won&039;t!"

He didn&039;t try to stop her as he rose to his feet Instead, he atte about this with his powers It was so frustrating to have no insight or clues about as going on He hadn&039;t felt this vulnerable since the day he&039;d died

After calling everyone she could think of, Tory hung up and sighed "Everyone else is accounted for and safe Let&039;s hope they stay that way" Sniffing, she pulled her glasses off and used her shirttail to wipe the lenses Ash adether

She put her glasses back on and pierced hiry, hurt look "What do you think is in that book that makes it so important?"

"The end of the world"

She scoffed at hi to feel her out and see what she&039;d do if she had it "What if there was so in that book totally apocalyptic?"

She didn&039;t hesitate with her answer "Then it would have to be destroyed"

"Even if it contained proof of Atlantis?"

She pushed her glasses up with the back of her hand "Well since we&039;re being hypothetical, yes Proof of Atlantis wouldn&039;t be worth the destruction of the world I ood would it do to save my father&039;s reputation when there&039;s no one left who cares?"

He snation "You think quickly on your feet"

"So they tell me" Tory paused and closed her eyes "I can&039;t believe Dimitri God, I hope he didn&039;t suffer"

Ash didn&039;t comment He didn&039;t want to lie to her and the truth

Sucked

Instead, he tried to get her mind off it "What do you norhed as she put away her dishtowel It was obvious she was still torn up over Di to be brave "Depends on the Saturday Here, lately, I&039;ve been skydiving, but my pilot canceled day before yesterday due to illness So I was planning on grading papers and watching badboy&039;s ego first thing in theat the mock sarcasm in her voice, he pulled a pocket watch out of his jeans "In about two hours, you&039;ll know"

"What&039;s in two hours?"

"Basketball gaust "Oh no I don&039;t do spectator sports They bore , he was the hty mountain ouldn&039;t beto be there no ht as well reconcile yourself to the fact that you will be sitting on the bench today since I can&039;t leave you here alone"

She actually hissed at hi to happen"

"Yes it will"

"No," she said firmly "It won&039;t"

Tory couldn&039;t believe his obstinacy Why was he being so unreasonable? What difference would it ame with his friends?

But the nored her They literally fought over it up until Ash ca a black and white polyester referee shirt He even had on basketball shoes instead of his requisite boots

The sight of him dressed like that stunned her until the ludicrousness of it struck her

It was all she could do not to laugh at the sight hered and black hair pulled back in a ponytail and nose ringnot a stud A small silver hoop to match the two he noore in his left earlobe "They let you referee, huh?"

"No one argues with ed his coat on and picked up the backpack of death "You want to ride with ame?"

His offer surprised her since she hadn&039;t seen hi other than walk or ride with her "You have your car?"

Ash sht when I went to get my clothes" It was a s when he&039;d decided he wanted to ride for a bit and he was hoping she wouldn&039;t balk over it

"I don&039;t have a helmet"

He pulled a black one out of the backpack "You do now What do you say? You up for some adventure?"

Tory wrinkled her nose at the helmet and folded her arms over her chest She would love to join hiear to wear and the last thing I want to be is SQUID"

He laughed at her use of a biker&039;s terh to ride without the proper safety gear on

He pulled a worn, black Stitch Brazilian leather jacket out of his backpack The shoulders, elbows and waist of it were heavily stitched and the array skull and crossbones on the back with a gold Hayabusa sy for skulls don&039;t you?"

"They&039;re all right"

His attention to detail was admirable and the truth was, she hadn&039;t been on a bike since the sued it on As she did so, the scent of leather and Acheron struck her hard He must have worn this jacket a lot Cohtened it up with laces and Velcro It fit her surprisingly well It was also extremely expensive She wouldn&039;t be surprised if he hadn&039;t paid at least a grand for it given the way it wasthat he could afford toys like this? And just how did he fit everything in that Mary Poppins backpack of his?

Grateful that it was obviously bigger than it looked, she took the helmet from him and sht of her in his favorite riding jacket It looked alien and adorable on her Definitely not her usual style and at the same time ithis clothes She re brother&039;s jacket as she pushed her glasses up on her nose, then braided her hair to fall down her back so that the ouldn&039;t tangle it He waited for her to put her boots on before she was ready to leave

Daely beautiful Those brown eyes seared his soul and aze And if he didn&039;t get her out of this house soon, he was going to scoop her up in his arms, take her upstairs to her bed and show her exactly where his true talents lay

Pushing that thought away before it got him into trouble, he took her down to the street where his sleek black and gold ht It looked like a nasty predator that tore up the road and made him feel a freedo he loveddown the interstate like a bullet

On that bike, his soul felt free and nookay

"What in the world is that?" she asked as she cocked her head to look it over

"Custom built Hayabusa-Turbo," he said as he pulled his helmet off the handlebars and put it on over his head

Tory hesitated as she realized that the bike had been built for only one rider But truthfully, the thing was gorgeous "I don&039;t think we&039;re both going to fit"

"Sure ill" He flipped the tail of it up to show her the custoas tank with custom-made clips to hold it into place Then he straddled the bike with an undeniable race that said he was more at home here than anywhere else she&039;d ever seen him He closed the shield on his helmet and pulled a key out of his pocket Then he secured his long coat around hi innatelyFierce

Most of all, he was hotter than hell and made her want to strip him naked and throw him down on her lawn in front of God and everyone as shefor mercy

"Hop on, koukla"

Her heart warmed at the Greek endearment that meant doll Tory was a little e bike that had been built for obvious speed She slung her leg over and wrapped her arms around his lean waist as he started it

Oh yeah baby She could stay like this for eternity Snuggled up against his hot body as the clean scent of hi better to be found

"Hold tight" His voice cah an intercom in her helmet

She did and he squealed out, into the street Her heart sped up at the way he rode as if hellbent for Lucifer But honestly, she loved it There were two truths about her-Things could never be old enough to please her and nothing could ever go fast enough to scare her She loved history and she loved speed

"You do this a lot?" she asked

"Every chance I get I live to ride"

Wow, he&039;d actually ad That was a first Maybe she should ht left her as he flew over a bump that hed at the feeling

Ash shter in his ears He&039;d been afraid at first that doing that would scare her But as Pam had noted, she was fearless, and it softened his heart for her even more

So did the sensation of her arainst his back Now if she&039;d only drop one of those hands a few inches down to the sudden bulge he had for her, he&039;d be open for business Unfortunately, he wasn&039;t that lucky

He growled at the thought and urged the bike faster

Tory didn&039;t say anything else as they sped over to Kenner, to a grade school gym in what had to be record time-thank God she didn&039;t have to pay his insurance bill if he went this fast all the tiin to fathom the number of tickets he must have collected-it was a wonder thehere?" she asked as he put the side stand down

"Garabbed his sunglasses out of his backpack before he removed his helmet

Tory didn&039;t ed the hellasses For some reason she couldn&039;t name, it bothered her that he was so self-conscious over his eyes And yet at the same time, that one vulnerable self-doubt made hiorgeous and confident be that shy over so his backpack over one shoulder, he carried his hely The kids had to be between seven and nine in age

Tory&039;s heart ht of the to high five hihts She kneas tall, but right then, he really looked like a giant They surrounded hihed "All right, guys, you need to practice while you can I don&039;t want to see any traveling today or fouls Got it?"

They nodded and shouted before they went back to their ends of the court

Tory shook her head as she closed the distance between them "You&039;re just full of surprises, aren&039;t you?"

He frowned "I&039;estured toward the kids "I&039;ined you doing on a Saturday afternoon"

"Ash is one of the best refs we got He&039;s always fair and the kids love hiht, older African-Aroomed mustache

Ash held his hand out to hi?"

Perry shook his hand and patted him on the arm "Glad you could make it We had two refs call in sick and was afraid we&039;d have to cancel the ga us out"

"Anyti the kids dribble"

Perry laughed as he playfully elbowed Tory in the side "And he doesn&039;t mean the balls either"

Tory s it over his shoulder "Perry Stallings irl finally I was beginning to wonder if he&039;d ever settle down on one female"

Ash snorted "Ah, you think too h"

Ash shook his head as a tall, well-built blond man approached the but a pain in my ass"

"You too" Talon hitched a thumb over his shoulder "Was that your Busa outside?"

"Yeah"

"Sweet Anytio, call ly before he introduced them "Talon this is Perry and Tory"

Talon shook their hands in turn and held onto Tory&039;s as he saw the helmet she held by its strap in her left hand He arched an inquisitive brow "Matching Busa helmets?"

"I came with Ash," Tory explained

He turned a curious eye to Ash

Ash wiped the corner of hismore out of it than that"

"Whatever you say, T-Rex Whatever you say" there was enough doubt in that tone to fill the Superdoether "Well, now that the two of you are here, I&039;ll let the coaches know You get settled and we&039;ll be underway in just a few"

Ash looked past Talon to the bleachers behind hiently took Tory&039;s aret you situated"

Tory looked at his shoulder where his ever-present backpack was snuggled close "You going to trust ic backpack?"

He smiled "Sure I knohere you live and I&039;ve seen where you sleep" He sat her down on the bleachers just as an exuberant, voluptuous brunette ca pink skirt and tunic that was covered with a painted deniht for Ash and placed a quick kiss on this cheek "How have you been, baby?"

"Decent" He indicated Tory with a tilt of his head "Sunshine meet my friend Tory Sunshine&039;s Talon&039;s wife"

Tory smiled as she shook Sunshine&039;s hand "The tall blond who can&039;t shoot hoops?"

Sunshine&039;s laugh was infectious as she looked at Talon proudly "That&039;s my baby Ain&039;t he beautiful?" She raised her hand at her husband "Go Talon, show thehed as Talon made a shot that fell far from its mark

"Well, maybe next time," Sunshine whispered under her breath before she shouted "Good try, baby, good try! Next tirin with Tory "Yeah and on that note lethimself further" He dropped his coat, helmet and backpack at her feet

Tory s a silver whistle out of his back pocket before he put it on over his head and blew it Talon turned toward hiesture at him that luckily only Talon, Tory and possibly Sunshine would recognize as extrelared at hiave hiled the kids toward their starting places

Sunshine sat down beside her and pulled a bottle of water out of her giant organic wicker bag "So how long have you known Ash?"

Tory watched the grace Ash showed as he moved fluidly around the kids ere so tiny compared to him She didn&039;t knohy, but he re to train theht you here?"

Tory shrugged, not really understanding his coood friend of ht Ash was afraid to leave me alone"

Horror filled Sunshine&039;s dark brown eyes as she reached out to touch Tory&039;s arm "Oh my God, sweetieare you okay?"

Tory sed as she thought about Dirief overwhelmed her He&039;d always been the jokester of their crew Full of life and preciously sweet She was really going to ood-natured taunts "Not really But I&039;ht?"

Sunshine took her hand into hers and offered her a kind s, you call us Talon and I live outside of town and can be anywhere pretty quickly because he drives like a lunatic Night or day, you need so, you call"

The warers and yet Sunshine didn&039;t care in the least "Thank you Ash is lucky to have you guys as friends"

Sunshine waved her words away as Ash blew the whistle and separated two of the boys ere trying to bite each other S a smile that warmed her heart, he tucked one of the boys under his arm as he moved him away from the other one before he set him on his feet

"I don&039;t know," Sunshine said wistfully "I think we&039;reto feel lucky that she&039;d h to be honest, she wished they&039;dher "How long have you guys known him?"

"A few years for o way back"

Tory looked at the tall blond as probably no more than two or three years older than Ash His short curly hair eaty and he had two tiny braids that fell frolad to ? Ash never really talks about the people he knows"

"Yeah, he&039;s brutally evasive"

Tory nodded in agreement "Good description"

Sunshine offered her a bottle of water "But even so, you have to love Ash He&039;s one of the few truly reliable people you&039;ll everthe water from her hand, Tory watched as Ash showed Talon how to shoot a basket during a tihed and shook his head when Talon screwed it up again This was the first ti fun Most of the ti anyone to have any kind of power over him There was only one reason she could think of that he&039;d be like that

"Ash had a hard childhood, didn&039;t he?"

Sunshine frowned "I don&039;t know I&039;ve heard s froed and rich"

Yeah there was sonified as if he were accustos in the worldlike the handsewn jacket she wore "He does seem to have a lot of money"

Sunshine snorted "Oh no, hon What he has now, he earns Believe me But no one I know-and I know a lot of people who&039;ve known hi about his past or his family He just refuses to talk about it"

Which meant it had to be brutal Why else would so She was forever thinking about hers and s The fact that Ash had closed himself off entirely from the subject said it all

They were sources of pain for hiain Ash was actually adorable as he ran alongside the kids who could barely play They bumped into each other and tripped onto the court Ash would run to make sure they were okay before he picked them up and set the quite like it But they were all cute Especially Ash in all his Goth glory

Sunshine dug out a bag of cinnamon flavored oatcakes "Want so

As they snacked, a mother and a small boy in a wheelchair caariently stroked his back He was an almost exact physical duplicate of hisof freckles over the bridge of his nose

Tory scooted down to sit closer to hi her hand out to him "My name&039;s Tory"

He looked at his mother to make sure it was okay to talk to her

"His narinned at hi a boy nah his tears "That was me! I kicked his butt!"

"Toby," his e What have I told you about that?"

He sat taller in his chair "Well, I did"

Tory introduced herself and Sunshine to Toby&039;s mother "So are you two here to watch Ash?"

Toby shook his head "My brother Zack is nu the boy with brown hair, "he&039;s the best player on his tea over His cheeks were mottled with red froh five hilee "Can we play?" he asked Ash

Ash looked at Trish "Is it okay?"