LET ME BREATHE, page 2
“I ain’t got no idea what you’re talking about.”
Chester aimed the shotgun at the center of her chest. “Give me one good reason not to blow you away right now.”
Ashley’s pulse quickened.
“Because you’re not stupid,” she said, struggling to keep the fear from her tone. “Too many people know that we’re out here.”
In truth, only her father and younger brother, Shane, knew that she and Kyle had traveled to Chester’s farm. She hoped that was enough.
Chester stood still for a moment, seeming to ponder the situation. Finally, he pointed the muzzle of his weapon toward the ground.
“State your piece then,” he said.
Ashley forced herself to appear calm. “People around town are saying that you ordered the fire at my family’s auto shop.”
The blaze had been set in the lobby area of Hope’s Automotive Repair a few days after Troy’s death. Although the shop had been closed at the time, Ashley’s cousins had been working in the garage. Fortunately, they’d managed to escape without injury.
A smile raised the corners of Chester’s lips. “I ain’t never put much stock in rumors.”
“Well, it’s not just gossip that brought me here,” she stated. “Do you see the white paper sticking out of my pocket?” She motioned to the left breast of her jacket. “I’d like to show it to you.”
“All right.”
Keeping her movements slow and precise, Ashley slid the note from her pocket and unfolded it. She held the paper up so that Chester could see the block-style letters, printed all in caps.
It read: YOU WILL DIE SOON.
“One of your family members left this message on the windshield of my car.”
The note was actually a photocopy. The original had been sent to the TBI lab for analysis. But no fingerprints—other than Ashley’s—and no DNA had been recovered.
Chester laughed. “Is that so?”
Ashley narrowed her eyes, hiding the fact that her heart quivered. “This game that you’re playing needs to stop,” she said, her voice firm. “I can make your life just as miserable as you’ve tried to make mine.”
He snorted. “You threatening me, girl?”
She realized that her actions could have dangerous consequences. But as it stood, her life was already at risk.
“No, I’m just stating facts. You don’t grow up in Mettler Ridge without learning who the players are in the chop-shop network. I can have a team of TBI agents here by this afternoon. Agents with a warrant to search your farm. First, they’ll tear this place apart. And then they’ll follow your every move like a shadow. They’ll scrutinize your bank accounts, monitor each one of your financial transactions, and record all of your phone conversations from now until the day you die.”
She let the warning hang in the air for a moment, giving it time to sink into Chester’s brain.
Ashley continued, “Or … you and I can make peace. If you agree to leave my family and me alone, then I’ll leave you alone.”
It was doubtful that the TBI would ever find cause to investigate the chop-shop network that plagued Laurel County, but Chester had no way of knowing that. He only knew that Ashley had been employed as a special agent—that she had connections.
Chester stroked the fore stock of his shotgun, his mouth set in a thin line.
“Seeing as how Troy was fixing to kill that woman when you shot him, and how your daddy’s shop burned and all … well, I figure you and me are square.”
Although Ashley felt a small sense of relief, her pulse continued to race. She was still on enemy ground. Anything could happen.
“That’s good to hear,” she said.
Chester nodded. “But let me set you straight,” he began. “That message on your car didn’t come from no Luckadoo. That’s from somebody else you wronged.”
Ashley’s breath caught in her throat.
Someone else?
In a roundabout way, Chester had admitted that his family started the fire at the auto shop. Why would he lie about the note? There would be no point.
“Are you sure that one of your nephews or cousins didn’t write the message?”
A smirk crossed his face. “They don’t do nothing without my say so.”
Ashley believed him, which meant that she had another enemy to worry about.
“Well, I won’t take up any more of your time,” she said, backing toward her sedan.
“There’s one more thing, gal,” he said, his voice gruff.
Chester stomped down the porch steps, the shotgun firm in his grip. He came to a halt on the dirt pathway with less than a yard separating him from Ashley.
“We’re even for now,” he said. “But if you go messing with my kin again…”
Chester met her gaze, his eyes hard as steel.
“I will kill you.”
Ashley’s blood ran cold. She knew the patriarch would make good on his threat.
She nodded at Kyle that it was time to go.
Ashley climbed back into her sedan and buckled her seatbelt. She glanced at the clock on the dashboard. There was no time left for her to investigate the sender of the note today. She had to get back to Briarwood.
Ashley had an appointment to keep.
CHAPTER TWO
Ashley’s sedan zoomed up the concrete driveway leading to her recently rented garage apartment. As she swerved past the main house—a fifty-year-old brick Georgian style belonging to her landlords—she caught sight of the familiar white Toyota parked beneath the bare limbs of a dormant oak that grew at the end of the drive.
How long had he been waiting?
Although she’d broken the speed limit rushing back from Laurel County, the return trip to her home in Briarwood had still spanned almost two full hours. She’d arrived fifteen minutes late for her lunch date.
Ashley tapped the button, raising the door, and coasted into the garage. Involved in a complicated TBI undercover case, Special Agent Daniel Lansing’s free time had been sparse during the last few weeks. She hoped that he wasn’t pushing the clock today, and that her tardiness hadn’t irritated him.
Flipping open the visor mirror, she pulled the scrunchie from her ponytail, letting her long, blonde hair cascade across her shoulders. Then she added a coat of sheer color to her lips. Unlike Wyatt, the agent who’d been her most recent TBI partner, Daniel had never scrutinized her appearance. He’d made it clear that he thought she was just as beautiful dressed in jeans and hiking boots as she was decked out in a cocktail dress and heels. But still, she wanted to look her best when she was with him.
The mid-day sun warmed the top of Ashley’s head as she strode out the double door onto the driveway. The temperature had climbed to fifty-nine degrees, unseasonably balmy for the last week of November in middle Tennessee.
But despite the crystalline sky and sunshine, Ashley’s soul shivered.
Who had left the sinister warning on her sedan’s windshield?
She’d been at home at the time the message was delivered—her car tucked in her garage. That meant the author of the note not only knew where she lived, but they’d managed to get in and out without being noticed.
Were they deft enough to break into her upstairs apartment as well?
Daniel had been at Ashley’s place when she’d found the message, and he’d agreed that the Luckadoos were the likely culprits. But there was no evidence to back up the theory. She’d neglected to tell him that the main reason for her trip that morning concerned the note. As it stood, he thought her purpose for driving to Laurel County at the crack of dawn was to visit her father and brothers. And she had.
As she rounded the corner of the garage, Ashley spotted Daniel perched on a low step of the wooden staircase that led up to her apartment. His blue eyes locked with hers. Ashley’s heart fluttered. Was she in love? Or was her reaction due to the fact that the relationship was still so new?
She’d developed strong feelings for the agent months earlier while helping him with the Troy Luckadoo case. But because they were working together, she’d known better than to complicate the situation. There were dozens of horror stories about things that had gone wrong—about lives that had been lost—when partnered cops allowed themselves to become romantically involved. When agents let their emotions cloud their judgement, they often made fatal mistakes. So, she’d hidden her feelings and pushed them to the side, convinced that she and Daniel would never be more than just good friends.
But happily, she’d been wrong.
Ashley had been surprised to learn that Daniel shared her feelings. And now that they were no longer partners, they were free to explore a personal relationship.
“I’m really sorry that I’m late,” she said, leaning over to tousle his dark brown hair.
His dimples sprang to life as a smile spread across his face.
“Not a problem.”
He grabbed her hand, entwining his fingers with hers and pulled her down next to him on the step. The subtle scent of his cologne stirred her desire to kiss him. But for now, she’d settle for a close snuggle.
“How’s your family?” he asked.
Daniel was the first man she’d ever dated who had managed to win the approval of her father and brothers.
“They’re all doing well, and they said to tell you hello.”
He studied her face as though he knew there was something bothering her. Something she hadn’t told him.
“And?” he prodded.
“Chester Luckadoo claims that his family didn’t leave the note on my car windshield.”
“According to who?”
Ashley sighed, wishing she could relay the entire story. But she feared that in return, she’d receive a lecture about how she’d needlessly put herself in danger by venturing onto Chester’s farm. Daniel had freaked when he’d first read the note, calling in a TBI forensics team to dust her car and garage for prints. And he’d personally walked from door to door, grilling her neighbors to find out if they’d seen anyone suspicious. How would he react if he knew that she’d confronted the supposed author of the veiled death threat?
“Kyle heard the words come out of Chester’s own mouth,” she said.
It wasn’t a lie. She was just failing to mention that she’d witnessed the patriarch’s denial as well.
“Do you believe him?”
She nodded. “Kyle is convinced that Chester was telling the truth. Chester even said that he considers the score to be even between our families now.”
Daniel clenched his bottom lip between his teeth.
“That leaves Ethan Barrett’s relatives as the prime suspects,” he said.
The mere mention of the serial killer’s name still struck a chord of anxiety in Ashley’s soul. As a headstrong teenager, she’d rebelled against her father and married Ethan. Soon after, she’d discovered his true nature and divorced him. And less than a year ago, when he’d escaped from prison and embarked on a murder spree, she’d killed him in self-defense.
Visions of that night still haunted her dreams. Ashley would give almost anything to go back in time. To change what had happened. Evil had saturated Ethan’s core, but she’d never wanted to kill him.
“I can’t think of anyone else who would want me dead.”
Concern clouded Daniel’s eyes. “Will you do me a favor?”
There wasn’t much that she’d deny him.
“What?”
“I realize you miss your father,” he began. “And Kyle and Shane. But I wish you’d stay out of Laurel County for a while.”
She understood that Daniel was worried, but he was overlooking an important fact.
“Whoever left me that note was here in Briarwood,” she reminded him. “And I can’t just stop living my life—you know that. But I can promise you that I’ll be careful.”
He stared at her, obviously convinced that if she traveled back to Laurel County, she’d be inviting trouble.
And he probably already suspected that she’d spoken to Chester herself. Ashley decided it would be best to change the subject before he started asking questions.
“So, where are you taking me for lunch?” she asked, rising from the stairs.
“How about Fiore’s?”
The Italian grill located in the heart of Briarwood had become one of her favorite spots.
Daniel led the way, opening the passenger door of his TBI-issued Toyota, confiscated for use as an undercover vehicle. Although he had let the matter drop, his demeanor revealed that the threat to her safety still troubled him. Ashley realized that it might be time to remind Daniel that she’d made it through the same rigorous police training that he’d endured, graduating the academy at the top of her class. But even more important, she’d gained real-life experience in self-defense. With weapons—and without—she’d learned how to fight.
As Daniel slid into the driver’s seat, she grasped his hand.
“Do you remember the day you told Shane that I was tougher than steel?”
Daniel had paid her the compliment after they’d wrapped up the Troy Luckadoo case.
He looked at her and nodded. “Yeah.”
“Did you mean it?”
She hated to use his own words against him, but she felt that she had no choice. That it was the only way to make her point.
“Ashley…”
“I know that you’re always going to be concerned about me, the same way that I’m concerned about you when you’re on a case, but I need you to show some faith—to trust me to take care of myself. Like I’ve always trusted you.”
Their romantic relationship would be doomed to fail if she was forced to second-guess her every move, wondering whether her actions would stress out Daniel. Even now, she felt uncomfortable hiding the fact that she’d visited Chester’s farm. She decided the omission would be her last one. From now on, she would be honest with Daniel about everything. If they were meant for each other, then he’d be able to handle it.
A weak smile lifted the corners of his lips. “Okay,” he said. “Fair enough.”
His acquiescence seemed genuine. Ashley was relieved that he understood her feelings.
Daniel possessed many qualities that she admired. He’d proven to be honest, generous, considerate, and compassionate. And they shared similar tastes when it came to movies, music, and books. Not to mention the fact that he was one of the handsomest men she’d ever met. But although Daniel had dominated her thoughts for months, Ashley was weary where love was concerned. She’d been burned before.
When she’d first met Daniel, Ashley had been engaged to someone else. A man she thought she knew. She’d once believed Brett Holbrook would love her until the day she died. But the man she’d fallen in love with didn’t really exist. And she’d found out the hard way.
Daniel shifted the Toyota’s transmission into gear and swung a U-turn in the driveway.
“Speaking of cases,” he began, “what time are you meeting with Brenda?”
“Three o’clock.”
Ashley fidgeted with the strap of her seatbelt. The reminder of her appointment with the deputy director of the TBI filled her with nervous energy.
“What’s your decision?”
Although she’d loved working as a temporary agent, and Brenda’s written offer of a permanent position with the TBI had come in at a higher salary than she’d expected, Ashley still wasn’t sure that it was the right move.
Maybe the Briarwood PD would be a better fit. If she worked for the local department, she’d never have to leave town. And she’d have more time to spend with Daniel and her family.
“I’m hoping that I’ll know by the time I get there.”
Rolling to a stop at a red light, Daniel met her gaze.
“You should take the job,” he said. “You’re perfect for it.”
“Brenda’s letter mentioned that I’d be partnered with Wyatt Clark again.”
She knew that he wasn’t a fan of Wyatt’s. Right before he’d confessed his feelings for her, Daniel had admitted to being jealous during her previous partnership with the other agent.
“I know.”
“Then you don’t have a problem with us working together?”
The light flashed green, and Daniel directed his attention back toward the street.
“Do I wish you had a different partner? Yes. And Wyatt’s reputation as a player is well-known, so it’s almost guaranteed that he’ll hit on you. When it happens, I won’t like it. But that’s no reason to turn down the job.”
Daniel tapped the steering wheel, taking his eyes off the road long enough to look at her.
“I trust you, Ashley,” he stated. “In more ways than one.”
His declaration warmed her heart. And she could tell he believed his words to be true—at that moment. But she couldn’t help remembering how Daniel had acted when she’d previously been partnered with Wyatt. Tension had permeated their relationship to the point that Ashley had wondered whether her friendship with Daniel had reached its end.
Wyatt was an attractive man with his sandy hair, hazel eyes, and muscular frame, but he was far from Ashley’s type. In fact, the two had rubbed each other the wrong way from the minute they’d met. But the friction between her and Wyatt had failed to calm Daniel’s suspicions. Once she was working with the other agent again—spending hours alone with Wyatt—would Daniel’s jealousy resurface?
Would taking the permanent position with the TBI ultimately lead to the destruction of their romantic relationship?
Ashley sighed and stared out the passenger window.
She knew that she had to make a decision. And time was running out. She just prayed that when she met with Brenda, the right answer would hit her.
CHAPTER THREE
As she stepped off the elevator onto the third floor of the TBI satellite office in Briarwood, Ashley rehearsed the planned speech in her mind.
I really appreciate your generous offer, but at this time, I don’t feel the position is right for me.
She just hoped the words would sound better when they actually broke from her lips. If there was one thing she’d learned about Deputy Director Brenda Huddleston, it was the fact that the woman hated wasting time. So, Ashley should make her refusal short and direct. Maybe it would have been better if she’d replied in writing instead of agreeing to the in-person meeting. But she hadn’t made her final decision to turn down the job offer until a few moments ago.
