Page 36 of Aspen's Defense

"Good choice."

He disappears down the hallway.

"Where are you going?" I call after him.

"Gotta piss!"

I shake my head, laughing. Giant doesn't ask for permission or forgiveness. He just does what he wants to do.

I start prowling through bags, pulling stuff out. Maybe Jack did send me a little bit too much stuff.

Footsteps sound behind me.

"Thanks for carrying everything in. I'll let you know when the scones are finished."

"Aspen."

I wheel around at the unfamiliar voice. My gaze lands on Troy, and my hands go lax. The container of blueberries plummets to the floor as shards of ice grow in my veins.

Chapter Twelve

Aspen

IstareatTroy,not breathing. He's here. Oh my God. He found me. He's going to kill me to keep me from identifying him.

I'll never see Noah again. I'll never get to hold the babies he's dying to have. Never own my own bakery. Never do any of the things I've put off, waiting until later. There won'tbea later.

Tears well up from my soul, threatening to drown me in grief. But I don't have time to cry for all the things that could have--should have--been. If there's a chance of making it out of this. I have to find it.

For Noah.

For Nash.

Forme.

My mind wheels and spins, trying to think my way out of this.

"I've already identified you," I say, voice shaking but firm. "The sheriff has photos of you and Silar fleeing the scene. Don't make it worse for yourself and throw away any hope of leniency."

"He found the camera?" Troy asks, his voice soft. Something almost like relief washes through his obsidian eyes. "That's good. I was worried he wouldn't."

I stare at him, uncertain.

He reads my confusion and smiles…attempts to smile. It's more of a grimace than anything. "You think I looked directly at that camera by accident?"

"Isn't that usually what happens?" I bite my lip as soon as the sarcastic response lands between us. Jeez. Why can't I ever just quit while I'm ahead?

Troy's lips curve into the semblance of a smile. "Point taken," he murmurs. "But I wanted to be caught."

"Why?" I demand, not sure I believe him. Not sure what to believe at this point. Why in the world would anyone want to get caught committing a felony?

"I wasn't supposed to be there in the first place." He lifts his hand, making me jump slightly. He notices but doesn't comment. He simply drops it back to his side. "Silar and I were friends a long time ago. We were not good kids. I got my shit together. He didn't. But before I got my shit together, I did some things I'm not proud of. Silar knows everything. He was there for all of it."

Where is Giant? Surely he's done peeing by now. I desperately want to look toward the hall to see if he's got a plan, but I don't. If Troy doesn't know he's here, I don't want to tip him off.

"So you felt like you owed it to him to break into the shop?" I ask, trying to keep him talking.

"Fuck no," he growls. "He came to me and said he needed help with something. I refused, but he threatened to release some very unfortunate photos." Troy sighs. "I agreed to go with him to get the goddamn photos back. I didn't know he had a gun until he tried to shoot you."