Part 28: Sweetheart

"How did you get in?"

Ash leaned back on the couch, resting his arms on the armrests. "This is a comfortable piece. I wish I had one like it."

"Last night. How did you get in?" Devyn kept his hands in his pockets. "Did she let you in?"

"What do I do to have you buy this for me?" Ash looked up.

"You are in my fucking house, so I'll be asking the fucking questions, Traceigh." Devyn spoke through gritted teeth making Ash sigh.

"I doubt she told you that." Ash placed one leg over the other and adjusted his watch. His majestic gesture, one that Devyn remembered was always done by Ash to suggest who was in power.

"I know her more than you ever will." Devyn relaxed his poise. He wasn't about to get into a fight with Ash. Probability of wining was barely over zero point one out of hundred. "I don't need words to know what she has to say."

Ash gave him a little smile. "I find it beautiful that despite the name change, you are still you." He got to his feet and brought his mouth down to Devyn's ear. "You don't know how much that excites me." Ash paused for a second before walking away.

He sucked in his breath as heat oozing from Ash sent heat waves down the rest of his body.

Devyn had expected some degree of change over the period of four years too, but apparently it was all wistful thoughts. His ex-best friend still had the same effect on him like before, making the four years apart suddenly feel like four hours.

Four whole hours of missing and craving. Four whole hours of regrets and wishes. Four hours of hard work.

"She knows you are a wanted criminal." Devyn quickly collected himself. "She'll view you negatively now."

"I highly doubt that." Ash said examining several pictures of Adey and her brother which were hung up on the wall.

"What did you tell her? "

"Nothing false." Ash turned with an innocent shrug. "It just appears I know my girlfriend better than the gentleman that has been living with her for quite some time now."

Ash looked back to the single picture of Devyn Kaniesky on the study table. "Her brother has a little mole on the left side of the lower lip. You don't. I wonder what she'd think if she noticed the detail."

Devyn swallowed. "What do you want?"

Slowly turning with an astonished look on his face, Ash smiled. "I haven't pointed that out in expectation of a reward but seeing how generous you are with your favors, who am I to turn you down?" he grinned and walked towards Devyn.

Placing his hand on his shoulder, Ash said. "Now, as you must have known, I may have a few dogs sniffing at my tail." His fingers slipped through Devyn's hair and started ever so carefully and more so softly massaging his scalp. "Given that this is your territory, why don't you pull some strings and screw some bolts and get these dogs off my ass, huh?"

Devyn pressed his eyelids together.

Ash moved away and returned to his position on the couch. "You must be laughing at me for asking for such a small favor, but I'm one man that doesn't ask too much of the hand that feeds me."

"No." Devyn said. He couldn't do it. "That would connect you to me. It would leak and may lead to further investigations. Nothing is going to make me destroy the life I've created for myself."

Sitting upright in a single fluid movement, Ash raised his face so that he was looking up into Devyn's face. "The feeble life you've created here has to go sooner or later, Rhys. You have no control over it."

"It may seem so, but my confidence radar is high." Devyn brought his face down so that it was only an inch away from Ash's. "Poof, and there goes something you weren't expecting. Apparently changes do show up eventually. "

Ash held his gaze without uttering a word nor moving a muscle. Moving an inch closer, Devyn placed a light kiss on Ash's forehead and smiled at him. "I'm going out sweetheart, make your way out the same way you did this morning."

He walked away.

Before Devyn could reach the door, Ash pounced on him and grabbed his wrist. Devyn's head hit the wall with a loud crack as he was pinned on the wall beside the door, both his wrists pressed above his head by a single powerful hand.

The position had tons of suppressed memories threatening to invade Devyn's conscious mind.

Devyn stared into the familiar face which was staring at him with as much hatred as he could think possible. He knew he had hurt his friend before and if given the chance, Devyn wouldn't hesitate to return to the past and right the errors he had made.

But he also knew his friend; it was impossible to convince Traceigh Landauer once his mind was made up on a certain issue. And as it was, Traceigh had had about four years to make up his mind and conclude that he had been unjustly betrayed and his enemy should be destroyed.

Therefore, Devyn had no choice but put up a little resistance. A little resistance for himself and a little ass-licking for the little sister.

Ash brought his face closer so that he was nose to nose with him. "Sweetheart," He sneered after a whole minute of glaring before releasing him and striding out the door.

Devyn remained in the pose he had been left without moving. He counted to ten before releasing his breath and only moved when he reached twenty.

He then rushed to the drinks cabinet and gulped down a whole bottle of wine until he nearly feinted due to suffocation. It was only as he wiped away the spilled wine from his mouth when he perceived the sting of the liquid at the back of his throat.

Never mind.

It was nothing compared to the anxiety of having an angry Ash around.

It was also nothing compared to what an absent angry Ash was capable of doing.

Ash was able to evade the police well on his own, making his favor more unsettling. He had hoped Devyn would refuse and Devyn had obediently refused.

However, Devyn knew that didn't guarantee leniency.