Ties That Bind by Elizabeth Blair Page A

against the mosaic tile, wishing that a shower would sober him since he was nowhere near being able to relax enough to sleep. He considered another drink but, as he glanced at himself in the mirror as he dried himself, his haggard appearance told him it was time to lay off some of the alcohol. His black hair was shining and he inspected it closely as he usually did, every day expecting gray hairs to start popping up on his head. They hadn’t yet but somehow he guessed Jimmie or Ashli would be able to put some there for him. He was reaching for his razor, planning on getting rid of the stubble he’d failed to take care of over the last few days when he heard the soft click behind him.
    “Mitch?” Ashli’s voice was soft behind him, and he eyed her suspiciously from the mirror.
    “Are you all right?”
    “Your brother didn’t kill me if that’s what you mean,” he said moving to the area behind the door so he could remove the towel around his waist and pull on some pants.
    “I warned you he takes my safety very seriously,” she murmured, sinking onto the bed as she waited for him to come out of the bathroom. “I try to get him to stop but it’s been that way since we were kids. Since Teresa-”
    “Teresa?” he queried, taking a seat across from her.
    “Our sister. A few years older than me, younger than Jimmie,” she shrugged. “It’s complicated and not at all the reason I came here tonight.”
    “Why did you come here tonight?”
    “To thank you. To not be alone. To have someone to talk to,” she shrugged with each statement. “Take your choice.”
    He chuckled, still intoxicated enough not to be able to contain it. “I doubt you are ever alone unless you chose to be, Ashli.”
    “Are you drunk?” she asked, her eyes narrowing as she stood up to walk around him. He gave a slow nod and she laughed. “You and Jimmie were drinking together?  Is he drunk too?”
    “I’d imagine he has already passed out,” he answered.
    She sent him an appraising glance. “You lie. He gets drunk with no one.”
    “He made an exception.”
    She dropped down to sit in front of him, her hands resting lightly on his knees. “You have joined his family.”
    Even drunk, her words caught him off guard. They were spoken not with fear or respect but something that it took him a moment to place… relief. She was relieved that he had joined Jimmie’s family. Not their family but Jimmie’s family.
    He stood up, skirting around her to pour himself a glass of icy water. The crystal clinked in his hands as he tried to isolate the muddled anecdotes floating through his brain. How she bailed him, a complete stranger, out of jail for no apparent reason. How she threw he and Jimmie together at every opportunity. How she hadn’t been in danger her entire adult life until the one night she happened to be out with him. And now, the relief she was exhibiting as if she had succeeded at something no one else was aware of. He tried to shake off the nagging theory but the investigator side of him wouldn’t let it go.
    He lifted his eyes to the gilt edged mirror, watching her intently. She was loosening the belt on her red silk robe, fanning herself as if the temperature in the room had suddenly jumped a hundred degrees. Her negligee was a matching color but entirely lace, the fabric leaving little to his imagination. He could easily be taken in, watching her hands trace lightly against the firm roundness of her breasts. Were he anyone else he might have been fooled that her moves were truly innocent, not meant to draw him to her side. But he was not anyone else and as captivating as the idea of having her body sliding against his was, he would not allow himself to be taken before knowing the truth.
    “We were lucky last night,” he managed, his voice husky as she moved closer to his side, her fingers trailing along his arm as she reached to take his glass and have a sip for herself.
    “Oh, they wouldn’t have hurt me,” she