Edge of Ashes (Sons of Ash Motorcycle Club) by Brynn O'Connor Page A

jeans
and a tee shirt, not my bathrobe.
    “What’s going on Kari?”
    “It was a dream I guess.”
    “What? That whole thing about the blowup
doll and the home movie; that was a dream?”
    “No…that was real. I just dreamed you were
here with Adam just before you woke me up. I wish that other stuff was a
dream.”
    “Who would want to hurt you?” She asks. Her
face is full of genuine concern. She really cares about me and has been a great
friend. I can’t believe I let that thing with Adam get between us.
    “So tell me again what happened.” Jenny
says.
    “Wait, first…are we good?”
    I catch myself holding my breath anticipating
her answer.
    “Of course we are. You think I’d let anyone
come between us. My hospital’s got me working double shifts and I just have had
no time or energy to even pick up the phone. And besides, I knew you’d call me
if something was really wrong. I love you and I always will.”
    Then she gives me a hug and everything is
right again in the Universe of Kari and I finally feel like I can deal with
whoever is stalking me. She snuggles up beside me and I begin filling her in
about everything that has happened in my life since we parted ways.
    “You actually shot a gun?” She asks.
    “Your boyfriend shot you in the head?” She
says.
    “Your ex beat up Dr. Shanahan?”
    It’s all true.” I finally reply.
    “And I thought I had a tough week.” She
concludes.
    What should have taken twenty minutes to
recount took the better part of an hour thanks to her questions. Now I just
have to figure out a plan to stay safe. I’ll have to change the locks in case
whoever broke in found my key hidden under a fake rock near the front door. I
guess it was kind of obvious but I really never worried about someone even
wanting to get into my house in the first place. A quick check of the front
door fails to yield any clues as to how someone could have gotten in. If they
forced their way in there would be damage to the door and lock I guess. That
means they either picked the lock or found the key. A locksmith is due out here
in the morning. While I’m home I’ll make sure to keep the chain on. Jenny
volunteers to keep me company for a few days until I feel safer but I refuse. I
don’t want her to get a target on her back on account of me. It’s bad enough
having my sister here for another couple days. I decide not to tell her about
the intrusion or the doll at work. That would just worry her unnecessarily.
    Jenny helps me put my room back together
and when that’s done I start to feel a little normal again. I’ve always been
pretty good about pushing things out of my mind when I don’t want to deal with
them. Jenny sticks around until my sister gets home from work then she leaves
to get a bit to eat and go to her work where she is doing an extra half shift
for a nurse who had to leave due to illness.
    As little sis and I sit down to dinner I
finally feel good. She’s in an upbeat mood and it’s infectious. In no time
we’re laughing and joking around like we used to when we were kids. Finally I
am back to happy!

CHAPTER NINE
Brick

     
     
    When I finally get around to telling Adam
about the doll bit he reacts as expected; he goes ballistic. I purposefully
told him while I was on shift to minimize the fall out. I asked him to meet me
for lunch but I really could not have eaten a thing. I can only imagine how he
would have reacted had I told him about the DVD. Adam seems to be a sensitive,
kind person, but Adam mad is Adam bad; and it’s not a side to him that I like
seeing. I guess I should be glad he’s mad on my behalf and not mad at me. Of
course that begs the question, what happens when he gets mad at me? That’s
bound to happen at some point. This is a lot of hassle for some guy I don’t
even know I want as my boyfriend. Why can’t I just be satisfied with Mike the
doctor I work with? He and I have worked together for five years now and he is
a well- respected ER physician.