Ninety Four
Ash
I had to admit, having a burner phone ring in the predawn hours awoke me with a start. I fell out of bed shaking. Ayden had never called me at 5 AM before. I only imagined the worst. The Feds were there busting him, hauling him off to prison not before indicting me for aiding and abetting.
Ash, I have big news. Come today if you can.
I rubbed my eyes as I read his text. I felt a twinge of fear tickling in the pit of my stomach. What big news? Ever since Amber’s brother was murdered, I developed a sickening fear whenever unexpected news came from Ayden. God knows what it could be this time.
Snatching a blue V necked t-shirt from the drawer, I yanked it over my head. Pulling a pair of tight well-worn jeans on, I bent to waken Amber.
“What?” She jumped as I gently shook her.
“I have to go see Ayden.”
She rolled over throwing her arm over her head. “It’s not the first of the month yet.”
“He texted me.”
Alarmed, Amber shot up in the bed wide awake. She, too, had developed a sickening dread anytime unexpected news came from Ayden. “What happened?”
I shrugged tying my black Nike shoes. I wondered if I should bring my jacket as a cool front was forecast to arrive from the north later this evening. I figured if I left now I should be there by 5 PM or so.
“Is he okay?” Amber threw the covers off and sat beside me.
“I have no idea. I’ll call him when I’m on the way.”
“Are you leaving now?” Amber stood up with her hands on her hips. Her long hair was tousled wildly on her head and last night’s eye makeup was smeared beneath her eyes making her look like a raccoon.
“That was the plan. It’s almost 9 AM and I don’t have any time to waste. It must be important if he texted me this at 5:00 this morning.”
Knowing Ayden’s penchant for sleeping late, Amber wasted no time whipping off her nightgown. She grabbed the first clothes she found: a pink t-shirt and black yoga pants. “I’m going too.”
I hesitated a moment. Ayden could’ve gotten himself into some sort of trouble. Whatever was going on I didn’t want Amber involved in whatever mess he’d found himself in. “I think I should do this alone. God only knows what’s going on with him. I don’t want you in harm’s way.” I put my hand on her shoulder.
She shrugged me off. “Fuck that, Ash. The last time Ayden did something ‘unexpected’ he murdered my brother. If Ayden is calling you about big news, it’s time we both went up to see just what that is. It’s a rural part of Maine. Hardly anyone lives around there. I can’t imagine what’s going on, but I’m not spending the day lying around going crazy terrified about what might happen to you. I’m going.” Her eyes told me everything.
She was dead set on going and there was no way I was going to talk her out of it.
Nodding, I pushed past her to our safe behind the Monet painting on the bedroom wall. Retrieving a large amount of cash, $25,000.00 to be exact and my Glock 19, I figured whatever trouble Ayden was in either one of those things would be sure to get him out of it.
Minutes later, we were both in the Range Rover heading north to I-95 to Maine.
With my gun loaded and safely beneath my seat, I could only imagine what Ayden was doing.
Eight hours later, I pulled down the old dirt road that led to Ayden’s cabin. Every time I drove down this road, I remembered my dad bringing me up here to go hunting and fishing when I was a kid. He’d take out our fishing poles and our rifles and we’d go happily into the small cabin. My grandfather had built the cabin with my dad when he was a kid. My dad would regale me with tales of his own youth as we’d clean the rifles together and get the tackle box ready for the next day. I’d bagged my first deer while staying at that cabin as well as cleaning my first fish. The cabin was always so cozy and inviting to me. When Ayden had first showed up at my door soaked in blood holding a knife, my first thought went to this cabin. I wanted to put him in the safest place I knew.
So here he’d been for the past four months. I knew it’d been hard on him being so isolated and alone, but it was the only way I could ensure his safety. He had a record and I knew the cops would be naming him as a suspect. I had a great deal of influence with the judicial system and the local police department, but my reach only went so far. Here I knew he’d stay out of prison. After all, he’d killed Mark to ensure mine and Amber’s safety.
As the Range Rover slowly ambled down the road, we came upon a shiny black Ferrari Spyder. A Ferrari? Out here? My heart thudded as we came to a stop in front of the cabin.
“Whose car is that?” Amber wondered as we stepped out.
“I have no idea.” Who the fuck would be out in that kind of car? How did such a car make it out here? The terrain was tough to say the least. I took my gun and shoved it behind my back. No telling what we were walking into.
As we walked up the path to the door, I noticed a fire burning merrily in the fireplace. The wind was cold and the night was turning quite chilly. Smoke emanated from the chimney.
“Ayden!” I called knocking on the door. Instinctively, I pushed Amber behind me. “Stay back, who knows who’s in there with him. Be ready to run.” I instructed her.
She rolled her eyes at me as we stood shivering in the cold.
The door flew open and there stood the longest legs I’d ever seen. My eyes traveled up those gorgeous legs encased in tight black pants to meet with the bluest eyes imaginable. She was tall about 5’8” which still made her a bit shorter than Ayden and I who each stood 6’3” Long raven black hair spilled around her shoulders.
Her full lips were stained blood red with lipstick as she smirked at me. “You must be Ash. Come in.”
I swallowed hard pulling Amber behind me. We stepped inside and stood motionless as we both stared at the captivating woman in front of us. The room was stifling hot as the fire roared in the fireplace. Ayden was nowhere to be seen.
“Where’s Ayden?” I demanded.
The woman slinked over to me.
As we stood face to face, I noticed rage seething behind her eyes. Oh God, her eyes! So familiar. Where had I seen her before?
“Right here,” he called emerging from the bathroom wearing a towel swathed around his narrow hips. His dark chest hair still curled from the shower. Water dripped from his bulging tattooed biceps.
“What the fuck?” I gestured at the woman. She smirked and folded her arms across her chest. She was absolutely stunning I could see why Ayden would want her.
But how did she get here?
Who was she?
He laughed rubbing his wet hair. “Guess it’s time for some drinks, huh?”
Amber looked furious. Had Ayden really drug us all the way out here to boast of his latest conquest?
Without another word, Ayden brought four glasses to the coffee table and sat down a full bottle of Macallan.
“Shall I?” the woman asked arching her eyebrow at Ayden.
“Please.” A teasing smile played on his lips.
“Ash, it’s so good to finally meet you in person. And this must be the lovely Amber.” Her eyes swept over Amber as she slowly licked her lips.
“Who the hell are you?” Amber demanded in an uncharacteristically bossy voice. She slammed down her scotch in one gulp.
Ayden’s eyes widened.
“Aren’t you the fiery one? Better watch out. This one will burn you.” She winked.
Amber gritted her teeth. She wasn’t in a playful mood.
Neither was I not after driving 8 hours for this bullshit.
“Well, since everyone’s on the edge of their seat, here goes. My name is Ava, but you might know me better as Amelia.”
Amelia.
What?
This woman was our…sister?
No.
“Amelia? As in Amelia Cooper?”
“As in Blackthorne.” She swallowed the rest of her scotch. Ayden sank down on the couch still wearing his towel. “She’s our half-sister.” Ayden rubbed his wet hair with a towel.
Amber sat back stunned. She blinked several times. “Ash? Is this some kind of joke?”
I spread my hands helplessly. For once, I didn’t know what to say. “How did you find her, Ayden?”
He stood up and left the room for a moment. Seconds later, he reappeared wearing a t-shirt and shorts. “I didn’t. She found me.”
Alarm filled me. If this woman could find Ayden, then the cops could too.
“Don’t be scared. I’m the only one who knows where he is.” Ava put her hand on my arm.
I snatched it away as her touch felt like fire. “How did you find him? Us?”
“I have my ways, dear brother. You will come to appreciate that in time. I’ve known about you, Ayden, and our father for some time now.”
Reeling from the revelation, I sat back feeling myself sink into the soft leather of the couch. The Macallan was now burning a hole in my stomach. “Did you ever meet our father? I mean, as an adult?”
She shook her head pouring another drink. “No. I remember him though. I remember living with you at the Blackthorne estate in New York. The year our parents were married was one of the best of my life. You know my mother, Rita was a drug addicted whore. She bounced me around from place to place most of my life. When we lived with you and your father, I felt safe for the first time. Do you remember me living there with you?”
I remembered her vividly. But she’d been young and she looked so different now. It was hard to picture the sophisticated, sexy woman in front of me now as the awkward, shy, knobby-kneed girl with long stringy hair. “Yes, I do. But you’re so different now. I’d never have recognized you.”
She laughed. “I hope so. It’s been thirty-two years.”
Meanwhile, Amber had been clutching my thigh so hard she was about to draw blood.
“So, Amelia—”
“Amelia was my given name. I prefer Ava.”
“Ava,” I corrected, “what led you to find Ayden?”
“I’ve been watching the two of you for some time. I know Ayden grew up much the way I did with a drug addicted slut of a mother. We have much in common. It seems only you, dear Ash, grew up in the lap of luxury while the two of us fought it out in various trailer parks and white trash neighborhoods throughout the country.” Ava glared at me over her glass.
“If you’re so mad, why are you here?” Amber demanded.
A slow smile spread across Ava’s face as her eyes traveled over Amber’s luscious curves. “Maybe I wanted to meet my family. Or not.”
Amber’s hand relaxed on my thigh as she stared disbelievingly at Ava. Outside, hard pellets of sleet began to rain down. They bounced off the cars pinging loudly.
“Honestly, I’ve just gone through a terrible time in my own life. I’m a woman of means so don’t assume I’ve come to cash in on my rich bloodline. I don’t need the Blackthorne fortune. I learned about a year ago that my real father was Ashler Blackthorne. By then, he’d passed away. I started having my people follow you and Ayden. Once I found out Ayden had killed Amber’s brother, I located him and decided to help.”
“How can you help? What fucking people do you have?” Amber fired questions off like a disgruntled attorney.
“Dear, sweet Amber, I know more people than you can imagine. In all honesty though, I operated a very lucrative business with strong underworld ties. That’s all you need to know.” She answered firmly. Her eyes glittered as she stared at us. Her fingernails were long and painted perfectly red. Two large rings adorned her fingers as well as a spider tattoo on her left wrist.
Strange.
“Underworld? You mean the mafia?” I asked leaning forward.
She shrugged. “You could say that. Most of the people I worked with had ties with the Mexican cartel, LZ. I ran some product for them. Things got out of hand several years ago and my foster brother and boyfriend, Marciano was killed.”
I swallowed hard. Mexican drug cartels didn’t fuck around. I’d seen the stories on TV heard how brutal they were. LZ was one of the most hardcore groups operating in the U.S. I didn’t want any part of that. “If you’re in some kind of trouble with them—?”
She waved her hand at me.
“Not anymore. It’s been resolved. I was just giving you a bit of history. Anyway, as you both know, after my mother died in a fire I was given to a foster family. Horrible people. They were into sex trafficking and they had Italian mob ties as well. To spare you all the horrible details, I ran off with my foster brother and my soulmate, my foster sister.”
“Foster sister?”
“Two of them, actually.” Ayden filled in.
“Soulmate?” Amber asked.
Ava winked at her. “She was my soulmate at the time. My love.”
Amber shifted in her seat looking uncomfortable.
“But I lost her. State came and took her and her little sister from me. She was only fourteen at the time we ran off.”
“What happened to her?” I asked finding myself riveted by her tale.
“I saw her again years later. She got adopted by a nice family and went to college.”
As enchanted as I was by her, I was growing impatient. I was also exhausted from the drive. “Look, I appreciate the story, Ava, but why are you here? Why did you come to Ayden first? Why not me?”
Ava chuckled. “So it’s down to business now, is it? My, my how impatient you still are. Just like you were as a little boy. Ayden and I are kindred spirits. We’re the black sheep of the Blackthorne clan. You’re the shining white knight.”
I stared at her. The sleet had changed to freezing rain outside coating the Range Rover with a thin glaze of ice. We were going to be stuck here for the night. The rural roads between here and the interstate would be impassable.
“That’s true,” Ayden murmured. He’d remained strangely quiet this whole time.
“I think I can help you both. I know Ayden can’t leave here because of the danger of the police seeing him, but I can get him out of here unseen.”
“So can I. That’s not the problem. It’s getting him out—”
“—in the open.” Ava nodded. “To live normally. I get that. I can do that for him and for you.”
“How?” I laughed bitterly. I’d been wracking my brain for months to figure that one out and this woman thought she was just going to step in and solve everyone’s problems just like that? Sorry, that didn’t wash for me.
“Honey, you really don’t know who I am or just who I know. Let’s just say I know people in very high places. One call from me and I could get virtually anyone out of anything including murder. The killing of some fucking sleazy rapist isn’t on top of any police department’s list of important unsolved crimes.”
True. “So what’s in this for you?”
“Should we tell him, Ayden? Think he’ll believe me?” Ava asked fishing a cigarette from the gold and diamond cigarette case on the end table. “Might as well.” She lit two and passed one to him.
Amber sat transfixed as Ava spoke.
“I know where something is that many people want.” She took a long drag on her cigarette exhaling the smoke.
Amber waved her hand in front of her face. She loathed smoking. “And that is?”
For the first time, Ayden jumped in, “I know this will sounds crazy at first. I didn’t believe her either. But this is the real deal. This could get me out of here. I could get my life back on track. You and I can run Blackthorne International together again. Please, Ash, you don’t know how lonely it is out here. If I stay here much longer, I’ll go mad.” He tried to disguise the pleading in his voice.
I could still hear it though. “What do you know?”
Ava took a final drag and tossed the butt into the ashtray. She sighed and leaned forward.
The neckline of her black top fell open and I could clearly see her breasts. Normally, this would have been arousing to me, but considering she was my half-sister…
Ava pulled a pendant necklace from her pocket. It was made of gold and resembled the bottom half of an ankh. Upon closer inspection, tiny hieroglyphics covered the outside rim of it.
“What’s this?” I asked holding out my hand to study it.
Ava handed it to me grinning. “That, my brother, is the key to the riches of the world.”
I stared at it for a moment then at her skeptically. She said she didn’t want our money. Yeah, right. She was probably going to ask me to invest in some stupid get rich quick scheme. “And just how is this thing a key?” It was heavy definitely solid gold. I tried reading the hieroglyphics. It was useless. I couldn’t read it.
Ava snatched it back from me. “In and of itself, it’s nothing. Just a solid gold piece that would be worth a fortune to collectors of Egyptian artifacts, but when you pair this piece with this one,” Ava reached into her red Prada bag and pulled out another strange gold object. “You get this.” She pressed the strange U shaped pin into the half shaped ankh.
Together, they made an odd shape I couldn’t begin to describe. But then, she twisted them until they snapped together. It appeared to be some sort of ancient medallion.
“You see?”
No, I didn’t see. I didn’t doubt these two pieces were valuable artifacts probably worth several hundred thousand dollars, but the riches of the world? Please. “If you wanted money, all you had to do was ask. You’re our father’s daughter and our half-sister. You have a right to your portion of his fortune.” I sat back folding my arms.
She closed her eyes briefly and sighed. “No, you fucking idiot. I don’t need your money. I need you. And Ayden.”
I shook my head not understanding.
Amber leaned towards Ava. “Look, honey, I don’t know what your fucking angle is here, but Ash has heard it all. We’re used to people trying to scam us. So you can take whatever dime store knick knack you’ve got there and shove it up your fucking ass!” Amber slammed her glass down on the table.
Ayden nearly jumped in his seat. Neither one of us had ever seen her that angry.
Ava, however, was less than impressed. She barely raised an eyebrow. “Amber, is it? You’ve got great tits, babe. But brains, best to leave that to the boys, hmmm?” She smirked at her patting her hand.
Amber stared at Ava’s hand touching hers.
That did it. I’d had just about enough from this sister of mine. “That was out of line. Amber is very intelligent and I won’t have my fiancé insulted. Come on, Amber, we’re leaving.”
Ava laughed loudly. “Where the hell do you think you’re going in this ice storm? Ash, come off it. Okay, I’ve let you all think you’re running the show, but enough is enough. I need you, my brothers to help me.”
Amber and I cast a glance outside. Ava was right. The Range Rover was covered in ice nearly an inch thick. The trees were so laden with ice they were nearly bent in half. The roads would impassable for at least a day if not more.
“Please stay. You can’t go out in this,” Ayden advised.
Grudgingly, I agreed and we both sat back down.
“These two pieces form a medallion. It’s an ancient key. The tiny hieroglyphics around this piece explain it.”
“You can read hieroglyphics?” I raised an eyebrow at her.
“No, but I found someone who could. A former lover of mine, Amira was of Egyptian descent. This was her pendent. The U shaped pin that fits inside it came from a writer friend of mine, Jax Paulson.”
“Oh my God, not Amira Faraday?” Amber gasped.
“Who is Amira Faraday?” Ayden asked looking confused. He hadn’t heard.
Being up here isolated for the past four months he hadn’t heard the story that had captivated the tabloids.
“Long story, but to sum it up Amira Faraday was a police officer involved in the black arts.”
“What?”
“Something crazy to do with a cult.” Amber filled in.
“You fucked her?” Ayden stared at Ava curiously.
“Long before the cult thing. I didn’t know she was that damn kinky.” Ava chuckled. “If I had I might’ve kept her around longer.”
Shivers went up my spine. Something about Ava was strange. Actually, beyond strange. It wasn’t just the Egyptian thing. Something about her made my skin crawl and the hair on the back of my neck stand up. “What’s this have to do with money and us?” I asked impatient with the whole thing.
Her eyes were an unusual shade of blue which glittered black in certain lighting. “I was getting to that. So as it turns out, these two pieces form a medallion, the key to an ancient tomb in Egypt. The tomb contains an ancient species of spiders. These creatures were worshipped by a rare sect of Egyptians who revered their power.”
I sat there recalling every history class I’d ever taken. Not once had I ever heard anything like this.
Ava was crazy.
Yeah, crazy like a fox.
Staring into her eyes, I saw many things but madness wasn’t one of them. Diabolical, yes. Evil, yes. Beautiful, yes.
But not crazy.
“And?” Amber prompted her.
“If you all will let me finish, I’ll tell you.” She glared at us before continuing. She pulled an old black leather bound book from her bag. “According to the Egyptian Book of Horus, the goddess, Neith was the creator of the universe. She was a spinner and weaver of destiny. That’s what this medallion is.” Ava held up the two pieces again locking them together. Now that she mentioned it, the medallion did resemble an elongated spider with four U shapes for legs. Ava held the book out to me.
I glanced through it. “So, this medallion has historical significance. What does that mean for us?”
“Ancient Egyptians believed that the female bloodline that descended from the goddess Neith would be able to resurrect a species of spiders which contain the most powerful venom in the world.”
I was beginning to feel queasy. I thought I could just guess who this female was.
“I am that female through my mother’s side. As scatterbrained as Rita was, she had researched our genealogy meticulously.”
“But that is mythology not actual people who lived, Ava,” Amber wisely pointed out.
“Really? Don’t you think I know that? Of course, there was no real goddess, Neith, but her so-called descendants are real people. The Pharaoh Menes had a second wife named Ujaseus. My ancestry has been traced back to her. She was part of the ancient cult who worshipped goddess Neith. She’s buried in the shadow of a pyramid in Egypt in an underground tomb. It is said that the race of spiders that inspired the goddess Neith still live there thriving in her tomb. They can only be resurrected by a female descendent of hers.”
“Why would anyone want to resurrect these spiders?”
“Because they contain a venom that is so powerful it can cure any venomous bite in the world. Scientists also believe that these spiders which are closely related to common barn spiders have properties that cure many diseases including cancer.”
I nearly fell off the couch. What the fuck was this woman smoking? And did she have more of it?
Ava stared coldly at me as I dissolved into laughter. She pulled a folded piece of paper from her purse and tossed it at me.
My laughter quickly died as I read the headline from an article in the New England Journal of Medicine. Ancient Spiders May Hold the Key for Cancer Cure.
I read the article which stated the exact things Ava had told us. By the time I was finished, I was no longer laughing.
“Believe me now, brother?” she spat her words at me.
Amber paled.
I gripped the paper. “How does this involve me and Ayden?”
“As you would imagine, getting to Ujaseus’s tomb will be difficult to say the least. I have a map that gives a general idea of where her body is located, but the Egyptian government isn’t too keen on Americans poking around their most sacred artifacts, you understand?”
“You need money then.” I folded my arms triumphantly across my chest.
Ava reached across the table to deliver a stinging slap to my face. “For the last time, NO! I need protection.”
Rubbing my face, I studied her.
Amber stood up. “Bitch, I don’t know what your fucking problem is, but the next time you raise a hand to Ash I will beat you down.”
Ava jumped to feet and stood toe to toe with her. “Blondie, how about you sit your sexy ass down and maybe later I’ll give you the tongue lashing you deserve.” With a tiny shove, Ava pushed Amber back down onto the couch.
“Why do you need us if you have so much money? Why even go after these spiders?” Ayden asked.
“Because only certain people can protect a descendent when she goes to uncover the tomb.”
“I suppose those people are us?” I asked.
She nodded.
“Why us?”
Ava rolled her eyes.
“Prophecy, genealogy, the way of the world. I don’t know why it’s you two, but it is. Look.” She held out the Blackthorne-Cooper genealogy chart.
After several minutes of studying it, we all looked up at her.
“Let me get this straight. You want us to go to Egypt with you to dig around in the sand and find some lost spiders? Then what?”
“Then…everything. We deliver the spiders to scientists and it could help save millions of lives.”
“For a price?”
“Well, naturally.” She grinned.
“Thought you didn’t need the money.” Amber glared at her.
“Honey, this isn’t just millions. This is billions. Tens of billions of dollars.”
“Think of all the people this could help.” Ayden emphasized.
“And Ayden can come out of hiding.”
I was skeptical. This woman who claimed to be our half-sister showed up out of nowhere and wanted us to go on some archeological dig with her? Was she insane? No, I knew she was sane, but it seemed so strange almost like something out of Raiders of the Lost Ark. “How do you propose we get there? How can we protect you when an arsenal of guns can’t?” I asked questions rapid fire.
“We have to fly to Cairo. I assume you have access to a private plane? If you don’t, I can get us one.”
“When?”
“After this storm ends, obviously. We can’t get anywhere with all this ice.”
My mind reeled with questions. So we were going to Egypt? Just like that? “Amber, what do you think?” I whispered.
She’d been sitting there quietly ever since Ava pushed her. She dug her nails into my palm. “I don’t know what to think. If this could help people, it might be worth it. But the whole idea is—”
“—crazy. I know.”
“Let me talk to Ayden alone. Stay in here with Ava.”
Amber gaped at me in horror.
I knew she didn’t want to be alone with Ava, but I needed to talk to Ayden.
As Ayden and I slipped outside, I looked back at Ava. She wore a faint smile on her face as she traced her fingers over the spider tattoo on her wrist. A shudder went up my spine as she looked up and caught my eye.