Ashes Read Online Free PDF Page A

request or an order, boss?”
    â€œEnough! I’m sick of this! I’m sick of watching you deteriorate day after day. It’s lunacy, really. Look at what you’ve become. You’re not who I thought you were. You’re not what I want anymore.” Carlos pulled his chair back and walked around the office. “Your hair’s a mess. Your makeup is undone, nails unclipped. And the attitude that you carry around is—well, it’s infectious. Do you want this job? Nothing about you says you even care about anything.”
    â€œI care about you . I need you, Carlos.”
    â€œBut I can’t save you. Your daughter was, as you claim, abducted. But I’m a surgeon. I can’t fix what happened this summer any more than you can. But you have to get a grip on reality. What if she is not found? What if she never comes back to you? Have you prepared for that? Are you ready for that?”
    â€œShe has to.”
    Carlos circled around her and stopped right in front of her. He knelt down and held her hands. “It’s killing me to see you like this, in so much pain. I have friends who can help you with these issues.”
    â€œ Issues? I’m not crazy. My daughter was taken from me!”
    â€œBy whom? Do you even have anything to back up this conspiracy theory? Because that’s all it is, a theory.”
    â€œThey were both taken, Carlos, from this hospital. Why am I the only one who seems to remember that my daughter and her friend disappeared into thin air? It doesn’t make any sense.”
    â€œWhat doesn’t make any sense is that you’re still rejecting reason. You’re stuck in a fairytale. The police supposedly had a single lead that turned out to be nothing. She is gone, Aimee! Accept it. Try to move on. Let her go so you can get on with your life!”
    â€œI can’t.”
    His frustration bubbled out. “This problem is affecting your work.”
    â€œRight back to business. How appropriate. But for the record, it isn’t.” Aimee recoiled. “It won’t anymore.”
    â€œIt better not. This is the second and last time I am going to discuss this with you. Three strikes….”
    â€œI get it, Carlos.”
    â€œOh, that reminds me. I think it’d be best for everyone if you went back to calling me Dr. Pena.”  
    Aimee wanted to smack him and kiss him at the same time. How could he be so unkind and still warrant her affection? How could he toy with her heart and then abandon it?
    â€œDid you ever love me?” she asked.
    â€œOnce upon a time,” he said gently, shaking her reality. “But we can’t live in fairytales forever.”
    * * *
    A trail of Joel’s breath was stuck on the glass of the cooler. He reached in slowly this time to grab a bottle. Budweiser was his usual drink of choice, but today he felt like a Guinness man. The hard, sorta-burnt aftertaste of the beverage would feel right at home in his throat.
    His lungs pushed out another piece of air; at this point, he regretted even calling it breath. Shifting his eyes to the tougher stuff was all he could think of. He felt crowded, though, with the thoughts and vindicated stares of folks around town. He’d seen a few of them before and even knew some by name. A reluctant smile and wave from time to time usually did the trick of silently telling them to mind their own business, but it didn’t much work now. He wondered if they were thinking cruel thoughts about him or if their hearts were still soft with sentiments concerning his missing daughter. Joel just wanted to find what he was looking for and bring it back to his home, safe and sound.
    He scratched at the hair starting to prick up on his chin and cheekbones, forming above his lips, with the sweat. He hadn’t shaved in more than a week. His jaw felt like sandpaper. The hair on his head was grungy and sagged down over his eyelids.  
    Claustrophobia. The