Accidentally…Over? (Accidentally Yours #5)(66)
Author: Mimi Jean Pamfiloff

Just the way I like it. Less complicated, no one else to worry about, and— Ashli felt those invisible strings pulling her back to Máax. No! You’re not doing this!

Okay, she would go as far away as she could and hope that might do the trick. But what if it didn’t? What if the bond between them never disappeared? She wouldn’t be able to live like this. Ashli held back the tears. Oh, please, please, please, Universe. Help me get out of this.

Her mind quickly latched on to thoughts of Máax. How when they’d first met, she’d been suffering from horrible dreams of death and how much she missed her family. But then, there’d been those other dreams, too. The steamy ones of the faceless man who made love to her on the beach, who touched her body as if worshipping a priceless treasure. Now she knew that the man was Máax. He’d been right when he’d told her their connection was something created by the Universe. She felt it now. She supposed she always had, though she simply didn’t understand it. That’s why losing him felt like her soul was being ripped in two.

I can’t take this. I can’t.

Now near the Phoenix airport, the car pulled up to a stoplight, and Ashli glanced over at the telephone pole covered with thick layers of multicolored flyers. Her eyes gravitated to a big bold M.

Ohmygods. That’s it. The answer to her prayers fell right on her lap.

“Excuse me, sir?” she said to the driver. “Can you take me to East Camelback Road?”

Máax paced back and forth across the floor of his cell, wondering why Ashli hadn’t come to see him. It had been well over a day since he’d left her and turned himself in.

Perhaps she feels too nervous? He could not blame her. While he could not tell Ashli what was to come, nor did he want to give her false hope, he would do everything possible to change his fate. And hers. He loved her. More than anything. And now he understood that loving her meant not just saving her, but saving himself, too. They were meant to be together. And while this was no revelation, he hadn’t really thought things through before. Perhaps it was a tribute to his age—after seventy thousand years, one does become quite jaded—but being with her the other night made him see that he needed to follow his own advice and fight. He’d told her once that complacency was the devil, and he’d been right.

But why hasn’t she come? He’d left her a note on the pillow that morning, telling her what he planned to do and that a car would be waiting for her. He’d received confirmation from one of the guards that she’d indeed arrived safely at Kinich’s.

Just then Emma passed by, likely en route to see her ex-Maaskab grandmother—a long, long story—in the cellblock over. “Emma!”

“Máax. Hey.” She wore a pink baby-doll dress and had her long red hair pulled into a ponytail. She was just starting to show and looked utterly radiant. He could only imagine how Ashli might look if he were ever so lucky to have her carry his child.

“Have you seen Ashli?” he asked. “It’s been a day, yet she has not come to visit.”

Emma’s eyes widened a bit. “Didn’t anyone tell you?”

Maledictus inferno. “Tell me what?”

“She left over an hour ago. A complete mess. I tried talking her into staying, but…” Emma sighed. “What the hell did you do, Máax? That girl’s heart was shredded like confetti.”

“I do not know what you mean.”

“You deities never do,” she replied.

“Emma, I speak the truth. I have done nothing but send her letters, telling her how much I miss her and love her.”

Emma pondered for a moment. “Who did you give the letters to?”

Máax pointed to one of the guards standing in the doorway. “Timothy.”

“Timothy? Who did you give Máax’s letters to?” Emma asked the guard.

“Brutus, ma’am. He insisted that all communications should pass through him.”

Máax felt his blood boil. I will remove his eyelids for this!

“Well, that solves that mystery, Máax, but why did you just…” Emma leaned in and whispered, “… Love her and leave her? And taking the car, Máax. Really? So not classy. Frankly, I’m shocked. You don’t seem like that womanizing type. I get you’re facing an insanely stiff sentence, but that’s no excu—”

“I did not ‘love her and leave her,’ Emma. I left a note and sent a limo for her.”

Emma had an uncomfortable, pained look on her face. “Oh no, Máax. She didn’t get that note, either.”

“Fuck! How is that possible? I left it right on the pillow next to her.” He punched the glass wall, and his fist simply bounced off. “Fuck!”

“Calm down, Máax, I’m sure we’ll find her so you can explain everything.” She turned toward Timothy. “Can I have your radio?” Timothy handed it over. “Hey, guys, this is Emma. I need someone to track down Ashli.”

A voice came over the radio almost immediately. “She’s here with us. Arrived at Kinich’s five minutes ago.”

Thank the gods, she has returned. She must have realized I would never do that to her.

“That goddess brought her,” said the male voice over the radio.

“What goddess?” Emma asked.

“Sorry, ma’am?” the voice on the other end said.

“You said a goddess brought her in,” Emma clarified.

“I did?” the man said.

Emma’s face turned pale. “Oh no. Ummm… is Ashli okay?”

“Ms. Rosewood,” the man responded, “no longer remembers who she is. Or anything for that matter.”

Máax felt the world spinning beneath his heels.

“Thank you,” Emma said. “I’ll be up to the house in ten. Keep her there.”

“There must be some mistake,” Máax groaned.

“I don’t think so. She told me she wanted to forget you. Forget ever meeting you. I guess she got her wish.”

Twenty-One

Ashli stood in the bathroom, staring at the face of a stranger in the mirror. The light brown skin and turquoise eyes seemed familiar somehow, but she had no memory of them.

“Ashli! Oh my gods!” A young redheaded woman, also with turquoise-green eyes, burst into the room.

“Who are you?” Ashli asked.

“Oh, dammit.” The redhead looked at the strange, tall lady with blonde pigtails who’d brought her to this house. “What happened?”