40 Because Youre My Friend (1/2)

”You want me to set up a bank account?” Ash asked tiredly as soon as he woke up.

Ruby was in a good mood so she fluttered back and forth in front of him excitedly. ”Yeah! You need somewhere to stick all the money I made for you today! Do you want to know how much? Do you? Do you? It's a lot; you'll be impressed!”

Her enthusiasm seemed to wake him up more fully. He smiled and said, ”Sure. Tell me.”

”$1.2 million, baby! Am I amazing or am I amazing?” she preened. ”How much do you need, anyway? You never said.”

Ash didn't seem as surprised as she thought he would. ”That's great. Thanks, Ruby. And honestly…I'm not sure.”

Ruby gaped at him. How could he not be sure?! Did he have any sort of plan for this money at all or was he winging it? She needed to know how much he needed so she could fulfill their deal and go their separate ways.

The fire fairies were a bit more rambunctious than she had bargained for so she wasn't sure she wanted to stay here long-term after all. And there really was no greenery in this barren place, which was depressing.

Maybe she could go on a tour around the country seeing as many national parks and forests as possible and drop by big cities now and then to try good food and make more money at high-end jewelers'. That could be fun. Fun and lonely but that was beside the point.

Ruby truly hadn't intended to pry into his business since Ash hadn't pried into hers but if he told her what he needed the money for it might give her a better idea of how much she still had to get. If she didn't have a concrete amount in mind this partnership would go on indefinitely.

Part of her wouldn't mind that because it was nice feeling like she had a friend. But she knew that it wasn't meant to last.

Both of them had things to do and their schedules really weren't compatible. Their alliance was always supposed to be temporary. She could go back and visit him occasionally using the deal as an excuse but that was it.

”Ash…can you tell me what you need the money for? You don't have to be specific but it might help me figure out how much you need,” Ruby said gently.

He looked up at her with that haunted look in his eyes again. ”I have rich and powerful enemies but I don't know exactly how rich. I need enough money that I can defeat them.”

Wow. That was so much more personal information than she bargained for and it was still pretty vague. What kind of powerful enemies could a vampire have? Unless they were other vampires.

Was he running from his old coven after discovering some horrible secret about them? Or was he a traitor who wanted to protect himself from those he betrayed? Her imagination ran wild with possibilities.

It didn't really matter since Ruby had promised to help him no matter what. It wasn't like he was plotting world domination or anything.