“But Ashleigh—”
I put a hand up.
“No. Goodbye Isabella.”
I walked away with André on my heels. I couldn’t think about my feelings on the matter. All I knew was I had to get home and tell Quinn Frank was likely going to declare war on him. That matter was more urgent than anything else I might have learnt from Isabella today.
Chapter 10
Fuck, I was agitated. I paced the living room like a wild animal stuck in a cage. Having agreed to let Ash go see Isabella on her own, I was worried about her safety. Worried about my little girl and what she would learn. I was just plain fucking worried. Never in my life had another person’s well-being been so important to me. Sure, I kept the boys out of trouble, but Ash was everything to me. I practically worshipped the ground she walked on, although I would never tell her that.
“Quinn, man, you need to chill,” Xav said, frowning heavily at me.
“Chill? How can I chill? She’s out there without us.”
“I know, but she’s not alone. You said one of Viktor’s men is with her, right?”
I rubbed my face.
“Yes, he’s fucking huge, but that doesn’t make me feel any less unsettled.”
I didn’t like this. Isabella could double-cross Ash. She could literally do anything. I didn’t like having no control over a situation. I hated the feeling. I was always in charge. Always in fucking control.
“She’s going to be okay. You know she needs answers and maybe we can find out what Russo has planned. It’s a risk we had to take. You know she needs this.”
Of course, I fucking knew all of that. Didn’t make me feel any better. I wanted to have her here where she was safe. She was only safe with us.
“You don’t know that. None of you fucking well know that. She belongs here with us. She’s ours. So fucking forgive me for being concerned about her.”
These three weren’t helping my mood. They were all sat there staring at me, even Rory who knew why I was worried. I’d talked to him about this before I agreed to let Ash go without me. He’d told me to trust her. It’s not Ash I didn’t trust. It was Isabella.
“Quinn… I know it’s shit, but getting worked up about it isn’t helping,” Eric said, his green eyes full of concern.
I paced away, not caring I was acting like an overbearing and overprotective boar right now. They all knew how I could be when I got rattled. Nothing would make me feel better until she was back here. Until she was with us. So I could see her. Feel her. Know she was safe. My beautiful little girl. So vibrant and full of life. Without her here, it was like a dark cloud hanging over my head. I couldn’t stand it. None of it.
“I should’ve never agreed to this. Never.”
The next thing I knew I was prevented from pacing any further because Xav had got out of his seat and hugged me. I almost felt like the life was being squeezed out of me, he held on so damn tight.
“What the fuck are you doing?” I growled, trying to escape his hold.
“Giving you a damn hug, what does it look like?”
The mirth in his voice irritated the shit out of me.
“Well stop!”
“No, man, you need to calm down and take a breath.”
He’d pinned my arms to my sides so I couldn’t even damn well push him away.
“Get off.”
I could hear and feel him laughing.
“Stop being such a pussy and let me comfort you.”
I struggled again, but it was useless. Xav was built like a beast. There was no way of me escaping. And then I was hugged from behind. As if my fucking day couldn’t get any worse. I glanced back, finding Eric grinning at me.
“I do not need a fucking group hug. Would you two get off?”
“Nope, the only way you’re getting out of this is if you accept it.”
These god damn fuckers are testing my patience.
“Also it’s not a group hug without Rory in it,” Eric said.
I looked over Xav’s shoulder at Rory who was shaking his head and rolling his eyes.
“Count me out.”
“Aw, come on, don’t be such a spoilsport,” Xav interjected. “You hug Ash.”
That earnt him a scowl from Rory. Xav was notorious for winding the three of us up so this was hardly surprising. Probably why he was hugging me right now despite my protests. What I was not best pleased about was Eric joining in. He’d gotten far cheekier since he’d opened up to Xav and Ash. As if we needed another wind-up merchant in our midst.
“I don’t want to be in this fucking hug either,” I ground out.
“Shh,” Xav said as he pressed my face into his shoulder and patted my head. “I know we can’t replace Ash, but at least try not to be such a grumpy git.”
“Fuck you.”
“Now, now, no need for that kind of language.”
“Are you fucking kidding me right now?”
This wasn’t helping my mood in the slightest. I was fed up with having to deal with these idiots. They might be my family, but by god, they were annoying as fuck at times.
“Do you really want us to let you go?”
As much as this was pissing me off further, a part of me appreciated they were trying to help. That they wanted to do something to stop me getting so agitated. It’s just hugging me was the wrong way of going about it. Or maybe I was fighting it because it was always me offering them comfort and advice, not the other way around. So instead of fighting them further, I slumped against Xav and let out a breath.
“No,” I mumbled into his shoulder.
“It’s okay, man. We know. I love her too.”
I stayed pressed against two of my
