"Ashlyn, what the hell is going on?"
She looks up at me with guilt and terror etched all over her. It's then I see the bruising around her left eye and cheekbone.
"I'm going back to Chicago." Is all she gets out before her eyes roll back and she crumbles to the ground.
Chapter 22
Ashlyn
My eyelids barely slit when my mind registers where I am. The events of what happened race through my brain. Brock showing unannounced, the slap, Miller's rage, me fainting. All of it unravels in my head like a nightmare. I swat my hair from my face and feel the cold metal swipe my skin.
My fingers go to the ring, yanking until I screech in pain. "Get off! Get off me."
"Tried, it's stuck until the swelling in your knuckle goes down," a rough voice cuts in.
I peer across the room; Miller is sitting in the chair farthest from mine. Anger, hurt, loathing all over him as he sips a glass of whiskey.
"How long have I been out?"
"About thirty minutes."
My body protests when I press up and get a good look at my hand. He's right. My knuckle is swollen and discolored, my finger slightly bent, a sharp sting when I put pressure on it.
"He broke my finger!" I gasp.
"Another reason I should have killed him."
"Miller," I start, then feel the pinch in my cheek.
"Yeah, you have a shiner, too." He gulps his whiskey, staring at me blankly.
"I think I need to explain."
"Explain how that slick motherfucker shows up and greets you with a kiss in front of my crew? The same crew you whipped out the bitch for and sent home so you could be alone?"
I sink back into the sofa, wishing it would smother me. "It wasn't like that."
"Tell me what it was like because I have six men who have all told me the same thing when I called to ream their ass for leaving you alone with a stranger."
"I was going to handle him."
"How'd that work out for you?" A shiver runs up my spine at his frostiness.
"Things got out of hand."
"Really? Because one phone call to me or one word to my guys, and you'd have been protected until I could get my ass here."
"I didn't want to involve them or you. This was my fight."
He nods, taking another slug and swallowing slowly. "How'd he propose? Drop on a knee, telling you he worshipped you more than life, and the future you'd share would be full of love?"
"You know that's not what happened."
"It was more of a here's a ring so you can fuck my business associates for money?"
I flinch, my heart cracking at his force. "That wasn't necessary."
"No? Well, excuse my manners as I try to hold in the fucking rage that's ready to explode after finding you in the arms of another man. A man that put a ring on your finger, hit you, and yet you still held me back."
"He isn't worth you going to jail. That's what he was looking for was a fight. Any reason to press charges and put you behind bars to get more leverage over me."
Finally, there's an ounce of concern, but it dies quickly. "I'd have taken my chances against a bastard that hits you, injures you, and puts his mouth on you."
"I wasn't willing to take that chance!" I fight back.
"Have you been paying attention at all, Ashlyn? I've had your back since the day you breezed into town."
"This was me having yours!"
"Is that why you introduced me as the contractor? Are you embarrassed? Didn't want to admit to the high-powered son of a bitch how you'd fallen from grace?"
"No, no, no." I shake my head hastily. "Nothing like that. If he knew who you were to me, he'd go after your family. Threaten to strip you of everything."
He nods noncommittally. "You have that little faith that I can't stand up for myself?"
"You and your family don't deserve to be dragged through hell because of my terrible choices."
"You couldn't fucking call me?"
"I thought I had it handled!"
"The man tried to pimp you out for his own gain. What about that makes you think you can deal with his brand of low life?"
"Because I was that low life, too! That's who I was!"
"No, Ashlyn, it's not."
His use of my name cuts deep. No Princess, Darlin, Baby… just my name. Clinical on his lips.
"He wants me in Chicago to review this merger."
"Figured that out."
"I have to go."
"So you said."
"He's threatened everyone I love, and unless I go, he will destroy my family. Dry up my dad's business and taint Andrew's reputation as a consultant. If he knows our connection, he'll destroy Kendrick Construction and eventually go after Darby's partnership with Brasher."
"News flash, he strolled into your house, and he knew who I was and what I am to you. It was written all over his self-righteous ass. He was goading you. I'm not scared of him."
"But I can stop it."
"No one is asking you to sink to the depths of hell for us."
"It's my choice. It's my turn to do the right thing."
"And the ring?" He jerks his chin in revulsion at my hand.
"A ruse to show he claimed me so I'm no longer open game."
"You going to marry him?"
My whole body spasms, and I shake my head furiously. "NO! I didn't agree to this at all."
He stands, setting the glass on the table and not glancing my way as he disappears through the house, the back door shutting behind him. A minute later, he comes to sit, continuing to avoid my eyes as he takes my hand in his. He turns it palm side up and gently presses the area at my joint.
"Take a deep breath and hold it until I tell you to let it go."
I follow his instructions, watching as he slides a tool between my skin and the base, cutting the metal. He tosses the tool to the side and pries the ring off my finger. The
