This was not happening.
I’d finally done it, finally found happiness in a life plagued by darkness.
There was no way I was going to let anyone take that away.
And there was only one sure-fire way to make sure that didn’t happen.
I had to unleash.
26
~Ashley~
I COULDN’T WAIT.
My dream was closer to becoming a reality than ever before.
It wouldn’t be long now.
I took one last quick look through the windows of the empty shop, mindful of Finn’s orders to me. Legacies was just across the road, but I couldn’t delay a second longer. I knew Finn had gone to great lengths to ensure that I didn’t feel suffocated with the protection on me. Although it was only the illusion of freedom, because I was well aware I was being watched over round the clock, I still didn’t want to push it. I didn’t want to stress Finn or the boys out any more than they already were with everything.
So, I tore myself away from the vacant shop, smiling to myself as I made my way down the street to Legacies.
Excitement bubbled within me.
I was getting back to it, to making my dreams happen.
It was what had led me here to this vacant store today. I was stepping up my efforts to make owning my own tattoo parlor a reality. Over the last little while, I’d produced pages upon pages of tattoo designs, finished my business plan, found an interior designer who I was happy with, sought out a reputable contractor in Ridgefield, and I’d set up a meeting with the real estate agent listing the little shop I’d been checking out.
I was a few feet out from Legacies when an old Chevy truck swung around the corner and came to a stop at the curb beside me. I tensed up until I saw that it was a familiar face. The new prospect, Kyle.
“You need to come with me, princess,” he announced abruptly.
“Is everything okay?” I asked, concerned by the urgency coming off him.
“Yeah, all good,” he said, flashing me a smile that was so obviously fake.
I figured his odd, uncomfortable behavior had something to do with me being involved with Finn, the person he resented for supposedly taking the place of his idol, Lou. He was probably worried about what it meant for his position with the club now that he’d lost his sponsor.
He gestured to his truck. “Get in, okay? Got orders to drive you up to the barbecue. I’m already late and if I’m delayed any longer I’m gonna be in deep shit.”
Oh. So that was why he was so anxious and out of sorts.
“Finn said he was coming to get me.”
“Plans changed. He didn’t want you out alone, seeing as though all your bodyguards are up at the barbecue and not here to watch your back.”
That did sound like Finn. Despite his attempt to hide it I knew he hadn’t been happy to hear I was still downtown instead of being up at the clubhouse like we’d agreed.
“Okay,” I conceded, heading over to the passenger side of his truck.
He was there hauling open the door for me so quickly that it made me jump, a gasp escaping me.
“My bad,” he said.
But he didn’t look sorry at all. In fact, he looked… pleased that he’d gotten that reaction from me.
My senses screamed at me.
Something was off with him, with this whole situation.
I started to step back from the truck. “I’m just going to give Finn a call.”
“Fucking difficult bitch! Get in the truck!” he exploded suddenly.
Instinctively, my hand brushed my jacket, the inside pocket where I kept the device Finn had given me as a last resort defense. A top-of-the-line Taser. But before I could even grab it, Kyle lunged at me. Grabbing my shoulders, he shoved me inside and slammed the door closed. In the seconds it took me to right myself, he’d rounded the vehicle and climbed into the driver’s seat. He activated the automatic door lock just as I reached for the handle, trapping me inside.
“What the hell are you doing?” I demanded, as he started the truck and peeled away from the curb, driving like a maniac down the street, rubber burning, tires screeching.
He didn’t answer me.
I lunged for the lock button, but his hand shot out, clamping down on mine and squeezing painfully hard. “Sit back right now, put on your seatbelt and be a good girl, or I’ll really give you something to freak out about.” His eyes flashed. “I’ll break your fucking hand.”
I swallowed hard at his threat and nodded, my throat too dry to get out the words.
He released me and kept looking back and forth from me to the road to make sure I followed his orders. My hands shaking with a medley of fear and adrenaline, it took me longer than normal to actually lock in my seatbelt. When I’d finally managed it, he settled his gaze on the road.
With him no longer staring at me and studying my every move like he would pounce if I’d made the wrong one, it gave me time to think, to search my brain for a solution to the messed-up situation I’d somehow found myself in.
I didn’t need to ask to know that he wasn’t taking me to the clubhouse, that he hadn’t actually been sent down here by Finn. In fact, from the way he’d treated me, it was looking like his loyalty to the club had been shot to hell.
I was in some serious trouble.
Tense silence filled the truck as he shot down the road. I could see him growing antsier with every passing second, drumming his fingers on the doorframe, shifting his weight uneasily, his eyes darting back and forth either side of the street.
He made a sharp left turn a couple of blocks before the end of the street.
“This ain’t personal, all right?” he said all of a sudden. “I like you just fine. You seem real nice,
