“This whole situation is so far from being your fault, Ashley.”
“They were coming either way,” Jesse added. “I’d been tracking them and they were hell-bent on getting their hands on you as leverage.”
She shuddered at his words and I shot him a look.
I knew he was trying to help and I was grateful for that, but going into any sort of detail regarding what they’d had planned for her wasn’t the way to go. It was off the fucking table as far as I was concerned. I’d already warned the boys to watch what they said around her.
I went to her and grasped her shoulders, easing her back to face me. “This is the culmination of a long, brutal war between the clubs. You’re an innocent, what we call collateral damage.” I winced at the term. “You didn’t do anything wrong. No one should have to live like this, under such extreme surveillance, their freedoms restricted in such a way. You were just trying to move forward with your life. Nobody blames you for today, or anything else. You’re doing really well. I just need you to hang on a little while longer and all of this will be over with, once and for all. No more darkness, no more fear, no more pain. Okay, sweetheart?”
Slowly, she gave me a nod and a bittersweet smile. “Yeah, okay.”
Pulling her in for another comforting hug, I caught Jesse’s eye and saw his utter astonishment. I wasn’t exactly known for my soft, gentle, comforting side.
“Tether,” he mouthed to me.
She was more than that, though. Much more.
She was everything.
My light.
My love.
My whole fucking life.
There was nothing I wouldn’t do to safeguard that.
The thump of motorcycle boots nearing the room had me craning my neck at the door.
Scott came into view, keeping his eyes averted. “You two decent?”
We pulled apart and Ashley groused, “You think we’d be screwing with the door wide open, dad?”
“Shit, don’t be saying stuff like that, baby girl.”
“Jesse’s here too, for goodness sake. I’m not into exhibitionism, so do the math.”
“Fuck,” Scott muttered. “Lock it up, Ash.”
“All right,” I said, holding up my hand at the two of them. I lifted my chin at Scott. “What’s up?”
“Church.”
I gave Ashley a kiss on the cheek and headed for the door.
I eyed Jesse. “Stay with her until I get back?”
“No problem,” he said, an understanding passing between us.
I didn’t want Ashley alone right now.
As Scott and I headed down the hall together, some giggling from the last door on the left caught my attention. The door flew open in the next second and Deviant stumbled out, all over a brunette sporting a designer suit. As Deviant took her in a hard kiss, she giggled and slapped him away, then patted at her hair trying to fix it from its blatantly obvious just-fucked state.
“See ya, sugar,” he said.
“Until next time, D.”
She turned on her stiletto heels and stopped short when she noticed me and Scott standing there. It took her mere seconds to recover, confidence oozing from her as she said with a grin, “Boys.”
Her heels clacked loudly, echoing in her wake as she took off.
“What the fuck's Sky doing here right now?” Scott demanded.
Sky? It was clear she wasn’t a club whore. They didn’t dress like that and the woman had a high society vibe about her, money too. But I’d been under the impression that Deviant didn’t have an Old Lady, that he wasn’t the settling down type.
Scott’s bark shut the door on my curiosity and pulled me back to business.
“Fuck, brother. We’re about to go to war and here you are—”
“Do you want me level-headed and on my game, or not?” Deviant cut in.
A knowing look passed between them. To my surprise, Scott didn’t push it any further.
Instead, he ran his hand through his hair with a disgruntled sigh, then grumbled, “Just zip up your fucking fly and get your ass to this war meet with us.”
Deviant looked down, cursed and hastily zipped up. He fell into step beside us, all business in the blink of an eye. “After what happened today, the vote’s gonna be unanimous, no question.”
Scott nodded, his eyes hard. “Gonna wipe those fuckers from the face of the earth.”
28
~Ashley~
WHAT THE HELL?
I couldn’t believe the words that’d come out of Finn’s mouth.
“So?” he pressed at my continued stunned silence.
I hadn’t said anything for several minutes. I’d been so shocked that I was actually being let in on the specifics of his mission. Beyond that initial shock, though, had been Finn’s actual explanation of what they had planned. To say it wasn’t for the faint of heart was a huge understatement. Not only was it massively illegal, it was brutal and downright merciless.
Hell, it was a planned cold-blooded massacre.
I pushed off the dresser I’d been leaning against while we’d been talking for the last half an hour since Finn had returned from Church and Jesse had taken off. I made my way into the bathroom, hearing Finn’s heavy footsteps at my back.
I switched on the tap and splashed ice-cold water over my face. I felt overheated and nauseous.
I turned as he came up behind me, drawing in steadying breaths to get a handle on everything he’d told me.
“Ashley? Talk to me,” he urged, reaching for my hands.
“So, this is all happening in a couple of days?”
“Yeah. The Rogues have their semi-annual meet. Everyone who’s on a job elsewhere will be called in. Every single member will be there. It’s mandatory attendance.”
“I see.”
“Do you feel a little better about it now that I’ve gone over the details with you?”
I jerked away, exploding, “Do I feel better about your plan to kill dozens of men? You’re still haunted by your past full of that and now you’re gearing up to add to it?”
“These will be righteous kills.”
I frowned. “Murdering someone is never right, Finn. I hope you don’t really believe that.”
“I have to.”
Our eyes locked
