Текст книги "Beautifully Loyal"

Автор книги: Nicole Edwards

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Текущая страница: 22 (всего у книги 25 страниц)

Chapter Fifty

Payback would soon be forthcoming.

Jase wasn’t sure who was consoling whom at this point, but he wasn’t willing to let Ashlynn go as they sat in Max’s living room. Chaos had ensued, tempers flared hot and bright, and Jase was relieved to see that Max was in the process of determining his own brand of vengeance for what had happened.

Derrick.

God.

His brother was dead.

Fucking dead.

And Sal. He couldn’t forget Sal.

Shit.

He still couldn’t believe that Derrick was gone, but he’d seen it with his own eyes, knew it was true despite the fact it seemed like nothing more than a horrific nightmare that he was fighting to wake up from.

Ashlynn’s face pressed deeper into Jase’s neck, and he tightened his arms around her. She had stopped crying, but she was still trembling. As for him, Jase was numb. From head to toe, he didn’t feel a single thing except for the rage vibrating in his gut. The need for revenge.

“Y’all need anything?” Courtney asked when she joined them in the living room. Ever since they’d arrived, Courtney had been ensuring everyone had what they needed. All of Ashlynn’s brothers and her sister had been sequestered to the house for their safety, all except Aidan, who was still at an undisclosed location with double the security on him at Max’s order. They weren’t willing to take any chances at this point.

Jase shook his head, not bothering to look at Courtney. He appreciated the gesture, but he didn’t have enough energy to respond.

When she took a seat on the edge of the chair next to him, Jase let out a breath.

“I’d tell you how sorry I am, but it won’t mean a thing,” Courtney began, her tone carrying the sympathy she claimed she wasn’t expressing. “But I promise you this … they won’t go unpunished.”

Jase knew they wouldn’t, because Max had assured him of the same thing when they’d arrived a few hours ago. At the time, Jase hadn’t cared for the platitudes, but he’d seen the sincerity in Max’s golden eyes.

How the hell was he going to explain this to their mother? It wasn’t as though any of them had really been close, but Jase knew he would have to tell her sooner or later. He hadn’t seen her in nearly four years, hadn’t talked to her in months, but he’d sent her a birthday card every year despite her insistence that he stay as far from her as he could. Their relationship was certainly strained. Nevertheless, she’d been a little closer to Derrick. At least in recent years, it seemed.

Jase hadn’t had much interaction with Derrick for the past decade, ever since Jase had dropped out of high school. Five years older, Derrick had already been out on his own, doing his own thing. He’d gotten in with the wrong crowd, succumbed to drugs and booze, and it’d taken him a damn long time to turn his life around. At that point, he’d come to Jase, asking for his help.

So Jase had done what he could.

Derrick had been working for Ashlynn’s family for only a short time, but he’d fit in well, done what was asked of him.

Regret merged with the anger as he thought about Derrick and the fact that they’d spent so many years not talking to one another. Although there’d been a time in Jase’s life when he had hated Derrick, that didn’t mean he hadn’t loved his brother.

Courtney’s hand touched his leg. “Let me know if you need anything.”

Again Jase nodded.

When she left the room, he kissed Ashlynn’s head. “You need to get some sleep,” he told her.

“So do you,” she countered, not moving from her spot on his lap.

Jase wasn’t sure he could sleep. His eyes were heavy, his muscles felt like they’d been injected with lead, but still, he didn’t know if his mind would shut down long enough for him to rest.

The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. At the bastards who’d killed Derrick and Sal, but more so at the fucking assholes who’d attempted to take Ashlynn from him. There was no doubt in his mind that Derrick and Sal had been collateral damage. Whoever had hit them tonight had been gunning for Ashlynn. Had they hit their mark, the world would’ve been a very different place for Jase right then.

Losing his brother was devastating, but if he’d lost Ashlynn…

Guilt flooded him.

Jase closed his eyes and held on to her, listening to her breathe. He didn’t even want to think about it.

He sensed someone else coming into the room, but he couldn’t bring himself to open his eyes to see who it was. Footsteps could be heard on the hardwood, and then a strong hand landed on his shoulder, squeezing gently but firmly.

“Let’s get her to bed.”

Leyton.

Ever since Jase had found Derrick dying on the front porch, Leyton had been right there, at his side. He was guiding him through the motions, making sure he did what needed to be done. Jase needed that more than he wanted to admit. He loved Leyton as much as he loved Ashlynn, but at the moment, it seemed that Ashlynn needed him more.

“Come on,” Leyton urged, squeezing Jase’s shoulder once more.

Forcing his eyes open, Jase glanced up at Leyton. The man looked as though he’d been through hell tonight. The dark circles ringing his eyes spoke volumes.

“Okay,” Jase finally agreed.

He shifted to the edge of the cushion, then lifted Ashlynn in his arms, keeping her against him, where she’d been for the last couple of hours. Her arms were still coiled around his neck as he made his way through the living room and to the stairs. Leyton led the way while Jase focused on putting one foot in front of the other. There were several guest rooms that Leyton could’ve selected, but instead, he went to the room he’d previously occupied when he’d lived at Max’s.

Opening the door, Leyton stepped inside, then waited for Jase to join him.

The first thing Jase noticed was that the room smelled like Leyton. Rich and spicy. The scent soothed him briefly.

Once Leyton had pulled the blankets back on the king-sized bed, Jase lowered Ashlynn onto the pillow. “I’ll be right back,” he told her.

Taking stock of his surroundings, Jase watched as Leyton closed the heavy blackout curtains so that the room was shrouded in darkness. The sun was just breaking over the horizon, the new day starting as though their world hadn’t been shattered in the night.

“Please don’t go,” Ashlynn whispered, drawing Jase’s attention to her.

Unable to refuse her, he managed to shed his clothes and crawled into the bed with her, pulling her closer. A minute later, the mattress shifted, and Leyton joined them, surprising him when he pressed up against Jase’s back, his arm sliding over his hip.

“Sleep,” Leyton instructed. “I’ll keep an eye on things.”

Jase nodded, but he knew sleep wouldn’t be coming. Not for a while.

But he couldn’t resist lying there, feeling the warmth and the comfort that both Ashlynn and Leyton provided. Though things looked bleak, they still managed to keep him together during a time when it seemed everything else was falling apart around him.

Chapter Fifty-One

Hell hath no fury...

Ashlynn awoke in a dark room that smelled oddly of Leyton. She opened her eyes to find Jase asleep on the bed next to her, but they were the only two in the room. Doing her best not to wake him, she slipped out of bed, then out of the room, closing the door quietly behind her.

Venturing downstairs, Ashlynn smoothed her hands over the sweater and leggings she’d borrowed from Courtney when they’d arrived in the middle of the night as she followed the sound of voices coming from the kitchen. When she entered, she found Leyton and Max talking, both men leaning against opposite countertops, their arms crossed over their chests.

Leyton’s eyes softened when she entered.

“Are you hungry?” Max asked, pushing off the counter and coming to hug her.

Giving in to the comfort he could afford her momentarily, Ashlynn hugged her brother. “No, I’m good,” she told him. The mere thought of food made her stomach churn.

He pulled back, his hands gripping her shoulders as he studied her. “You sure? I can have Walter make you somethin’.”

Ashlynn shook her head, then made her way to the refrigerator. After retrieving a bottle of water, she turned to face both men. No sense in beating around the bush; she wanted answers and she wanted a plan. Now.

“Did it burn?” she asked, her question directed at Leyton.

He nodded.

The thought of her house burning to the ground didn’t bother her. The things most important to her weren’t material anyhow. And the minor things that she’d needed, Cowboy, Teddy, and Leo had been instructed to save. She could get a new house and she would eventually. But what she couldn’t get back were the lives these bastards had stolen from her. Derrick and Sal.

Her heart ached, a painful piercing feeling in her chest that made it difficult to breathe but also renewed the anger that had been lingering since she’d come out of the house to find Jase’s brother taking his last breaths.

Shaking off the thought, she turned her attention to Max. “I need to know what our recourse is.”

“We’ve been talking about that,” he explained.

“And?” Ashlynn glanced between the two men. “I’m not interested in talking, Max. I’m not willing to make any deals with Moroso.”

“What do you want?” Leyton was the one to ask.

“I want them dead,” she said bluntly. “The whole fucking family. And I want their deaths to hurt.”

Neither of them seemed surprised, but she hadn’t expected them to be.

“How’s Jase?” Max asked.

“He’s still sleeping.” Ashlynn looked at Leyton. Returning her attention to Max, she said, “I assume you haven’t located Marco.”

“No, but I will soon.”

Ashlynn frowned. “You sound sure of that.”

“I am.”

His confidence meant he’d done something, and she was almost scared to ask. “What’d you do?” When he looked as though he was going to shrug off the question, Ashlynn straightened. “And don’t tell me not to worry about it.”

“Let’s just say, I’ve got something he wants.”

“Something?” she questioned. “Or someone?”

Max tilted his head to the side, giving her that look that said, “You don’t want me to answer that.”

But she did. She wanted to know exactly what the plan was. And then it hit her. “You’ve got his sister, don’t you?”

Max didn’t answer her, but she could see the answer in his golden eyes.

“As collateral only,” he said quickly. “My plan is to draw Marco out.”

“I’m sure that’ll do it.”

“If that won’t, then having his nephew will,” Leyton added.

Ashlynn’s head snapped over to him. Clearly they’d had a plan all along. Generally, she would’ve been pissed that they’d kept it from her, but now, she was merely glad they had a plan at all.

“Not to mention, I’ve got everyone on it. I’ve called in every favor I’ve got,” Max told her.

“I appreciate that.” Had her father still been alive—or in charge of the family, for that matter—he would’ve brushed her off, told her it wasn’t for her to worry about. But the Moroso family had targeted her, and in turn, they’d hurt Aidan, and they’d killed two people close to her. She wasn’t going to allow them to get away with that. “Does Marco know?”

“Yes,” Max said. “He does now.”

“Good. I assume you’re offering them up for a trade. His life for theirs?” Ashlynn sipped from her water bottle.

“Yes,” Max confirmed. When she didn’t say anything, Max glanced at Leyton, then back to her. “And while we wait, we’ve been trying to determine where you’ll be staying.”

Ashlynn had assumed Max would insist that she stay there with him, but based on the way his gaze slid back to Leyton’s, they’d been discussing something else.

“For now, I think it’s safer if she stays with me,” Leyton said. Although he referred to her in third person, he was looking directly at her.

“I think that’s a good idea,” she agreed, but not for reasons Leyton might’ve thought. It had nothing to do with the fact that she wanted to be with him, but rather because Leyton’s place was a little more secluded than Max’s. “What do you think about that?” Ashlynn asked her brother.

“Leyton has a good argument,” Max answered.

She waited for him to make a declaration that the two of them weren’t to be alone together, but he didn’t. Glancing over her shoulder to ensure they were still alone, Ashlynn stepped toward Max but found herself being pulled up against Leyton.

She peered up into brilliant green eyes. “He knows,” Leyton told her. “He knows I love you, he knows I love Jase, and he knows that the two of you love me.”

Ashlynn couldn’t help but look over at her brother.

Max’s expression never changed, but he nodded.

“So no more issues?” she asked, referring to his interfering with them being together.

“As long as you’re happy…” He trailed off, his gaze sliding to Leyton’s.

Leyton wrapped her in his arms, and she felt his strength, his power. And along with that, she felt safe there. The same as she’d felt with Jase. It’d taken her long enough, but finally, she was willing to admit that she knew what love felt like. Jase. Leyton. They were love.

Before anyone could say anything more, Courtney and Rock joined them in the kitchen.

“Did you figure out where you’ll be staying?” Max’s wife asked, her question directed at Ashlynn.

“For now, we’ll stay with Leyton. But I won’t let this go on for long,” she said, peering at her brother again. “You need to be prepared to escalate if he doesn’t show himself. It’s time to put an end to this shit once and for all.”

“I know,” Max agreed, that lethal look returning to his eyes. “Trust me.”

As for what that meant, Ashlynn wasn’t sure, but she knew she would find out soon enough. “I need to check on Jase.”

“I’ll help Walter make dinner,” Courtney stated. “If Jase doesn’t wanna come down, we’ll have it brought up to him.”

“Thank you.”

Holding her water bottle close to her chest, Ashlynn turned and left the room, but not before she heard Max tell Leyton, “I meant what I said. As long as she doesn’t get hurt.”

Great. There he went playing big brother again.

Not wanting to listen to Max read Leyton the riot act, she went back upstairs, wanting to check on Jase, see if he needed anything. Mindful of him possibly being asleep, she opened the door quietly, then gently closed it behind her.

But the second she turned around, she realized none of that was necessary.

Jase was gone.

A feeling of dread washed over her. For whatever reason, Ashlynn didn’t think Jase was wandering around the house. He was gone.

Throwing open the door, she ran down the stairs. “Where is he?” she yelled.

Several people rushed into the living room, including Dane, Rock, and Courtney.

“What’s wrong?” Courtney asked, looking back at Ashlynn as though she’d lost her mind.

“Jase. Where is he?”

“What are you talkin’ about?” Max asked, sauntering into the room. “You’re the one who told us he was asleep.”

“He was,” she snapped. “When I left him a little while ago. But now he’s not there.”

“I’m sure he’s around here somewhere,” Dane stated, but Ashlynn could tell he didn’t believe those words any more than she did.

“Yeah?” she retorted. “Where? Why haven’t any of you seen him? You’ve been down here the whole time, right?”

Dane nodded.

“Find him,” Max ordered, glaring at Dane, which shocked him into motion.

For the next twenty minutes, they scoured the house, but Ashlynn knew it was a waste of time. She knew where he’d gone, and she wished like hell he would’ve talked to her first. He’d been so upset—rightfully so—but if he went after Moroso himself…

God, she didn’t want to think about what might happen to him.

“I tried calling his phone,” Leyton said when they met up in Max’s kitchen. “Went right to voice mail. I left him a message. Told him to call me.”

“Shit,” Ashlynn huffed. “Why would he do this?”

It wasn’t until Leyton pulled her into his arms that she realized she was shaking. He had to be thinking she was crazy. She didn’t act like this, didn’t freak out when something didn’t go the way she’d thought it would. But this was Jase. One of the men she loved, one of the men she wanted to…

No, she wasn’t going to think about that now. She couldn’t.

“We’ll find him,” Leyton assured her.

Peering up into Leyton’s handsome face, she took a deep breath. “I’m gonna hold you to that.”

Pressing his lips to her forehead, Leyton pulled her into him, and she knew then that he was just as worried about Jase as she was.

Now, they just needed to find him.

Before it was too late.

Chapter Fifty-Two

Sitting around wasn’t working for him.

Jase knew that Ashlynn was going to be pissed when she found out he’d slipped out, but he hadn’t been able to sit around and wait for them to come up with a plan. He’d seen how well that had fucking worked, because while everyone had been sitting around waiting for Moroso to make a move, Aidan had been beaten and then Derrick and Sal had been killed.

Nope, time for talking, plotting, planning … that was now officially over.

He’d hardly slept, wasn’t even sure he’d be able to until he avenged his brother’s death. Once Leyton had climbed out of bed, rather than toss and turn, Jase had settled on holding Ashlynn while she slept, watching her, wishing like hell things were different. They’d finally found their place in the world, or so he’d thought, only to have this shit happen.

Although he loved Ashlynn and Leyton, something he would never be able to deny, Jase knew he’d never be able to give them what they needed with this now hanging over him. His brother had died.

Fucking died!

And they’d expected him to sleep while Moroso did whatever the fuck he did? No way.

He didn’t blame Leyton or Ashlynn or Max for what had happened. He simply wasn’t going to waste another fucking second waiting for Moroso to stumble into their laps.

His phone chirped, signaling a voice mail. He’d purposely forced the calls to voice mail, not wanting to talk to anyone. The only person he wanted to talk to was his mother. And that was due to the fact she was the one who needed to claim Derrick’s body so Jase could see to a proper burial for him. It wasn’t like Jase could waltz down to the morgue and do it. They’d probably arrest him as soon as he showed his face.

But he couldn’t even focus on that until he took care of Moroso, sent him to hell, where he belonged.

When his phone chirped again, he knew he needed to check it, to see if it was Ashlynn or Leyton, let them know that he was okay but that he wouldn’t be back until he took care of Moroso.

Another ring sounded, but this one didn’t come from his phone. He peered up at the rearview mirror and noticed the OnStar button.

Shit. They had a phone in the fucking car?

Hitting the button, Jase waited for the caller to speak.

“Jase?” Leyton.

Shit. “Yeah?”

“Where are you?”

“I’ve got somethin’ to take care of. Keep Ashlynn safe until I get back.”

There was a pause before Leyton’s voice returned, harder than he’d ever heard it before. “Get your ass back here.”

“I can’t,” he replied, tempted to hit the button to hang up, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

“Jase…” Leyton’s tone sounded frantic, but Jase pretended not to notice. He didn’t want them to worry about him. “We’ll handle this together. That’s the way it works now.”

“Now? That wasn’t your brother who died! This isn’t your fight!” Jase yelled, the anger that had been simmering in his gut exploding into a full-out inferno of rage.

“No,” Leyton bit out. “But he was yours. And since I love you, I consider it my fight.”

Something momentarily softened inside him, but Jase pushed it away. He needed the anger and the rage; they were the fuel that would drive him to do what needed to be done.

“Come back,” Leyton said, his tone much softer. “We’ll find him. And we won’t stop looking until we do. Don’t do this.” Leyton sighed. “Please.”

Jase’s chest ached. He’d never heard Leyton talk like that before. Not to anyone. He could’ve understood if it had been Ashlynn, but Leyton… It was more than he could bear.

Pulling into a parking lot, Jase searched for words. He couldn’t find any, couldn’t even get air into his lungs.

“Jase? Are you still there?” Leyton sounded concerned now.

“Yeah. I’m—”

“Stay right there,” Leyton barked, his voice hard, demanding. “I’m right behind you.”

Jase jerked around to see Max’s Escalade pulling into the vacant lot right behind him. They’d fucking tracked the car through OnStar. Damn it. That wasn’t how this was supposed to go. He was supposed to take care of Moroso, then … then he could…

The driver’s door opened, and then Leyton was standing right there, his arms coming out to grab Jase, pulling him toward him. The passenger door flew open, then slammed shut, and Ashlynn was right behind him, her arms tightening around his neck as though touching him was her reassurance that he was all right.

“It’s bein’ handled,” Ashlynn whispered. “I swear to you.”

Jase tried not to fall apart, tried to push them away, but he couldn’t. His arms felt as though they were made of lead.

Rock, standing behind Leyton and facing the street, blocked the view from anyone passing by. It only took a moment for Jase to wonder why that was, why it would matter.

But then, as he grabbed on to Leyton and Ashlynn, burying his face in Leyton’s neck while gripping Ashlynn’s arm firmly, he knew why.

Leyton and Ashlynn were offering him what he’d needed all along, someone to hold him, someone to give him a chance to deal with the pain.

Which was exactly what he did.

He broke down and he fucking bawled like a baby.

And the two people he loved most in the world simply held him, not saying a word, and in turn, making Jase love them all the more.