CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN MOLLY
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
MOLLY
Nea drove for a while. She and Jess were talking, but we couldn’t hear much in the back. My phone was buzzing, and I answered, already knowing it was Ashton.
“We’re in the back of a vehicle.”
“I’m aware.”
Oh, boy. His voice was already grim. He was not happy.
“I’ll call when we’ve stopped—”
“We’ve been following you for the last three blocks. Tell Nea to pull over in the nearest parking lot.”
“What?” I looked up, peering through the window, and there he was. Ashton was glaring at me from the front seat, right next to Elijah, whose mouth was twitching. “How’d you find us?”
“I put a tracker on your phone, remember? Tell her to turn off.”
“Oh, okay.” I twisted back around. “Nea! We have a ride. Pull over.”
“What?” Both she and Jess said that at the same time.
I motioned behind us. “The cavalry found us.”
“What?”
Jess cursed. “There’s a parking lot. Go there.”
She hit the turn signal, moving over, and once she had stopped, vehicles swarmed us. Literally. One went in front. Two went on both sides. Ashton’s car pulled up behind us. The definition of circling the wagons happened in real time, and it was awesome.
Elijah went over to where Jess’s mom was trying to get out of the vehicle.
Nea and Jess were both out when the back door swept up.
I didn’t get the option of climbing down.
Ashton swooped in, his arms winding around me, and he lifted me clear out of the SUV.
I gave in. My time of following my gut was over.
Ashton was here. I was in his arms, and I was relinquishing control.
My arms and legs wrapped around him, and he walked away, returning to his own SUV.
“Ash—” That was Nea, trying to speak to him.
He ignored her.
The back door opened, and he got in, with me in his arms. It was shut behind us, and as soon as we were in, Elijah was back behind the wheel. “Go!” Ashton barked.
“Jess—”
“She won’t leave her mother, and I’m not waiting.”
Elijah hit the accelerator, and off we went, but as we left, I looked up.
Nea was standing in front of her opened door, an odd look in her eyes. Hurt, but anger glimmered there as she pressed her mouth tight. I looked past her, getting a glimpse of her bag and some other items on her front seat. Then we were past, zooming out of there.
“Jess.” I moved my head back, angling to see Ashton. “Pialto.”
“They’ll be in the next vehicle.” He pulled me back to him, his head burrowing into my neck. A shudder rippled through him, and oh man, oh man. I tightened my hold on him, burying my head into his neck, and he just held me, rocking me back and forth.
His words came out against my neck, mumbled. “They would’ve taken you.”
“No.”
“They had seven men in place. They killed four of Trace’s men.”
“Only two.”
“What?”
“The one guard outside the clinic was gone. I went inside, and that guard tried to lead them into a trap. He forgot about me. That’s what tipped me off, but he was in on it.”
Ashton was studying me, then cursed and pulled me back to him. “Jesus.”
“I wasn’t in danger.”
“You put yourself in danger this time.”
“I know, but—”
“Don’t do that again.” His words were fierce, and he pulled back to see me again. His hands framed my face. “Please. Don’t. Just, don’t. Please. ”
Oh. Wow.
I was nodding, and I held on to him. “I won’t. I promise. I won’t.” I meant it. The switch needed to retire, or it had retired. I wasn’t sure, but: “I just needed to go this last time. I promise. It’s the last time, but Ashton.” I framed his face with my hands back. “I’m okay. Really.”
“You have to stop doing that shit. I mean it.”
I nodded. “I will. I promise.”
He studied me for a beat. “Pinkie?”
I flashed a grin. “Pinkie.”
A whole shudder went through him.
I was in the arms of a guy who was my next chapter. Whether it was good, long, bad, brief, or whatever, wherever Ashton planned to take me, he was the next chapter. Everything after would be affected because of this time right now.
A lump in my throat doubled in size.
He lifted his head, like he couldn’t stop looking at me. He lifted a hand, tracing a finger down the side of my head, picking up a strand of hair and tucking it behind my ear. “This feels like something more than just me freaking out over you.”
I didn’t have the words because I couldn’t explain how this whole event was sweeping through my body, where I knew I was changed from today on, and he was part of that change.
It was deep and painful but beautiful, and I felt like a crying, molted butterfly.
Not that I was flapping my wings for the first time, but that I’d remembered they were there and I was fluttering them, remembering there was a thing called love. I was on that path, walking toward it.
That’s what was going on inside me, but I didn’t want him to look at me like a freak, so I just leaned in and grazed my lips over his. “Thank you.”
He kissed me back. “For what?”
That lump. It was so strong and powerful. “For you being you.”
His eyes went dark, but he nodded. “I care, more than I want to, but I do.”
I grinned, feeling some of my tears hanging on over my nose.
He laughed shortly. “Most women wouldn’t be happy about that statement.” He reached up, wiping those tears away too.
I shrugged. “I’m different. I get it.” I settled back over him, getting comfortable.
His arms tightened around me. “That’s a good thing?”
I just smiled. “I’m a molted butterfly.”
His arms went stiff. “What?”
I patted his hand. “You’re not supposed to understand.”
His arms relaxed. I felt him nudging my neck, but then his phone began blowing up.
He answered. “Is this the other side? You’re calling to tell me you’re seeing me there?”
Now I tensed, half twisting my head so I could see his phone.
He pulled it from his ear and put it on speaker.
Detective Jake Worthing’s voice came over, all gravelly. “Dr.Nea Sandquist is saying she was forced at gunpoint by your woman, Jess Montell, Jess’s mother, and another male.”
The whole air in the vehicle changed. It went from being beautiful and emotional to being charged and deadly. Ashton didn’t move, but the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. He was close to doing something dangerous. I eased back so I could see his face better.
His eyes were like ice. The old Ashton was stepping forward. The one whose reputation was how very cruel he could be. “You know that’s not true.”
“We’re aware. We have security cameras backing up what Officer Montell is saying.
She had the weapon in her hand, but it was never pointed at Nea Sandquist. She never issued a threat.
Her mother is backing up her statement, as did Mr.Pialto.
I’m calling to see if Molly corroborates that statement. ”
“I do. We never threatened her. Jess asked if Nea would help us. Why would she say that?”
“Hello, Molly.”
I gave the phone an impish smile. “Hi, Detective.”
Ashton’s hand dropped to my leg, and his thumb was rubbing over it in a slow caress.
“I’m calling to let you know that’s what she is saying. It’s up to you to figure out the reason.”
Ashton’s eyes closed; the bags under his eyes seemed a bit more pronounced. “She’s scared.”
“Possibly. I was under the impression the doctor and Jess were on friendly terms.” Detective Worthing paused before he added, “I’m also letting you know that I received a phone call minutes ago.
A couple phone calls. The first was that whoever was my cousin’s backer, the publicity from the shooting at the hospital was too much for them.
They’re pulling out. The other phone call was from my family members.
It’s been decided that Nicolai will no longer be speaking for our family. ”
Ashton’s entire body relaxed. An entire shudder went through him, and I tipped even more into him from the sudden shift. “So that’s it. It’s done.”
“I told you I’d see you on the other side. Ashton, I’m letting you know that they’ve appointed me in his place.”
Ashton lifted his head back up from the seat rest. He was nodding at the phone. “You’re taking over?”
“I will be leaving the New York City Police Department.”
Ashton snorted. “You gave Jess such shit for choosing Trace. How is you choosing family over your career any different?”
Jake sighed. “The bigger irony not lost on me is that it’s you giving me that statement. Your last free information from me: my cousin is not going to go down lightly. This is a warning. Be prepared because I’m sure he’ll still try to throw a Hail Mary.”
“Jake.”
“What?”
“Who were your cousin’s backers?”
The detective didn’t answer, not right away. “Honestly? I’m not sure. They only worked with him, but who would find it too threatening when there’s a shooting in a public hospital?”
“Someone big. Public.”
“Yes.”
“Someone legal.” Ashton’s jaw clenched. “You have a theory?”
“I do, and if I’m right, we’re all lucky that they pulled out.” Jake ended the call on his end before we could say anything.
A slight smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. Both his hands settled on my legs.
“Does that mean what I think it means?”
He nodded, the slight smile forming to a real smile. “It’s over. The war is over, but I still want you to look through the photographs Mauricio sent.”
I nodded. “I will. It’s not over until he’s gone gone.”
“It’s mostly over. Jake won’t push to come into the city like Nicolai was doing.
That was Jake saying he’s heading back to Maine and focusing there, and that’s even if he keeps with the family business.
Knowing Detective Worthing how I do, I’d bet he’ll go in, say he’s with the program, but he’ll end them from the inside. He’ll make that family go legal.”
“He was on the pay from you?”
Ashton nodded. “He was, but Jake walked the line. He never totally stepped over. I was aware of what he was doing. He gave me information that would help me against our enemies, against guys who did worse things than my family did. He picked the lesser of the two evils, and he knew that I knew what he was doing. It was an unspoken thing between us.”
I was starting to see that.
“Jake’s the reason Justin worked for us.”
I frowned.
Ashton wasn’t really saying that to me. It felt like he was saying it just to say it.
“I knew another one of their cousins, Vivianna. She made a call one night. Asked if I’d give her cousin a job.
She was doing a reach out, trying to see me.
But it was Jake’s call if his brother was hired as a bartender, and considering I had him on the payroll, I needed to know the parameters for this hiring.
He said yes. He said it wouldn’t look right to his colleagues if his brother had an option to work at Katya and not take the job so .
..” He looked at me, a haunted expression in there.
“In a way, because of Jake, because of their other cousin, because of me, we’re the reasons Kelly is dead. ”
“Ashton.”
His phone began to ring once again, and seeing it was Trace, he put it on speaker right away. “Hello, brother.” His voice was hoarse.
Trace asked, “Are you guys okay?”
Ashton didn’t answer that, instead asking, “You have your woman?”
“I do, but uh, that’s not why I’m calling.”
Jess’s voice came on next, saying, “We’re getting married!”
I gasped, taking the phone from Ashton. “What? When? Where? How did this happen?”
“Today. Just now.” Jess sounded happy. “We got the news that my mom has cancer. Then we were almost taken, and who knows what would’ve happened.
Now, in a weird way, my mom has to go into hiding with us, and it feels right.
What Molly did is what Kelly would do. No matter the guns blazing, Kelly always wanted her happily ever after.
She would ignore everyone’s warnings and follow her gut.
I’m doing this for Kelly. I’m done waiting. I want to get married. Now.”
“Now?” Ashton leaned forward, blinking some of the ghosts away.
“Or as soon as we can. Do you know of a place that would be safe?”
Ashton and I shared a look. A part of me was gleeful, but the other part was worried. The bad guy was out there, the real bad guy, and my gut knew.
He was still coming.