Chapter 31
LILY
“Asher!” I scream as he hits the mat, the whole room exploding in chaos as gangs start fighting each other.
Reefing the cage door open, I charge out onto the mat, right as Monty does the same.
“Walk away, lady,” Monty snarls, revealing a fucking machete. “You don’t wanna get involved in this.”
I’m not usually in such an emotional state when I kill, so right now it’s hard to summon the Crimson Angel’s presence. But I need her, otherwise I’ll never get Asher out of here alive.
I part my lips to speak, but Monty’s gaze darts over my shoulder, and he takes a step back.
“You’d better run, arsehole, or you’ll end up just like your thug.”
AJ’s voice shouldn’t relieve me, but it does.
“What’s a fucking Aussie doing in these parts?” Monty sneers, clearly not picking up that I’m an Aussie too.
“Same as you.” AJ steps forward, and I see his gun, with a damn silencer, pointed directly at Monty. “Protecting my assets. Now fuck off or take your last breath. Your fucking choice.”
Monty glances over his shoulder at his minions, who are all retreating like cowards, and thankfully, he decides to live another day. Spinning on his heel, Monty hightails it out of there, while gunfire sounds somewhere deeper into the venue.
Ignoring AJ, I fall to my knees beside Asher, cupping his face.
“Asher. Wake up.”
He doesn’t even blink.
“He’s losing blood,” AJ points out the obvious. “He’ll be okay once we stitch him up.”
I glare up at AJ, hovering over us, studying him for any sign of malice. I don’t see any, but accepting his help will mean I owe him, and I’m not dumb enough to think he won’t want me to use that against my family.
“We don’t need your help,” I bark, and he rolls his eyes before flipping the gun and offering me the grip.
“Unless you think you can carry him outta here, then yeah, you do need my fucking help.”
I want to protest, but unfortunately he’s right. There’s no way I can carry Asher out, so I nod, taking the gun, and he bends down, easily scooping Asher’s unconscious body off the mat.
I follow him out as he takes a side door I didn’t even know was there, and by the time we reach the parking lot, some of the brawling has spilled out here.
There are cars and motorcycles speeding around in every direction, so it takes us a bit to get to his car, but when we do, AJ lays Asher on the back seat, packing a blanket to Asher’s bleeding wounds before stepping back and handing me his keys.
“Drive him back to your place. I’ll take his bike.” He holds out his hand. “I’ll need Asher’s keys.”
Go back to my house?
This is a bad idea, but what other option do I have?
Knowing it’s the only one, since we can’t exactly take Asher to the hospital, we swap keys, and I drive AJ’s black SUV as he follows on Asher’s motorcycle.
My hands are trembling as I drive, loud sobs escaping me once I get us out of the parking lot and onto the road.
I cry the whole way home, calling Asher’s name over my shoulder over and over, but he still doesn’t make a sound.
When I get to my house, I reverse the car in, and AJ pulls the motorcycle in next to me, quickly getting off and going to the back seat to get Asher out.
As AJ carries Asher inside, I flip the lights on and get some towels before returning to where AJ has Asher laid out on my dining table.
We don’t speak as he sets to work, grabbing a massive first aid kit from the back of his car which seems more like a medical kit an army medic would carry around.
I store that information away for later, realising this man really must be military.
A groan falls from Asher’s lips when AJ starts working on the wound, injecting something into his skin before he starts stitching him up. But he doesn’t wake. His eyes remain shut, and his skin remains pale.
“He’s fucking lucky,” AJ mutters as he secures gauze over the wound. “If that shiv was any longer, it would’ve struck his kidney.”
My lip trembles at that knowledge.
Asher came close to being killed tonight. The thought makes me feel sick, and I pull out a chair and sit, bending with my head between my knees.
“Hey,” AJ mutters, and I glance up at him through the blur of my tears. “He’ll be alright. Feed him a few steaks to help his blood rejuvenate. He won’t need more than that and some rest.”
Straightening, I swipe at my tears.
“You’re an army medic, aren’t you?”
He shrugs. “One of my many talents.”
“Who are you?” I ask, and the tidbit of warmth in his eyes vanishes.
“Who I am doesn’t matter, Lily. Who you are does.”
I flop back in my chair, half laughing, half sighing.
“Can you just tell me in plain English, no bullshit, what it is exactly that you want me to do?”
Taking a seat while he packs his supplies away, AJ nods.
“Ask your cousin about the party. The twenty-first. Tell him you want to return home for it, and mend bridges.”
I stiffen at that, but he continues.
“Your return will unsettle Ewan, and since he’s already on edge, it might just be what sends him over.”
“Why the hell would I want my uncle going over the edge?” I ask, my brows high. “Nothing good will come of that.”
“It’ll be the beginning of his demise.”
I stare at him for a long moment as he finishes packing his things.
“Why do you want him to suffer so badly?”
AJ turns to me then, leaning forward and resting his forearms on his knees.
“The question is… why don’t you?” He stares at me for a long moment, waiting for me to respond, and when I don’t, he continues. “His threat to make you sterile wasn’t just a threat, Lily. He’s done it before.”
My brows shoot high. “To who?”
“Are you sure you want to know?”
“Yes!” I snap, lurching up from my chair, my hands balled in frustration. “Tell me.”
He eyes me for a long moment like he’s contemplating if he should tell me what I want to know or not, but then he gives me a nod, answering.
“Your sisters.”
The moment he says the words, air gets trapped in my lungs, and I shake my head frantically.
“No.”
“Yes.” He stands too. “It’s what he offers the Marx women as a twenty-fifth birthday gift.”
“I don’t believe you.” I shake my head, taking a step back.
“Okay, you’re right. Offering it as a gift is a little far-fetched.
” He shrugs like this conversation is no big deal.
“It’s normally an ultimatum. One he makes practically impossible to choose the alternative.
That’s one part I don’t have a lot of information on, but he did it. To your sisters. To his own daughters.”
“Who? Which one of my cousins?”
“Bernadette,” he answers grimly. “She was the first, and that’s what started his obsession with it.
She fell pregnant to a family rival and ran off with him when she was twenty-five.
By the time Ewan found her, the baby had been born, only two weeks old.
The father of the baby was found floating down the Murray a week later, and the child was taken from her and adopted out.
Ewan told Bernadette that if she ever got pregnant again, the same thing would happen, so he urged her to agree to a hysterectomy. ” AJ shrugs. “And she did.”
“But she was an adult…” I flop back down onto the chair. “I don’t understand why she’d do that…”
“Your uncle doesn’t make it easy to leave, Lily. You know that.”
He’s right. I do know that.
“Who else?” I ask, needing all the information.
“Your cousins, Cassandra and Fallon.”
“So, every female Marx over twenty-five?” I ask, and he nods.
“Quinlan’s next in line. Her birthday is later this year.” His words send a brittle chill over me, and I gulp thickly.
Shit. Little Quinny. She was only five years old when I left.
It’s hard to wrap my head around this, and almost impossible to believe, but this is Ewan Marx we are talking about, and it sounds like he’s become more unhinged over the years.
“So what’s so urgent that I need to get back for Gracie’s twenty-first birthday?” I ask, needing to piece this together.
“It’ll be the first time in years that every Marx family member will be in one place at the same time,” he admits, and my brows shoot up.
“How do I know you’re not planning to bomb the place and remove us all from existence?”
“Well, you’d have to take my word that I’m not planning to do that.”
I scoff, and he chuckles.
“Ewan is my target, Lily. He’s the one who has the final say over everything that happens in the Marx family. And he’s the one who’s done unspeakable things. Your cousins and siblings are not my concern and therefore not my target.”
“What about my parents?” I ask, and he shrugs.
“I have a feeling any part they played will resolve itself.”
Throwing my hands up, I shake my head. “What does that even mean?”
“That’s all I can tell you,” he sighs. “So, how about it? Do you want to return home for a little family reunion and light a fire under Ewan’s arse?”
Do I want to return home? Not really.
But do I want to light a fire under Ewan’s arse? Hell yes, I do.
A slow, sinister smirk pulls at my lips. “If I can corroborate this information about my sisters and cousins, then yeah, I’ll go home for the party.”
AJ smiles. Like actually smiles.
“I knew you were the right woman for the job.”
Rolling my eyes, I glance at Asher, noticing his eyes moving behind his lids.
Shit… is he awake? Did he just hear all of that?
AJ excuses himself, taking the rest of his stuff back out to his car, and the moment he steps out, I move to the table and lean in close to Asher’s ear.
“You ready for me to use your face as a seat again?”
His eyes flash open, and his lips spread wide before a cringe contorts his face and he starts groaning.
“Shit, Lil. You don’t play fair.”
I scoff, straightening. “How much did you hear?”
“Hear what?” he asks, and I raise my brows in a ‘really’ look. “Fine, I heard a lot… most of it.”
Blowing out a sigh, I tip my head back and stare at the ceiling.
Asher has just learned another secret that he shouldn’t have, yet I can’t make myself care all that much. I kinda like the thought of him knowing.
“So, your family from Australia are like… a big deal, hey?”
I nod, dropping my gaze back to his as he tries to sit up.
“Wait,” I rush out, pressing my hands to his shoulders. “Be careful. You’ll hurt yourself.”
Asher flops back to the table with a grunt, his whisky eyes meeting mine.
“Were you worried about me?”
I can’t hold back the tears that pool in my eyes, and I cup his face, leaning in close.
“Yes. I’m angry at you for scaring me.”
He chuckles. “Does that mean you’re gonna spank me, Mummy?”
“Oh fuck no!” AJ’s voice startles us as he walks back in, and I straighten to see him cringing. “Please tell me Mummy kink isn’t a fucking thing?”
“If you don’t like it, you’d better fuck off before you see any more,” Asher grunts, pushing himself up on his elbows.
“Don’t worry, I’m about to fucking leave.” AJ glares at Asher before his eyes meet mine. “I’ll be in contact.”
The sound of car tyres squealing as they brake out front draws our attention, and AJ has his gun out in an instant, while doing something on his phone.
Then, his shoulders relax.
“It’s your cousin.” His eyes flick from his phone to meet mine. “Guess I’ll go out the back door and return for my car later,” he mutters, moving to the glass doors.
“Hang on,” I call. “How do you know it’s Barrett?”
AJ doesn’t answer as he steps outside, but when he turns back, his smirk is wicked.
“Lily!” The front door bangs open as Barrett barrels in, and when I glance back to the glass door, AJ is gone.