Chapter 7
Ash
Itold Belle this isn’t about us because that’s how it has to be.
There’s no going back. There’s no recouping the years stolen from me.
I didn’t get to see Piper grow into a little girl with the sweetest voice and a penchant for telling tales.
All I can do is make sure I’m there for the next chapters of her life.
My daughter must take after me because I’m a liar too.
I promised myself I wouldn’t touch Belle – that I wouldn’t want to – but seeing her again resurrected memories I clearly hadn’t buried deep enough.
I held her goddamn hand, skated my thumb over that sweet mouth of hers, and I wanted to do so much more.
As we walk through the crowd, I know I’m not going to be able to resist pressing that same thumb to my lips like it’s a fucking stolen kiss. I need to stop acting like a lovesick idiot.
I don’t know what the deal is between Belle and Barrett, but I’d listened to her every word, caught the nuances in her tone, and noted every facial twitch, and one thing is becoming crystal clear. The current Mrs. Emerson is hiding something.
Belle is as beautiful as ever, but the dark circles under those cornflower blue eyes hadn’t been concealed completely by makeup. I know I’m probably the one to give her sleepless nights, but there’s more to it than that. I need to find out what hold Barrett has over her so I can break it. Or him.
One way or another, I will get Belle away from him. For her sake and Piper’s. There’s no ulterior motive. Despite my stupid declaration about getting those rings off her finger, this isn’t about me and her. Piper was her priority six years ago, and now our daughter is mine.
I’ve achieved what I set out to achieve today.
I didn’t want to overwhelm Belle with too much information to correct the false narrative Barrett has been feeding her.
When I’d told her about my involvement with the Irish Mafia all those years ago, I couldn’t have known it would become the perfect breeding ground for Barrett’s lies.
He’s been indoctrinating her ever since, creating a terrifying version of me for Belle to fear.
Keeping us apart for his own sick enjoyment.
But even the best stories leave loose threads, and I’m going to unravel every fucking one.
Unfortunately, that’s going to take time, and for now, I have to hand Belle back to Barrett. I spot him on the opposite side of the foyer to where Katarina is kicking up a storm. His face is pale until he spots me with an arm around Belle’s waist.
“Where have you been?” he demands, his cheeks flushed as he glares at Belle.
“Watch your tone, Barrett,” I warn.
He grabs Belle’s arm and pulls her away from me. “She’s my wife and I’ll–”
My hand shoots out and I grab him by the throat. I squeeze. “Watch. Your. Tone,” I repeat.
I know exactly how much pressure to apply before a person blacks out. I’m just not sure I have the will to release my lethal grip on the bastard’s throat before that happens.
A long, muscular arm comes to rest over my shoulder, another around Barrett’s.
“I think there’s enough of a commotion out front, don’t you?
” Rory says cheerily, positioning himself so no one else can see how I have my half-brother in a chokehold.
He gently taps my rigid arm, and I let Barrett breathe again.
Barrett gasps, rubbing his throat. “You shouldn’t be allowed out in public,” he says hoarsely. “And you certainly shouldn’t be trusted around children.”
Rory quickly inserts himself between us, creating a physical barrier before I can punch the fucker.
I don’t know if it’s intentional that he leaves Belle on my side of the division, but it goes some way to cool my temper.
I’m expecting Belle to be horrified by my behavior, but her expression is one of confusion.
Her reality is already shifting. She’s just not sure where it’s going to settle yet.
Fortunately, I do. There’s no way I’ll rest until she sees Barrett for who he is.
“Barrett,” Rory says. “Unless you’re willing to run the gauntlet of getting past Katarina, you’re here for a while.
Go have a drink with your lovely wife while Ash sorts out other people’s problems in his own inimitable style.
” When Barrett fails to move, he adds, “Or did you intend on dealing with Katarina yourself? She was asking for you.”
Barrett mutters under his breath and takes a step to the side so he can see Belle. “It looks like we could both use a drink. I should never have brought you here.”
“I want to get back to Piper,” she says, looking at me. “Isn’t there a rear exit we could use?”
“I’d rather you stayed until I’ve assessed the situation. Leave it with me. I’ll sort this.”
“Thank you.”
Barrett’s arm hooks around Belle’s waist and he pulls her away. “I don’t know what you’re thanking him for. He’s the root of all our problems.”
As Rory and I stride towards the press of bodies at the entrance doors, my best friend gives me a rueful smile. “I owe you an apology,” he says. “I should have let you strangle him.”
The building we’re in has been designed so there are no clear views from the outside, protecting the anonymity of the women coming here for refuge.
At the present time, it also means we can’t see what’s happening outside.
But I can hear raised voices. Maddie’s and Lily’s.
And another woman with a distinctive Russian accent. That would be Katarina.
As we make our way through the crowd, onlookers move aside with the exception of one.
“Ash, will you tell Reid,” Quinn complains. “I should be out there. Pregnant or not, I can handle a Barkov.”
“I know you can,” I say, giving my youngest brother a look of sympathy as he wrestles to keep Quinn away from the doors. “But for the sake of everyone here, we need to deescalate the situation. And having you and Reid out there isn’t going to do that. Is it?”
We have to talk in guarded terms given the public setting. Unfortunately, Quinn is yet to get the memo.
Quinn quirks an eyebrow. “Why not?” she asks. “I could easily shut her up, just like I did her brother.”
“And that’s why we’re not going out there,” Reid says under his breath.
“Reid’s right,” I answer before Quinn can. “I don’t doubt that you could stand up to Katarina, and you have every reason why you’d want to, but throwing around accusations in public isn’t going to serve our cause, or that of the refuge. Please, Quinn. Save it for another time. For me.”
Quinn removes the elbow she’d been digging into Reid’s side. “Fine, if you think it’s for the best,” she agrees, then glares at Reid before marching away.
Reid throws his hands in the air. “Great, she listens to you, but not me,” he says, shaking his head before chasing after her.
Rory chuckles behind me. “Now let’s see if you can work your magic on Katarina.”
I would rather be working on Belle and Piper’s safety than waste time on a Bratva princess, but I haven’t forgotten how Belle reacted to Katarina’s name. There’s a loose thread here that’s calling to be tugged.
The lowering sun is dazzling as I step outside, but not as dazzling as the Amazonian woman currently in a stand-off with Maddie and Lily. Hunter and Mace are shadowing their wives, but like Reid, their attempts to pacify their women are being ignored.
Jake stands primed for action with the security guards, or at least the ones we control.
Not all of the armed men are ours. The twenty-year-old, raven-haired beauty has brought her own entourage, but it’s the lady herself who draws everyone’s attention.
She’s wearing a fuchsia-colored pant suit that hugs her body perfectly, and the jacket is doing a particularly impressive job of containing her heaving chest with just one button.
Which is fortunate because she appears to be wearing nothing underneath.
“Is this a private fight, or can anyone join in?” asks Rory.
Katarina pivots away from my sisters-in-law and silences my friend with one look before turning her glare on me.
“This is an insult!” she hollers. “I have an invitation.”
“No, you stole a press invite,” Lily says. “And you’re not press.”
“We have newspapers in Russia,” Katarina replies with a roll of her deep brown eyes.
She looks nothing like her brother, Ilya, but a twenty-five-year age gap and a different mother will do that. Unfortunately, they appear to share the same arrogance and death-wish.
“If it’s a story you’re after,” I say, shoving my hands in my pockets and rolling back on my heels.
“There is the one about a Russian crime lord who trafficked innocent women across the US. Perhaps you could visit the scorched earth in the Nevada desert where his compound was only recently decommissioned. Oh, and in unrelated news. I’m sorry to hear about your brother’s passing. ”
Katarina’s scowl only serves to intensify her beauty. “It’s a wonder you were able to hear anything with all those explosions going off around you.”
“I have eyes and ears everywhere.”
Her laugh is mocking. “I don’t think you do, Ash Griffin.”
I’d very much like to know what she means by that, but I manage to school my expression. We’re going to be in deep trouble if she knows about Piper. I glance at Maddie, then Lily. There’s no opportunity to explain my reasoning, but I know they’ll trust me.
“Some of the women using the services we offer here were rescued from that compound I mentioned, so you’ll understand why we need to be protective.”
Katarina juts out her chin. “In case you hadn’t noticed, I’m a woman and I know more than I’d like about exploitation. Those women have nothing but my sympathy.”
In my periphery, I see a look of surprise flash cross Lily’s face. Maddie’s better at guarding her expression, or else she isn’t as easily convinced that Katarina might be victim too.
“I’m happy to make a substantial donation, care of my uncle.”
“We don’t want Vasili’s money,” Maddie says.
Katarina shrugs. “Whatever.”