Chapter 15
Ash
As Quinn debriefs me over the phone, my boots wear a trail across the deep-pile rug. My overheating cell phone burns my palm as I absorb the details of her conversation with Belle. We’ve caught Barrett on another lie. Belle thought Quinn had given away her secret about Piper.
“Do you think it’s enough to convince her that Barrett’s been manipulating her?” I ask.
“It was certainly looking that way,” she says, “but then, you know, you called.”
I dig my fingers into my jaw to release the tension. It doesn’t work. “Yeah, well. Some things needed to be said.”
Maddie huffs behind me. She’s resting against one of the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves that line our home library. Her arms are folded and she’s scowling at me. “In case someone needs to point out the obvious, it didn’t help.”
This room is my sister-in-law’s domain and is meant to be a calming space.
It’s why she’d ushered me in here when Mace broke the news that Barrett’s private jet had made a detour to Chicago to pick up Katarina.
They’d already been in the air for over an hour at that point, and given they were heading for the private landing strip on Barrett’s estate, it left little opportunity to act, let alone plan.
Mace is continuing to monitor the situation next door in our office, and has promised to let me know when the plane lands. Hunter is keeping out of the way.
“Look at it from Belle’s point of view,” Quinn continues on the other end of the line. “She’s got you on one side scaring the shit out of her. And on the other, there’s Barrett, using every opportunity to get her into…”
I cock my head when the phone falls silent.
Quinn’s in the SUV with Reid and Jake, but if one of them has just interrupted her, I didn’t hear either of them speak.
Maybe Jake’s taking another jelly donut bribe.
I might be mad at the fucker, but if he has to switch loyalties, I’m glad it’s for Belle. He knows what he’s doing.
“Quinn?”
She groans. “I’m good. I just don’t know if I should tell you this bit.”
My eyes narrow. “Whatever it is, just say it.”
“Promise you’ll stay calm.”
My already tensed muscles start to vibrate.
Maddie straightens up.
“Barrett’s using Katarina’s visit to force Belle to share a bed.”
The rush of fury rises from hell’s depths and up through my body. With a roar, my arm pulls back and I fire my cell phone across the room. Plastic and glass explode against the closed door. “That fucking bastard! I’m going to…”
My throat closes up and my clawed hands curl into fists as I imagine squeezing Barrett’s neck.
“Kill him? Yes, you might have mentioned that once or twice!” Maddie barks at me.
“Can you blame me?” I yell in response.
Maddie squares up to me. She’s as fearless as her husband when it comes to pushing back. “No, but I can blame you for making this situation ten times worse with the good old, ‘you’re mine’ speech! If I didn’t know better, I’d say you’ve been secretly reading one of my books.”
My breath comes out in sharp pants. “I didn’t say she was mine.”
Maddie throws her hands up in the air. “You said you wouldn’t let her get away from you again. You said you’d hunt her down if she tried. Burning a trail to get to her as I recall. That sounds pretty territorial to me, and it absolutely would have sounded like that to Belle too.”
“I told her the truth. I can’t let her go again.”
Maddie’s glare intensifies. “I thought you were only doing this for Piper?”
My jaw clenches. “That’s what I meant.”
“No, it’s not,” she says. “You seem to be forgetting I’ve just seen you erupt at the thought of Belle sharing a bed with another man.”
I shake my head. Not any other man. Barrett. The thought of them lying together twists my insides and my rage is ready to surge again.
“Admit it, Ash,” Maddie says, getting in my face. “You don’t just want Piper. You want Belle. You still love her.”
I hold up a finger. “Maddie, back the fuck off!”
The door sweeps open, ricocheting off a bookshelf as Hunter storms in. He takes one look at me pointing at Maddie and launches himself at me.
“Get away from her!” he hollers as he aims his fist at my jaw.
I don’t get the chance to block the move, but even as my head snaps back, instinct kicks in. I retaliate with a right hook that connects with the side of my brother’s face.
“Fuck you, Hunter!” I grit out as he grabs my shirt and I grab his chin.
“Stop!” Maddie yells, trying to insert herself into the non-existent space between us. “You’re both behaving like idiots!”
I push Hunter’s scrunched up face away, and he only releases me to pull his wife behind him.
“You don’t need to protect her from me, asshole!” I growl. “I wasn’t going to–”
“Going to what?” Hunter demands. “Lose control to the point that you don’t know what you’re doing, or who you’re hitting?”
It’s a reminder of that day in my study, as is the mark I’ve just left on Hunter’s cheek. He’d received more than a bruised face that time, and my other brothers hadn’t fared much better.
“I won’t let that happen again.”
“Are you sure about that? Because for a man who could give a masterclass in self-control, you lose it pretty quickly whenever Belle steps into your life.”
I’m shaking my head when Hunter slams his palm against my chest, pushing me back a step.
“She may not like to hang around to see the damage she causes, Ash, but I see it. I saw it.” He pushes me again. Goading me.
My jaw is so tight, my words come out as a hiss. “For fuck’s sake, Hunter, just stop. I can handle this.”
“No. Not this time,” he says, ignoring Maddie as she tries to pull him away. “I won’t sit back and watch that fucking woman break you again. We came too close to losing you.” He pushes me harder. “Not happening this time.”
When Hunter goes to thump my chest again, I grab his wrist. We lock eyes. And wills.
“I’m calling time-out,” Mace says, coming into view as Lily maneuvers Maddie out of the way. It looks like we’ve drawn a crowd.
“Fuck off, Mace,” Hunter and I say at the same time.
“This isn’t your fight,” Hunter adds. He waits until I flick my gaze to Mace, then uses his free arm to slam his other fist into my chest.
As I rock backwards, I twist the wrist I’ve kept hold of.
I try to get his arm up his back, but Hunter turns with me.
He balances on one leg and goes to kick me.
I let go of his wrist in time to grab his leg, blocking the kick and lifting his foot higher.
He unbalances and lands on his back with a grunt, the rug not enough to cushion his heavy fall.
Maddie and Lily are yelling at us, but it’s another female voice that stops me from attacking Hunter while he’s down.
“Boys!” Connie barks. “Stop that this instant! I’m still picking up glass from the study!” As our housekeeper waits for me to step back and for Hunter to get to his feet, no one dares speak. She glares between the two of us. “Whatever this is, take it outside.”
“Connie, no,” Maddie argues. “We need to stop them.”
“They’ve been spoiling for a fight for weeks. They need to get it out of their systems,” she insists, holding the door open and gesturing for us to leave.
I don’t need asking twice, and I’m rolling up my shirt sleeves as I walk through the kitchen to the rear door. Hunter’s stalking me, and the others aren't far behind.
“Mace, go with them,” I hear Connie saying. “Make sure they don’t kill each other. Now, come on girls, let’s have a nice cup of tea.”
They must obey because Maddie’s complaints fall into the distance as I weave between the flowerbeds and herb garden to find a level patch of grass.
The walk should have calmed me, but how can I be calm when Belle has probably returned to the mansion by now?
Barrett’s plane will be touching down any minute.
I turn to face Hunter, and his fist meets my face. I stagger back, spitting out blood. “And you say I have anger issues.”
We circle each other, waiting for the next opportunity to strike. “No, I say you have woman issues. The wrong fucking woman.”
I jab at him for that, but he dodges easily.
As Hunter turns, he strikes a fist into my side. The blow winds me, and enrages me more. With a cry, I spin, raising my elbow to catch his jaw. Once again he springs back, and my elbow meets thin air. We’re usually equally matched, but my brother’s calmer, and he’s making the most of the advantage.
“I know what I’m doing,” I hiss. “And if you can’t stand by me, feel free to walk away.”
“I’m not going anywhere. I said I’d have your ba–”
I lunge for him, punching him in the stomach, then following through with an uppercut. Hunter wheezes in pain, but he blocks my next jab, and my teeth crunch as his fist finds my jaw. He launches himself at me, and our bodies ricochet off each other. We’re both panting as we begin circling again.
“The hell you have my back,” I mutter. “Not unless you count the way you keep breathing down my neck with your incessant complaining.”
“I’m trying to make you see sense,” he says as he shoves me with both hands.
I make a grab for his wrists, but can’t find purchase. As we separate, I spy Mace. He’s on the outer edge of our temporary fighting ring, and he’s brought a chair. He’s sitting with an ankle resting on his knee and a stupid grin on his face like he’s enjoying the show.
When Hunter follows my gaze, I shove him. “Go on then, Hunter. Enlighten me. Tell me what I’m supposed to do,” I demand. I go to shove him again, but he dodges my next move. “Abandon my daughter to Barrett’s mercy? Or worse?”
“You could leave us to deal with it,” he says. “At least we’d deal with things rationally.”
“No!”
He barrels into me, grabbing my shirt. I grab his. We’re nose to bloody nose. “Let us protect her,” he says. “Let us protect you.”
I grunt as we push against each other, fighting to maintain ground. “And who protects Belle?” I ask. “Clearly not you.”
“She’s made her own bed. Let her lie in it!”
Not in Barrett’s fucking bed.