Chapter 23 – Ashton
ASHTON
I can’t fucking believe this. I kick a rock on the sidewalk, watching it bounce down the path in front of me. Sebastian. She’s picking Sebastian over me.
Fuck, I want to punch something. Something with glasses.
Tony’s club is just around the corner from Sydney’s shop, and one of my favorite food trucks—Sabor de Corazón—should be parked nearby today.
She’d loved the place when I’d taken her there for our date, right?
Maybe I’ll stop by on my way back, pick up some lunch for her.
Sure, she wasn’t exactly thrilled the last time I swung by her work, but she’s got to eat sometime, doesn’t she?
The more I think about it, the better the idea sounds.
The best way to someone’s heart is through the stomach.
Everyone knows that. Doc would never do something thoughtful like bringing her lunch.
Sure, Alec will be pissed if he finds out I went to see her, but he’ll get over it.
And who says he even has to find out? He doesn’t need to know, doesn’t—
“Ashton?”
I freeze mid-step, my foot hovering above the pavement.
I know that voice. Cold. Elegant. I recognize it immediately, and that’s how I know, before I even turn around, who will be there waiting for me. Even before I see her seated at an outdoor table, head tilted to the side as she watches me, face blank.
Annika.
She’s older—more woman than girl, now—her platinum blonde hair cut shorter than I remember.
She sits with her back perfectly straight, hands folded on the table in front of her.
She looks out of place here, with her designer dress and emerald earrings, sitting at a plastic outdoor table with graffiti drawn on it, an abandoned napkin fluttering by on the wind.
My mind turns to static, seeing her. And yeah, I should be thinking about how she betrayed us, how she nearly got us all killed.
How she was like a little sister to me, before she chose her father over us.
How she broke my little brother’s heart, crushed it beneath her Louboutin heels like it was nothing.
I shouldn’t be stepping closer to her, when she stands up. I shouldn’t be reaching for her.
And I sure as hell shouldn’t be wrapping my arms around her, pulling her in tight against me and breathing, “Fuck, I missed you,” into her neck.
But I do.
Annika goes rigid. For a few seconds, she’s nothing but stone, cold and unyielding. Then her muscles ease, her arms circle me, and she lets herself fall into the hug.
It doesn’t last. She never was the touchy-feely type, on the best of days. All too soon, she’s pulling back, smoothing invisible wrinkles from her ivory-colored dress, mouth twisting in distaste as she steps away from me.
“That was stupid, Ashton,” she chides, her voice low but sharp. “Calling me. You have no idea if my phone is being monitored. Or what I would do. This could be a setup. I could be luring you into a trap right now.”
Suddenly wary, I glance around at the crowd around us. “Are you?” I ask, not bothering to hide the concern in my voice.
Her gray eyes soften, just a touch. “No, Ash. I’m not.”
“What are you even doing here?” Annika doesn’t belong here, not in Fortune City. She should be home, should be back in Empire. He doesn’t let her out of his sight like this.
She raises a single, perfectly manicured eyebrow. “You’re the one who called me. Remember?”
“Yeah, but…” I struggle to explain. “What are you doing here? Right now? How the hell did you know I’d be here?”
“Oh. That.” She almost smiles. A smug, pleased look settles on her face, softening her features.
“I knew your little gun runner would go straight to you after he turned down our offer to buy him out. You should have a chat with him about his public email calendar. I knew he scheduled an appointment with you before you did, Ashton.”
I grin. I can’t help it. I’m fucking proud of her. “God, look at you. All grown up,” I say. I like the short hair, like the way it complements her sharp features. It makes her look like someone you don’t want to fuck with.
“Why did you call me?” she asks, cutting through my smile. “If Dante finds out I’m talking to you, I’ll never see the light of day again.”
Jesus. A heavy weight settles into my chest. “It’s really him, huh?” I ask, feeling numb. “He’s really alive?”
Annika gives me a scathing, almost pitying look. “Of course he is. Did you and your brothers really think you could kill the devil?”
Fuck. I drag a hand over my face. Yeah, I’d given Doc shit about it, but… I don’t think I really believed it. Didn’t really believe it was him. That he survived.
We’re so fucked.
“What does he want from us?” I ask finally.
I don’t expect her to answer. She proved it already, didn’t she? She’s on his side, not ours. But she surprises me. “What does any man want?” she asks lightly. “Power. Privilege.” Her eyes darken. “Revenge.”
That word hits me like a bullet. I’ve seen firsthand what he’s willing to do to people who betray him. “He’s researching someone we care about. Sending guys to look into her. We need to know why, what he’s planning.”
“Sydney,” Annika confirms, without hesitation. Her lips purse. “You should stay away from her, Ash. For her sake.”
My answering laugh sounds broken. “I don’t think I can do that,” I tell her honestly.
“If you care about her, you will.” She tilts her chin, staring me down. “Dante is playing you all for fools, you know.”
When I just stand there, not sure what to say to that, she goes on. “It’s misdirection, Ashton. He’ll use her to keep you distracted. And he’ll keep toying with her until you’re too busy watching her to see what he’s really doing.”
“We’re not going to be distracted,” I insist. “And she’s safe, he can’t get to her. She’s—”
“He already has gotten to her,” Annika interrupts, voice cold. “He has someone close to her. Watching her. He could take her at any moment if he wanted to. Don’t forget who you’re dealing with.”
My stomach drops. “Why should I believe you?” I challenge.
Something flashes in her eyes, something that looks like anger. “I didn’t have to come here and tell you this,” she snaps. “I don’t owe you or your brothers anything anymore.”
“You kinda do, though,” I remind her, a hint of the bitterness I’m feeling bleeding into my words. “After what you did to us.”
Her eyes widen, and she takes a step back from me, recoiling like I slapped her. “What I did to you?”
“I mean…” I rub the back of my neck, unease spreading through me. “You sold us out, Annika. You told him our whole plan. Everything.”
Her expression shutters. “That’s what you think happened?” she asks in a low voice.
Think? No, that’s what I know happened. No one else could’ve tipped him off. No one else knew the plan outside of the four of us. It had to be her. Except… The hurt buried deep in her eyes makes me hesitate. For the first time since we left Dante bleeding out on the floor, I’m not so sure.
But she looks away from me, and I could almost convince myself I imagined it.
“Let yourself get distracted by her, and you’ll lose everything,” Annika tells me.
She motions to someone behind her—her bodyguard, Friedrich, standing up from another table, hand resting on the gun in his waistband.
Fucking hell, a guy that big has no business blending in as well as he does.
“Take my advice or don’t. Either way, I couldn’t care less. ”
Then she turns, red sole grinding on the gravel in one swift motion, and she’s gone.