Chapter 51 – Sydney
SYDNEY
Sandwiched between Ashton and Alec in the back of their town car, I let myself smile. This is where I belong. With them.
Together.
I curl against Ashton’s side, running my hand over his arm. “Can we swing by my apartment quickly?” I ask. “I need to grab some more clothes if I’m being kidnapped for much longer.”
I’d been in a daze when I’d packed, grabbing things and shoving them in my suitcase without much thought. I miss my favorite sleep shirt and could use more than just one pair of jeans.
“Of course. We can stop by on our way to Second Circle,” Alec assures me. He leans forward, tapping the divider that separates us from the driver. When it opens, I hear him speaking softly to Earl, telling him to take a detour to my address.
“You better have a big bed in your suite, Babygirl,” Ashton murmurs into my ear, running his hand up the bare skin of my leg. “Because it’s going to be a tight fit with the three of us.”
“We’re not sleeping over,” Alec warns him, settling back into his seat. But he’s smiling, looking more relaxed than I’ve ever seen him. He stretches his arm behind me, fingers idly playing with my hair. “And if we are, you’re sleeping on the couch.”
“Who said anything about sleeping?” Ashton asks with a flirtatious wink.
I laugh, shoving him playfully, but that only makes him move closer. He lifts my legs and sets them across his thighs, pulling me toward him until I’m practically on his lap.
Alec snorts, shaking his head.
“I missed you,” I admit, staring into Ash’s bright blue eyes. And I did. I missed this feeling I get when I’m with him, like I’m safe, like nothing could ever hurt me. It’s even stronger now, after seeing him in the ring and watching him fight. My fierce protector.
“I missed you too, Babygirl.” He shifts forward until our foreheads are pressed together. “Every single fucking second we’re apart.”
We’re almost home, back to my place, and I can’t wait to grab the few things I need and leave quickly, so I can get them up to my hotel room. Just the thought of what the three of us could do together has me excited, wriggling in my seat.
Ash notices. Of course he notices. His eyes sparkle, and his hand moves higher up my leg, fingers trailing over the seam of my panties.
“Maybe we should get some of your toys,” he says softly, fingers teasing. “I have something I want to try with you…”
Alec’s phone vibrates against my hip, and he swears softly as he fishes it out of his pocket. Ash takes the opportunity to kiss me, tilting my chin up and pressing a soft, chaste kiss on my lips that has me pressing against him hungrily.
Traffic is a nightmare tonight. Earl pulls the car over to the side of the road to let a fire truck pass by, the sirens blaring. Another one follows, right on its heels.
“Doc?” Alec says into the phone. “This better be good. We’re on our way to—”
He stops mid-sentence, his body going stiff.
“Say that again,” he says quietly.
Another high-pitched whine from a firetruck as it races down the street. And now that I’m paying attention to them, I realize I can still hear the others, like they haven’t gone far at all. Like they’re just around the corner…
“Alec?” Ashton asks, frowning. “What’s going on?”
Alec’s face is hard, his jaw tight. “We’re almost there. Get here now,” he barks into the phone.
The sirens are so, so loud suddenly.
“Sydney.” Alec looks at me, eyes too soft, voice too gentle.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, feeling the panic set in. “What’s going on?”
So, so loud, I can’t hear anything else. There’s nothing but the sirens.
Alec doesn’t answer me.
No.
No, no, no.
Somehow, I already know, without him saying a word.
The sirens are deafening, and as we turn the corner, our car stops, blocked from moving forward.
My block. We’re on my block. Frantically, I dive for the door handle, almost falling over Ashton in my haste to get out onto the street, ignoring him as he tries to stop me.
There are barricades set up around my building, but I push them away, running, running. ..
“Jade!” I scream. I’m looking around at the crowd, eyes searching for her bright red hair, for her wide smile.
“JADE?”
There’s no answer.
Before me, my store—my home—is an inferno.