Chapter 31
Ashley
Ididn’t tell Ryker the whole truth, and I can’t stop thinking about it. Why on earth didn’t I do it? Why was I such a coward?
Guilt is flooding me from within. With every passing hour, it gets harder and harder.
I feel like everything is about to shatter into a million pieces. My intuition never fails me, and today it’s screaming louder than usual.
It’s almost over, it tells me.
All this time, I suspected Rykers of having bad intentions. I was suspicious. I looked for all his flaws. Today I know that he’s not the villain in our story. I am.
Before I leave the apartment, I knock on Zoe’s door. She doesn’t answer, so I open it.
Zoe’s lying on the bed, covered with a blanket. She looks so peaceful, with no sadness on her face and no problems in her heart.
Without making a sound, I sit on the edge of the bed.
Memories from childhood flash through my mind, when I would often stare at her as she slept. She was my whole world. Nothing else mattered.
“I love you, little sister, and I’ll make sure you’re always safe,” I whisper.
Since my father’s death, Alex’s words from the beginning of this story have haunted me.
“But Ash, remember, if you fuck this up, blood will be spilled. I’m not just talking about your head, but mine too.
Everyone close to you, everyone you care about, everyone you love, will be in danger.
Zoe won’t be safe either. Don’t fuck this up. ”
I fucked it up.
What will happen now? Should I hide Zoe somewhere? How much danger is she in?
I don’t even know who I’m fighting, who the threat is. I don’t know who the client is, and Alex isn’t answering his phone.
This is my fault. And I’m really scared.
I’ll protect you, sis. I promise.
My hand reaches out to stroke Zoe’s hair, but I stop myself at the last moment. Her ignorance of what will happen today is her blessing right now.
Withdrawing my hand, I get up. Just as quietly, I leave her room and the apartment.
Not knowing all the details of the meeting, I spend almost three hours in front of Feather. Sitting and waiting in the car is annoying but necessary.
Finally, I see Eli’s black Escalade and know that the time has come.
I get out of my car at the same moment Ryker leaves the club. He doesn’t see me, and that gives me an opportunity I’m not going to miss.
Ryker gets into the front passenger seat, and before his door closes, I grab the rear door handle. I jump in as if I belong there.
Immediately, three pairs of eyes are pinned on me. Eli is behind the wheel; Theo is sitting on the back seat next to me.
“What the fuck?” Eli asks in disbelief.
Theo remains silent as usual, and a shocked Ryker asks, “What are you doing here, Ash?”
Smiling slightly, I hope to ease the tension. “Let’s go, boys.”
“No fucking way. Go home, Little Killer.” Ryker’s voice drops several octaves.
“I want to go with you. I’ll be good.”
“Absolutely not.” He won’t back down.
“Please, Ryker. I’ll stay in the car—”
“We have to go,” Theo interjects. “You know what will happen if we’re late again.”
Ryker’s eyes flash like hard steel. I can see he’s not ready to give in. At the same time, he knows Theo’s right.
His hard features finally soften a little, and he sighs. Then I know I’ve won this battle. One obstacle down.
“Fine,” he finally agrees. “But you’re staying in the car, understand? You’re not taking a single step out of it.”
I nod politely when Eli offers, “I’ll stay with her. Don’t worry, Ry, she won’t get hurt.”
Ryker isn’t convinced, but he tells Eli to get going.
I tried various ways to get James Elliot’s address. However, it turned out that this address was impossible to get. No one could give even an approximate location. Alex’s informants were also useless in this case.
Nothing. It was as if the man didn’t exist at all.
So, using Ryker for this purpose was the only option.
Just the thought of it makes my heart ache, and a fresh wave of remorse washes over me.
I have no choice.
My thoughts fill the entire journey to Ryker’s father’s place. We drive up the driveway of a white colonial house. Or rather, an estate. The sight of it alone turns my stomach upside down, and I get goosebumps.
I feel as though we’re entering the heart of evil.
Eli parks the car a little off to the side; we don’t drive right up to the estate. It seems enough for us to be on the grounds. Or maybe this is a deliberate move on his part?
“Ry—” I start, but he turns and looks at me sharply.
“Ash, I’m not kidding. Stay in the car, baby. I’ll find out everything and be back soon, okay?”
Sinking deeper into my seat, I know it’s a lost cause to reason with him. He looks me in the eye as if he wants to read my thoughts.
I see when he gathers himself and turns his gaze to his brothers. “Stay with her, both of you. Don’t let her go in there.”
“Sure thing,” Eli says. “We’ll wait here with her.”
Ryker jumps out of the car and disappears behind the door of the mansion.
The car is silent. No one speaks for a long time.
We sit and wait. All three of us stare at the Ryker family home, a house that is a hotbed of evil.
A few minutes pass, and I know I have to act. My heart pounds like it wants to burst out of my chest.
I swallow hard. “I’m sorry, guys. Really. I like you, and I have nothing against you... but I can’t help it.”
“What are you talking about?” Eli turns toward me just as I force a needle into Theo’s thigh and immediately inject the entire contents of the sedative into his body.
Theo’s eyes widen, but the drug works very quickly in his body. Before he can make any move, his vision begins to blur. Within seconds, his head falls back against the seat.
It’s the dose Alex calculated for a man of his build. No second thoughts, no mistakes...
“What the fuck?” Eli repeats for the second time that evening, but I already have my gun pointed at his face.
Everything happens in the blink of an eye, although it feels like it lasts for minutes. Adrenaline can do that to a person.
“Are you going to shoot me?” he asks in disbelief. I see hurt on his face. I’ll apologize for that, but it will have to wait.
I throw the syringe on the floor and pull the handcuffs out of my sweatshirt pocket. I throw them at the driver. “Put them on and handcuff yourself to the steering wheel.”
Eli shakes his head as if he can’t believe what’s happening. “Ryker will kill me if I let you go in there. Ash, you don’t understand—”
“You’re the one who doesn’t understand. I have to end this. Otherwise, we’re all dead.”
“You just want to go in there and what? Shoot James? What about Aisling, huh? Have you thought about that? Ryker will never find his sister, and he’ll never forgive you.”
Tears sting my eyes, but I have to be strong. “Put those handcuffs on,” I hiss.
Eli sighs but does as I ask. “Happy?”
“I had no choice,” I say to myself, justifying my actions.
Putting my gun away, I’m about to get out when Eli adds, “Do us all a favor and don’t get yourself killed.
Ryker will be furious that we screwed up, and if a single hair on your head is touched, all hell will break loose.
And one more thing—” He closes his eyes for a second, as if he can’t believe he’s saying this.
“After the recent purges, James is short of people. You’ll get through unnoticed via the bedroom balcony at the back of the house. ”
I swallow hard. I don’t know why he’s telling me all this, but I’m damn grateful. “Thank you,” I say, and he shakes his head again.
A few minutes later, I see firsthand that the security for someone as important as James Elliot is simply terrible. Staying in the shadows, I slip past the guards in the garden with no problem. The open balcony door upstairs is an invitation. A vine-covered trellis serves as my ladder.
Thank you, Eli.
I jump silently onto the balcony and crouch down. At first, I wait, ready to attack if someone suddenly appears in the doorway, but the room is shrouded in darkness. Nothing happens.
Bending down, I slip inside and look around the room. It’s small and doesn’t look like a master bedroom. So, it belongs to someone other than James, perhaps an employee.
If I had to guess, I would bet a fortune that the meeting is taking place in the study or the living room. I have to find James and Ryker, and fast. There’s no time to waste.
Carefully, I open the door and squint through the light in the hallway. It’s quiet all around, with no conversations or footsteps to be heard. I’m sure I can move on.
The first step is to find my way to the ground floor. The hallway turns to the right and left, so I have to choose blindly.
I close the door behind me with a quiet click and turn left. I pass two closed doors until I reach a bend. Checking to see if the coast is clear, I lean forward slightly. There’s no one there, but at the end of the corridor I see stairs going down.
Bingo.
Cold sweat breaks out on my forehead, and fear freezes my blood as I set off again.
Out of nowhere, a man in a leather motorcycle jacket appears on the stairs, his long hair tied back, tattoos up to his jawline.
In desperation, I’m about to hide behind the first door I see, but the guy looks up and spots me.
It’s too late.
Fuck!
Standing frozen, I don’t know what to expect. But I certainly don’t expect the guy to run his sleazy gaze over my entire body and smile crookedly.
“What are you doing here, little bird? Was it you who visited Robin?” His hoarse voice is disgusting, just like he is.
I feel like throwing up but smile slightly, neither confirming nor denying.
“You must be a wild and insatiable cat. Because of your lovemaking, I had to work an extra shift on guard duty.”
Four steps separate us. With each step he takes, my heart beats faster. “I think you owe me something.”
I almost vomit in my mouth.