Chapter 31 #2
When he stands fully in the hallway, I notice that he’s not much taller than me, which is a plus. However, he’s heavily built, which gives him strength. I have to find his weakness. And quickly.
Then he’s standing a step away from me. In a hushed voice, he adds, “But you can easily make it up to me, though not quickly. You can do it, even though you don’t look like it in those black, shapeless clothes.”
Blood boils in my veins.
His breath wafts over my face. It reeks of cigarettes and cheap alcohol.
“Is that what you want, big boy?” I ask seductively, lowering my eyelids. “First, you’ll have to take me to James.”
The guy stares, spellbound, and smiles. I doubt he even registered what I said, but when he hears the quiet sound of a gun being cocked, he freezes.
“What the fuck?” His eyes wander down to where my gun is pointed straight at his dick.
“I wanted to introduce you to my friend. Say hello nice and pretty, or he might shoot your head off,” I taunt, my eyes now cold.
“Who are you?”
“It doesn’t matter. Take me to James, and don’t even think about any stupid ideas, or it will end badly for you. I’ll shoot your stupid head off as soon as it crosses my mind that you want your friends’ backup. Do we understand each other?”
He swallows, and his Adam’s apple bobs up and down. He nods.
Not so brave now?
“Wonderful. Turn around slowly and lead the way. And pray we don’t meet anyone on the way, because then I won’t need you anymore. You know what I mean.”
This guy doesn’t look like he has a high IQ, but he definitely understands what I’m saying.
He slowly turns on his heel and heads back the way he came. Luckily for him, we don’t meet anyone on the stairs or in the hallway, and he doesn’t try to overpower me either. The barrel of the gun pressed against his lower back must be demotivating.
In one hallway, we stop in front of a door.
“Don’t leave me now. We’re going inside,” I urge him, but he shakes his head.
I’m already prepared for him to pull some stunt, but he lifts his fist and knocks three times.
There’s silence for four long seconds, until a dissatisfied, booming voice calls for us to come in.
Pressing the gun harder against the asshole’s spine, I command, “Men first.”
We enter, and I kick the door shut behind us.
I’m prepared for two men in the office, but there are four. This complicates the situation and drastically reduces my chances of leaving the room alive.
One thing is certain; we made quite an entrance. Four pairs of eyes rest on us, and eyebrows rise in surprise.
“Ash, what the—” I hear Ryker’s angry voice.
From the corner of my eye, I glance at him, then at James standing nearby. On the other side of the room stands none other than...
...the Vice President of the United States. He’s accompanied by a man not much older than me.
So I’m not the only one surprising them, because I didn’t expect the newly minted vice president to be here.
It was stupid and rash of me to make that plan. Now I know it was my mistake.
A witness who is a high-ranking politician is no insignificant problem. It’s more than a problem. It’s my sentence.
Zoe’s face flashes through my mind and gives me new determination. Even at the cost of my life, I have to do what I came here to do.
“What does this mean, Ronald?” James asks in a razor-sharp voice.
Before my new colleague answers his employer, I whisper to him, “Ronald, thank you for your help. You’re invaluable. Now take a nap.”
Lifting my hand, I strike him on the back of the head with the butt of my gun. For a moment, I hope that will be enough, because I don’t want to do it again. Ronald falls to his knees in front of me, then face down on the floor. A dull thud fills the room, and all eyes turn to the spot.
Ronald doesn’t move. I’m not sure how long I’ve knocked him out for, so I have to act quickly.
I raise my gun and point it at James Elliot. Eyes similar to the ones I love so much stare provocatively at me.
“Gentlemen, let me introduce you. Ashley Baker,” James says with obvious disgust.
“Charles Baker’s daughter? Is it a coincidence that you have the same surname?” The vice president seems genuinely interested.
“The one and only,” comments the unknown young man.
He watches me and smiles, completely oblivious to the gravity of the situation we’re in.
“Actually, my name isn’t Baker. I’m Ashley Monroe.”
I try to come up with a new plan of action in my head. Nothing sensible comes to mind.
With sadness in my eyes, I look at Ryker. I already know things won’t end the way I want them to. Our story won’t have a happy ending.
Fear runs down my spine, but only for a split second. Then acceptance sets in.
I won’t get out of this alive.
“Despite your name, you’re still the daughter of a former senator. My condolences seem in order,” adds the vice president.
My head immediately turns in his direction, which isn’t very smart. Distraction is the most common mistake people make in this business. And I can’t afford that.
What a mess.
As I can see, news travels fast. Have the Rykers already discussed this?
“Ash, what the fuck are you doing here?” Ryker’s voice is calm, but when I glance at him again, there’s fear lurking in his eyes.
“Isn’t it obvious that she’s here for me?” his father replies. “Looks like your girlfriend has bigger balls than you, son, holding a gun pointed at me.”
“You killed my father,” I hiss with contempt.
“No, I didn’t kill him.”
“You think I’m going to take the word of someone like you at face value? Wherever you set foot, you wreak havoc and evil, spreading the ugliness of this world and bringing out the worst in people. You don’t care about anyone but yourself, not even your loved ones.”
“I guess Ryker has been telling you a few stories.” He laughs, even though he’s the only one who has done anything.
The others watch our interaction. “But I’ll give you a little advice as my son’s toy.
Be careful what you say to me and how you say it, because toys have a tendency to break beyond repair. ”
I take the safety off my gun, and the quiet click is loud and clear.
“Ash, what are you doing? He didn’t do it. Put the gun down,” Ryker interjects.
“Why would I do that, Ashley? Why would I kill him?” James asks.
I should finish him off and end this whole charade. “You put a hit out on him, and when it took too long, you lost your patience. Admit it, you wanted to save face.”
“You’re right, I lost my patience,” James admits with a shrug.
“Of course I had to save face when my son lost his head over you and delayed what he had to do. From what I know, you have a great understanding of this business, Shadow, so you know that million-dollar deals are no joke. Even so, I wasn’t the first to get to him. ”
Suddenly, a grunt draws our attention to the other two men.
“Actually...” the younger one begins.
“Aiden,” the vice president growls. The friendly mask falls from his face.
What the hell is going on here?
James knows I’m Shadow. No one even batted an eye at that news.
Everyone knows about it, something inside me tells me.
And who the hell is Aiden?
“Ashley,” Aiden addresses me. He smiles, and two dimples appear on his cheeks. Whoever he is, I have to admit he’s a handsome guy, tall with a broad build. His short blond hair is messy, but it adds to his charm. “I’m sorry to say that James is right about this, and he didn’t kill Charles.”
“What the fuck?” I hear Ryker’s disbelief.
I swallow hard, and my breathing quickens. My heart is pounding so hard that I feel hot.
“Who, then, is responsible for this?” My voice sounds unfamiliar to me.
“You know who did it. You know who needed him gone,” he replies calmly.
Understanding dawns on me. He’s right. I know now.
Ismael... It’s his doing.
The Mexican border. Smuggling routes. Loco Muerte. Everything my father warned me about. Ismael...
I can see in Ryker’s eyes that he knows a lot more than he’s telling me.
“Ismael?” Ryker speaks the words I’m thinking. “Why the hell was his body in my warehouse?”
Aiden shrugs. “Maybe it was a warning. Maybe he had another purpose. Who knows?”
But there’s one more thing...
My eyes turn to James, who still has a malicious smile on his face. He’s enjoying this whole mess.
“We have one more unfinished business,” I say in a low, warning tone, and his eyes widen.
“Little Killer? What are you doing, baby? Put the gun down.”
Ryker’s words aren’t a request; they’re an order. But I’m not his soldier. In an icy tone, I say, “I can’t do that. Please step back.”
“What is all this? Can’t you keep your whore on a leash?” James blurts out. He’s filled with hatred and bitterness.
My man gives him a blood-curdling look. “Shut the fuck up. She’s not a whore!”
“Ryker, back off, I said!” Now I’m shouting.
“This is better than any political debate.” Aiden claps his hands, pleased with the turn of events. “Ryker, she can’t put the gun down.”
A trickle of cold sweat runs down between my shoulder blades.
Ryker’s confused gaze jumps between Aiden and me. The latter adds with a smile, “Are you going to tell him, Shadow? Or should I do it?”
The question is like a light bulb suddenly illuminating something important in my head.
I exhale loudly. I still can’t take my eyes off James. It’s impossible.
Zoe...
“I have a job to do.” I finally utter the words. I finally confess the truth.
Ryker stiffens, giving me a suspicious look. “You don’t anymore. Your job was Charles, after all.”
“Charles was never Shadow’s job. James was,” Aiden, my... employer… answers for me.
Fuck.
I had no direct contact with him, but now it’s clear. Only he, Alex, and I knew the truth.
“Ryker—” I start, but the words get stuck in my throat.
His shout is like a bear’s roar. “You lied to me!”
“I didn’t lie!” I say with a slight panic in my voice. “I never told you exactly who my target was. I never said it was Charles. You drew those conclusions!”
“And you never corrected them!”
He’s right. I never did.
“And I know it’s a poor excuse. Silence is also a lie.”
At the beginning of our relationship, I knew I couldn’t trust him. He was the son of my enemy, my target. Then we formed an alliance, and everything got mixed up. I wanted to trust him, but I doubted my judgment. And now it’s too late.
“Ash, you can’t do this,” Ryker pleads in a hushed voice. “I’ll never get Aisling back if you kill him now. Baby—”
His pleading gaze and tone of voice do something indefinable to my heart. Everything inside me is turned upside down. “I know, and I’m sorry. I lost my father, I lost my mother because of him. I can’t lose my sister!”
“I fucking hate him too, Ash. I lost my mother too, and I can’t lose Aisling as well.”
My hand starts to shake. For a moment, I ask myself what the hell I’m doing here. It’s too hard with all these feelings clouding my judgment.
“Why the fuck is she even after me?!” James moves to his desk, and I react instinctively by pulling the trigger.
The loud shot echoes off the walls of James’s office.