16. Ash
16
ASH
I drive my fist into the punching bag, feel the satisfying jolt up my arm, and hit it again harder. Sweat drips down my back, my muscles are burning, and my knuckles are screaming at me to stop. But I don’t.
Because the minute I do, I’ll start thinking about her.
Laina.
Barging into my meeting like she owned the place. Challenging me in front of my men; looking at me like I was the one ruining her life. As if she wasn’t the single biggest problem I had to deal with right now.
I told her not to fucking do that again, and she did! The absolute audacity of this woman.
I hit the bag again, and it swings wildly, the chains creaking from the force. I steady the bag and shake out my hands. They feel raw and bruised. Good. At least something else hurts more than my head.
I grab a towel, swipe it over my face, and turn toward the kitchen. Tessa is at the stove, stirring something in a pan. She’s not looking at me, which means she’s pissed.
I crank the music blasting on the old speakers down a notch. Not because I care, but because my own pulse is hammering in my ears.
“You planning to beat the crap out of that bag all night?” she asks coolly. “Or are you actually going to eat?”
“Not hungry.” I take a water bottle from the fridge and twist off the cap.
She doesn’t say anything, just plates whatever she made—pasta, from the looks of it—and sets it down on the table like she already knows I won’t touch it. After a moment’s pause, she turns to me, arms crossed.
“Rough day?”
I take a long drink of water and don’t answer.
Tessa sighs in irritation and asks, “Let me guess. The princess made a scene.”
“Stay out of it.”
“Hard to do when you’re acting like this,” she says waving a hand toward my sweat-soaked, bare-chested state. “I’ve seen this dance before.”
I lean against the counter and take another sip of water. “Yeah? So what’s your expert diagnosis?”
“You’re mad. Furious, actually. But not because she interrupted your meeting,” she says with a smirk. “You’re upset because she didn’t listen to you.”
I don’t bother responding because she’s right. And that pisses me off even more.
Tessa takes a slow, deliberate step toward me. “You like control, Ash. Always have. And now you’ve got a girl under your roof who doesn’t give a shit about your rules.” She stops just inches away, looking up at me. “That’s what’s really pissing you off.”
I exhale sharply, steadying my breath. “You done?”
“I’m just saying. If you wanted a girl who follows orders, you picked the wrong one.”
“And if you wanted a reaction, you’re not getting one.”
Tessa rolls her eyes and turns back to the stove. “Whatever you say, Ash.”
I grip the edge of the counter and curl my fingers into fists. The worst part of this whole conversation is that Tessa’s not wrong.
Laina isn’t just a problem.
She’s my problem.
And I have no damn idea what to do about it. The guys are starting to get restless and Reynolds has been like a shadow, creeping closer but not making any serious moves.
I take another drink of water, watching Tessa with the kind of mild annoyance reserved for someone who’s overstayed their welcome but hasn’t done anything outright offensive yet.
She’s waiting for me to snap. I can feel it. She gets off on it.
Not happening.
Liam steps inside just then, looking like he just walked into the middle of a storm he wants no part of. His gaze flicks between me and Tessa before settling on me.
“We’ve got a problem,” he says.
“We always have a problem. Be more specific.”
Liam glances at Tessa, then back at me. His expression is unreadable, but I don’t like the way his jaw tightens before he speaks.
“It’s Laina.”
I freeze. “What about her?”
“She’s gone.”
The room goes dead silent.
Liam waits for me to react as a cold, creeping smile curls over Tessa’s lips.
I blink not sure I heard right. “Gone?”
“Yeah.”
“Define gone .”
Liam exhales sharply. “Gone as in no longer at the clubhouse, Ash. Not in the garage. Not outside, not anywhere. I checked.”
I toss the now-empty water bottle on the counter and stare hard at Liam. “When exactly did this happen?”
“Sometime after that shitshow of a meeting.”
I feel a slow, rising burn in my chest, like a fuse that just got lit. I turn to Tessa, who suddenly seemed overly preoccupied with the salad she was preparing.
I know that look. She knows something.
I call out her name twice before she finally looks at me, a lazy, knowing smirk on her face.
“What?” she asks casually.
“You see her leave?”
“She and I spoke. That’s all,” Tessa says with a shrug, poking at the salad like she hadn’t just casually dropped a bomb in the middle of my day.
Of course she had. This was typical Tessa behavior; lighting the match, dropping it over gasoline, and then pulling away.
“About what?” I ask through gritted teeth.
“Not much. I just told her how things operate around here, and I guess she decided to leave.”
“And you’re just mentioning this now?”
She turns and rests her hip against the counter, crossing her arms like she’s settling in for a show. “You didn’t ask.”
I inhale slowly, trying not to put my fist through the wall. “Where’d she go?”
Tessa tilts her head, eyes dancing. “You mean, where’d she run?”
Liam makes a low sound in his throat and I can tell he’s minutes away from pounding something.
Tessa presses on sounding amused. “I warned her, Ash. Told her exactly how this was gonna go, looks like she made the smart choice.”
I take another step closer, my hands flexing at my sides, my voice tinged with anger, “Tessa...”
She lowers her voice just enough to make it personal and whispers in satisfaction, “She’s gone, Ash and there’s nothing you can do. Want to know something else? I watched her go.”
I stare at her, my jaw so tight I’m surprised my teeth don’t crack.
Laina’s gone. She left because of Tessa.
And Tessa is standing here, smiling like this is a joke.
I take another step forward, and for the first time tonight, a flicker of uncertainty crosses her face before she tilts her chin up proudly.
“What did you say to her?” My voice is low and deadly.
Tessa sighs as if I’m exhausting her . “I told her the truth, Ash. That you’ll use her to get what you want and toss her when you’re done. I told her you don’t care about her—only the club.” She shrugs and addresses Liam, “From the looks of it, guess she believed me.”
Liam mutters, “Jesus.” under his breath, but I’m so furious, I barely hear it.
Tessa doesn’t stop with her taunts, “Come on, Ash. You and I both know how this ends. You were never gonna keep her. You were just borrowing her until she outlived her usefulness.” She tilts her head and stares at me with gleaming, malicious eyes. “I just helped her realize it a little sooner.”
A long, heavy silence follows her words.
Then I say, “Get out.”
Tessa blinks, her smirk faltering. “What?” she asks.
“You heard me. Get out. And don’t you ever fucking come back.”
She lets out a short laugh like she thinks I’m kidding. “Ash?—”
I take a step closer, and this time, she backs up.
“I said get out,” I growl. “I never want you to step foot on our territory again.”
Her eyes flick to Liam like she’s waiting for him to step in, but he doesn’t move.
Tessa’s face hardens. “You’re really doing this?”
“Yeah.”
“Over…over her ?”
My patience finally snaps and I shout, “Tessa, I swear to God, if you don’t walk out of here right now?—”
“Fine, fine!” She grabs her bag off the counter and slings it over her shoulder. “You know what? Fine.”
She storms toward the door but hesitates at the last second, turning back. Her eyes are sharp, full of something almost like desperation. “She’s not what you think she is, Ash,” she says quietly. “And one day, you’re gonna wish you’d listened to me.”
I don’t respond.
She waits, just for a second, I know she’s hoping I’ll say something.
I don’t.
With a frustrated exhale, she marches through the living room, yanks the door open, and disappears into the night.
I stand there, hands clenched at my sides, staring at the unfinished salad.
The silence stretches. Then?—
“What the hell is her problem?” Liam grunts in exasperation.
I don’t answer. I’m already moving. I grab my keys off the counter and stalk toward the door.
“Where are you going?” Liam asks.
I don’t look back.
“Where the hell do you think?”
I step outside, the air is thick and electric. My boots hit the pavement hard as I make my way to my bike.
Laina ran. How far did she go? Where did she go?
I rev the engine and the monstrous roar tears through the silence.
“Do you even know where she is?” Liam shouts after me.
“I’ll fucking figure it out!”