Chapter 25 – Mari
Iwas checking over quarterly profits for the club inventory when the alarm beeped. Pulling up the security system on my phone, I verified it was my guest, hit the button for the garage, and locked down the office. By the time I made it to the garage, Aislynn was wringing her fingers by the hood of her car.
She was too pale, hair hanging limp. Her normally bright eyes were dull and sunken, with heavy purple bags underneath them. The worst part was how hunched she was, a hand wrapped around her torso like she was trying to protect her soft spots.
Where just last month she’d been glowing with love, now she was an imitation of herself.
It made me hate Cameron even more, especially because I wasn’t sure how to act. If I tried to hug her, would she rebuke me? Did she want comfort or support, or would she prefer it came from someone other than me?
Maybe I was an unfortunate reminder of the mistakes she’d made—the mistakes we’d both made. Knowing that, I wouldn’t want to hug me either.
We stared at each other, the distance a chasm, until her eyes welled and a tear tracked down her cheek.
“Fuck it.” My long strides meant I wrapped her in a hug just as the sobs started. The thing no one told you about friendship was that when their hearts broke, so did yours. Seeing Ash, I knew this was no different. Every shuddering gasp dug a little deeper at my heart. She twisted her fingers in my shirt, holding me to her. Eventually, it became less of me holding her together and more about the two of us connecting in a way that I hadn’t realized I needed.
I needed to know that she didn’t hate me for my cousin’s actions. That she could look at me and see past the blood I shared. I had to know that our friendship could survive the chaos he’d wrought. When Ash hugged me back, I knew we’d be okay.
This might be a roadblock, but it wasn’t the end of us.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered, though the words didn’t feel like enough.
“You didn’t know,” she whispered, holding me tighter than before. “I know you wouldn’t put me in this position willingly. Plus, you’re making it better. Thank you for the divorce papers.”
“They aren’t enough.”
“They’re a good start, though. Having them with me, knowing I’ll be free of him in every way soon… It means a lot.” Ash looked away like she was embarrassed. “Sorry I snotted on you.”
Snorting, I wrapped an arm around her shoulder and steered her inside the house. “You can snot on me anytime.”
“Gross.” Her wrinkled nose disappeared as she took in the new space.
It was so interesting watching someone else look at our home for the first time, but the smile on her face was a sight for sore eyes.
“It’s beautiful, Mari.”
“It’s all Grey’s work.”
“No doubt.” She laughed, but I didn’t mind. We all knew Greyson was better at decorating than I was.
Things were slightly more comfortable as I walked her through the house to the lounge we gravitated toward most. The area was sunken in, giving it a cozy feel despite the high ceilings. Grey had bought a massive couch with plenty of corners to snuggle into while we watched the television hung on the wall. A shit-ton of blankets were in a huge basket near the fireplace, and the room had big windows we could open to look out at the backyard whenever we wanted.
It was the perfect rainy-day spot.
Bonus, it was close to the kitchen, so we’d have easy access to Amara’s snacks once she was home.
I curled into my favorite corner of the couch with a blanket on my lap, tossing Ash one too. “How are you doing?”
For a second, I thought she was going to lie, maybe try to pretend that she was doing great. Then she sighed, her body drooping into the cushions with a soft huff. “Awful. I feel stupid and foolish. Childish, even.”
“Ash—”
She held up her hand. “I don’t want to discuss it. You asked and I answered, but I don’t want to talk about it now. I need time to get over it all.”
It was the only thing she’d asked for since we’d found out, and even if I hated it, I couldn’t tell her no. “Of course.”
She cleared her throat, shifting on the seat before turning to look at me with a renewed vigor in her gaze. “Rafael said he has a safe house I can use.”
“That’s good.” If Rafael offered a safe house, it meant that he knew he could actually keep her alive. “He won’t do anything to hurt you.”
“I know. That’s not what I want to talk about, though.” She cleared her throat, and my stomach dropped. “I’m going away for a while after this.”
Oh. It wasn’t that I wanted to keep her in Seattle—though I did—I just couldn’t guarantee her safety anywhere else.
Has she really been all that safe here?
No, she hadn’t. Fuck. “Where?”
She blew her hair out of her face, and I realized she needed a trim. Another thing about Aislynn that was off. She never let her hair go too long without professional styling. “Anywhere. I just need to heal, and I can’t do it here, where there are memories of him and me.”
And you.
She didn’t have to say it.
I swallowed thickly, knowing she was trying to be honest even when it hurt. “Wherever you want to go, I’ll make it happen,” I promised.
She nodded, though I didn’t know if she realized she was doing it. It was more of an impulse to soothe herself. “I just need a restart. To reinvent myself somewhere new where no one’s ever met me. I need to wash myself clean of all of this.”
“You deserve it.”
I was mentally sifting through places I could send her—resorts with on-site spas and massages and celebrity-level therapists who could take care of her and help her get her mind right—when the doorbell rang.
Ash stiffened at the sound, not blinking when I pulled a gun from under the table. She’d had to jump through hoops just to get inside the gates. No way I’d invited anyone else over.
Typing out a message to the boys, who’d left to check in with Moore and Tennessee now that they’d finished their sweep of Cameron’s men—and to give us a little privacy—I let them know we had a guest.
My phone immediately started vibrating with texts, but I set it to silent and reached under the side table, pulling out two more guns and handing one to Aislynn. Her body shook, but her hand was steady as she checked it over before chambering a bullet.
Once she was armed, I dragged her with me to the pantry. “Stay back here until I say otherwise. If you hear gunshots, there’s a small catch on the side wall that will take you to the underground portion of the garage. Right behind the Lucky Charms.”
“Is that an Irish joke?” Her voice was tight, even with the attempted humor, and I flashed a smile her way.
“Dominic picked it.”
That got an actual laugh. “Of course he did.”
Our unwanted visitor rang the bell again, and I sucked in a breath. “Remember, stay here.”
Even though I didn’t want to leave her, I trusted that she could take care of herself. Once I was in the hallway, I pulled up the security cameras and swore, shooting off another text to my men, who’d flooded the group chat while I was busy. Slipping the still-vibrating phone into my pocket, I opened the door to the one man I’d never expected to see on my doorstep.
Victor Paez.
“Hello, Mari.”
I was devoted to my men, but even I could admit that Victor was handsome.
Tall, dark, and dangerous, but the laugh lines on his face screamed that he could enjoy life with the best of them. Expensive clothes covered a body I was almost certain was as fit as my men, not that I’d find out. And that voice—dear God. He wasn’t as old as I’d expected him to be either. Probably close to forty if he hadn’t already hit it.
Hot or not, he was a snake in the grass, and I wasn’t a fan of serpents.
I leaned in the doorway, making sure to keep my body between him and Aislynn. “There a reason you’re here?”
“Figured it was time for us to talk face-to-face.”
“Last I checked, I didn’t invite you to my home.”
He shrugged, but I could see that he was enjoying that he’d thrown me off. Asshole. “Yet here I am.”
In other words, I’m not leaving. Well, fuck him for deciding that.
“Now’s not a good time.”
“You have a guest. I’m aware.” When I raised an eyebrow, he almost smiled. “I wouldn’t be very good at my job if I didn’t know absolutely everything going into a situation.”
He was Moore’s occupational wet dream. “Your security team must love you.”
“They certainly appreciate my efforts to stay safe.”
For some reason, it made me chuckle, but the sound of Ash’s footsteps behind me quickly wiped that away. “Is it safe to come out now?”
“No,” I said, frowning when Victor responded, “Yes.”
When I glared at him, he raised his arms to his sides. “I promise I’m not here to hurt either of you. I really do just want to talk. Feel free to search me if it will make you more comfortable.”
Aislynn was at my back already, so I could either do what he was not-so-subtly suggesting or slam the door in his face and kiss my one chance at getting his help goodbye.
Fuck this.
“Eyes on him,” I said.
“Got it.” From the corner of my eye, I watched Ash lift the gun. Victor didn’t seem nervous that two women were holding him up, but he did trail his eyes over my friend. In fact, the entire time I frisked him, he kept his focus on her.
Not good.
Victor’s body was stacked with muscles that weren’t too obscene, which I got a serious feel for as I checked him over for weapons I didn’t find. I almost wished he had some so I could kick him out without feeling a sliver of concern for how he’d react. Frankly, the way he was eye-fucking Ash was making me uncomfortable.
She was just getting out of one train wreck of a relationship. She didn’t need another, and cartel men were far worse than mafia men. They took possessive to a whole new level. Crossing my arms, I jerked my chin at her to lower the weapon. “He’s clean.”
Victor frowned. “I told you, I come in peace.”
“We’re not really trusting men right now, so your word doesn’t mean shit,” Aislynn said caustically, dropping the gun to her side, though she didn’t take her eyes off him, and not for the same reason he couldn’t stop watching her. There was a boatload of mistrust in my friend’s eyes.
“Is there a reason men are persona non grata at the moment?” When she didn’t automatically answer, Victor stared at her, and I watched Ash struggle to hold still. I wasn’t on the receiving end of that look, and even I felt how penetrating it was. Like he could peek inside her brain and see all the gory details of her marriage written out for him to read.
I shivered.
The motion caught his attention, and he blinked, pulling himself out of whatever moment they were having. With one last look at her, he turned back to me. “Could we take this inside? Like you said, my security team appreciates my ability to minimize the danger in situations they can’t join me for, and I’d prefer not to take a bullet to the head right now.”
There was no way we were being watched unless he’d brought Cash to my doorstep—in which case, I’d kill him myself—but he wasn’t the only one uncomfortable with a conversation on the porch.
Keeping most of my attention on him, I looked over at Aislynn. You okay with that?
She shrugged. Does it matter?
Yeah, it did. If she wasn’t comfortable with him coming inside the house, then he wouldn’t be allowed in. She’d earned more than that small concession.
“We should get inside,” she said softly. The haunted look as she passed reminded me that she’d been caught unaware and attacked by Cash three separate times. I planned to make him pay for each one.
Victor stepped forward, only to stop when I barred him with my arm. “Make one wrong move and I’ll be down an ally.”
“Of course. Thank you for allowing me into your home.” He inclined his head before stepping fully inside the house.
“I doubt we could’ve stopped you,” Ash mumbled, though there was a teasing grin on her lips.
“Likely not, but I appreciate the hospitality anyway.” I shut the door as he turned to Ash and held out a hand. “Victor Paez, and you are Miss…?”
Considering he already knew I had a guest, I had no doubt that he knew who Ash was and that she was technically a Mrs.
That haunted look returned, and she crossed her arms awkwardly, rubbing her bare ring finger. “Aislynn O’Bannon.”
Victor studied her finger absently, and I was sure I was right. He knew everything there was to know about Ash. The silence held us for a moment until he softened his voice. “I apologize if I’ve made you uncomfortable since I arrived.”
“You didn’t. Life did.”
With nothing else to say about that, I motioned to Victor first. “Formal sitting room is over there.”
He seemed amused but didn’t contradict me as he walked ahead of both of us.
This was going to be a shitshow.