Chapter 37
thirty-seven
AIC
Hi, baby.
I fucked up, I know that. I need to know you’re okay.
You’re at the casino… Can I call?
Ash, answer me.
Please, baby girl.
I’m sorry.
The phone stays blank as the crowd at the Josephs’ gala roars around me. No typing dots. No reply. Only silence pressing against my ribs like a heart attack.
I heave a sigh of frustration, running a hand through my hair. The party is an obligation. For my future CEO position, and to not be rude to my hosts, my parents’ best friends. But I’m not here.
All I can think about is making it to Ashlyn to try to kiss her at midnight and start our life together now.
If she’ll take me back.
But I have this awful feeling that she won’t. She hasn’t answered my texts. Although that’s not unusual, either.
“Hey, Aiden! It’s been a while…”
A hand drags slowly across my back. Blaire and Elowyn smile like debutantes, surrounded by a couple of undergraduate Thetas. “Hey, yeah. Been busy.”
Across the room, Ryan’s ears perk up as he glances my way.
“Do you want another drink?” Blaire asks, thumb hitching toward the bar.
“No, I’m not drinking tonight…”
Ryan grabs his girlfriend’s hand and waltzes toward me.
I nod at Lan by my side to take care of the girls who now surround us. He steps up into the showman role as my brother sidles up to me.
“What’s wrong?” he asks, speaking low.
“I’m not sure… Just something.” I slip out of the ring of people and pat him on the shoulder as I leave. “I’ll be back.”
In the hallway behind the band, there’s some privacy, and the noise is muted.
Pulse hammering in my neck, I punch Ashlyn’s contact on my phone. Hope makes me hold it to my ear, drowning out the fear that she won’t answer me.
To my elation, she does. Voice muffled and shaky, she speaks as if there’s someone else she’s addressing in the room. “It’s my dad. He’ll want to know why we’re back here and not out at the party. Yeah, Dad?”
She’s out of breath and sounds weird. My heart drops to my stomach.
“Are you okay?” My teeth clench. “Are you in danger?”
“Oh. Alright. Mm-hmm…” Her tone is lilted. Far away. Shuffles cover some of the microphone.
I can’t fucking breathe. “Give me a yes or no. Are you in trouble?”
“I’m with Talon. But you…you talked to the designer? Any updates on the new poker club crest?”
Fuck…
The safe word.
It slams into my chest like a bullet.
I’m already moving. The crowd noise fades, heartbeat raging in my ears. Focus. Mission mode. Snapping my fingers frantically at Henry, Ryan, and Lan… Henry grabs Bo and Duke. My suit coat flares out at the sides as I hurry toward the exit.
“I’m on my way, baby girl. I’m coming for you.”
Red flashes behind my eyes.
“Where we heading?” Ryan snaps out, the crew rocking toward their cars.
“Gnarled Pine Hollow. Strapped. Loaded. White Wolf Lodge and Casino.”
Duke’s step hitches for a moment. “The casino? Uh…aren’t they stacked with armed mafia guards?”
“Yes,” I say, grabbing my motorcycle helmet. It’s going to be cold enough to freeze my balls off, but it’ll get me there the fastest.
Lan gets a deranged grin on his face. “Good.” Raising his Glock in the air, he racks it while licking his lower lip. “I’m ready…”
“Let’s go.”
The engine screams as I tear into the night, toward the girl who said my name in code.
I cut the hour drive in half. And I know my boys still need to catch up, but I’m not slowing down.
When I turn the corner of South Street, entering the bustling city, growling motors rumble up behind me. My heart skips a beat. Then, I recognize my crew. All the Vipers. Except each one has a passenger.
With a nod, I aim for a parking lot behind a diner close to the neon lights of the casino, and the boys follow me there.
“What are you doing?” I yell through the helmet.
Pippi, my brother’s girlfriend, slides off his bike and runs toward me. Still in her heels and a short black dress. “Hey. Um, we thought it would be a useful distraction if we all went different ways. But I’m going inside with you. My aunt and uncle will listen to me—”
“Good plan.” My heart surges with pride that my brother made a fantastic choice of a fiancée. Hopefully, she can stop us from having to shoot anyone. But I will, if I have to.
She jumps back onto Ryan’s bike, and we cut across the street, aiming for the valet area of the casino. Pippi grabs my arm and tugs me toward the side of the building.
Ryan directs the guys inside, all of them checking their guns. Whoever’s on the back of their bikes keeps guard.
“This way. The side entrance. I’ll sneak in and open the door to the alley. If she’s here, she’s probably in the lounge or in the office. Worst case would be in the penthouse. Talon sometimes stays there, I think.”
“What do you mean, worst case?”
She shows me the metal door, flat against the side of the brick wall.
“I mean…getting to the elevator and up to it will be a hassle if my uncle stops you.”
“No one’s stopping me,” I growl.
“Then let me tell her parents she’s in danger right now.” Pippi spins and runs back to the entry while I pace.
Checking the handle, I shake it as hard as I can, but it won’t budge. In my pocket, I dig out a multi-tool and attempt to pick it, but by the time I feel one of the pins lower, Pippi’s letting me in.
It’s a pink and mauve stuffed lounge that looks like an upscale strip club. Champagne sits in iced gold buckets around neon-lit bars. White leather chairs and curved sofas line the walls, but there’s no one here.
“She’s upstairs, and you need to hurry. Ryan wasn’t happy with one of the guards grabbing my arm…”
“Shit.”
Fireworks launch through the halls. Screams shatter the silent air.
We both hit the deck when a thud pounds against the door.
“Let me try to go out there and stop them!” she says, but I grab her, shoving her body behind me while still keeping my hand locked on her arm.
“Nope. You’re coming with me so I can keep you safe…and get to Ashlyn.”
Ryan would kill me if something happened to Pippi.
“Take this door and stick to the right. The gold elevators take us straight up, if we can get there. But the thing is likely code or password protected.”
I freeze. “How are we gonna—”
“I’ve got it. Come with me.”
More shots ring out as a stampede of people runs, surging toward every exit. When we escape the lounge, I make sure to put my body in front of Pippi. She stays low, and I copy her.
We approach a group in the back hall, looking around as if not knowing what to do. The Vipers are near the entrance, causing chaos. Security rushes toward them in the opposite direction of where we’re heading. No one spots me in my suit. I fit in nicely with everyone else.
Pippi suddenly yanks a young blond kid back by the neck. She pins him against the wall, and his blue eyes grow wide…
Wyatt Donovan. I’ve seen his pictures. And he looks like his father.
“Take us to the penthouse. Your sister’s in trouble,” she spits at him.
He swallows as he spies me. “Is that your boyfriend?”
“No. His brother. Move, slow ass.” She shoves him toward the back wall.
“Does Dad know?” Wyatt presses his palm on the electric lock, and the elevator hums as it descends.
“I don’t think so. Can you go tell him Ashlyn needs him?”
With another suspicious glance at me, he nods. “Yeah, I think he’s still in the party room. Who are all those guys?”
The doors slide open, and Pippi waves a hand for me to enter. I don’t hesitate.
“Don’t worry about it—” she’s saying as I ascend to the penthouse.
Reaching into my waistband, I pull out my Glock and make sure there’s a bullet in the chamber. I hold it at the ready when I hear the ding.
Floor-to-ceiling windows, two stories high, showcase an impressive view of the city. White furniture, floors, and blank spaces… But no Ashlyn.
In my dress shoes, I creep each step forward, flashing my gun around every corner. But there’s no sign of anyone. No noises…
A clear floating staircase leads to a lofted bedroom. Bed made. Empty. But down a short hall are two closed doors. When I kick open the one on my left, I hear a tiny squeak on my right.
Hurriedly, I swivel the weapon that way, aiming for the other door. The handle won’t budge when I try it.
“Ashlyn?” I ask, almost in a whisper. “Baby girl?”
I raise my fist to break the handle, but it shakes before I can. The door opens, only a sliver, and a pair of tiny blue eyes, tear-filled and full of terror, greet me.
My heart races, thudding against my ribs. I shove open the door, and my girl scrambles back, holding her hands up as if she’s protecting herself.
Rage surges through my veins. I almost vomit.
She’s a small, broken thing, hiding behind hanging clothes—hair matted, dress torn, bruises blooming across her skin. Blood on her lip.
My movements are a blur. Squatting in front of her, I graze a hand toward her, not sure where to touch. Or if I can without scaring her. As if she could float away, I gently brush back golden strands on her forehead, tucking them behind her ears. “I got you. I got you.”
She’s still frozen. Still blinking with wide-eyed fear.
The rage is clean and clinical now. There’s one thought:
I’m going to kill him.
“I’m here, baby. You’re safe now.”
Her expression crumbles. A sob claws out of her throat as she throws her body into me, latching her arms around my neck. Climbing into my lap. I surround her, protect her with my body, my warmth. Tuck my jacket around her as much as I can.
“Aiden…” she cries against my neck, and my chest constricts at how fragile she sounds. Ashlyn’s not delicate. But here, at this moment? She is.
Which makes the fury unleash, pulsing through my temples.
“Where is he?”
“I don’t know,” she hiccups through a cry. “Please… Please, can you get me out of here?”
“Yes. We’re going.”
Swinging her into my arms, I carry her as she clings to me like I’m the only thing keeping her steady.
But as I head down the stairs, the elevator doors slide open, and her father exits with two guards flanking his sides, guns drawn.
“You think you can beat the shit out of my little girl and survive? Drop her now!”
“Dad! He didn’t,” Ashlyn protests, but I’m already raising my barrel, aiming for Ace Donovan.
Ace waves his hand at his side, telling his guards to lower their weapons, and they do. He creeps carefully toward me, but I keep the sight square on his forehead. We circle each other cautiously as my steps edge toward the elevator.
“Check the cameras!” Ashlyn argues. “Talon hurt me, Dad! I don’t know where he is.”
Ace’s jaw flinches as he scans me and then her. “Put her down and step away… I’ll figure this out once she’s over here.”
“Not going to happen,” I say, still inching toward our escape. “She’s coming with me.”
His eyes fill with worry as we make it into the white and gold elevator. Every muscle tenses as I envelop Ashlyn tighter against me. Adrenaline rips through my body, ready to pull the trigger if needed.
“Ashlyn, don’t go!” her dad yells as the doors shut on us.
She only presses her face into me deeper. “Get me out.”
“Can you ride my bike?” I ask, worrying about the next step of the plan. Well, lack of a plan. And her long, beaded gown.
“Yes,” she assures me.
My phone rings. I stuff the gun into my waistband and grab the call. It’s my brother.
“Take the side exit back through the lounge. Pippi and I are waiting. The others are ready to cause a distraction. Duke got hit.”
“What? Is he—”
“He’s okay, but already bragging about it like a war hero. Hurry out here.”
I end the call, shoving the phone back into my pocket and tugging Ashlyn closer.
“Someone got shot?” Ashlyn asks as we head into the chaos of the lower level.
“Meh, it was only Duke. If Duke goes down, Duke goes down. The world’s messy.” I don’t like that my little sister has a crush on him. Better if he dies now than me having to do it later. His parents would be upset.
People are hurrying in every direction, which is an excellent cover for us. I stride toward the lounge and out the side door, uninterrupted.
Shirking off my coat, I throw it over Ashlyn and help her get situated on the back, tucking her long dress between her thighs. Pippi hands her a helmet as I tug mine on.
Ryan points to the end of the alleyway. “We’ll cause a diversion. Go. Get lost.”
And that’s exactly what I plan to do.
The Vipers fan out across the street like a pack let loose, engines howling in every direction. White SUVs spill from the parking garage, too slow to choose a target.
Frost halos the city lights as I twist the throttle. The night splits open, and I aim for the only place that still feels real—our hidden sanctuary.
The one nobody knows about.