Ash looked down to where he held her hand. His thumb rubbed gently over the delicate bones of her fingers.
“It’s complicated, though. And probably not the right time to start something—I don’t even know if she’s interested.” He laughed. “Things just feel...” he paused, searching for the right word. “Unsettled.”
Yeah, that worked. He’d been unsettled ever since Portia had summoned him to her office. Change was coming and he had no idea whether he would survive it or not.
“I don’t know if anything will happen between us.” He leaned close and whispered in her ear. “I’d like to explore whatever it is that draws me to her.”
A nurse cracked open the door and poked her head in. He sat up and nodded. He hated this part.
“They gave me the signal, Hope. I have to go.”
He pressed a soft kiss to the top of her hand. Her skin was so translucent that he could see her veins. If she hadn’t been hooked up to all the machinery, he’d have thought she was dead, she was that pale and still.
His heart broke again. “I’ll see you soon,” he whispered.
If not sooner.
Ash gently laid her hand back on the bed and tucked the blanket around it. He watched the slow rise and fall of her chest for a few seconds longer. He ran his hand over her limp hair—nothing like the bouncy curls she used to have—then used the same hand to wipe away his tears.
“I love you, baby sister.” He didn’t care who knew that part. She was his only family. He’d already failed her once. He couldn’t do it again.
Ash pushed out of his chair and exited the room quickly. It was slightly less painful than a lingering goodbye.
The nurse waited for him in the hallway.
“Any change?” He asked every visit.
“No better, no worse, baby.” She gave him a sympathetic smile.
Ash smiled back, though his heart wasn’t in it.
His brain was too full, too heavy, so when Ash left the hospital, he decided to walk. Maybe the night air would help him clear it.
Visiting Hope always made him restless and restlessness always made him reckless. That was how he’d been drawn into the bombing plot.
Not that he’d known their true intentions. He’d happened upon an ad seeking dirt on the Tremaine Corporation.
Over the years, he’d helped the company stop hackers and hide information, so he knew it existed.
His initial offerings—petty crimes by executives that were covered up and corporate espionage—had been deemed too mundane. He’d taken that as a challenge.
Now, due to his involvement, his sister was in danger—again.
Ash couldn’t fail her a second time. He had to convince the Jack to help him. To help Hope.
Chapter11
The antsy feelingwas back and Taryn was grateful for the manual labor of working behind the bar. She’d sent Dani on a break and taken over. Slinging drinks had a way of emptying your brain. There was no substitute for focusing on doing it right, making the drinks as the orders came in. Keeping up with demand. Making conversation. Tracking payments.
She’d been brought to Razor Jack’s unwillingly. The previous Jack had purchased her from her pimp and kept her for his personal use in one of the back rooms. When he wasn’t using her in the bedroom, he put her to work behind the bar. Surprisingly, she’d taken to it. She was good at mixing the drinks and interacting with the customers. And she’d enjoyed it.
Despite the fact that the bastard who’d been the previous Jack had made her life a living hell, she’d never blamed the bar. Razor Jack’s had provided a roof over her head and almost regular meals.
Thinking of her deceased tormentor, she slammed a glass down on the counter harder than intended.
“Rough night?” a voice rumbled.
A voice she immediately recognized.
