“Get to the club. Now.” My eyes track her figure as she moves on the screen. “Sydney is here. And she’s with someone.”
A pause. “Give me five minutes.”
“What? Sydney’s here? What do you mean she’s with someone?” Ashton can’t seem to form the questions quickly enough. He’s up and out of the seat before I have a chance to answer.
“Sit back down,” I command.
“Fuck off.” His eyes roam over the monitors, searching for her. “Where is she, where did you see her?”
“I told you to sit down. We can’t afford to be distracted tonight. Let Doc handle this.”
“Fuck that!” Ashton briefly turns to glare at me before giving his full attention back to the video feed. “You don’t make the fucking rules, you know. And you can’t just keep me from her forever. I’m not about to sit here and…” The words catch in his throat when he spots her. Sydney, arm in arm with another man as he leads her to a booth, holding her hand as he helps her take her seat.
He doesn’t speak. He just stares at them, mouth open in shock, hurt filling his eyes.
“Doc will handle this,” I repeat. “Just calm down and?—”
Too late. Ashton’s already moving, barreling toward the door, his fists clenched. I barely get there in time to stop him, planting myself directly in his path. When he tries to get past me, I brace my forearm against his chest and shove him back into the room. “No. Not here, not now.”
But he’s not listening. His eyes are wild, unfocused, his breathing too fast. He’s determined to get to Sydney.
“Move,” he grunts, trying to push me out of the way. When I won’t budge, he doubles down, slamming his body into mine, fighting me to get to her.
He manages to do it, too. He shoves me hard enough to make an opening, getting past me just enough to get to the door, fumbling to open it.
Fuck this.
There’s only one way to stop him, one way to get him to listen when he gets like this.
Pulling my arm back, I swing, slamming my fist into his face so hard my arm shudders with the impact.
“What the fuck?” Ashton stumbles back into the room, one hand gripping his nose. His voice is high and nasal, full of shock. “Are you fucking serious right now?”
Before he can make another attempt for the door, I slam it shut and brace my back against it, my fist throbbing. It’s been a long time since he and I have come to blows. I’d forgotten how much it hurts.
“I’m not doing this with you. Not tonight,” I snap. “You need to calm down. Let Doc handle this. He’s the one she trusts right now.”
He stares at me, a deeply pained look of betrayal on his face. “What the fuck is wrong with you?” he sputters. “Don’t you even care about her anymore?”
“Of course I care about her!” I shout. “What the fuck do you think I’m doing all of this for?” I motion to the room around us,to the monitors. “She’s notsafeuntil we find Dante and put a stop to all of this. All of this isfor her.”
“Then why won’t you fight for her?” Something fractures in his expression. “You could fix this,” he pleads. “Please. We have to go out there. We have to dosomething.”
I don’t answer him. I can’t tell him that I’m the last person she wants to see right now.
When I choose silence, he keeps going. “It’s not going to be just Doc out there, you know. Viper is with him. You trustViperto deal with this? There will be blood!” He wipes his nose as he says it, then stares down at the splash of red on his hand. “Well, more than there already has been.”
“We stay.” My voice is steeled against any argument, and finally, Ash falls silent.
The minutes tick by so slowly it’s painful. There are no more words between us. We both sit silently, obsessing.
Watching.
26
SYDNEY
Date night.
