“Our ride back to the city is here.” Vincent taps on his earpiece, disappearing outside through a door at the back of the sunroom, talking in low tones.
“I won’t be coming with you.” Mom takes my hands in hers. “It’s too dangerous for me now. Victor is taking me to one of his safe houses until we know more about the threat.” She pulls Ash over beside us. “I know you love your dad, but I can’t do this without him. I need him to come with me. I promise I won’t keep him away from you forever, and Ares will look after you.” A knowing look crosses over her face. “I can see you two have grown close. It pleases me that you have put aside your differences, but we probably need to have a conversation at some point.”
“We need to have a conversation now, Ma,” I say, purposely lowering my voice. Jase reaches for Ash, but she shakes her head, sticking close to my side. He clamps a hand down on my shoulder as he walks past with Bree, heading out the door Vincent disappeared through.
“Do you want me to stay?” Victor asks, looking between Ash and me.
“We’ve got this,” I say with more confidence than I feel.
We wait for Victor to exit the room before ushering Mom to the couch. We sit on either side of her, and I’m glad Ash is here for this. I don’t know if I could do this alone.
“What’s wrong?” Mom’s face has turned ashen. “You’re scaring me.” Her panicked gaze flickers between both of us. “What is it?”
Silent tears pour down Ashley’s cheeks as she looks to me to say the words.
“I’m so sorry, Ma. There’s no easy way to tell you this. Doug is gone. He was gunned down in the ambush on the road at Rhett Carter’s instructions.”
ChapterEleven
Ashley
Icling to Jase in the helicopter as the pilot takes us back to Lowell, sobbing my heart out as the pain of Dad’s passing flays me on all sides. Witnessing Hera’s soul crack apart right in front of us irreparably altered me. She self-destructed before our eyes. As long as I live, I will never forget the harrowing sound of her tortured cries as she fell to her knees and screamed.
Victor and Vincent stayed behind to transport her to her new lodgings, so it’s only the four of us heading back home.
Ares is in a trance. I don’t know if it’s his usual coping mechanism or if his mind has just shut down from such a massive overload. I tried holding on to him, needing to comfort him, but he swatted me away. He hasn’t moved a muscle since we took to the air, leaning against the window and staring at the blackened night sky outside.
I won’t push him.
He knows I am here if he needs me.
I understand needing space to work through your feelings, and he’s grieving too.
For his real dad.
For mine.
And for the loss of his sister.
Now his mom has to leave for her safety, and he can’t be the one to console her. I know that must be killing him because those two are close.
When we land, a black SUV is waiting at the private airfield to drive us the rest of the way home. We climb in without a word. I sit in between Ares and Jase, holding each of their hands. Bree is tapping away on her cell phone, and the air is heavy with anxiety and everything we still need to say.
“I ordered takeout,” Bree says when the SUV deposits us at the front door of the townhome we all now share. “It’ll be here in fifteen minutes if anyone wants to freshen up.”
“We should grab our stuff from next door,” Jase says as I turn my key in the lock and open the front door.
“There’s no need,” I say, entering the hallway. “Your stuff is already here.” I gesture toward the bags and boxes stacked neatly against the wall.
Ares yanks his shirt over his head, stomping off up the stairs without uttering a word.
“Poor guy,” Bree says. “He’s had a ton of shit dumped on his lap, and he’s clearly heartbroken over his little sister.”
“I wanted to ask about Jasper,” Jase says, closing and locking the door. “But I didn’t want to say too much in front of the others, and I honestly don’t think he can take much more of the heavy today.”
“It’s been a lot for all of us but especially Ares,” I say. “Perhaps we should pay Chad’s mom a visit? We need to check in on them anyway.”
“We’ll drop by tomorrow,” Jase agrees.
