“Told you I wasn’t a saint,” Ares growls, before cutting savagely into his steak.
“You were really unfair to Chad,” Bree says. “He’s no saint either, but there’s no way he would ever willingly be involved in sex trafficking.”
“Absolutely not,” I agree. “He adores his sister Tessa. She’s only fourteen. He was devastated when he heard what Jasper was accused of, for a lot of reasons, but mainly because of Tessa. He couldn’t believe his dad would be involved in kidnapping little girls the same age as his daughter. It’s the main reason he believes Jasper was set up. He would never in a million years help sick bastards kidnap kids. Never.” I drill a look at Ares as I bite into my shrimp pasta.
“Hera didn’t believe Chad was involved,” Ash says in between mouthfuls. “I remember something I overheard.”
“She thought I was wrong about him,” Ares agrees, making quick work of his meal. “But not about Jasper. He was too involved not to know what he was doing.”
“That’s a valid point,” I acknowledge.
“That’s why you planted fake evidence on him,” Bree surmises. She cuts up her chicken parmigiana into small pieces before scooping a forkful into her mouth.
“We knew he was guilty but didn’t have enough concrete evidence. Xavier had other stuff he’d found. We were going to turn it into the authorities anyway, but I planted it in Jasper’s office and then phoned in an anonymous tip. The cops and the FBI handled the rest.”
“It still doesn’t add up,” I say, finishing my pasta and reaching for my water glass.
“I don’t give a fuck about Jasper Baldwin,” Ares spits out, also finishing his meal. “What’s done is done. The only thing I care about now is finding Lilianna and bringing her home before those bastards end up killing her.”
ChapterNineteen
Ashley
“Ares is full of so much rage,” I tell Jase after we wave goodbye to Ares and Bree. “It’s going to eat him alive.”
“If I was in his shoes, I’d feel the same,” he replies, steering me toward the parking lot where his car is parked. “He’s going to need all that rage to get his sister back.”
“Why do you say that?” I lace my fingers in his as we walk through the quiet parking lot.
“Finding her after all this time will be challenging even with our connections. I wouldn’t put it past Rhett to have security on her wherever she is being held as an extra measure to keep us away. Ares will need that rage to fuel him. To push past the obstacles we’ll face. He needs to dig deep.” Jase presses me up against the side of the car when we reach it. His fingers sweep across my cheekbone. “If we get her back, she’s not going to be the same girl. I have seen some of the victims my family have rescued over the years, and it’s never pretty. Lilianna will be traumatized, and that won’t be easy for Ares. He's going to need you.”
“He has me, but he seems determined to push me away.”
“Don’t give up on him.” Jase opens the passenger door. “And don’t be afraid to push him. He needs you to break down his walls.”
I slide into the car, contemplating his words as he rounds the car. “Did something happen today?” I ask when he climbs behind the wheel.
“Words might have been exchanged.”
I beam at him, deliriously happy at the thought of my guys starting to get along. I’m under no illusion about Chad. I don’t know if those two will ever be able to set aside their differences, especially when Chad finds out the reasons why Ares has hated him all this time.
Jase chuckles as he powers up the engine and reverses out of the spot. “I can practically see you creaming your panties.”
I swat his arm. “Gross, but not completely untrue.”
He moans. “Now she tells me.” Flooring it out of the parking lot, he pins me with a salacious grin. “I’d pull over, but we’re already late to meet with Carole.”
Stretching across the console, I reach for the button on his jeans and pop it as Jase maneuvers his Maserati out onto the road. He hasn’t replaced his Range Rover since he had to pretend it was stolen that time he and Bree came to rescue me from the crypt.
Man, that feels like a lifetime ago instead of a few months.
I miss fucking around in his Range Rover, but I’m quite partial to the Maserati, and it’s time to christen it.
“What are you up to, Temptress?” Amusement dances in his tone.
“Just keep your eyes on the road, and let me worry about that,” I tease, lowering his zipper and freeing his semi.
“Thank fuck for tinted windows,” he says, cursing when my hand wraps around his dick, and I begin stroking. He is hard as a rock in record time.
