“Wow.” I get out of bed again. “I guess congratulations are in order.”
“You’re…okay with this?” Ash’s warm brown eyes probe my blue ones, and her brow scrunches up.
“I’m a little in shock,” I admit. “I’m still processing, but I’m not,notokay, if that makes sense.”
She nods. “We can talk about it in a bit.”
“Can we talk while I’m in the bath?” I ask because I’d like some alone time with her. I don’t think Jase will mind. But…the dynamic of our relationship has changed. And things are a little weird with him. Is this why? I eyeball my buddy. “If that’s okay with you?”
“Don’t look at me,” he replies. “It’s up to Ash. She knows I’m cool with it.”
“Sure,” she says before stretching up and kissing Jase. “Can you make us something to eat?”
He bobs his head and walks away, stalling at the bedroom door. He looks over his shoulder, drilling a look at me. “Nothing has changed, man. Everything is still about Ash. Whatever she wants and needs.”
Unspoken words charge the space between us, but they don’t need to be said. I can read between the lines. All is good with my buddy where Ash is concerned, and a layer of stress lifts from my shoulders. “Good to know.” I know he said that for my benefit, and I’m grateful.
“Come on.” Ash gently takes my hand. “Let’s get you in the tub before the water turns cold.”
ChapterTwenty-Nine
Ashley
Chad winces as he eases himself into the tub. I’m doing everything I can not to cry at the state of his bruised body. The shock of seeing him tied up like that hasn’t left me. Since we rescued him, my emotions have been veering back and forth like a yo-yo. Thankfully, the doctor confirmed there is no serious injury or permanent damage. He took blood and urine to test as a precaution and to confirm what drugs he was injected with. He’ll also be tested for STDs.
I still want to cut the bitch.
Anger is ever present.
The she-devil is lucky I didn’t have a knife because I would have shredded her to pieces until she was a messy bloody puddle on the floor and enjoyed every second of carving her up.
I’m pissed at Rhett too. How the fuck was this keeping his wife on a leash?
The prick lied to me. I shouldn’t be surprised, and it’s just extra incentive to murder him.
A grimace spreads across Chad’s face as he sits. I stuff my clenched fist in my mouth to smother the scream building inside me. I saw how red and sore his ass was when I was helping him back at the house of horrors, and I know he must be in pain. I found some Epsom salts and added it to the water, which might help. Walking to the cabinet over the sink, I remove the small medical kit tucked inside. Pulling out a couple of pain pills, I set them to one side of the sink. “I’ll be back in a sec,” I say before exiting the room.
“What’s up?” Jase asks when I enter the kitchen a few moments later.
“I’m just getting a glass of water for Chad to wash some Advil down.” A thought occurs to me. “Or should I not? We don’t know what shit she gave him.”
Jase stops slicing tomatoes and wipes his hands on a kitchen towel. “The drugs seem to be gone from his system, and I doubt a couple of pain pills will cause any damage.” Reaching overhead, he extracts a glass from the cupboard and hands it to me.
“I’ll let Chad decide,” I say, filling the glass with water. “Have you heard anything from the others?”
He shakes his head. “Not since the last message Ares sent me. I’m sure they’re sleeping. Carter must not know or he’s decided after-hours house calls are rude.”
I snort out a harsh laugh. “As if. That prick never considers any other person.”
We chose to split up in case Rhett showed up demanding to know where Chad is. We covered our tracks, and we’re confident there is no evidence confirming it was us. The men we rescued are on a plane right now. They are being taken to a private hospital in France for treatment and rehabilitation. Bree spearheaded that operation using her contacts to set it up at short notice. In time, we’ll have to give the guys’ new identities and impress on them the urgency of keeping what happened a secret.
Their survival relies upon it.
Rhett has his hands full planning his hostile takeover, so we think he’ll let it be for now. However, when he finds out what happened last night, his finger will point in our direction first. We thought it’d be suspicious if no one was home, so the story is Jase and I are staying at the Stewarts’ residence overnight. We know he won’t check up on us if we say we’re there as it would only arouse suspicion.
I was going to say we were at my mom’s, but I called her several times on the way here, and she didn’t pick up. I didn’t hear from her on Sunday either after I messaged her to confirm the wedding was on Thursday. I get she wants to keep a low profile until her injuries heal, but she could at least pick up her fucking phone and acknowledge my existence every now and then. I have no clue if she’s going to show up on Thursday or not.
At this point, I’m not sure I care.
