ASHTONIt was a local neighborhood street festival, but it was late, nearing midnight. So many had retired for the night, but not my family. My cousin Marco asked for me to stop by.We parked at the front of the carnival and walked in.My men got out first, with Elijah opening my door.I was out next and felt the attention. I wasn’t surprised. I was used to it, having been watched all my life, but this time was different. There was more weight, more responsibility.Some little kids were still playing, kicking a soccer ball around. A couple chased each other, wrestling with balloons. They were squealing, laughing.That was nice to see. A moment of lightness amid this heavy night.“Ashton.” Marco was coming toward me, smoothing a hand down his shirt. He was dressed up, like me. His hand was out, and we shook hands but moved in and did the typical cheek kissing. Because of our grandmother, it was a family tradition. He stepped back, taking me in, and nodded. “You look good.”I nodded, me
Her eyes flickered, seeing me, and the ends of her mouth curved down. “What do you mean?”“I need you to ask your father to do something. That means I need you to bail him out, first step. You are blocked from doing that. What can I do to help remove that block so you can stomach the idea of seeing your father?”She lifted a shoulder. “Beat him up? I don’t know . . .” She looked away.I frowned, moving closer. “That’d make you feel better? If I beat him up?”Her head folded down, and she was tapping her pen down onto her desk.I looked her over, seeing the rigidness. The tension, so I took a moment, one moment, and put myself in her shoes. I considered what I’d told her, what she’d said. Her mother. The truth. Her father. His hand in how he helped to take away her mother.My gut flickered. “I could have that done. Easily.”She looked up, her eyes clouded over. The tension still visible on her face, tightening around her mouth.She didn’t agree, but she didn’t disagree either.I took a
MOLLYI wasn’t drunk, but I wasn’t totally sober when I went to bail out my dad the next morning. I knew what Ashton said, use Kelly and Justin, only think about Justin and Kelly, but it was hard. So because I’d had a few shots, I had Pialto drive me.Then my dad came out, and Ashton had done his job. Half his face was covered in bruises and swollen so I could barely recognize my father. I loved it. Thank you, Ashton. And bonus points because Shorty Easter was limping as he approached me. “Heya, little Molly bean.” He lifted his arms to hug me, but I turned my back and started for the parking lot.I motioned for him to follow. “We’re out here.”“We?”I ignored him, walking to the car.My dad followed, and he slowed, taking in the car. “Whose car is this?”It was a battered old Buick. We’d found it in Pialto’s grandma’s garage. It was his grandfather’s, but rest his soul, he wasn’t using it since he was buried in New Jersey and had been for the last six years. His grandmother kept up t
ASHTON“One of our judges got picked up by the Feds.”Marco was on speaker as I was at Katya, a nightclub Trace and I owned. The same nightclub where Jess’s second job had been as well. I was in our private area, the windows overlooking the club below. We had a box to the side with a patio that extended out with a bench by the back wall. I was standing at one of the walls overlooking the section that Jess Montell used to cover. It was being handled by another bartender, but not one as good as Jess. I never cared much for the employees at Katya, one of the legit businesses that Trace and I both owned. It seemed pointless. They were fine. The business was fine. There was no worry about it. My attention went toward our other endeavors or the family business because I’d always been more active than Trace had been in the earlier days. And by earlier days, I meant in the time before the Worthing family put out a hit against both of our families.Those days. Back when we still thought we had
ASHTONShe was drunk.I could see that as I was crossing the floor to the bar they were sitting at, which was Jess’s old bar. Molly’s hand went up in the air and slammed down on the counter. She was doing a Thor impression. “Barkeep!”That’s when her friends saw me, and both converged on her.It was like watching chickens squawking, but instead of running away, they stuck like glue to her.“Miss Easter.”She lifted her head up, her eyes glazed, and she stared at me for a moment. She was weaving on her seat, and I began to move in, wanting to steady her, but she grabbed onto the counter herself. Then she gave me a once-over, all the way down to my dick and back up.Fuck’s sake.I was already hard, at just that look.This woman. A serious pain in my ass, in more ways than one. Good pain. Bad pain. Annoying pain. Sexual pain. All of it, and growing, the more interactions I was having with her.I narrowed my eyes. “Molly.”“You.” Her head tipped back, and she smiled.I stifled a groan.He
ASHTON“Goddammit, Walden.”Jess was seething when I got upstairs. That was her greeting as I came through the door.Trace was at the bar, pouring himself a drink, and he slid one across the counter for me. I picked it up, taking a sip before focusing on the love of his life.“Trace explained to you that Molly Easter is my business. He told you the situation. I was told you agreed to step back because of it. What is your issue?”“My issue?” Her hands went to her hips, and her eyes narrowed, and she looked like she was daydreaming about pulling her weapon on me. “My issue is that you look like you’re fucking her. Are you?”“You were at my place. You saw that we get along.” I was lying then, and I was lying now, or . . . somewhat. “Why are you pissed about this now?”“Because despite what you wanted me to think at your place, I knew you hadn’t fucked her. She just got out of the hospital.”“She’s my business.”“A cruel business.” Her hands went in the air, and she twisted around, her ba
MOLLYMy cousin texted just as I was letting myself into my apartment.Glen: All good. Had a good night. You need me tomorrow?I paused in the open door, putting my purse on the floor.Me: No. I’ll be good tomorrow. Thank you so much.Glen: Rest. Hope you feel better.I stepped all the way in, letting the door swing shut behind me, and I was reaching up to lock it when my brain clicked on. I’d stepped into the space my purse had been. Meaning, it wasn’t there anymore. Sheer panic exploded in me at the same time—a body was in my space. I was upended, hanging over someone’s shoulder in the next second, and that’s when the scream left me.The guy grunted as he shut the door the rest of the way and hit the locks on. “It’s me.”I froze. Me?! As in, I tried to twist around to see him. “Ashton?”He’d already been inside my apartment. How? What?He walked a few more feet back into the living room before he tossed me on the couch. He followed me down, almost landing on top of me, but as I was
ASHTONMolly fainted in the car, which turned into sleeping. I let her be.The plan had been to take her to my place and stash her there. No one, or very few, actually knew where I lived. I could name them on one hand, but when she passed out, I decided to go a different route. I was bringing her to a compound very, very few knew about. She’d be safe.We met with two of my men.While she was in the back, all bundled up, I went over the plan with Elijah.Elijah’s phone buzzed. “Body’s been handled, and I checked with our men. There were no 911 calls from her neighbors. Police were not notified.”Even better. “I want her place cleaned out within the hour.”He was typing on his phone. “On it.”“Relocate her stuff to storage.”“What about the bowling alley?”“Notify her cousin. Tell him we’ll double his pay if he keeps his mouth shut.”“Got it.” He continued typing, but his gaze met mine over his phone. “You sure about this?”No. “This has to be done.”“And Trace and Jess?”Jess was alrea