Page 77 of Racing Dirty Trilogy Box Set

Ashley

Horrified by the events that are happening, I watch helplessly as Nolan falls head first toward the tracks. I can’t stop him, I can’t help him, I can only watch. My hands slip from around his waist and I can’t grab his massive body.

Thank God Ashton’s quick. He grabs Nolan by his hood and yanks him back at the last second.

They both fall into me and we tumble onto the concrete.

Taking the brunt of their weight, I smack my head on the dirty tiles.

My vision blurs and the air is knocked out of my lungs.

Ashton is on top of us and climbs off first. My head is pounding and my ears are ringing when Nolan rolls off me and lands by my side.

I try to move but I can’t. I’m still trying to catch my breath and a sharp pain radiates through my back and neck.

Nolan is leaning over me, but I can’t hear him through the ringing in my ears.

People are circling around us, closing us in.

Ashton is trying to keep them back. Fuck!

I can’t breathe, I can’t see, I can’t speak.

Panic is setting in. Nolan grabs my shoulders and pulls me up gently.

I’m cradled in his arms and I can feel his chest vibrate under my ringing ears.

“Redline, where’s Redline?” I croak out. I look around, but my neck hurts, and I can only move it a few inches back and forth. I can’t find Redline. The ringing in my ears slowly fades and voices are shouting all around us, hurting my head even more.

“Ash, are you OK?” Nolan asks.

“Yeah, I’m fine now,” I inhale a deep breath, my stomach is rolling. “My neck and back hurt and my head is pounding. I can’t see Redline. Where’s Redline?” I sit up and pull away from the comfort of Nolan’s hard chest. Redline isn’t anywhere around. “What the hell happened?”

“Someone tried to push me in front of the train. I felt a pair of hands shove me hard and I lost my footing. If it weren’t for Ashton, I’d be dead and now Redline is missing.”

“Guys come on we have to get out of here.” Ashton grunts. His body is rigid and tense. He’s watching everyone down here.

An uneasiness settles in my bones as realization settles in the pit of my stomach. “They took him,” I whisper.

“Who?” Nolan asks.

“Redline. Shoving you was a distraction. Switch took him when we were trying to save you. Fuck! This is all my fault.” Tears burn the back of my eyelids and my head is pounding even harder. I can’t handle all these noises and people. I need to get out of here, now.

Standing up on shaky legs, I peer around.

No one is looking directly at us, but they’re discreetly watching out of the corner of their eyes.

I walk away from the scene as quickly as my sore body will allow.

Nolan and Ashton are right behind me. Redline is missing and I need to find out why and what happened.

Once we reach the top of the stairs from the dark subway station below us and onto the sidewalk, I turn to Ashton. “Can you pull up the footage from down there?”

“Yes. Once we get back to the apartment, I’ll pull it up. I’m going to call Marks and Ramirez, and get them on this.”

“No,” Nolan blurts. “If we call them, they’ll bring Christian. He can’t get involved either. We need to keep this between us. Rush will be here in a few hours. We’ll go back to the apartment, pull up the footage, and figure out who took him and who tried to kill me.”

Nolan is acting like himself again and that’s a relief.

I know battling these demons are hard, and he’s lost his way.

I hope he can keep this mindset and be the leader I know he is.

Wrapping my arms around his waist I rest my head on Nolan’s chest. He holds onto me and rubs my back soothingly.

My head is still pounding but being outside again is helping a little.

We walk quietly back toward the apartment building and grab some Chinese on the way.

We should have just stopped here first instead of traipsing all over the city, then Redline would still be with us.

Nolan and I wait outside in a dark alley under Ashton’s insistence we stay hidden while he gets our food.

Standing arm and arm in the dark alley, neither of us knows what to say.

I realize this is my fault for thinking Switch wouldn’t touch us, not yet, but it is my fault.

“Ash,” Nolan quietly says pulling me from my self-loathing. “This isn’t your fault.” He pulls my chin up so I’m looking at him in his whiskey-colored eyes. “It’s mine. I thought I was untouchable. I thought Switch wouldn’t fuck with me. Stop blaming yourself, please.”

“It is my fault, Nolan. Redline is my responsibility, and I let them take him. There’s something we’re missing.”

Ashton exits the Chinese restaurant and walks into the dark alley. “Let’s get back to the apartment and pull up the footage, then figure out why they want Redline. Nolan, we’ve got to get you in The Circle fast. Do you still have your contacts?”

Nolan’s grip on my shoulders tightens, and he nods his head.

“Yeah, let’s go.” We walk out of the alley and into the apartment building.

Nolan avoids looking down the street, but his shoulders are stiff and tension is radiating off him in waves.

He’s trying to keep his demon locked away.

I’ve seen that look before. Grabbing his hand, I pull him against me and wrap my arms around his waist.

“I’ve got you,” I whisper into his chest. He swallows hard and I hear his heart beating fast against his chest. His grip tightens around my shoulders as I repeat myself. “I’ve got you, Nolan. I’m not going anywhere. We can do this together.”

Walking across the marble foyer, our shoes squeak on the polished flooring.

I didn’t take the time to look around when we first arrived or when we left.

The lobby of the apartment building is very formal.

There’s a security guard posted at the entrance to protect the residents.

A cluster of mailboxes to the left, elevators directly in front of us, and a set of stairs to the right.

Ashton hits the button to the elevator and a few seconds later it dings open.

We walk in and my feet are resting on a plush brown and black carpet.

The doors close and I breathe a sigh of relief even if it’s for just a few moments.

A little reprieve and I can get my head back on straight and take care of business.

The elevator doors ding open and we step out into the hallway.

Ashton goes first and walks down the long hallway.

He pulls a set of keys out of his pocket and has the Chinese food in his other hand.

He unlocks the door and we enter. Setting the bags of food on the island, Ashton walks to the window and looks into the night.

Nolan disappears into the bedroom and comes back out a few minutes later with his laptop in his hands.

He hands it off to Ashton and walks into the kitchen.

Ashton fires up the laptop as Nolan and I pull out the food.

No words are needed at this time. We all know what we must do.

We carry the food into the living room and I grab the sweet and sour chicken.

Nolan takes the mushroom chicken and leaves Ashton with the orange chicken.

I settle into the recliner, taking small bites, and watching Nolan and Ashton work.

They’re both perched on the edge of the couch with the laptop resting on the coffee table.

“Pull up the footage from the train station. Run facial recognition on everyone down there while we were. We’ll also run the program Marks made where it tells us how many times each person appears on camera. Then we can find who took Redline.” Nolan says between bites of food.

Ashton’s fingers fly over the keyboard and then sits back.

He releases a deep breath and eats his own food while the programs run.

We sit here in compatible silence, each of us reflecting on the day’s actions.

We all blame ourselves for Redline’s disappearance, Nolan’s tense situation, and Izzy and Xavier’s kidnapping.

Nolan’s phone buzzes at the same time the laptop dings.

He pulls it out of his pocket, reading the incoming text, and his face turns pale at the same time Ashton lets out a string of curses.

Nolan grips his phone tight enough to hear it crack as the light fades from his eyes being replaced by anger and vengeance.

I’ve seen that look before. He’s fading fast to the evil and he can’t stop it.

I jump up from the recliner, spilling my food all over the floor, and pull his phone from his hands before he can break it.

“No Ashley, don’t!” Nolan barks out. Too late I already see the text and then my eyes fly to the laptop perched on the coffee table. My world turns upside down when I look at who’s on the screen.

Austin.