Page 81 of Racing Dirty Trilogy Box Set

Ashley

Rush quirks an eyebrow at me and his mouth is hanging open. He opens and closes his mouth a few times before he finally finds his voice.

“You’re doing what?” he asks, exasperation is clear in his tone.

“Going into The Circle tonight. When I win, I’ll draw that bitch Wrath out and take her on too. I’ve got a plan, Rush. Trust me.” Venom seeps from my voice and Rush is smart enough to keep his mouth shut. I’m not changing my mind. They’re going to wish they’ve never fucked with me.

Walking into the bedroom, I quickly change into a pair of jeans, and a black hoodie and slip my racing boots on.

Nolan’s phone vibrates in my pocket and I check the messages.

It’s a confirmation text for tonight with an address below.

Once I’m dressed, I leave the comfort of the room and walk to the door.

“Where are you going now?” Rush asks.

“Going to scope the place out. You coming or staying?”

Both Ashton and Rush follow me out the door.

I knew Rush won’t leave me to wander the city streets by myself.

We make our way out of the apartment building and walk down to the subway station.

Once we’re down waiting for the trains, a sense of foreboding settles in my bones.

This asshole will pay for the trouble he’s caused.

I have no doubt about it. Once I get Nolan back, we will take Switch down and make him wish he never crossed us.

The wind picks up and I step to the edge of the platform.

Rush and Ashton are standing behind me scanning everyone who steps near us.

The brakes from the train make a squealing noise as it stops.

The doors open and the three of us step inside.

I walk to the back of the train and take a seat on the hard-plastic bench.

Rush follows, and Ashton stands guard in front of us.

“Did Ashton get you all up to speed?” I ask.

“Yeah.” Rush nods his head, his black hair with blonde highlights falling towards his eyes. He pushes it back and looks at me with concern. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

“More than anything. I need to do this for Nolan, Izzy, and Xavier. Redline was going to go in, but now he can’t.

They need to be stopped and I’m not backing down.

” My hands are shaking again from the anger seething in my body.

I clench my hands into fists and take a deep breath.

I need to have more control and not let my emotions overpower me.

“We’re here,” Ashton grunts.

The train slows down and the three of us stand up and walk toward the doors.

I’m in between Ashton and Rush this time.

The doors whoosh open and we step out onto the platform.

There are people all around us waiting for other trains or making their way out of the underground city.

I look around and spot a young girl and a little boy sitting on a bench.

She’s scolding him while he cries in his little hands.

She pulls her blonde hair into a ponytail and big hoop earrings are dangling from her ears.

Her hazel eyes meet mine for a moment before she turns her attention to the little boy.

She whispers something to him and he pulls his little hands away from his face.

His eyes meet mine. Similar features I’ve adored just a few hours before staring back at me.

Before I decided to approach them, a swarm of people passes between us.

I shove my way through the crowd, my heart beating hard in my chest. There’s no way.

This can’t be happening. Rush is shouting my name, but I ignore him.

Finally able to break free from the crowd, the teenager and the little boy are gone. Disappeared. Nowhere in sight. Rush and Ashton approach me. I spin around pinning Ashton with a deadly glare.

“What the fuck is going on?” I demand.

“What are you talking about?” Ashton asks. He’s withholding something. I can see it in his eyes. “Come on we need to get out of here.”

“Ashton Iverson, so help me God, you better explain yourself now. Who the fuck was that? I know you know.” I growl.

“Not here. There’s so much in play right now, that I can’t explain it here. Come on. Let’s scope this place out and I’ll tell you.” Ashton answers.

“You better explain everything. This shit doesn’t work if you keep things to yourself. I’m so pissed right now I could throttle you.”

“Good, keep that feeling. You’re going to need it tonight,” he responds.

We walk toward the tunnel exit and into the street.

The sun is hiding behind some dark clouds and the wind picks up, creating a shiver to wrack my body.

We walk in silence down an empty side street.

The massive buildings are blocking the wind and I glance around.

A large bald man is standing in front of a discreet brown brick building, smoking a cigarette.

His eyes meet mine from across the street for a moment and I break eye contact.

Walking between Rush and Ashton, I peek around Ashton’s massive form to get a better glimpse of the building.

The man is following us with his eyes as we walk around the corner and stop.

“The guy out front is a guard. We might need a password to enter the building.” Ashton says.

“I have it. They sent it to Nolan’s phone when confirming the fight. Come on. It’s getting close to time and I need to focus on what I have to do inside and change my clothes.” Feeling like this was a wasted trip, we head back to our apartment building. No one saying a word.

Once we get inside, I go into the bedroom and shut the door.

I pull out Nolan’s phone and turn it on.

I scroll through his pictures of the two of us and a tear falls down my cheek.

I don’t bother to wipe it away. Why are these people so adamant about getting to Nolan?

What did he do to make them want to hurt Izzy and Xavier?

Why are they tearing apart my family? I’ve never even met these people before.

A loud knock on the door startles me from my questioning. I get up from the bed and pocket Nolan’s phone. Opening the door, I’m face to face with Ashton.

“We need to talk.” He grumbles. I follow him into the living room where the laptop is still on and a picture of a little boy fills the screen.

“That’s the boy from the subway station,” I say, shocked.

Rush comes up behind me and studies the picture too.

A small gasp flows from his lips. The little boy staring back at us is a spitting image of Nolan.

From the brown hair to the whiskey-colored eyes and crooked smile, this has to be Nolan’s kid.

My heart drops to my toes staring at the screen.

Is Nolan really missing or did he go back to whoever this kid’s mother is and make us think they took him?

Is this why he wanted to come back and not tell me?

These questions plague my mind as I stare off into space.

The seed of doubt for how much Nolan loves me and how much I don’t know about him takes over and I become furious.

Angry at Nolan, angry at Switch, angry at this unknown woman who’s trapped my man in her sticky web of lies and deceit.

“Ash,” Rush says gently, rubbing my arms. “Stop. You know Nolan. You know he loves you and if he knew, you know he would have said something.”

“Are you sure Rush? What if all of this was a lie? What if he’s out fucking this other woman as we speak, laughing at the way I’m worried about him?

” Tears are threatening to spill down my cheeks and my stomach is churning.

I’m going to be sick. I run into the bathroom and dry heave into the toilet.

Once I stop retching, I lean back against the wall, wiping my mouth with toilet paper.

Sobbing, I lay on the floor, curling up into a ball.

How could I have been so stupid and let someone like Nolan into my life?

Into my heart? Everyone I’ve ever loved leaves me and why should he be any different?

I was just a means to pass the time until he could come back here and be with this woman.

The bathroom door cracks open and Rush sticks his head inside.

He sees me on the floor, a crumbled mess and immediately comes to my side.

At least he’s never left me. No matter how hard things get, Rush is always there for me.

My heart shatters into a million pieces, I cling to Rush and cry.

He strokes his hands down my silky hair, soothing the inner turmoil running through my head.

“Ash, please. You know Nolan isn’t like that. He’s not going to leave you. I strongly believe they took him and we need to get him back. He loves you.” Rush’s strong rich voice quiets my sobs.

Sniffling against his hoodie, I look out into the bedroom.

Our bed is still disheveled from this morning’s fun we had.

Every caress, every touch, every look is etched into my mind.

“How do you know this? How can you know he isn’t laughing at us right now?

Everyone I’ve loved leaves me. How can you know he won’t? ”

“I know because I see the both of you. I see the way he watches you move. I see the way his eyes light up when you walk into a room. I see the way he needs to touch you when you’re near, the way he reaches for you when you walk by.

I see it all and I see both of you are made for each other.

Trust me, I’ve never lied about something like this before.

I’ve never seen the dynamics you two have for each other with anyone else.

” He raises my chin to stare into his black eyes.

“You’ve found your other half. Now, get off your ass and fight for him. ”

Staring into Rush’s black eyes, I get what he gets. I see what he sees. “Thank you, Rush. God, I feel like such a baby. My emotions are all over the place. What do we do now?”

Ashton walks into the bathroom and a frown crosses his face when he sees Rush’s arms around me, comforting me.

He crosses his arms over his chest and lets out a grunt of disapproval.

That has me on edge and my temper flares.

I stand up and wipe the stray tears trailing down my cheeks.

Approaching Ashton, he quirks an eyebrow at me. “You got something to say?” I demand.

“Are you two about done with your circle jerk time? My partner is missing, and you’re snuggled up to him, instead of doing something about it.

” He points his finger at Rush and a look of disgust passes across his face.

He doesn’t get the bond we have and thinks we’re fucking around. That pisses me off.

Without thinking, I slap Ashton hard across the face and point my finger in his line of sight, making myself very clear.

“Fuck you, Ashton. You want to point fingers at someone, point them at yourself. You’ve withheld vital information from us and you want to berate me?

Fuck off.” I seethe through clenched teeth.

“If this is anyone’s fault, it’s yours. You have no idea what the fuck I’ve been through.

So, I suggest you back the fuck off and do your job. Find me this kid and the bitch Wrath.”

I walk out of the bathroom with fire in my blood. I’m going to burn this city to the ground and get my man back. One way or another, I will bring them all down and they won’t know what happened.